This unfortunately was not for me - I thought it would be along the line of d&d and while it started this way it swiftly moved to a breakneck speed Sci fi.

I'm left wondering what on earth has just happened and unfortunately won't be continuing with this series

How this book started, I never imagined it would end where it did. I'm so intrigued by this world and it's mythos. Just as I would start to get confused and wonder what was happening, a new revelation would occur and give just enough new information to keep me keep going. I can't wait to read vol. 2 to find out what happens!

Also, certain aspects of this story gave me strong Saga vibes (which is awesome because I love Saga).

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for my digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was overall a good story, like with most graphic novels they leave the end up in the air. I found myself wanting to read more which is good and bad. It was good cause the writer obviously wants you to pick up the next volume, but bad in the sense that i didn't feel like it was complete. I enjoyed the characters but because the story is nowhere complete I was left confused.

I liked the concept of this graphic novel, and I really enjoyed the artwork. However, it felt a bit like a Saga remix and the second part of the story just felt like a completely different story overall. And sometimes the story just jumped and I felt like I completely missed a page or two. Yeah, I might pick up the sequel because I want to know how the story goes on (it ended with a bit of a cliffhanger) but I'm not going to be the first in line tbh.

This wasn't long enough. I need more! Why are they running. How do they have this amish like community when they have such high technical around them?! WHAT ARE THE TWINS!?!

I NEED ANSWER'S.

BUT

The art was so beautiful and the story buzzing from the get go. I love how they have people of all shapes sizes and colors it's wonderful and I can't wait to see what's next

3.5/5 stars
A fun, fast-paced graphic novel. I'm not sure what it is, but it felt like there was something missing. Even though there was action, it still felt slow. I did like the plot twist at the end, and I'm super interested to see where it goes. I will be picking up the next volume when it comes out!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A baby needs a nappy change in a forest. This is how we're introduced to the elven woman, Morgan and her husband, a human named Yale. They are two city folks, struggling through a forest in search of something. In the first few pages, they stumble through a cave filled with ruins of an ancient civilization. The ruins exit into an idyllic valley with a storybook village.

13 years later, we find the woman is working as a protector, slaying monsters in the village called Frostbrook. The man became a schoolteacher, giving a boring a tour through the ruins built by a race called the Vihri. The tour is for a group of students and his bored kids, Rana and Griffon. These early encounters and subsequent talks set the stage, letting us know god left and magic is uncommon.

That night the children decide to investigate the ruins, accidentally encountering beings in the Vihiri ruins. From this point on things ramp up considerably. It's hard to give an accurate description of what happens without spoilers, so I'm going to have to be vague.

A debt is collected, the family return to the city on an adventure. Rapidly the world becomes more Shadowrun and Arcanepunk than high fantasy.
The storyline grows in complexity, plots intertwine and branch off to seed future plot threads and a richness of depth and flavour to come. In many ways, the story reminds me off tad Williams "The War of the Flowers".

The art is smooth and soft. There is detail to the images, however not an overwhelming amount such as in Frank millers "Harb boiled". The colouring is well done, with great use of different colours to focus attention on the essential plot, whilst at the same time allowing readers to enjoy the artwork. To my delight, all the text is easily visible and easy to read.

I've enjoyed reading this book and look forwards to continuations of the story; it's just a shame I have to wait to continue reading. I highly recommended this graphic novel.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me a copy of this graphic novel I ended up not finishing it but I love almost everything I’ve read from this publisher

I didn't quite know what to expect in this graphic novel, but I found myself really enjoying it.
I was gripped from the very beginning and our main characters are set to have much potential. I will definitely be continuing with the series.
The only downside I could point out is that I felt a little bit lost midway through the volume. There were references to past events we didn't know about yet and some new characters were introduced. Despite being engaged with the story I felt lost. However, it is somehow understandable as it is the first volume of a series.
Definitely recommended!
TW: graphic violence and gore, child injury, non-explicit sex on-page.

English/ Spanish
Wow! This comic is incredible, it is a mix between fantasy and cyberpunk, it is also seasoned with adventures, family relationships and ... eroticism?
For Rat queens and Saga lovers, this is going to be your new favorite comic series.
The story begins quite calm, with a couple who are looking for something, and they take their 2 children with them, and everything is love and happiness in a small grove and suddenly ... BAM! Death, blood, and destruction everywhere. Some characters are very enigmatic and we will learn more about their story as the story progresses, but, we can take a minute to appreciate Yale, I already love him madly and with passion. My new literary crush. 4/5 because it leaves you with MANY unknowns, but even if you don't understand much, you love every moment.

Español
¡wow! Este cómic es increible, es una mescla entre fantasia y ciberpunk, además esta aderezada con aventuras, relciones famiiares y .... erótica?
para los amantes de rat queens y saga, esta va a ser su nueva serie de comics favorita.
La historia comienza bastante tranquila, con una pareja que esta buscando algo, y llevan con ellos a sus 2 hijos, y todo es amor y felicidad en un pequeo bosquecillo y de repente ...BAM! . Muerte, sangre y destrucción por todos lados. Algunos personajes son muy enigmaticos y aprenderemos mas de su historia conforme avance la historia, pero, podemos tomarnos un minuto para apreciar a Yale, ya lo amo con locura y con pasión. Mi nuevo crush literario.
4/5 porque te deja con MUCHÍSIMAS incognitas, pero aunque no entiendas mucho vas amando cada momento.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the e-ARC.

"Dryad" tells a story of a couple who had to escape the city and find a safe haven as far away from it as possible. Together with their newborn twins, they settle down in the countryside and reinvent their lives in peace and tranquility, keeping their past locked away. Until one day many years later, a coincidental meeting with an old acquaintance ruins everything they built on their own and forces them to face everything they've been running away from and more.

This comic is a perfect position for all Saga aficionados. Not only the art style is very similar, but also the story is somewhat reminiscent of Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples's comic series: young parents representing different classes (or races) defying society's norms and making their own path. Moreover, the comic mixes modernistic, cyberpunk-looking settings with the concept of dryads and elemental magic, and does so with success.

All in all, I really enjoyed the time I've spent with "Dryad" - it was pleasant to look at, the characters were interesting, and the story was engaging. This first volume sets the story quite nicely. It already brings forward a mystery that will possibly unravel in later installments. Definitely would recommend giving it a go.

To say that I was in love from the first page would in no way be an understatement Justin Osterling art kept me enraptured from the first page; watching it change and develop with the story was a joy that I can't understate. It truly made the differences apparent and, at times, striking while also showing the beauty of the melding of the worlds.

While Wiebe's writing honestly made me smile. Morgan felt so much like the type of strong-willed character that my friends play in tabletop RPGs, and the interesting use of tech and magic is amazing. I was left in aw to learn more about this world.

My only real turn-off was the depictions of sex, which, while acting to build the characters and relations, left the prudish side of me squirming in discomfort.

Well, this is definitely the start of a series. Like most graphic novel series, the first book is a bit rough. However, underneath the issues is a complex and interesting new world, and characters with an obvious backstory. If I had to describe this graphic novel in one sentence, it would be "Dungeons and Dragons meets Space Opera" Although images like helicopters and video games are familiar to us, to two of the main characters, these are as alien as well, an alien spaceship. I am excited to see the next volume. #DryadVol1 #NetGalley

I was able to read this through Netgalley.

I spent just as much time trying to figure out what was going on as I did reading the story itself. It was just set up a but weird where you don't actually know why anyone is making the choices they are making just the action of them making them. I would be interested in reading more but I am not going to go out of my way to do so.

This is a cross-posted review.

https://beta.thestorygraph.com/reviews/11421238

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3630281321

I am absolutely hooked on this fantastic new series. I picked up Dryad because it gave off major Saga vibes so I thought I might enjoy it and this hooked me even faster than Saga. The first few pages had me questioning if the story was going to be a little bit bit derivative but they completely turned my expectations upside down. The artwork was fantastic, the dialogue was tight, and I could not put it down. I am very excited to see what comes next in this new series. I will definitely be recommending this series.

Morgan and Yale have been living in Frostbrook for 13 years, with their children Rana and Griffon. But Morgan and Yale have been keeping a secret from their kids, and when Muse Corp comes to find them, their secrets are unearthed.
This gave me extreme ptsd from Saga (which I hated), but thankfully, this was much more enjoyable. The art style was a perfect match to the story and I really love it. I also really like the concept of the story, sci-fi meets cyberpunk. I really liked Morgan and Yale, not so much their children, but hopefully the latter will be developed further in the next volumes. Furthermore, I enjoyed the ending, even though a lot of new information was dumped. However, I did feel like the story was slightly confusing, both at the beginning and at the end and that it went by a little to fast for me.
Overall, a enjoyable read and I would read the next volumes.

3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for an e-arc of this one.

I really like Rat Queens and when I learned that Wiebe was coming out with a new series that is about two parents and their kids in a fantasy setting... oh yeah. I love fantasy and I am a mum and it's actually quite rare to get fantasy books from the perspective of the parents, other than men who somehow find it easy to run off on an adventure and abandon their kids. So a fantasy story about parents who are with their kids, perfect.

Unfortunately this one did let me down a little bit because it's not even really fantasy, it's more scifi and looks like it could cross into cyberpunk territory. I do like scifi, but I truly cannot stand cyberpunk, so when this started to feel like cyberpunk... Sigh.

That said the story itself was interesting and I am interested in continuing. I just am not sure how I am going to feel about future volumes. The art was fantastic, no complaints there.

This graphic novel was sooooo good! I don't know what I was expecting going into it, but whatever I was thinking this definitely exceeded it. If you are a DND fan or a fan of SAGA this is probably right up your alley. Yale and Morgan bring their young family to Frostbrook trying to escape their mysterious past. Magic is dead (supposedly) and the world outside of Frostbrook is teeming with technological advancements. The two parents hope that by living in this secret location that they have finally found a safe place to raise their young ones. That is until Griff and Rana open a secret door and let some dangerous people through. Their lives as they know it are about to change forever!

I liked this first installment of a new series. Dryad is action-packed, and the characters are interesting and complex. It's got a heavy Saga vibe to it, but I think that as the story develops, it'll become more independent--the seeds for originality are already there. The visual elements are great--I really enjoy the contrast between locations and factions. I'll be looking for more of this.

Escaping their past lives with their newborn twins Rana and Griffon, ex-soldier Morgan and her husband Yale find a new home in the sleepy village of Frostbrooks, hidden away from the rest of the cruel world they live in. They vow to protect their children from their past but no vow can keep away what's coming for them.

The art in this comic is GORGEOUS. Being an artist myself, that was my very first focus point in this ARC and thus I was pleasantly suprised with how much I liked the art of Dryad! Landscapes and characters alike were captured in a way that really did please the eye and fit the theme this story was going for.

The characters? Endearing. I loved each member of the Glass family (although any other character kind of fell under the radar so far.) any they were own unique and interesting in their own way, though there is a lot the author has yet to reveal in the next books.

As for the story... I liked it. It was fairly straight-forward in its core, although the author kept throwing the names of places and things and people in there, which left me as a reader more confused than exited at the end of this read. That has to be the main issue I had with this book. Instead of the little prelude that is the Glass family finding their way into Frostbrooks, I wish there had been some sort of scene that had anchored me as a reader in this world. I kept being rather confused than pleasantly suprised by where this story was going, feeling lost. Just a few hints to the huge new world that is revealed about halfway into the first book would have helped, too.

Nontheless I didn't regret reading this book and I'm somewhat intrigued to find out where this story will end up - for now, I've no idea where we are and where we're going!