I have been reading some very enjoyable graphic novels lately and would love to tell you all about it. It’s so nice to alternate between ‘regular’ novels and graphic novels and my collection has been growing slowly! Today I have three mini reviews that are all first volumes. Let’s get into it!

Fence vol. 1 – C.S. Pacat & Johanna the Mad

To be honest, I was not expecting to like this that much. There was so much hype surrounding this series and especially from people that don’t read that much comics. So naturally I was expecting to be let down a little haha. However, the story did sound really cool and I wanted to read it so bad. And so I did.

The story is about Nicholas who gets accepted into a private school but will only keep his scholarship if he makes the fence team. Nicholas is a pretty decent fencer but never got the proper training. His nemesis attends the same school and we meet a bunch of characters competing for the three spots on the team.

I love sports and have always been intrigued by fencing so that aspect of the story was right up my alley. Boarding schools are a favorite of mine as well! And we got a lot of story were you can tell there will be so much happening later on in the series which I loved. There are a bunch of characters but they are all quite different and I loved getting to know them. I’m sure they will develop over the course of the next volumes.

This first volumes ends on a bit of a cliffhanger and I could not believe my eyes when I turned the page and I realized I was done haha. I obviously ordered the second volume right away! This was such a wonderful read and I think you might also enjoy it even if you don’t like sports. It’s a story about the characters foremost and it is wonderful so just go and pick it up 😉

 

The Backstagers vol. 1 – James Tynion IV & Rian Sygh

I heard about the Backstagers from JesReads over on Booktube and was immediately intrigued. This story follows the crew of a high school musical group who have an insane backstage door. The door connects to magical hallways, doors and worlds. To me this was such an unique concept and I loved it.

It was very enjoyable to read and I just kept going until I finished it. Like I said I really liked the concept, but I also would’ve liked to get a little more explanation. I think they will expand a lot on what we’ve seen so far and I will definitely continue reading these comics. The characters were very likable and I enjoyed getting to know them a little.

I like the art in this one which is always important to me. And I just can’t wait to read more about these characters. I would definitely recommend this one if you enjoy fantasy comics, or if you like your contemporary with a little hint of magic.

 

Heartstopper vol. 1 – Alice Oseman

This was my valentines read this year and it was the perfect one for it! Heartstopper is originally a webcomic and after a kickstarter campaign it got published. The first volume covers the first two chapters of the webcomic and I really had to contain myself not to just continue reading online haha.

Hearstopper is about Nick and Charlie. The boys go to an all boys UK high school. Charlie is openly gay and was bullied for that a lot. Nick is a rugby player and pretty popular. They meet when they have a class together and a wonderful friendship ensues. But Charlie is falling hard for Nick and he doesn’t think he stands a chance, or does he?

I had to check my expectations right away because this was in black and white and I was not expecting that. But I did really like the art style of the story and quickly got used to the black and white color scheme. I never imagined to like this as much as I did and I can truly say I loved it! You can read it super quickly.

The story tugged on my heartstrings so many times! It was super cute but also raises some real issues. I think this will be a great graphic novel for LGTBQ+ kids and I hope they all go and read it. We end on quite a cliffhanger and I can’t believe we have to wait so long for the sequel. I truly wish I could have it in my hands right now haha. You can imagine I highly recommend this one, especially so all romance lovers. I’m not big on romance stories but this one was just so so cute.

Have you read any of these comics? Or do you plan on picking these up? Let me know what you thought about them in the comments! I love to chat with you all.