This book was a unique experiment in telling parallel stories, literally parallel worlds, with similar characters but from opposite eras of superhero comic book tropes. One story is set in the Golden Age of comics with no corruption or subtlety, lots of Deus Ex Machina. The other interwoven story is set in the Modern Age of gritty realism where all heros are anti-heroes. I did not finish the book, but from what I did read it was definitely YA or Adult due to the violent/sadistic themes in the darker universe.

*I received this book as an eARC from Ahoy Comics via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

This is a prequel story set before these two worlds collide. There's the dark and gritty world and the fun and bright world. The parallels between the characters and stories lead to a lot of fun. Since it's closely the same story in both worlds, the different perspectives and different styles are where the entertainment lies.

I really enjoy the concept of this world. The characters have been designed well, but I liked the original crossover story much better. I give this book a 3/5. It didn't hold my interest as much as The Wrong Earth.

I'm really enjoying this series so far! This collection is a prequel to The Wrong Earth, and gives us insight into Dragonfly's and Dragonflyman's relationship with the Stinger of each character's universe. In Earth Omega, Dragonfly's Stinger is fed up with being treated like property; he feels disrespected by Dragonfly's cold behavior and backhanded compliments, and left out by Dragonfly's habit of not keeping Stinger in the loop. He wants out, and he wants out now. Meanwhile, in Earth Alpha, Dragonflyman's Stinger may have doubts for a few hours, but it is very clear how much Dragonflyman relies on him, and that Stinger is a true partner. In each universe, these stories are played out while the duos are battling that world's Devil Man, and watching how things play out is very revealing. We get some good insight into Dragonfly; he does seem to truly care about his Stinger, he just doesn't know how to show it- he's got the toxic masculinity bad. Not as much insight into Dragonflyman's inner workings, but he is kinda two-dimensional, isn't he? The book ends with an interesting cliffhanger, which is troublesome- I don't know what I want next, The Wrong Earth's cliffhanger continuation, or this book's continuation? Whichever, just gimme the next volume!

#DragonflyandDragonflyman #NetGalley

'Dragonfly and Dragonflyman: Volume One' by Tom Peyer with art by Peter Krause, Russ Braun, and Jamal Igle continues the adventures of similar heroes in Earth-Alpha and Earth-Omega.

Earth-Omega has gritty, dark Dragonfly, while lighter, nostalgic Earth-Alpha has Dragonflyman. In a series of similar stories, we see how each interacts with their world, as well as their young sidekicks. In Earth-Alpha, Dragonfly man is hypnotized and becomes a pacifist. In Earth-Omega, Dragonflyman has a trust issue when his sidekick, Stinger, finds out that he's being tracked.

I really like this series. There are some nice tongue-in-cheek pokes at comics and it's interesting to see these parallel world heroes dealing with things in their own ways. The art shifts nicely between light and dark, and I like the throwback style art for Earth-Alpha.

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

A meta-graphic novel, sets up two alternative worlds where the same superhero is manifested either as a goofy crime fighter (in homage to silly golden/silver age superhero plots and the Batman TV show) or as a tortured, violent anti-hero (similar to the dark age of the 1990s kicked off by Frank MIller's Dark Knight Returns and other gritty comics). The juxtapositions were fun, and I liked the themes of found families, fathers/sons, and how to deal when a child/sidekick is ready to step into the limelight themselves. The thing is, none of those were particularly new or tackled in an different or interesting way. Astro City covers the golden/silver/dark ages differences well and even the main Batman comic handled the father/son and growing up issue when the first Robin became Nightwing; and that was way back in 1984! Fun, but not particularly groundbreaking or different.

Dragonfly and Dragonflyman by Tom Peyer uses an interesting concept of alternate universes. If you watch the DC television universe at all you should be familiar with this concept. In one universe we have the campy Draganflyman and Stinger his equally lighthearted sidekick. These two really made me think of the old Adam West and Burt Ward relationship in Batman, as did that world. Things are fun and bright, even the crimes and villains are nicer. This does lead them to missing some stuff happening before their eyes because they are a tad too gullible taking things at face.

On the flip side we have Dragonfly. This world is dirty, gritty and even the heroes are dark. Much more like many DC movies. Stinger is something to be used instead of a teammate and there is a lack of compassion. I don't think they are bad guys but their situations are far different and they react according to that.

I received this book through NetGalley and would like to thank Tom Peyer and the publisher for making it available. This is my voluntary honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting execution of a superhero comic. I thought the parallel universes was a unique spin that was well executed. It had dark moments in Earth Omega balanced with the light moments in Earth Alpha. When I was reading it, I thought it was making a commentary on super hero tropes and comics. If this is the case, I enjoyed the cheesy one liners and the reflection of the parallel universes. If this wasn’t the case, I missed something. I’m interested to see if the universes ever intersect!

I have no idea what I was expecting going into this but this is probably the perfect companion piece to the Wrong Earth. Here the reader sees Dragonfly and Dragonflyman before their switch.

I always assumed that Dragonfly was Frank Miller Batman up to 8 but now I see a very complicated character. He was genuinely trying his best to keep Stinger on the right path but he doesn't exactly do it right. In fact this doesn't seem to be his only woe as far as his supervillain brother is concerned which might have something to do with why he tries to keep Stringer safe at arms' length. Chip however is genuinely depressed and he feels like he's just Dragonfly's property. It would've suited Dragonfly to be a little more supportive of his Stinger. While this doesn't exactly excuse his more violent behavior, it does make both characters seem more human.

Dragonflyman meanwhile shows what he's missing. While he is still very much a good samaritan, he might be just too pacifistic. But the fun surrounding him is how his relationship with his Stinger is so good. Dragonflyman puts his safety in the hands of Stinger while also looking out for him. At the same time he can seem a little pompous and distracted. He holds an entire day to his ward's honor around the globe and he seems to get everything he wants. At the same time Dragonflyman doesn't notice the more subtle crimes happening around the corner the way Dragonfly does. The bankers are using fancy words to legalize their tax evasion. Dragonflyman is by all accounts a great and inspiring hero but hopefully his time on Earth Omega can straighten him out.

This series and franchise might achieve something truly great. It just makes me wonder about the twists and turns as things go.

Colorful, fun, and entertaining. I enjoyed this superheroic graphic novel read, visually appealing and an appealing story! Yet another example of great work shared by Diamond Book Distributors -- do not go gentle into that good night, DBD. The world needs these books.

Well this has been done before, but it is quite good fun. Two very similar superheroes, with two very similar sidekicks, operate completely differently, as one is on a different timeline to ours. There's a wonderful evocation of the Golden Age to be had here ("care for another root beer?" as bigwigs celebrate a deal), with its ultra-staid, hectoringly educational stance, partnered with a similar adventure for the modern guy of more contemporary times, with his sidekick patronised in every frame by an ungrateful boss. Unfortunately the ties between the stories soon loosen too much, the pastiche of comics of old isn't quite sustained, and the whole ends up a bit of a mish-mash. Unfortunately (for me that is) all I can remember to compare it with is the same franchise's Wrong Earth title, and this has small flaws just as that did; however I am sure there is something with the craft to shine a light on both then and now courtesy of old-time and our-time stories, and I'd love to be able to give full credit. The book to hand isn't at that level, but at least is entertaining, even if it doesn't quite achieve what it sets out to do. Three and a half stars.

I thank netgalley for the digital copy, and this is my honest review.

This was such an interesting concept, as we follow a superhero and his sidekick in two alternative universes, where their personalities and their approach to fighting crime, and the crimes and criminals themselves vary greatly. It's like comparing Lego's Batman and Nolan's Batman. That's how different they are.

The Wrong Earth had a winning premise: take campy Adam West Batman, and the grim'n'gritty version from the eighties; thinly disguise them as Dragonflyman and The Dragonfly for copyright reasons; and then throw them into each other's worlds. But interesting as the main story was, some of my favourite bits came in the back-up stories pastiching various elements of comics history. So you can see the thinking behind a spin-off series following the two heroes on home terrain, juxtaposing their confrontations with their own differing versions of the same antagonists – Dragonflyman's masked oddballs and gently inept police; Dragonfly's brutal killers and corrupt cops. Somehow, though, it doesn't quite come off. The first issue in particular hints at a darkness behind the complacent cheer of Dragonflyman's sunny Earth-Alpha, but that's never really pursued, nor matched with the corresponding hint of light in the Dragonfly's dark Earth-Omega. And in the subsequent longer story, a crucial source of distinction is squandered by the antagonist being too similar across the two versions. Yes, OK, one Devil Man uses a 'temptatron' to make people a bit naughty, while the other injects them with chemicals that turn them into depraved killers – but his outfit has only some fairly minor variations. When surely this would be the ideal opportunity to evoke the chasm between Cesar Romero's Joker, and Ledger or Leto's? It's certainly not terrible, but it feels like an extended working out of a fairly obvious premise, when the parent book is something more than that.

(Netgalley ARC)