'Submerged Vol. 1' by Vita Ayala with art by Lisa Sterle is a graphic novel about a storm, a trip to the underworld, and family secrets.

Elysia Puente didn't have the best home life, but she always looked out for her estranged brother Angel. When he calls her on the night of the worst storm in history, Elysia goes into the subways looking for him. What she finds is a journey filled with ghosts from her past. She'll have to confront the things she has done in order to find her brother.

I liked the idea of this, but wasn't completely blown away by it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it left me wanting. I think the storm element to the story kept pulling me away from the more interesting story of Elysia. The art is interesting.

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

When Elysia receives a call from her brother, Angel, asking for help, she runs through New York looking for him. She finds a broken phone in the subway station entrance and starts her journey underground.
The characters of this graphic novel were interesting. Even though I didn’t care for Angel, I liked Elysia.
The story was gripping, even though it wasn’t overly complex.
Overall, I enjoyed it.

Like many journeys of metaphor seeing what is true sometimes is right below the surface. “Submerged” [Vita Ayala/Valiant/115pgs], set in a shutdown subway while a massive hurricane approaches New York City, is more a parable on the progression of the Odyssey and Greek mythology where a human can travel over the River Styx and visit the dead to find their true purpose. Ellie is trapped in her own mind. Most of her travels underground from the bugs to the three demons who welcome her through the gates are completely bathed in a sense of metaphor. While it functions more like a dark veiled “It’s A Wonderful Life” where the ultimate resolution is more difficult than the actual decision, the progression of Ellie searching to find the brother she was “supposed to protect” does work on a very primal level. Through the windows of subway cars she watches the family dynamics that pushed her and her brother apart fueled by her father’s criminal business deals. While the final judgment can be overwrought at times, it speaks to the truth of the psychology of the character. This makes Ellie’s realization despite both its positive and negative attributes have resonance within the story. The art is smooth and flowing in a rather straightforward fashion while the different versions of family members and their masks including Ellie’s ring true, even until the final moment.

B-

By Tim Wassberg

A modern day take on the Greek Underworld myth. Elysia travels the subways to find her brother amidst a hurricane in NYC. As she travels, her family history slowly unravels. Some of the Greek myths like Charon and Cerebus are easily detectable while others are more subtle.

Simple summary: Elysia Puentes goes into the New York subway on a stormy night in order to find her missing brother. Based on that summary, I would not have read this story, but I have read other works by Vita Ayala, so I knew this comic would be good. Plus, the artwork and coloring are gorgeous.

There is so much going on in “Submerged.” It’s the hero’s journey starting with the call to action – Elysia must find her brother who is in danger, and ending with her return where she is a changed person. Everything has several layers of meaning. Elysia must enter the subway, which represents her descent into hell, where she must overcome obstacles and battle demons. The big storm works so perfectly to describe her state of mind. Ultimately, this is a story about forgiveness, overcoming abuse, and doing what is right. I would definitely recommend this graphic novel.

Hmmm… A four-parter fantasy comic that wants to be all Neil Gaiman, with a subway network under threat of life-changing flood damage, and a teenaged girl trapping herself in it in a quest for her brother amidst a welter of peculiar places and cod-mythological monster types. Unfortunately it gives us too many flashbacks to the siblings bickering, and all boils down to being 'hey, Hispanic characters have daddy issues too!'. A shame.

I received a free eARC from NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

Submerged is not what I expected in the least. The description seemed interesting, and I figured I'd give it a shot. What followed was an a broken hearted woman's dangerous and cathartic journey through the subway system. Not exactly where you would expect that sort of thing to take place, but weirdly applicable in a Dante sort of way.

I give it 4 stars because it made me feel.

Warnings, contains verbal abuse, physical abuse, slurs, and profanity. If those are things you are avoiding, I would give this one a miss.

This quick review is also posted on my blog with some panels from the comic. They're all property of the creators of the comic.

First of all, this book is absolutely gorgeous. It takes a lot to get me to read a book called "Submerged" and has something to do with a hurricane — I don't do water, much less flooded NYC subway stations. Nuh uh — nooooo thank you. But this comic contains absolutely gorgeous blue undertoned artwork.

I will admit that while Netgalley did have this arc on their "read now" shelf, I did actually buy and read this in issue form. I was super curious to see if the volume contained extra bits, so I grabbed it quickly.

I did list this as one of my favorites in 2018, and I still stand by that. It is a weird, surreal comic. Am I still a little bummed that the <i>Dante's Inferno</i> references don't quite pan out? Yes, which is why this isn't a full five-star review. I still love the portrayal of the Ferryman — I am not sure if it is specifically Charon (or which culture's underworld this is), but ferrymen to the underworld are always my favorites. (Okay there is also a mention of Cocytus, so I am going to go with Greek.)

The overall theme of this book discusses the protection of younger siblings and whether you are truly responsible for your families' actions or is there a separation when you become an adult. Dealing with the guilt of not picking up Angel's call before he went missing is eating up Elysia. The comic is woven with flashbacks to her protecting her brother in childhood as well as her tense relationship with her parents. Is there actual danger or is it all just a mental battle with guilt?

Also a forewarning if you don't speak Spanish, there is some throughout the trade, with no translations provided.

PPS I want all the Jen Bartel alternate covers.

The author takes elements from the Greek classics (notably the Aeneid and the Odyssey) and uses them to tell the story of a Hispanic girl's descent into her own personal hell. Elysia comes from a family many Latinos (including myself) can probably relate to, with parents who expect their oldest child to always take care of the younger more reckless siblings. There are issues of abuse, gender stereotypes and sexuality addressed as well, all with a fantasy background that ultimately tells a story of family, loyalty and the choices we must make to become independent adults.

I didn't know what to expect this story but i really liked it. It was dark and fantastic. I loved the story how she accepted and made peace with herself. All covers and illustrations were amazing. I loved the purples and blues together.

During the middle of a hurricane, Elysia travels to the underworld to confront her personal demons. I like the little mythological references that come with this story, particularly Cerberus and the boatman. I'm not sure that the specifics of Elysia's story (e.g. the problems with her family) matter all that much. I liked this for the journey that she goes on to come to terms with her decisions. The way the other characters manifest is interesting because it subtly builds toward the end. For me it was satisfying to see her complete the journey and look toward the future, even if this is all of her story that we get to see.

I am kind of split on the art though. For the most part it is great. However, there were times that the character faces looked odd to me. Maybe it's more of a personal preference, but it did jar me out of the story a few times because they just didn't look right. Despite that, I think this book is worth checking out.

This book ended up being much darker than I expected. I liked the concept, artwork, and storyline, but this isn't a book I would read more than once.

With a mix of surrealism and a bit of the greek mythology, we have Submerged.

One night Elysia Puente receives a call from her brother, who she haven't been speaking for a while now. Losing the call, she only can listen later to the voice message he lefts, in which he's more than scared. Terrified maybe.
Running after him, to try and save him, Elysa goes to the subway, even with the call everywhere about the rain and how it's all closed.

In the dark of the train lines is where we slowly start to see the outcome, start to see the greek myth slowly seeping in the story. We see Cerberus, we see the three judges. Later on we even see Hades and Persephone.

To save her brother Elysa will have to go throught her memories and her traumas about all the past she had with the Puentes family, about her mother who she still doesn't talk, with her dad who's she's very much staying away, and her bother. Her younger brother who she since the start was supposed to protect, but now she doesn't know where he's at. But she will find him, and she'll save him.

It was a very pretty art, colourful, the palletes around the town, the underworld and all the characters where very much done beautifully, and the whole plot and how it was told was marvelous. Read it all in one seat.
Vita Ayala and Lisa Sterle did a awesome job!

I would like to very much thank Netgalley and Vault Comics for letting me read this ARC in exchange of a honest review!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
***
Submerged has a bit of a vague summary, girl goes looking for brother after his call cuts out. Not enough to draw me in, but the cover has a beautiful supernatural-esque feel to it that made me grab it despite my lack of knowledge of what I was getting into. Turns out the summary actually tells you everything you need to know... if you read deeper into it.
I don’t want to give anything away but there is definitely more to it then Ellie just going off to find her brother Angel. There is a lot of family drama going on here, the storytelling has a wonderful tie into Greek mythology. It’s really quite wonderful and the ending is both heartbreaking and fulfilling. The art is quite beautiful too.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect before I started reading this, but I was very pleasantly surprised once I got into it. It starts off a little bit vague [definitely on purpose] but it is more or less a woman's journey to find her brother set up like a journey through the Greek underworld. I don't want to give too much away about the plot because I think it's better if it is slowly revealed to you as you read, but it was definitely surprising and I loved the way the author blended the mythological aspects with the modern day stuff and family conflict. The art is gorgeous and the last issue especially was very moving. I would definitely recommend to people who like books like American Gods.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and illustrator, as well as the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

At first, I wasn't really into the description of the book, but the amazing cover art and the slight hint at the paranormal kept me coming back. I took a look at some reviews on Goodreads and found the various cover arts. It's the creep factor of the various covers that finally drew me into this graphic novel, and it was much, much better than I expected!

I really enjoyed the artwork, and the story is...interesting. New York (I think?) is on watch from a massive storm, and the subways are closing due to the possible flooding. When El's brother disappears, everything leads to him going into the subway. Whether it is a true battle against monsters, or all in her mind, El must fight her past as she reflects on her family interactions and the right thing to do.

The end was a rather interesting twist, and one of the things I like about this graphic novel is that it's a stand-alone collection with all four chapters (issues) of the story. It was a nice single piece that left me with an air of satisfaction.

I liked the art style! The covers were amazing!
About the story, the main character was trying to help his brother who she loves a lot. She didn’t have an easy life and her family was guilty in that way, she knows her family has a lot of problems but ignores and the things just keep happening over and over. I liked the main character, she has her flaws and that's reality, even when she tries to accept the problems, didn't like so much her brother but his actions were the reflex of his education in some way. The idea it’s interesting but a little confusing and the beginning seemed a little fast paced and forced.

A graphic novel of true beauty, both artistically and literarily, Submerged Volume 1 by Vita Ayala and Lisa Sterle is a brand new release not to be missed. This is a story of many things. It is a story of family, a story of coming to terms and letting go, it’s about relationships. It is a story many can relate to, on one level or another, and one that is so very worth reading.

Elysia Puente, Ellie, is a young woman living on her own in New York City. Upset with her brother, she doesn’t take his call only listen to a desperate, panicked voicemail he left. Knowing her brother, Angel, is in terrible danger, Ellie follows his trail into the subway, one that doesn’t seem quite normal. Ellie is in a race against time, fighting both whatever is after Angel and the hurricane bearing down upon them, flooding the subway tunnels.

The relationship Ellie has with her brother, mother, and father is told slowly. The relationship with Angel is strained, but holds enough love to send Ellie searching for him when she realizes the sort of danger he’s truly in. However, the true extent of these complicated familial relationships comes to light gradually throughout the course of the story.

This is partially done through the use of flashbacks. These are normally short, sometimes less than a page, and expertly woven into the current plotline. In particular, using the subway car windows to show short, poignant flashbacks.

The story is filled with the fantastical, mythical, and surreal. The subway system, a place already filled with mystery and shadow, is transformed into another world. The mythological references aren’t difficult to spot, necessarily, but they aren’t always overt and could sometimes be missed by those who don’t necessarily read a lot of fantasy mythology-heavy works. However, they were excellently placed and used.

Many of the dialogue lines are in Spanish. While I don’t speak Spanish – nothing beyond hello, thank you, and the sort – understanding was not a problem. Context is usually all that’s needed. More than that, it added a level of realism to a bilingual family that isn’t often shown, something I’ve seen when visiting with friend’s families and with my own, older, Polish immigrant relatives during my childhood.

Submerged Volume 1 by Vita Ayala and Lisa Sterle is a wonderful story meshing fantasy and the surreal with the struggles of familial relationships. I devoured this graphic novel, and wholeheartedly recommend picking up a copy for yourself.

*4.5 Stars*

Elysia Puente hasn't talked to her brother in a little while but when he calls her out of the blue, she lets everything go and does her best to find him, and ends up in the subway while the entire city is expecting a storm and the subway must not be used. She does her best to find him but ends up in a very strange world.

The story from this book was as confusing (at first, on purpose) as it was beautiful. I really fell for the main character immediately and I was captivated by her journey. It was both powerful and touching and I really loved how we understood what was happening little by little. It really took my breath away and that was just the story. The art was incredible as well and this really is a gem.

Wow. I definitely didn't expect the book to be that good.
I don't usually get shivers. This gave me shivers throughout the whole thing.
I definitely can't wait to read more from this author.
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This book caught me off-guard. When I opened it up, I thought it would be about a murder investigation. I couldn’t have been any more wrong than that, however, I’m glad I was.
I love this book’s concept. It feels fresh and new. The art is quite beautiful too. But this book weaves a story in a way that I didn’t expect.
We already have books in which we get to know the characters through flashbacks. But in this book, it isn’t like that, it’s different, and it feels different.
The way the characters talked and the way they grew also kept me glued to the pages.
Honestly, I’m very happy I picked this book up.
Rating: 5 stars