Gorgeous artwork throughout this volume which collects the five issue complete story arc. A group of colonists have left earth and attempt to build a new society on a new planet amid strange and not particularly friendly environs, which include not terribly friendly natives. Well told story complements the simply gorgeous art.

Good if you're interested in old-school sci-fi comics, but not something I'd expect to see newly printed in 2017. The artwork was unimpressive, and many of the themes seemed to be pulled from old sci-fi comics. Weird mix of pulp fiction, almost naked women, and old sci-fi.

Follows the plot of every other sci-fi western comic made in the last 10 years. Humans go colonize another planet, there's trouble with the local aliens and the good guys need to head it off before a war starts.

Received an advance copy from Aciton Lab and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Did not finish. Not for me. I read a lot of graphic novels...and this one just wasn't for me.

The Blue Hour is when all the wicked schemes and foul plans are born...In a distant war torn future Wardell and Everett are army buddies, dreaming of life after the conflict ends. Wardell wants to go back to farming the land and marry the woman he loves, while Everett has bigger dreams of the first off world colony. Despite a huge falling out between the two, eventually Wardell agrees to accompany Everett to Crux 4 , site of his colony and work as Sheriff. Not only will he have to keep the colonists in order but he will also have to keep relations smooth between the colonists and the native alien species, something that is easier said than done. The blue hour, when the planet's yellow sun has set, and only light from the blue sun is visible, is a time for plotting, and plots, deals and double- crossing are what the story of this book pivots on.
While the story is solid, it never surprised me and I felt a little disappointed by the lack of character development, only Wardell really seemed to have any depth and motivation for his actions. There are a few twists and turns and a couple of surprises to keep the reader focussed. The artwork was quite simplistic with lots of bold lines. My biggest problem with it was the design of the aliens, they just seemed odd, and out of place with the rest of the aesthetic of the book.

Excerpt from Review: "...The idea that a perfect colony is never going to be possible because of the variables involved in bringing people with inherent faults together is believable. The story of Blue Hour, unfortunately, is not strong enough to make me interested in actually purchasing this comic book..."

This looked like it was going to be a fun sci-fi colonization comic, but it was not. This book barely kept my interest. The artwork was unimpressive. The storytelling also wasn't very modern. That was my biggest grievance with this book. It didn't seem like it was written in 2017. It was very old school in its characterizations. So many women are presented wearing almost nothing. There's a lot of meaningless bar fights. If you're an older straight white man, you may enjoy this book more than I did.

I don't have anything good to say about this comic. I give it a 1/5.

Nothing about this book particularly caught me--neither the characters nor the story/settings. I can't quite explain why, but I didn't find it very engaging. I'd be unlikely to recommend it to students because of the occasional language, and I think there are others that have caught me that I'd recommend first.

'Blue Hour' by Dino Caruso with art by Chad Cicconi is a SF whodunnit on a colony of humans. It's ok at best.

A group of planetary colonists have left Earth. They find a new home, but they must share it with the indigenous species. There is tension. There is also all the tropes that humans bring, like crime, prostitution and black market dealings. Things are uneasy with the resident population and they want to oust the humans. When a murder of a popular figure takes place, things threaten to break out into an all out war unless the murderer can be found.

There are lots of flashbacks and it seems like all the human characters are interconnected. The story feels pretty standard, even with the "surprise" elements. The art uses heavy lines and feels kind of drab. The aliens look like cartoon characters, so I could never feel like they were part of the same story. I like sf stories, and I like mystery stories, so I had hopes for this one. I was disappointed.

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

Two at best for a very heavy-handed (in inking and in theme) look at the violence allegedly inherent in mankind, even if they've reached for the stars. Could have been so much better.

Blue Hour falls into the category of colonization sci fi that closely mirrors the Westword expansion of white settlers in the United States during the 1800s. Misunderstandings, broken treaties, and violence are hallmarks of this type of storyline. Unfortunately, Caruso takes a very simplistic approach to the plot that undermines any attempt at gravitas. Combined with cartoony potato shaped people and children's storybook aliens, I didn't find much to really grab me with this title.

After a devastating 'resource war' on Earth, a former soldier makes a deal with aliens to allow a small group to settle on their planet. Years later, mistrust in the human colony spills over onto the aliens and causes schisms in both civilizations. When the colony founder is murdered, all pretense of order begins to break down and it is man versus man versus aliens - with only a few grounded souls to try to find order in the chaos.

I'll be honest - the story feels as facile as the art: this was Futurama without the humor. The 'aliens' were just silly, acted like normal humans (if a bit stupider), and the colonists weren't much better. Despite probably having to have made a hard living tending the soil, most colonists looked like potatoes - beer bellied and balding with the men fully covered yet the women wearing outfits resembling bikinis. It was really odd and nothing really felt thought through or made much sense. Let's not go into the MacBethean greedy women preying on/manipulating the weak minded men.

Most of the action seems to take place in a bar - with random bar fights that add nothing to the story. If anything, I couldn't figure out why and certainly didn't understand the dynamics of this 'colony' and why the people who were chosen ended up there. But then again, the story premise that a soldier believes there may be life out there in space one panel and then a few panels it is a couple of years later and he is randomly making a deal with aliens to go settle on their random planet. That was just lazy storytelling.

None of the character personalities made much sense and all spent most of the story underreacting or overreacting. And that's just the humans - the alien culture fared much worse. Honestly, if I was a Native American, I'd be pretty damn upset about this book if the author was using American manifest destiny as an inspiration.

Admittedly, I was bored through much of this and the big 'reveal'/twist at the end was underwhelming, to say the least. I honestly can't recommend this book - not for the overly simple story and not for the potato people/cartoony alien artwork either. On the plus side, the cover is very indicative of the art inside and this is a self contained and completed story. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.