The ones I am most curious to read the rest are the ones about Mera and Ravena because I follow the careers of the authors (especially Kami Garcia), and the illustrations are so beautiful!! I love Picolo's work and he draws the comic so well!

So many titles to look forward to in this sampler! I can't wait for full stories especially for Danielle Paige's "Mer" as really enjoyed her young adult novels and am super interesting in the story she gets to explore now.

MERA: TIDEBREAKER - 3.00
I've read only a sampler of this graphic novel as an introduction to it. While Mera might be one of those snarky and proactive heroines against injustice, she wasn't exactly laid out to my liking here. The monologues were completely bland and seem to fail at giving her the intended depth. Her indignance was almost viewed as petty. However, I did love the art style used here and the monochromatic color palette which is only accented by Mera's flaming hair. It's actually a nice tactic for letting Mera stand out in the overall graphic novel.
UNDER THE MOON - 4.00
I LOVEEE THIS INTRODUCTION TO SELINA!!! I love that there's a steady flow that can hook any reader with it. The beautiful art style also elevated it with its richness. It doesn't lean on drawing w/ the traditional constricting panels but instead deviates into a more contemporary presentation of the graphics. I absolutely loved this intro and will probably read the whole book when it's released!
I've received only a DC Ink Sampler of this graphic novel via Netgalley.
TEEN TITANS: RAVEN - 3.00
I'VE BEEN A HUGE FAN OF GABRIEL PICOLO SINCE 2015 AND I'M SO ECSTATIC THAT HE FINALLY DID IT! HE FINALLY HAS HIS WORK IN A GRAPHIC NOVEL BY DC. AAAAAHHHHH I JUST LOVE HIS ART. However, as much as I loved the art style, the artist, and welp Raven (I've read a lot of graphic novels about Raven this year!), I think this introductions kind of fell off the mark for me. It's elevated by the graphic artist but without it, it just all seems bland and uninteresting. Still, I hope I will love the full-length graphic novel than this sampler.
BREAKING GLASS:
I absolutely love this intro to Harley! I've read quite a lot of graphic novels with her mostly only Gotham City Sirens rather than a stand-alone graphic novel of hers. This is quite a fresh look since her teenage years are going to have the spotlight here contrary to most of her origin stories. I'm quite excited when the full-length novel comes out this June 2019! I also love the art style!!!!!! It's really amazing and is seamlessly incorporated with a steady flow of monologues by Harley herself. There's a lot of personality coming off from the monologues!

This DC Ink Sampler provided a great overview of upcoming titles that YA librarians would be advised to consider. Especially great are Mera: Tidebreaker and Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass.

So, I wanted to check out this sampler because I am excitedly anticipating Mera: Tidebreaker (especially after I heard that Arthur would be drawn as a younger Jason Momoa, yay for brown Aquaman in comics!). I really liked where the story is going as I am not familiar with Mera and this is an interesting take that has a modern spin to it. Surprisingly, I also enjoyed reading the snippet on Raven's story too. I love the art and the writing. It was clever to create a sampler of multiple comics coming soon because now I want to read them all!

Samplers tend to be a mixed bag, but I'm incredibly excited to have read even just some of each of these titles prior to release, because I will definitely be talking them all up to my teens! Mera: Tidebreaker and Teen Titans: Raven were my favorite of the bunch, though I'm certainly excited to see how the Harley Quinn and Catwoman titles pan out as well and will definitely be purchasing all four of the titles for my library.

Nice introductions to all four books. Nice to see DC aiming some of their books at younger female readers. Will definitely be giving these a read when the full versions are released.

This is a sampler of DC Ink titles coming out in 2019 featuring some amazing ladies who will go on to become the superheroes and supervillains that we know and love. (Or, for some - like me! - they will become the superheroes and supervillains that we are just now getting acquainted with, as we haven't read much in the way of DC comics before.) It has samples from Mera: Tidebreaker, Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, and Teen Titans: Raven.

That synopsis from NetGalley doesn't really say a lot about what's inside, but my e-version had full-color samples of Mera & Raven, black & white for Catwoman, and kind of a mix for Harley (mostly B&W but with some color highlights). It seems like it's giving you the first 20-ish pages of each book, as they all seem to start at the stories' beginnings.

This is my first time reading anything about these characters... gasp! what?? I know. I just wasn't ever really introduced to superhero comics. My comics as a kid were Archie, Mickey Mouse/Donald Duck, Little Mermaid, Barbie, etc. ... So you can see that I've missed out on a HUGE chunk of the world of comics. And therefore I am going into this with no knowledge of these characters' backstories or origin stories or, really, anything about them. So keep that in mind as you read my mini-review...

Here's my take on which ones I'm most excited to read (with #4 being "meh, I'll get there when I get there" and #1 being "I will be first in line when this comes out"), just based on this sampler:

4. Teen Titans: Raven - I'm not not excited to read this... it just was the least interesting for me out of the four. Raven's story starts with a traumatic event, leaving her with amnesia and a new family taking her in. Later she falls asleep, and there's a huge 6-eyed red demon-looking thing standing over her saying their fates are intertwined. This probably means something to people who know her story already, but to me, it was just kind of a "meh" introduction to her and her story. Also, at some points, the expressions on the characters' faces seemed to not match what the characters were saying, which bugged me a bit.

3. Under the Moon: A Catwoman Tale - Again, this wasn't bad - it just didn't really tell much of Selina's story. It showed how she had to put up with all the guys her mom has dated as she was growing up - really terrible, disgusting, violent guys. Now there's Dernell, one of the worst, and her mom is clearly not going to stand up for her. I did like the ending - it kind of left me on a cliffhanger, showing that she's about to make a big move in her life, and it did leave me wanting to read more to see what happens. I also liked the art in this one, especially when it was showing some of the things she imagined doing and becoming.

2. Mera: Tidebreaker - I liked this one a lot. I had never even heard of Mera before I found this sampler, so she is completely new to me. The plot was a bit confusing for me as a newbie, but I gather that she's the daughter of the king, who used to rule an underwater kingdom called Xebel, but now the Atlanteans have come in and become the new rulers? Maybe? Anyway, Mera is running around vandalizing Atlantean stuff and escaping Atlantean guards with her water-powers ... but then she has to get ready for a ball, since she's the daughter of the king, and he clearly wants her to marry someone named Larken ... I mean, I'm completely lost, but I'm intrigued and I want to read more! I also really liked the blue-green color palette, with Mera's red hair standing out starkly against everything else.

1. Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass - This was hands-down my favorite of the four. I loved everything about it!! The selection gives a great intro to Harley and what's going on in her story - she goes to live with her grandmother, but finds out she's dead, so she ends up staying with a gay man named Mama instead ... she starts at a new school, and meets a girl named *Ivy* (ok, even I know who that is!) ... I thought it gave a lot of detail in a short amount of pages, and it left me wishing the whole book was already out so I could just keep reading. The art style was also my favorite of the four - very detailed, and the characters' expressions and movements were spectacular. I usually prefer color to black & white, but I found that I didn't even notice the lack of color in this one. There are some panels that have a red/orange scheme, and I liked those too. Overall, definitely the strongest one for me! I can't wait to read it!

There's nothing wrong with the book and I'd recommend the titles in it to the library, just not the sampler itself. With the Aquaman film coming, a Mera-centric comic will be great!

I'm very excited for all of these titles and cannot wait to get to know the familiar characters again through these books. I'm especially looking forward to Raven and I love the art for that book already. Overall, a fantastic lineup of authors, characters, and artists.

I was pleased to hear that DC was working on creating a few new series specifically geared towards young readers. Just as with DC Zoom, I was extra pleased when I seen the lineup of authors that have collaborated to make this happen! Danielle Paige, Lauren Myracle and Kami Garcia are authors that I read as a YA, so i was thrilled to see the work that they did with DC.

These four stories were great! I loved all of them, and will be on the lookout for the next issue. Catwoman, and Breaking Glass were my favourite of this bunch, and I know they will be popular with the YA crowd. As with the DC Zoom series, I hope to see these volumes for sale at supermarket checkout aisles, right beside Betty and Veronica.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I truly appreciate it!

The titles in this sampler offer a glimpse of great things to come. Seasoned and engaging authors like Mariko Tamaki and Kami Garcia have put their talents to wonderful use. I have had the opportunity to read Tamaki's book in its full form and would highly recommend it. The art is polished and eye-catching in each title, and what readers have come to expect from these powerhouse authors is on illustrated display.

Mera: Tidebreaker:
I'm not a huge Aquaman fan. In fact, I find Arthur pretty boring. Mera, though? She's a fascinating character and this introduction to TIDEBREAKER does a fantastic job of setting up what looks to be a promising story. Unfortunately, while the writing is good, the art does fail in parts. Like with comics in general, consistency isn't always possible, and I get that, as sometimes details do need to be ignored in favor of other bits. But, the changes were sharp and off putting when they happened. Still, I'm excited to read this when it hits and I've already pre-ordered my copy.

Under The Moon: A Catwoman Tale:
This preview was short, but great. I do wish there was some color in the artwork, but I also get the decision to keep it black and white. Selina Kyle has always been one of the most fascinating characters DC has to offer, so when this title was announced, I was immediately intrigued. I'm eager to see how this story continues and will definitely be checking out the full book once it's released.

Teen Titans: Raven
Stunning artwork and a great character? It wasn't hard to tell me on this one. The writing isn't as strong as the other titles, but I like Raven enough to give this a shot upon its release.

Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass
Confession: I'm one of the few that doesn't care for Harley Quinn in most cases. (I know!) But this? This was a fun preview, and I genuinely enjoy Mariko Tamaki's work. (Her Supergirl run is fantastic.) This Harley was entertaining, adorable, and a well-written character. As soon as I finished the preview, I immediately pre-ordered a copy. It's right up there with Tamaki's excellent take on Supergirl.

The popular female authors and the strong female protagonist in each of the sampler volumes is what made me want to read this galley. I especially liked Catwoman and Raven and would actively seek thipese full volumes out at my library. While I love Mariko Takami, I didn’t think Harley Quinn was her best female superhero adaptation. The art in each of these sampler volumes was phenomenal. I was really blown away by each one and their respective styles. The art worked with each character and storyline.

I'm always looking for books that are engaging or educating or hopefully both for YA students. Call this one "engaging."

I love, love, love that DC is stepping up its game and I’m looking forward to how the amazing writers that have been chosen for these various projects tailor the characters to these storylines. The samplers were just enough to draw me in and make me want more, more, more.
I enjoy a good coming of age story and these are definitely going to be a ride seeing as who they all grow up to be. I’m especially looking forward to the Harley Quinn story (one of my favorite characters, the art for this storyline is beautiful and I’m absolutely in love with it) as well as the Raven one (my nieces favorite character, I’ve had to step up my Teen Titan game to keep up with her lately.).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

DC Ink Sampler by Mariko Tamaki, Lauren Myracle, Kami Garcia and Danielle Paige is a really cool preview of upcoming books for readers 13 and up with thought-provoking coming-of-age stories. Always appreciate these samplers and these are great pieces to look forward to! 5/5

Pub Date 06 Jul 2018

Thanks to DC Entertainment and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#DcInkSampler #NetGalley

These were all really cool looks at the coming story (next year mostly huh? Boo... ;))

Mera, which is about a teen, a Xebel (I vaguely remember reading in, maybe the DC Rebirth reboot that Mera's not actually an Atlantean, and she's not here either, but instead they're under the rule of Atlanteans). Her friend PIlan, and teacher Hikara, and about I think, how she's going to maybe be (or not successfully be) a Princess and a rebel? It's definitely gonna be a ride.

Then there was Under the Moon, a Catwoman/Selina Kyle story. Again, her as a teen in a very bad household. And I think it's going to be really intense, but also really good. And this one I really liked the art a lot.

I'd already read a preview of Breaking Glass, and after reading it again I'm definitely looking forward to whatever trouble Harley gets into (and hopefully out of).

And then there was Teen Titans: Raven. That was the one that I was the iffiest about going into the Sampler, but, wow, Raven's Dad, amnesia, this is gonna be good, very, very good.

I received this book via Netgalley thanks to DC Entertainment.