Meh. I'll fully admit I don't care for the stretched out (ladies) art style of Benitez. And he could've given ANY of these poor women some clothing. The story isn't terrible, but there isn't enough to it for it to be that exciting, either. If this was a prequel to a story I already knew, one where the main character is a badass demon fighter already, I might've been more interested. But she starts as a weak, uninteresting teenage girl, and by the end...she's still a weak, uninteresting teenage girl who happens to be inhabited by some magical power that she knows nothing about. Meh, again.

Wraithborn v1 by Marcia Chen.
He was trained from birth to inherit a mythical power. She is the timid teenage girl to whom it was bestowed instead. Together only they can stop an ancient evil from rising and enslaving all humankind. An epic urban fantasy from the creator of Lady Mechanika! Collects all 6 issues of the "Redux" edition of Wraithborn.
A slow but ok read. Likeable story and likeable characters. 4*.

This was a fantastic graphic novel, the whole package in my opinion. The plot was strong and engaging, and the artwork was fantastic. I blew through the story in one sitting because I had to know how it would end.
My only complaint is that I need the next part of the story ASAP!

a pretty good graphic novel with some stunning art, however, it was not my cup of tea.

'Wraighbor, Volume 1' by Joe Benitez with art by M. M. Chen is an origin story about someone recruited to fight supernatural evil.

Melanie Moore is a timid picked on girl going to school. Valek is a young warrior in training, waiting for the day he becomes the new Wraithborn. When Melanie is at the wrong place at the right time, she unwittingly becomes the new Wraithborn. Now she is being hunted and Valek is left to help her discover who she has become.

It's a pretty standard by-the-numbers story. It's hard to feel much for most of the characters because there just isn't a lot of development. Why Melanie trusts Valek is odd. Why Valek just doesn't kill Melanie and recover the Wraithborn based on her incompetence seems out of character for his overly serious demeanor. The art is pretty, but the characters all have overly long necks. Maybe that's the case in the Lady Mechanika book, but it just stood out here.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Benitez Productions, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I am just not interested in this book anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I didn't get to reading this before the link expired. So I can't say whether I liked it or not. So I'm giving 3 stars because NetGalley is making me put something in.

A tale of mystery with good art and great characters comes to life in this comic.

I enjoyed Wraithborn, it did not disappoint and the artwork was very good. At the same time it just felt like more of the same. Similar story and characters, nothing that really made this stand out from any number of other good but not special or unique books. Special is difficult, I understand that, but I think if experienced writers and illustrators are going to work on something they can at least shoot for unique. Something unique that falls a little short is, for me, far more interesting than the usual done well. If you're going to do the usual, then make it special.

That sounds more negative than I intend. I would still recommend this, especially to readers who aren't immersed in graphic novels and similar story lines.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Great art and a fast-paced story, a nice read.

Living in Louisiana with her father, the shy high-schooler Melanie has a pretty uneventful life. She works at the local bookstore with her classmate Zoe and tries to be there for her father when she can. Things change the night she’s walking home from the cemetery. Being at the wrong place at the wrong time, Melanie receives the Wraithbornn, a power destined for a member of the warrior monks called Valin. When she starts seeing spirits at school, Zoe is the only one that believes and helps her. With demons after her gift, Melanie will need all the help she can get if she wants to get out alive.

The art of this graphic novel is great: bright colours, details, especially in the fighting scenes and a perfect balance between the drawings and the text. The story is well-balanced since there are moments of action and moments to recover from those moments: the action takes place when demons appear and they fight; and slower moments when both Melanie and Valin are trying to figure what happened. Even so, I didn’t grow bored at all.

Melanie is a good main character. Her shyness and the way she reacts to the unfortunate events around her make her very human but at the same time I could see her courage and how she grows along the novel. Zoe is an awesome character and my favourite. She’s a good friend and her powers make her the perfect companion of Melanie that tends to panic.

Overall, a good story!

Melanie is a pretty average high school student who gets through life by trying to be as invisible as possible. But everything changes when she's suddenly forced to accept the Wraithborn, an ancient power that keeps demons from freely roaming the earth. Now she's being pursued by demons and a mythical being who wants to take the Wraithborn from her by any means possible. The story line started out a little slow, as Melanie took way too long to figure out what was happening to her, but the plot quickly picked up from there. The artwork is incredibly detailed, even down to the most minor background image. The artists do a fantastic job of making these creatures as disgusting and creepy as possible.

Plans oft go awry for men and monsters, not to mention ancient goddesses. Through treachery, the Wraithborn force did not go to its intended vessel, but rather to a teenager, Melanie, in Louisiana. Suddenly being beset by the Hounds of Brijit, Melanie is rescued by Valin, a sword wielding warrior. Kiara, Valin's sister, plays both sides for her own gain. In the end, Melanie is forced to act to save herself and accept her destiny

Melanie is a shy high schooler that was given the power of the Wraithborn when its current owner was too badly damaged. He was part of the Brotherhood, and Valin is another member of the Brotherhood that had been trained nearly since birth to deal with its power. Unfortunately, Melanie got the power because other forces are at play, trying to get the power of the Wraithborn.

This trade paperback collects the first six issues of the Wraithborn comic. It's is told in a flashback frame. The art is gorgeous, and it's an interesting take on the trope. Instead of a Judeo-Christian demon that's the bad guy, it's a Voodoo loa. I haven't seen too many comics use the voodoo religion as its basis. Action scenes, of which there are many, are dynamically drawn and vividly colored. There are great shots that are framed shots which are beautifully done and would make great backgrounds for electronics. A lot of the characters have really impractical outfits, particularly for a high school, but they're very pretty to look at. Melanie has probably the most subdued and practical wardrobe, another means to show that she's shy and has no knowledge of the supernatural. Unfortunately, she has little to no personality in this volume, and her friend Zoe has more of a presence. I hadn't heard of this comic before, but this is definitely a very interesting start into the series, and the character designs are great.

The art is just brilliant. I was mesmerized right in the opening scene where the moon was beautifully drawn. The story is good too, but the art is what struck me.

The artwork was very nice, and it had a good storyline. I would definitely read more in this series and from this author.

Wraithborn by Joe Benitez is a pleasure to read and view. The artwork is stunning and the storyline is sure to capture a following. This is Benitez's own creation prior to his taking over the very popular, steampunk comic, Lady Mechanika. As the comic book world rushes back to catch Benitez's earlier work, they are sure to find Wraithborn.

The young warrior Valin was next to receive the powers of the Wraithborn, but before the transfer could take place a young student, Melanie gets in the way as receives the power instead. The Wraithborn bonds for life and now shy, timid, high school student Melanie contains the power. The forces of evil that battle the Wraithborn see this as their opportunity to attack. Valin knows he must
protect Melanie as she struggles to learn how to use the Wraithborn.

There is tons of monsters and demons and swords and in the midst of it all, Melanie still has to deal with fitting in with the lunch crowd at high school. With her good friend Zoe, she begins to learn about the world outside of her school and what the world at large sees. Valin is something of the good soldier and as such, can come across very stiff and wooden. But the team of Valin and Melanie and their friends work very well together.

The artwork is stunning, very reminiscent of Tony Daniel and his work on the Tenth. Which brings me to the only whine about Wraithborn. Its not original. Young girl gets mystical or supernatural powers and now the forces of evil target her before she can learn to use them. Strong and silent type warrior comes to defend her and together they battle the bad guys.

What separates Wraithborn from the other books in this lot is that Benitez has taken the time to develop his characters and in doing so has made them someone to care about. Melanie's time in school as she tries to avoid the bullying of the popular crowd shows how much she doesn't want to be the hero type. If she could spend her day not being noticed, she would be so much happier. But the fates have different ideas and thankfully so.

Wraithborn is very well written and the artwork leaps off the page. This is one to find and enjoy!

I didn't expect much but this is surprisingly pretty good. Benitez is a talented artist and he's toned down the anatomically impossible women. The basic premise is that the old gods of history can take over humans to try and regain their previous status. The Wraithborn is the one person with the power to fight the gods. Our heroine is a mousy teenager who happens to be in the wrong place. The previous Wraithborn is dying and passes his power on to her.

Heavily derivative dark fantasy, with some dreadfully written thought bubbles as a girl has to work out her new position as demon-slayer, and some artwork that thinks it's a whole lot better than it actually is. What's worse is the way it brings in to some horrendously hokey mythology all the tropes of the worst American college dramas – the jock kid, the prim cheerleaders, the token fat one, the Marilyn Manson wannabe, the, er, bug-eyed freaky black one. A real patience-tester.

Wraithborn Volume 1 collects the six issues of the Redux edition of the Wraithborn story. It was written by Marcia Chen and Joe Benitez. Valin, the apprentice warrior, was next in line to receive "the Wraithborn", but Melanie got in the way of the transfer and ended up gifted with that mystical power. Together only they can stop an ancient evil from rising and enslaving all humankind.

Wraithborn Volume 1 is a well drawn and visually entertaining graphic novel. I enjoyed the artwork and the story, but think the use of the shy, hapless teenage girl suddenly receiving mystical powers and needing a guy around to explain and save her is more than a little over done. I did like that there were a number of strong female characters tossed in the mix, and that hints of Melanie becoming a strong fighter at some point were there. However, the shy dutiful girl unable or willing to stand up for herself or others is not my idea of a hero, no matter what kind of strength her magical powers will give her. As a fairly withdrawn person myself, I think the writers need to meet a few people more like the character they are writing. Most of the people I know that are willing to let themselves by abused, will fight tooth and nail to keep the same from happening to others- including locker room teasing and such. Aside from Melanie's character flaws, I liked the story, but I was not overly thrilled with it overall.

After a fight-filled intro there’s a flashback to how Melanie became such a badass, because she certainly wasn’t in high school. She’s firmly entrenched in the “reluctant hero” trope, but at least she’s amusing, especially for a wallflower, at times scared of her shadow but also willing to stand up for those who can’t. The part where she says, “Um. . . nice doggies?” got an actual LOL out of me, and I can’t believe I just used that damned acronym.
There’s nothing here that’s particularly new, though. The bad guy has minions and an evil laugh, and can’t seem to stop talking. And why are the redheads always evil? But despite it being an old story, I kinda liked it.
Cover gallery at the end.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5