I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

So this was not at all what I was expecting. Paz is a young woman that has been helping to raise her younger sisters after their mother died. The father is a detective and is always busy, so she is basically doing this by herself. The story kicks off after some young children start to go missing. While her dad is trying to figure out what is going on, Paz becomes possessed by a spirit that uses her to go after the people involved in the disappearances.

The story has slow build, which worked pretty well. Especially because early on it isn't clear what is going on with Paz. She is just as confused as what is happening as the reader. I liked seeing her growth over the course of the book. A lot of the characters aren't extremely well developed though. Normally that would bother me more, but I liked Paz so much that I think she lifted up the book in areas where it would otherwise fall short. The art is the real winner of this book though. Some of the images are just amazing. It has just the right amount of creepiness to it.

It was an interesting concept, but honestly this first volume just felt way too rushed. I would have preferred it if it had been either longer and more fleshed out, or if the story hadn’t kind of wrapped up so quickly... Still, the art was beautiful and I will certainly look out for the next volume!

Female lead ✓
Female lead that's a person of color ✓
Not Romance ✓

*Slight spoilers ahead* This graphic novel has everything I like in my story, a strong female lead that is a person of color who has an identity that isn't romantic. However, Paz doesn't really have her own identity either. She is just a vessel being used. Paz as a character just wants to find her sisters, everything revolves around her sisters. Here is what we learn about Paz. She is an older sister, she used to date a gang banger, and she is hardworking. She never undergoes a character arch or anything. She just gets possessed and along for the ride. The story isn't bad and the plot does progress well. The artwork isn't the greatest though.

.I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

This is a really interesting ghost story about Paz hunting those who kidnapped her sisters. She's a great character. I'd like to see more of her story!

I love Ray Fawkes' Underwinter - gorgeous, oblique horror, not like anything else I've read. But this is a fairly bog-standard supernatural avenger vs Mexican gang yarn. I believe there's some connection to an old pulp character, but I couldn't tell you more because on the Netgalley ARC - and I really hope only there - the introduction, blurb &c all relate to a different comic entirely. Smooth.

I really enjoyed Vol. 1 of Fantomah. It wasn't the best graphic novel I've ever read, but it was a really promising start to the series. I thought the new take on the La Llorna myth was refreshing and interesting. The whole graphic novel was very captivating and I'll definitely be keeping up with the series.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley/Diamond Book Distributors in exchange for an honest review.

Like many others I'm sure, the first thing that drew me to this comic was the cover. I've never previously heard of La Fantomah before so wasn't sure what to expect and I do feel the characterisation could be improved upon, as there were times it felt I had missed a page that would have developed the character more, particularly with the execution of the supernatural/paranormal elements.

The illustrations definitely appealed to me though I agree with other reviewers who've mentioned that the character design could have been better in order to distinguish characters as it ended up looking sort of same-y. This I think ties in with the criticism of characters could have been better developed within the story.

Overall, I enjoyed the idea, though found myself losing interest as the story went on. I didn't hate it, but it didn't impress me much either,

First of all cover is gorgeous. I really enjoyed reading it. But i really want to read more of La Fantomah's past. I really like to read more of her story.

'Fantomah Vol. 1: Up From The Deep' by Ray Fawkes with art by Soo Lee and Meaghan Carter is about a supernatural hero that seeks vengeance.

Fantomah is a character that dates back to the middle of the last century. She is a sort of ghost girl that fights crime. This time around Fantomah is connected to Paz Gallegos who is trying to care for her two younger sisters. When they go missing, and a local gang might be behind it, she confronts them. When Paz is thrown off a bridge and left for dead, it unleashes something inside her that thirsts for vengeance for the missing children and some dead ones too. Paz will face some evil on her way to find her sisters.

I'm vaguely familiar with the character and she's shown up more recently in other comics. I was drawn to this title by the cover, and all the covers are fairly striking. The internal art is not as good, and the plotting feels a little confusing in places. Maybe this will even out in later issues.

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

Unfortunately, I missed the archive date and will be unable to review this graphic novel. It has a beautiful cover.

When reading any kind of comic, I value the quality of the artwork above all, and... there's unfortunately a great discrepancy between the beautiful cover image and the art style on the pages. From what I can gather, Fantomah is a reboot of a classic comic franchize, which I'm not familiar with, but it hardly brings anything inventive or at least new to the landscape of comics. There are so many references to La Llorona, but the chance to work with that myth is never seized. The plot is, to be cancid, not noteworthy, so I'm giving this one a vague shrug and moving on.

Not sure why this isn't called La Llorona as it's a superhero version of the Weeping Woman lore popular in Latin America. It seems only to be called Fantomah to capitalize on the Fantomah in Jungle Comics name that only comic historians would know. I'm not sure how this ties in with the other Chapterhouse books as it takes place in Latin America instead of Canada.

I like that the main character fights back and defends herself, but I did not enjoy the story as much as I thought. The artwork is really well done though.

La Fantomah could have been a really great graphic novel. The concept was great, but unfortunately, the execution felt really rushed. Disappearing children and a vengeful spectre has a lot of potential, but the genesis of La Fantomah, and the entire plot with the antagonist was over in seconds and really needed a lot more development. The art style was fine, but most of the characters ended up looking exactly the same, so it really made it difficult to engage with the story. There was so much that wasn't discussed or explored that I found it a somewhat disappointing read.

Thank you NetGalley and Chapterhouse for providing me with a free e-arc to read for an honest review. This was a Read Now option on NetGalley (it has since been archived), and I was drawn in by the awesome cover and intriguing synopsis.
This comic was super quick, and it had a nice set-up for future stories.
I really enjoyed the coloring of Fantomah, and especially enjoyed the art style of the actual character of Fantomah. She was pretty creepy to look at. The rest of the character art was just okay. It seemed to be put together kind of quick. Almost a rushed drawing style.
The story was all right. It zipped right along. It could have been more fun if it had been a little longer, a little more developed.
I was also a little confused by the introduction to the comic, before the Fantomah comic even started. It was talking about this Canadian Super Hero, who I had no idea who he was. I'd never heard of him. So, I thought the comic was going to be about him, but it wasn't. There was also a lot of Canada patting itself on the back for this wonderful super hero they'd created. Honestly, the introduction kind of put me off a little. And then it was confusing because those characters never showed up or were mentioned in Fantomah. Maybe it was just a mistake in my review copy, but it didn't make a whole lot of sense.
Fantomah was an enjoyable enough read. It was very quick, kind of interesting. I enjoyed aspects of the art style. If you're unaware of what Fantomah is based on, I think you could go into this blind and be okay. That's what I did and I still enjoyed it.
Thanks again NetGalley and Chapterhouse for letting me review it.
BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.3/5
Not Bad.

I just couldn't get into this one. I really tried but I guess it just isn't for me

An interesting spin on La Llorona as an avenging spirit for children trafficking. The images of Fantomah & cover art are great.

*Digital review copy provided by NetGalley & the publisher.

This first volume of Fantomah introduces 24-year-old Paz Gallegos. Paz's family is what you might call broken: with a father who is constantly away at work, Paz has taken on a maternal role for her younger twin sisters. Everything is turned on its head when one day, her sisters go missing after school. Paz is suddenly thrown into a dark world of gangsters, trafficking, and... the supernatural. To be honest, I struggled with this graphic novel. It's only 112 pages, and yet it took me over a week to finish it. I had a hard time following the plot, and being invested in the characters.


So the story follows a woman named Paz. Paz is Hispanic, and lives in a lower-class Hispanic community that is troubled by gangsters and lots of crime. Her sisters are kidnapped after school, and she immediately knows who might be responsible. The plot was pretty clear to me up to this point. The gangsters Paz confronts... kill her? Honestly I'm not really sure if she died or not, but whatever happens, she wakes up with super-powers and an alter-ego of... La Fantomah.


The concept of La Fantomah is yet another thing I'm unclear on. After some quick Googling, I found out that Fantomah was originally the first female superhero in the entire history of comic books. But I quickly realized that the Fantomah of 
Fawkes's story is only loosely based on the original. I'm assuming that there is also some Hispanic folklore involved? But that was also not made clear..



Despite my confusions about the origins, I did like the idea of Fantomah in this graphic novel – a terrifying ghost/superhero that avenges/protects/saves children.
 Paz starts hearing the prayers of desperate parents, wanting to find their children. And somehow... that makes her transform into Fantomah? Her ability to access her powers was also poorly explained – it seemed she was Fantomah, and then wasn't.


From here out, the plot got pretty repetitive. Fantomah saves children, kills gangsters, saves children, kills gangsters... you get the idea. She gradually gets closer to her goal of finding her sisters, but the events between point A and B weren't really memorable. By the time I got to the end, I was just glad it was over.


Another major problem I had was the character building – it is virtually nonexistent. There wasn't really much to make me care whether or not Paz succeeded, nothing to make me feel like cheering her on. Artistically speaking, I think the character designs needed work – many of the side characters I couldn't tell apart from one another. Although, of all the characters, Fantomah had a spectacular design, (a vast improvement from the 1940s version).



Overall, I think the idea of Fantomah as a guardian and avenger of humanity's most powerless – children – is a strong concept. But it was poorly executed. I wanted more explanation behind Paz's transformation and Fantomah's abilities. The characters were sorely underdeveloped, and the plot was repetitive and much of it does not stand out. Because of all this, I settled with a two star rating.

The cover art is so gorgeous, and much of the internal art (particularly the brightly-coloured, double-exposure skull-face of La Fantomah) is lovely too. Shame about the story, though - it was confusing and dull. I'd still read the next in the series, though, just in the hope that this was just teething pains and the next story is better. Three stars for the artwork, no stars for the story.