I loved it! I'm kinda shocked how much I just immediately feel in love with the comic. The art is gorgeous with a watercolor feel to it. The first volume didn't leave us with much information but I am excited to see the world of the Black Badge as the volumes continue. I loved the unique premise of the story and I'm already looking forward to future volumes.

An interesting premise but with too little information given about this world yet. Apparently, Boy Scouts are being recruited as spies and sent around the world using the Scouts as a cover. There are also hints at a larger conspiracy going on. I didn't like how we were just thrown into this world without any explanation of what's going on. The boys just go on missions with little explanation. Tyler Jenkins art is OK, although he draws some Rob Liefeld-type skinny legs.

Give me little kids and screwed up situations. I’m in. This is a special operation Boy Scout troop.... pretty rad.

I really wanted to love this-- a comic about a covert group of boy scout-like secret agents tasked with traveling across the world and and going places no adult could get away with going. Great premise. But the comic itself fell short for me. There were a few interesting parts, but it didn't feel as fresh or interesting as I had hoped based on that premise. Overall: meh.

While I liked the core plot, I still have yet to get fully hooked by the core characters, the structuring (just getting tossed in and having Willy act as the audience POV character), and the end of the last issue that comprises the volume (namely, how many issues were collected in the trade). I did also like the passing MIND MGMT reference.

007 meets Boy Scouts in this intriguing graphic novel about a few kids who were enlisted in a Boy Scout group called the Black Badge. They have a few crazy incidents filled with espionage and intrigue and the novel ends on a cliff hanger. Though the art isn't really to my taste, the story and characters were interesting and kept me engaged throughout the book.

Someone thought it was a great idea to take a bunch of kids, train them to be spies and assassins and turn them loose on the world. This all happens in the guise of a scout troop system similar to the Boy Scouts. The missions that we get to see the members of the Black Badges on in this volume are somewhat disconnected. They flow pretty well from one to the next. I didn't feel like there was an overarching plotline that tied them together well enough, which is perfectly fine. I like Matt Kindt's writing quit a bit and can forgive a looser storytelling style in hopes of seeing a payoff down the line.

I think the big thing is that I enjoyed reading the characters. The first chapter is clearly an introduction because each of the Black Badge members is presented based on the role that they are meant to fill. They start to develop within that first issue, but it is really in the second and later parts that they take off. There is a new kid and a bit of mystery about what happened to the Black Badge that he replaced. This gets some payoff before the end of the book, yet it doesn't get resolved. And that's part of why I enjoyed this book. It sets down a lot of story points, introduces the characters and the system they work in, and ends with a clear direction for the next volume. The worldbuilding that goes into this volume definitely lays out the potential for the setting, with these characters or new ones.

The art is great. The drawings are good and the watercolor effect is great. After reading this book, I want to see more of this series to find out what happens next.

I generally tend to like titles from Boom!, but Black Badge was just meh for me. Great concept that didn't live up to the potential I was hoping for.

My biggest pet peeve: I thought Willy's questions were perfectly valid (and ones I, the reader, wanted an answer to as well), but the other characters either dismissed or ignored him. I appreciate a sense of mystery in books, but I prefer to have at least a candle light as opposed to being left entirely in the dark.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher via Netgalley.

The premise of this book intrigued me enough that I picked up the first issue when it came out. I didn't keep up with it (mostly because I read about 85% of my comics in trade) but I was highly excited to see volume 1 coming out.

The reason I took away a star: overall, the story isn't quite as concise as I would like it to be, and the cut off for the first volume doesn't feel natural. That being said, I love the direction of this book and where it is going next. The artwork has a rough and dirty feel, which I think is perfect for this story. The concept of kids as spies (or assassins of some sort) is one I will always love.

Not a fan of the art work, too gritty for me. The story was original and I enjoyed it. The pace was good but the characters were slightly annoying.

Wanted to like it, but not my style of art or text size. Probably good for some readers that are really into both.

Holy hell, this was good. I don't care about spycraft or espionage, but this volume got me interested - apparently if you put national security into the hands of a scout troop, you've got me hooked. It's sort of like Lumberjanes, if the troop were mixed-gender, mean, and tasked with wetwork. Definitely a series I'll be picking up from now on - and, apart from the excellent art, the coloring is really unique and phenomenal.

I appeciate having had an opportunity to read and review this book. The appeal of this particular book was not evident to me, and if I cannot file a generally positive review I prefer simply to advise the publisher to that effect and file no review at all.

Black Badge is a new series from Boom! Box. Lately, I’ve been willing to give almost any series from Boom! a chance, simply because they’ve been so awesome about publishing new and different things. Black Badge was no exception to this.
The series is about a particular branch of the boy scouts – the Black Badges. Specifically, the series follows four of them through their harrowing tales of espionage, subterfuge, and tactical maneuvers.
I ended up enjoying this series more than I expected, and have to admit that it was way more intense and riveting than I had anticipated. I strongly recommend it to anybody looking for something different to read.
Black Badge didn’t waste any time throwing us, or the main characters, into the thick of things. I personally love that they chose to have one new member added to an otherwise established team. This gave us an in for the series. The new guy got to ask all the questions we wanted to, thus allowing us to learn along with him. It was an elegant solution to the problem. And I prefer it to having the whole team be full of probies (I don’t think that would have worked with the story they want to tell here).
I love how Black Badge feels like they have to constantly escalate things. It isn’t enough that we have a secret organization within the boy scouts. It isn’t even enough that said secret organization does black ops missions (hence the name, I suspect). Nope, we have to see them figuring out that there’s even more than that to uncover. I’m happy for it because I think it gave the series a lot more lasting power than originally believed – which is saying something.
They’ve set themselves up for a tough go at character development here. I’m not saying it isn’t do-able, just that they made it harder. Most of the kids are pretty hardened and unwilling to show us any cracks or weakness. But that can be a form of character development in its own right – just not necessarily the healthy kind. I’m impressed with what they were able to get out of the characters, and how much they were able to make us care about them.
I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes from here. It’s clear that they’re building towards a bigger picture – the fourth issue removed any doubt from my mind about that. I just don’t quite know where it’s going just yet. I’ll have to keep reading to find out!

This was a cool graphic novel. It was not at all what I was expecting. Great colorwork throughout. The adventure story is pretty great too.