A nice parent sends me a message: Can my four-year-old read Brotherhood of the Wolf?
Upshot: See for yourself: https://talesofkhayr.com/blood-tax/
I stare at the question. On the sales page, there’s a splash panel of a man’s skull split open by an axe. The cover of Issue #1 has a pile of bones. Issue #2 shows a burning village, bodies scattered on the ground like broken dolls. I put the images there for a reason.
But I also know this: when I was a kid, I consumed media that wasn’t made for children. Stories with testosterone. Stories that scared me, made me think, and didn’t hold my hand. And I’m fine. Those stories shaped me.
So here’s what I tell them:
Brotherhood of the Wolf has violence and scary moments. An ‘alim who read it and shared it with his own kids said it might be complex for an eight-year-old “a little amount of gore, though nothing more than what they already see in video games.” My recommendation is to read it yourself first. Then decide.
It gladdens my heart that people are interested in sharing the world of Brotherhood of the Wolf with their kids. I am honored. But, to be clear, I didn’t create this series for children. I created it for me: a Muslim fantasy fan who wanted stories with moral weight, brutal stakes, and fun characters. Dark fantasy set in a world where haram actions have consequences, where the violence serves the story, not the other way around. I don’t do torture porn. I don’t do shock for shock’s sake. I do like brutal men doing brutal things in a brutal world.
Whether or not your child can handle it is your call. I won’t slap an arbitrary age rating on the cover and pretend I know your family better than you do. Every graphic novel issue is 32 or 34 pages. Skim it and see for yourself. Then hand it over (or don’t).
Read the Prologue of False Light Free: https://x.com/WishForWesam/status/1986207360004858111?s=20
By the way, False Light is the interlude prose novella between Issue #1 and Issue#2 of Brotherhood of the Wolf graphic novel series.
You can get Issue 1, Issue2, and False Light here: https://talesofkhayr.com/blood-tax/
-Wes
P.S.False Light is the prose novella that sits between Issues #1 and #2. If you want the full Brotherhood of the Wolf experience, start with the bundle above.