What an incredible book to read on May the 4th!! A perfect space opera to read on Star Wars day. Great for any Marvel fan, specifically for Gaurdians of the Galaxy fans.
So I love this book, i want more. I want more NOW. I need more. I love the art style, especially the unique creatues depicted here. I was a little unsure about the whole “Holy War” thing, but it added a unique appeal.
I was totally engrosses in the story the whole time.
Need more now.

"There's a brother who's ball deep in killer robots, and a sister who's the lapdog of god himself. Who do ya wanna rescue first?"

It took me a little while to warm up to this title, but once I did it was a really great read. A really interesting story about a being waging war to become the 'one true god' in a galaxy with many planets and many other gods, not to mention all the other people and creatures that get sucked up into its plans. This volume did a good job of introducing the characters and the world and the art and character design is absolutely gorgeous. I'll definitely be checking out the next volume of this!

Dune, Egypt and Star Wars wrapped neatly in a packaged comic
"There's a brother who's ball deep in killer robots, and a sister who's the lapdog of god himself."

We have a rebel group, and instead of the Empire, we have the Conclave. What I love about "Chimera" is that the rebels aren't all good and the Conclave isn't all bad. The beings in this universe are looking for the mystical chimera, a planet which will bring riches beyond one's wildest measures. The large dragon goat is hounding them on.

We follow Alice, her brother and a dog-person named Russel. There's also a MacGuffin called a looking glass intertwined within the plot. The planet is a Tatooine-like place with a lot of atmospheric potential, but the drawings very much zoom-in on character creation and detract from the world itself.

Russel: The essence and soul of a well-drawn character
"Thievery, engineering, cards...anything you're not good at?"

Russel is a beautifully crafted character with the complexities of a person found in a 500-page novel. I think that his characterisation and development were skillfully interwoven to form a well-rounded being.

Losing my Religion
"Don't look at me like that. When you do that thing like you're looking into my goddamned soul."
"I never took you for the type to believe in the soul"
"Which god damned yours? You've certainly got a buffet like of options.



Throughout the story, religion is often discussed and debated around, but in no way that I found thought-provoking.

Conclusion
Honestly, the world is beautiful and it's unlike anything I've experienced before; it seeps with immersion and fresh thought, but the characters are bland and the point-of-view zips back and forth too quickly for me to follow.

There are sweet, emotional moments but the plot it patchwork and motley at best. The character do not develop, and the politics of the system don't present with a very fresh take.

I'd recommend this book to any comic lovers. The world building is great, even though it lacks in the character department.

"By the grace of the conclave, this monastery and its apostate refugees have been allowed to live out their devotion to their absurd faith"

WOW! The artwork and story are phenomenal. I don’t traditionally pick up Sci-Fi work, but the synopsis was intriguing.
The story is simple and reminds me a little of Star Wars. A galaxy that is held be a god and his minions, there is a war being led by a resistance coalition. A small group of thieves and soldiers come together on a covert mission to obtain an object that the god seeks which could be pivotal to ending the war. Within this group, there is a traitor who has made a deal because his family is threatened.
This appears to be the first installment in a series. This section builds the understanding of the characters, their history, and how the covert group was formed.
The artwork is brilliant and story very interesting with twists. Definitely leaves you with a cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next installment!
Thank you NetGalley and publisher, Comicker Press, for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I was raised on comic books. Nowadays, I don’t read them often, but I still enjoy a good graphic novel. Experiencing the story and world building through plot, art and dialogue feel great when it’s done well. Let’s take a look at Terry Ellis’ Chimera Vol. 1.

When a covert mission goes wrong, a crew of thieves finds themselves caught in the middle of a vicious, interstellar holy war involving a self-proclaimed god, the Resistance Coalition, and the Zodiacal Conclave. There’s a traitor in the group, and each character has a troubled past.

The story is definitely character driven. Each of characters is flawed, but they're great as a team. Throughout the story, we get a glimpse into characters' backstories. They’re placed and used in a way that serves the plot and doesn’t jar the narrative. In short, the heroes are hard to resist, especially when you have a soft spot for troubled rogues.

Art is good and tight. There’s plenty of vibrant details, and some panels are a thing of beauty. On the other hand, some were bizarre and less attractive but, overall, I think the art is this novel's forte.

The plot is interesting, mostly unpredictable and compelling. I wouldn’t call it innovative but Sci-fi, fantasy and horror elements are used skillfully. An essential theme of the book is religion and its potential to devastate everything. It’s close to the way I see things, and I appreciate this kind of social commentary.

Chimera Vol. 1 is an entertaining and somewhat smart graphic novel that uses science fiction and fantasy elements to create a compelling package. Not all questions are answered, but that’s a good thing. It means a sequel may be written in the future. I’ll be sure to read it.

This graphic novel has lovely art, but the story line is rather choppy, so it makes it hard to follow along. Many characters get their short "intro" storylines, all coming together, but a more linear approach might have been more enjoyable.

3,5 stars

Volume 1 of Chimera is the collection of the first six issues of this graphic novel series. Based on the synopsis, a crew of thieves and sci-fi, I got instant Six of Crows and Firefly vibes. It wasn’t quite that good. But I am interested in more.

Let us start with the art which drew me to click on this book on Netgalley on the first place. It has solid art for the most part, all in color. I did think that in the first two issues the drawn motion of full body and falling rocks felt stiff and unnatural. But as I was absorbed by the story I can’t remember seeing more of this later on in the volume. In the back there are a few gorgeous illustrations, including the front cover. They are stunning.

As mentioned this story focuses on a crew of thieves who are send on a difficult mission of retrieving something called the Chimera. Unwillingly this draws them into a holy war that is drawn out over various planets. The story is told through now and then pieces. There was a bit too much changing between the timelines for me which made it hard to keep all the lines straight as it concerned some of the back story of our cast. I also felt there was a bit too much religious going on but that is a personal feeling.

I wasn’t sure about the characters initially but as the story continued they started growing on me and I especially took a liking to rough Russel. For that reason I hate the ending because, ouch, right in the feels.

There is still a lot left to explore in the world building, these characters and the plot. And I can’t wait to see where this is all going.

I liked it more than I thought I would. This book collects the first 6 issues, and the first issue was interesting but nothing too amazing. As this volume continued and started to get deeper into the plot, I found that I genuinely wanted to know where things would go. I like the art, the characters seem like they could be interesting (even if only a few of them grabbed me in this volume), and overall I think this is a solid start to a series.

A fantastic graphic novel. Very reminiscent of Saga, but with its very own flavor.

While I'm reading it, I feel a bit lost. The story itself is not clear enough.
Only worth 1 star in my opinion.

This was just cool! It was fun, exiting and action packed. It did show a hint of typical first comic in a series, but that's understandable. The need for world building and character development is there, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I will definitely be checking out this series further down the road!

DNF - got to a halfway, but the story was too scattershot and weird for me to feel like continuing. Sure it looks great, but the different religious kinds (I think) battling each other (I think) for a Macguffin (I think), and the copious switching of timeline, all conspired to make me less and less interested in seeing the pretty artwork as I went on. Marked up for the visuals.

A ragtag gang of thieves tries steal a magical artifact in the midst of interstellar war in Tyler Ellis’s graphic novel Chimera. Ellis’s book has good action sequences, chrisp artwork, and several well-developed characters. There is some real strength in the artist’s experimentation on the page, and in the building of the world’s religions.

The issues of this book occur in the constant shifting of time. Ellis indicates each switch by labeling the page as ‘Then’ or ‘Now.’ This device does not permit the reader to spend enough time with any one character or story line. And unfortunately, the payoff is not worth the energy it takes to figure when in time each event is happening.

Thank you to Comicker Press and Tyler Ellis for the copy to review.