Lumine

The first print volume of Krogell’s manga-styled webcomic captures all its cutesy humor and sweet relationships. Feisty young werewolf Lumine can’t make it far as a bodyguard because he only transforms into an adorable little pup. Ousted by his first boss as a troublemaker, he then meets the mysterious Aiden, who hires Lumine to watch over his accident-prone son Kody—who Lumine notices is frequented by a shimmery black cat spirit. The two kids head to school, where Lumine learns that Kody’s bruises aren’t from accidents after all, but from attacks by a group of witchy bullies in his class. Even as Kody continually pushes the werewolf away (“Nothing people do will help the situation,” he laments), Lumine is determined to earn his trust and protect him from the coven. While collating the first 14 episodes of the serial narrative results in some awkward pacing and stilted scene transitions, Krogell’s sprightly artwork and thoughtful character development more than make up for the layout shortcomings. Fans of Spy X Family will fall head over heels for this family drama with a light supernatural twist. (Dec.)