A fictionalized exploration of some of the experiences of veterans, especially dealing with the difficult switch from concealing all vulnerabilities and prioritizing toughness, t0 0pening up and allowing others in to accept you. Though intentionally not a deep dive into the subject, the pictures and story are in great harmony delivering the message and it leaves the reader with a lot to consider.

Definitely Adult for Young Adult title for libraries. The book gracefully deals with a hard topic, PTSD, without sugar coating. The artwork is beautiful and will appeal to fans of the format.

I was unable to download this book before it was archived. So I wasn't able to read it. I very much look forward to buying it and reading it though, Thank you for giving me this opportunity I very much appreciate it!

PTSD illustrates the struggles many veterans face when they return from war. We see hundreds of suffering vets on the streets with nowhere to turn, abandoned by a government that should have taken care of them. At the center of the narrative is Jun, a woman suffering from severe PTSD who pulls away from those around her. She’s a complex character filled with guilt about her past, desperately wanting to get better but unable to overcome her addiction alone. This is a story about the power of community, of helping those who are struggling to make ends meet. PTSD is a very real, very painful condition, with many suffering in silence for decades.

The story shows many barely getting by on the streets of a city filled with inequality. Local gangs have cornered the market on medical supplies, effectively killing off those who are unable to pay their inflated prices. We see a woman unable to recover from her past. She decides to take matters in her own hands and that’s when the mayhem ensues. We also see a restaurant owner and her young son begin to help the people in their neighborhood. What starts as a couple plates of food becomes a full, coordinated effort to provide meals and relief for veterans on the street. As people become well, they join the cause and the efforts grow exponentially. It’s an inspiring story, seeing these groups of people come together to help each other out.

The art style is fascinating, filled with gruesome details and the decay of the city. Much of the novel follows a darker style but it seems to get more colorful as our protagonist begins to heal. The fight scenes are explosive and raw, using hyper-violence and sound effects to set the tone. The attention to detail fits the story well, showing every bit of the struggle so many are facing in this seemingly abandoned city.

At the end, PTSD is a story of hope for those suffering from this debilitating condition. It’s a lesson in the importance of community and friendship, of helping those around you when they need it most.

This a complex, visually arresting book that deals with the aftermath of war. Too often veterans are left in the shadow of the sacrifices they are asked to make for their country. We forget about the toll and immense physical and mental toll of war. To watch Jun rediscover her humanity and vulnerability is, at times, difficult. It's not perfect, and it's not meant to be. This adult fiction graphic novel deals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in a sincere and serious way without causing readers to have the thought 'this is too much for me.' Through the use of warm watercolors colors and fantastic landscapes, the reader's attention is consistently called to the page. This GN attempts to deal with issues society has rejected and kept in the shadows, Singelin is encouraging us to bring PTSD into the light and talk about it.

Damn, this graphic novel hit me really hard on so many levels. The art style lent itself well to the story, which explores a very real dilemma for war vets who return from the frontlines only to receive zero support, especially for their mental health... I don't necessarily know how I feel about the setting for the book, or some of the characters, but I thought this was a really nuanced look at PTSD.

I appreciate that a lot of heart went into the story behind this graphic novel, but the art is so muddled and strange that it's really difficult to follow what's happening in the passages, and the storyline itself is disjointed and odd.

Although I could see the potential in this text, I was not able to sustain my attention and finish the narrative.

Goodreads Rating: 3 stars

I wasn’t much a fan of the artwork; it was too sketchy and busy, without adding any definition. I’m not sure if this was the final style or not, since this was an advanced copy I read, but I think even if it’s polished up, it’s just still not my thing.

The story was not exactly what I was expecting when I requested the book, but it was engaging and powerful nonetheless. Jun is living in a post-war world where veterans are treated as third-rate citizens, having to live on the streets and having to deal with their mental injuries without proper support systems. Some turn to violence, others to drugs, some to both, all making it more difficult for passers by to sympathize for them, despite doing their best with the nothing they’re given.

Jun’s story is one of healing, but it’s not without the dark, dark corners and dead ends that come with the process of healing. She eventually does come out of the maze, and the story ends on a relatively positive note, but it didn’t seem to address the underlying issues with the system as a whole not treating veterans as humans and understanding their need for support (at least I didn’t feel it did).

Despite the fact that I didn’t like the art style, it was an engaging story to read for a few hours, and it raised quite a few important issues. I can see it being an interesting addition to a literature or psychology class that focuses on PTSD and/or war trauma.

PTSD is a topic that doesn't get talked about often enough, and this graphic novel does a great job discussing the effects it has from the nightmares to the drug abuse and homelessness. This story isn't for the faint of heart, as the story itself and the art got pretty gruesome. I enjoyed the message as it was very eye opening.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

PTSD is visually beautiful. but overly ambitious in its topic. In an effort to capture the struggles of war veterans, Guillaume Singelin bases his story on vets with PTSD showing some of the extreme issues they face. I must say that I am not a veteran and I don't truly understand. I do work ina field that is expanding research on PTSD assistance. Because of this I felt like the violence included was over the top and does a disservice to war vets. As a story it's enticing and exciting, but as a moral picture it fails.

While I love that someone wrote a book focusing on the real issues surrounding PTSD, I don't know that this was the way to handle it. The main character's realization that she is doing things because of her PTSD and then dealing with her problems was entirely too simplified and just felt a little disengenuine.

A very eye opening story about the effects of PTSD. Many books focus on the war but not the aftermath and more frequently we see only non-fiction accounts (which are important) but for many people who prefer fiction, this is a good reminder that there are consequences to war that we often overlook. Beautifully illustrated and emotionally moving, this is definitely a powerful book for any collection.

A veteran home from an unpopular war, Jun is an outsider whose fate is similar to many of our own vets in the here and now. She's mentally and physically broken, finding relief in the drugs she's addicted to. When she connects with a single mom running a food booth, and a fellow vet and his dog, Red, Jun begins to heal and works toward helping her fellow vets heal.

Set in a fictional, Hong Kong-inspired city, PTSD chooses a gritty, urban futuristic landscape to tell the story of a veteran who went off to fight a war, and came home to indifference. Jun gives us a chance to glimpse into a vet's psyche: beaten down, haunted by her memories, and physically broken, she's been left behind by the people she thought she went off to defend. She's angry, she's in pain, and the only thing that seems to take the edge off is drugs. Basic human kindness angers her - she initially rebuffs the woman who runs a food stand, because she's so unused to humane gestures. Readers will see our vets reflected in Jun and her fellow homeless vets.

The story is strong, although I struggled with the artwork. The manga-inspired artwork is dark and often muddy. It's atmospheric, but often left me struggling to figure out what was going on and where. Manga fans will snap this up, and booktalk this with books like Elizabeth Partridge's National Book Award nominee, Boots on the Ground. This is a young adult and up-level graphic novel with language and content that may be too rough for middle grade readers.

Singelin explains in his authorial note at the end of PTSD, a graphic novel, that it is based on the simple theme of a girl trying to find inner peace. She is, only after quite the brutal gang war she starts.

The main character of PTSD, Jun, lives in a nameless, Asian-inspired city. Jun had served in a fictional war as a sniper who also learned some medical skills thanks to the doctor in her squad, which the reader learns about from flashbacks interspersed with present-day. Today, though, Jun is homeless and angry. She's chosen to isolate herself from other homeless veterans, and she is openly hostile to a young mother who owns a diner-like restaurant who tries to feed Jun. She begins a violent gang war when she she steals some of their prescription drugs, which the gang hocks to homeless vets for exorbitant prices. Thanks to another isolated homeless vet, Jun finds comfort and solace in a dog, Red, who quickly befriends Jun. As with many vets suffering from PTSD, Red provides a sense of security when Jun's chemical imbalances in her brain are telling her that the world is hostile and that she can't trust anyone. With Red and the young mother's help, Jun is able to find her peace and bring healing to a world that, formerly, she had only brought violence to.

PTSD was an okay graphic novel. The illustrations were a bit odd. For example, Jun and the other human characters only have three fingers (plus a thumb) and their legs/ankles are way out of proportion with the rest of their bodies. It's discomfiting to look at. The redeeming fact is the positive message concerning PTSD that it contains. There are so many positive reasons why it's important to spread the window-and-mirror experiences of mental health to graphic novels, and I love that Singelin has accomplished it with PTSD.

Jun is a homeless, pill popping vet scarred by her experience in some nameless war. She works hard to rely on only herself after feeling like her government has let her down and left her with nothing after, wringing her dry. Jun doesn’t run with other vets but when she takes notice of how the local gangs are taking more from these other homeless vets by overcharging them on medications Jun finds herself fighting another war.

There is a colorful cast of characters, among them is Leona and her son Bao who run a small restaurant and get involved in trying to feed the homeless vets around them after they first meet Jun. Then there is Grey, an old grizzled vet who gifts a dog named Red to Jun as a companion. Through Red, Jun starts to find a bit of peace that makes it easier for her to reach out to others.

This story is dark and quite gritty. The artwork seemed a bit... cute for what was being told but somehow it worked. The coloring was fantastic. You could tell when you were in the past learning what Jun went through to become so jaded because the coloring reflected those scenes. Dark, somber, muted.

The story is titled PTSD and it’s clear in Jun that she suffers from it. The author does a good job in portraying it. It’s not just the reaction to the loud bangs. It was in the hyper vigilance, the quick flashes of uncontrollable anger, and even the anxiety. Good job showing the range of PTSD trauma.

This graphic novel takes place in a war torn world that is influenced by Tokyo and has a Ghost in a Shell feel (less the technology). Jun was a sniper in a past war and now she is homeless Vet like many others. She doesn’t want anyone’s help and she is reliant on pills to numb her. Gangs controlling the Vets by overcharing them for drugs are rampant. Jun finds herself in the middle of yet another war that she is trying to fight all on her own.

The chibi style art is reminiscent of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series, but the art is muddy and hard to decipher. The coloring successfully alternated between Jun’s dark mood, Leona’s bright mood, and the flashbacks of Jun in the war. Overall, the story was good and the portrayal of PTSD in this dystopian Tokyo was well done. I just found the art a hindrance to absorbing and respecting the storyline. Older teens and adults interested in cutting edge comics will enjoy this.

I am struggling with whether to teach this alongside books about Vietnam and Palestine. It speaks to themes but is nonspecific historically. It's tantalizing as a reader, ambiguous in its usefulness for me as a teacher.

PTSD combines the chibi-like art style with a little bit of grit and backdrops it against a Japanese-inspired environment, where modernity, traditional ramen shops, sacred landscapes, and rich history come together to form a dynamic world. It comes some of my favorite elements from different mangas and reminds me of a fusion between Ghost in the Shell and Seconds. This graphic novel is about Jun, a pill-poppin' vet, who returned from a nameless war. She sleeps under a bridge, isolated from other veterans and the world, but that changes when she meets Leona and her son, Bao, who run the nearby ramen shop.

Despite Leona's desire to be her friend, Jun refuses to interact with the woman and further isolates herself. It is clear from flashbacks that Jun was an excellent marksman in the army, and many of her fellow troops relied on her skills, However, she eventually lost her eye and now lives on the streets, where conflicted by feelings of general resentment, she shuts out everyone and everything. This eventually changes when Grey, another vet, gives Jun an adorable Shibu-Inu named Red, who refuses to give up on her. Jun attempts to sort out her life through violence and eventually, finds peace in healing.

I was absolutely enthralled with PTSD. It has a simple structure, but an overall timeless feel. Singelin accomplishes this by making some very smart choices that really allow the reader to dig into Jun's character and follow her story without any distractions. Firstly, I think the inclusion of what I refer to as a nameless war with invisible enemies is an overall brilliant choice. Not only does this make the story feel like it could have happened in the past or even now, but it also does not weigh down the narrative with text bubbles explaining the circumstances of the war, the origin of the conflict, or villainizing the enemies. Instead, it centers on Jun and how she is coming to terms with what happened during this event. In addition, this choice allows the focal point to be healing instead of gory warfare. We have enough movies, books, and even graphic novels depicting the chaotic and gruesome realities of war.

Finally, at the heart of this story, we have Red, a beautifully rendered Shiba-Inu, who illustrates the best quality of dogs, and that is unwavering loyalty. Red sticks by Jun's side even as she forces everyone else out through verbal abuse and her questionable actions. However, her beloved companion refuses to leave her even when she screams profanities at him and tells him to leave her. In this way, Red shows Jun that she is worthwhile, keeps her on a path to recovery, and generally is all around adorable. Overall, Singelin crafts a dynamic and morally ambiguous female character, a rich and complex environment, as well as, side characters, who show the impossibility of saving someone when they don't want to be saved. PTSD is a remarkable story that captures a unique perspective on the effects of war, and how individuals deal with coming back to an unrecognizable life.

PTSD is a dark and suffocating comic, but hopeful still. It's about a veteran woman Jun, who suffers from PTSD and is basically a junkie in order to survive the horrors of the war. She was a sniper and saw all her comrades die. Now she lives in a ditch and needs friendliness so that she can overcome her past and what better than to start helping others. I was actually waiting for more political standpoint for the war and was kind of letdown that the comic only had a looming, but shapeless, war as the base. It wasn't all that evident that the theme was PTSD, since the comic doesn't go through it that much as, unless you count the flashbacks. PTSD is a survival story and brutal with its violence and death soaked in manga like cuteness and candy colors. It's an interesting combination, but I'm still not sure if it was the right decision.

The art is somewhat smudgy and old looking. The candy colors are slightly rusty and worn, which fits the dystopian world quite well. The cuteness and Bao feel a bit too off and it's odd how Singeling combines such brutality to happiness and summer sadness. The contradiction both works and doesn't, but at least it makes this comic interesting and different. Mostly it's just about the fact how little the comic offers when it comes to its topic. This was a letdown for me and surely PTSD is a good comic, but could've been better and thus the three stars.