An OK comic for young audiences looks like being a decent fantasy of a young girl working out the legacy her father left her with, but soon proves to need too much prior knowledge of other books, and too much patience with a yacky voice-over interrupting the drama every frame than I could muster. On the plus side it has a lot of concern for a girl of colour being an ace at STEM subjects, on the minus side it witters on about her finding an equation for childhood and its transition to adulthood, all the while spoiling dramas about sea monsters, destroyed cities, and even the end of everything.

Interesting start to the funny, good action-packed story. Sometimes too rushed. The artwork's nice. I will definitely check second one.

Received via Netgalley for review.

I did not know this was a continuation of a previous story when I started reading, but (like the publisher explained in the afterword), I didn't really feel as though I was unable to follow the plot. While it is a continuation, it's perfectly possible to jump right in and get going, without getting bogged down by backstory or explanations, which I appreciate!

I liked the design of the aliens, though I wish we had seen more that weren't bipedal (one of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to alien portrayal is that they always look like humans in basic shape). The art was colorful and engaging, and the characterization was consistent. (I wasn't happy when Z and Erik trusted a suspicious character right off the bat, but luckily Morgan was right there with me).

There are hints that Z might be going down the same road as her father, and I hope that's explored in the next few installments.

actual rating: 3.5

This was a really fun read and the only reason it gets rounded down to 3 instead of up to 4 is because I find it difficult to get too into single issues of comics. Granted this 'single issue' is around 70 pages so it's definitely got more meat to it than most, but it's still very much just the set up of what will become the main plot line in the future. Still, it's a cute story. The art is very bright and interesting and I like all the main characters so far. I haven't read The Only Living Boy, which this is apparently a spin-off for, but I didn't necessarily feel like I was missing anything. I'm sure there were some little Easter Egg type things that I didn't catch, but I think it does a good job of making the story accessible to new readers.

Zandra or Zee, is the daughter of an advanced scientist and who seems impossible to please - Dr. Parfitt. Zee feels partially responsible, or at least her father makes her feel partially responsible for the passing of her late mother who died when Zee was just 6 weeks old. To try and gain her fathers attention and love, Zee delves into science as well.. A car accident changes the lives of Zee, Dr. Parfitt, and Zee's friend Erik, forever.

As this was a secondary story to "The Only Living Boy" I felt that there was a lot of catching up that was attempted in the middle of this story, some of it moving a bit too quickly, forcing me to make quick notes on who is of what species and their role. I was immediately drawn in by the cover of this graphic novel and the art within it, very beautiful.

There was a section within the story line where there was an inconsistency in the sequence of images, but if you aren't as analytical as I am the story moves on.

This is an interesting start to a new story line and I still had fun reading it knowing nothing of the previous story line. A graphic novel that has a black girl with an almost obsessive interest in STEM makes this lovable. Zee's explanations on how to apply scientific methods to life situations can turn this story into some valuable lessons.