An exciting mix of high fantasy and futuristic high-tech societies!! Gorgeously illustrated and with a gripping plot, I can only recommend this one to anyone looking for a new series to immerse yourself into!

Volume 1 reads as a solid introduction into the Dryad universe.

The chapters read like animated episodes. While this may seem action-packed or too fast-paced for a first volume, it does help the comic cover a lot of ground, especially considering the amount of world-building that needs to take place.

The Glass family presents themselves to us in almost an idyllic fashion. As a reader, we know they are running away from a past that doesn't seem to have a place in the future that they need for their family.

I love how this first volume is a story about family and the sacrifices made by families of blood and choice, in order to protect one another. There is also a huge emphasis on past vs the present and the flow of information within a family. Which while not themes that make sense initially are themes that I hope will unravel itself with each volume.

The illustrations by Justin Osterling like simply brilliant. The pictures, play a big role in contrasting the past with the present, whether it be through technology or art. The details of which were really interesting and I found myself on more than one occasion scrolling back to discover new details that I had missed previously. Sometimes I did find the colour palette too moody, especially in contrast to panels where much brighter colours were used.

I guess things that were detrimental to the reading experience was my unfamiliarity with the universe. Although this is only the first volume there were a few moments that I felt overwhelmed due to my lack of understanding of the universe. Sometimes sections read like info-dumps without telling the reader much at all.

The weakest characters were the twins, Griffon and Rana, because while a huge plot points seemed to be centred around them, there was nothing memorable about them other than they were part of the Glass family. I do hope that the next volume will be able to clearly answer the question I had as to why they were so important. I was also getting "forbidden love" tones from this work, although that could just be unwarranted extrapolation.

Overall, this was a strong first volume and I'd definitely recommend this to any sci-fi and/or fantasy fan who is looking for something new to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for allowing me to read an arc of "Dryad, Vol. 1". All opinions expressed are my own.

Dryad is a wonderful sci-fi graphic novel and a great introduction and starting place to a series. It seemed quite slow paced in places but that can be expected for the first volume of a series. Fortunately, where it fell short in pacing it made up for in world building and character development. I look forward to volume 2, and seeing more from this world and these characters

This was such an interesting world to dive into. It was so unique and honestly reminded me of the technology vs the environment dilemma our world is facing now. I loved the unique world and I look forward to finding out more about the characters and especially the magic. This is something that fans of Saga will want to read.

I couldn't get into this rather tedious fantasy/sci-fi comic. It's trying to be the new Saga and it doesn't work. The characters weren't appealing, the story wasn't there for me - it's like a watered-down, lethargic Rat Queens. The art's fine but genre fiction isn't for me and I really hate when characters talk and behave like people do in our world but transposed to a fantasy setting - it's such lazy writing and so unimaginative. Dull dull dryad.

Part fantasy, part cyberpunk, Dryad Vol. 1 is the introduction to a fast-paced series about a family on the run.

Content warnings include: graphic violence and gore, child injury, non explicit sex on-page.

On first glance, Dryad seems like fantasy through and through. There's elves and orcs, basic clothing, no electricity, a small village, overgrown ruins of an ancient people and monstrous creatures.
But that's not what Dryad is.
The cyberpunk element comes as a surprise, and when I first noticed hints that things weren't as they seemed I thought I looked wrong - and I have to admit, I wasn't pleased. I usually dislike it when genres mix like that, especially when it happenes unexpectedly. If I go into a fantasy book, I want fantasy, not SciFi. But here it all slotted together in the end, and I was very intrigued by the direction the plot developed.

At the center of the story is the Glass family: Yale, a history enthusiast who is a little goofy; Morgan, a scarred soldier who doesn't quite know what to do with herself in the quiet village but loves her family nevertheless; and teen twins Griffon and Rana, one exuberant and one more reserved, but sharing a deep connection.

It's clear from the start that Yale and Morgan were fleeing from something, and hiding a lot, but Dryad Vol.1 doesn't exactly give answers. It sets the scene and introduces a lot of players, and I couldn't always follow who was who and what was what, because despite continued assurances of sitting down to explain soon... that doesn't happen. Not that I fault the characteres for that - they don't really get a break to breathe, either.

The art was great, vivid and lively, the fantasy and cyberpunk elements weaved together seamlessly and very aesthetically without shying away from graphic subject matter - without being too gore-y, which suits me perfectly.

Overall great start for a series, and I'm curious to see where the plot is headed.

The first volume was quite slow, in setting the tone and characters. I did get 'Saga' vibes at times, particularly with the bad-ass female warrior, who is also fairly rash but cares for her children, and the male protagonist who is more thoughtful and methodic - it wasn't really until the end where things start clicking into place and you find more of their back story. I did also get 80s films vibes at times (Demolition Man, Judge Dread) when the story moves back to the city - very nostalgic.

The artwork and ambience set the tone of the story well, particularly around the city settings. It did convey a seedy, horrid underbelly of society.

Overall, I did enjoy the story, and could sense that the tale is developing and honestly speaking it did leave me wanting to read the new editions when they come out. My only critique was the first volume was a bit on the slow side to develop. After the cliffhanger of that volume, it moved at a pretty rapid pace and pushed this from a 3* to a 4* for me.

I loved this. I bloody loved it, because a) it was giving a lot of Saga vibes, mixed with Rat Queens energy (these two are my favourite comics of all time!), and b) we need more comics about loving parents who would do anything to protect their children.

The story starts with Morgen and Yale on the run, accompanied by their twins, Griffon and Rana, until they find a heaven on earth called Frostbrooks, a small sleepy village hidden from the world, and vowed to protect their children from the past. But the past came knocking on their doorsteps when the twins are about to be thrown into a world they can't understand.

The art of this comic is great, so smooth and so pleasing to the eye, and I love how the colours change gradually from the serenity and the peacefulness of Forstbrooks to the city of Silver Bay, which is giving me major Paper Girls flashback.

The cliffhanger, man! It's killing me.

I can't wait for volume 2 to drop and read it!

Twins Griffin and Rana are living life in their small rural town when they are suddenly taken, with their parents, back to the city, which they didn't know existed. They actually didn't know enough to fill several books with, like how their mom is technologically enhanced or their dad is a conductor and can use magic or that an organization called Muse has been after them for 13 years. I love the artwork. The style and colors are beautiful. This volume ended with a cliffhanger, and I'm so excited to read the next volume.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Dryad and it was a refreshing experience to go into a comic book/graphic novel blind.
What I found was a very pleasant surprise. Good quality art that, most importantly, suited the tone and themes of the story perfectly.
The characters are well formed and the themes of the story; familial bonds, the urge to give children a safe home and the irrepressible sense of adventure kids have, all come through well and combine to make you keep flipping pages!

First off the art is beautiful and absolutely perfect in everyway. I loved the story, I thought it was a good twist in the adventure, I loved the combination of sci-fi with traditional fantasy story telling aspects. The characters were perfect in everyway, there's not a single character I wasn't in love with. I definitely look forward to reading more, the beginning of the story was my favorite and the more that went on the less I was interested but I think it was only because the story is laying ground work to build up the epicness headed in the next books.

An entrancing art style and quick-witted dialogue!! What's not to love? I loved how the different character dynamics were portrayed, and the special emphasis on family!

•ENGLISH/ESPAÑOL•

~ENGLISH~

This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Let's see ... how to start ...?
Actually, I LOVE graphic novels, illustrations and fantasy too much. If you add a little drama to all that, I'm fully on board to embark on a great adventure!
Maybe that's why, at the end of this graphic novel, I was very disappointed.

Don't get me wrong, the story has so much potential!
This one focuses on the Glass family. 13 years ago, Morgan and Yale Glass decided to get away from the city and set out on a very long journey with the only goal of finding a safe, hidden and peaceful place to raise their twins: Rana and Griffon. They grew up in a small naturalistic town called “Frostbrook”, but although their life is monotonous and simple, the twins are full of curiosity and want to go on adventures.
When one of the aventures leads them to a huge mysterious door inside an ancient temple, they don't know that their life will change forever, because they have allowed dangerous, different and more advanced people to enter their lives. People who come to attack your village... And who know their parents.

Now the Glass family must venture out of their little town and return to the city of Silver Bay, a dangerous place full of magical creatures and technology, the place their parents came from. Now they must face reality: the world is bigger than what they believe. And more dangerous too.

I was very struck by both the synopsis and the cover of this graphic novel and I expected a lot more from it, but I think I liked it to some extent but it also disappointed and it confused me.

The drawing is beautiful! It is divine and charming and I adored each page so much, especially for the colors they used and how fanciful the story looked.
There is also the fact that the entire life of the Glass family is full of mysteries and magic and is intriguing at every turn!

However, there is a lot of information presented very quickly. Sometimes they mention names or places but they don't explain who (or who) those people are, what is happening and throughout the graphic novel you wonder when you are going to get your answers.
Personally, I think I never got them.

The story unfolds but there is a lot of information but it is not fully explained. Most of the time I was confused about people or places and how magic or the universe worked. Despite the parts where there are samples of the wonderful world of boys, I kept wondering the hows and why. Terrorists? Naturalists? A lot of technology? Little? Who are the bad guys? Why? What's their objective? And ours? All those questions and more are still in my head and I don't know if the second volume will bring some clarity to the situation.

I would love to try reading the second volume to see if in it are more answers, maybe in it the author can explain more everything that happens because, certainly, the story has potential and is very striking! I'd be interested in following it if you can give me some answers in the next volume.

~ESPAÑOL~

Este ARC fue proporcionado por la editorial vía NetGalley a cambio de una reseña honesta.

Veamos... ¿cómo empezar...?
La verdad, AMO demasiado las novelas gráficas, las ilustraciones y la fantasía. Si agregan a todo eso un poco de drama, estoy completamente abordo para embarcarme en una gran aventura!
Quizá por eso, al terminar esta novela gráfica, sentí mucha decepción.

No me malinterpreten, la historia tiene muchísimo potencial!
Esta se centra en la familia Glass. Hace 13 años, Morgan y Yale Glass decidieron alejarse de la ciudad y emprenden un viaje muy largo con el único objetivo de encontrar un lugar seguro, escondido y pacífico para criar a sus mellizos: Rana y Griffon. Ellos crecieron en un pequeño pueblo naturalista llamado “Frostbrook”, pero aunque su vida es monótona y sencilla, están llenos de curiosidad y desean salir en aventuras.
Cuando una de ellas los lleva a una enorme puerta misteriosa dentro de un templo antiguo, no saben que su vida cambiará para siempre, porque han dejado entrar a sus vidas personas peligrosas, diferentes, más avanzadas que ellos. Personas que vienen a atacar su aldea... Y que conocen a sus padres.

Ahora la familia Glass debe aventurarse fuera de su pueblito y regresar a la ciudad de Silver Bay, un lugar peligroso y lleno de criaturas mágicas y tecnología, el lugar del que vinieron sus padres, y deben enfrentar la realidad: el mundo es más grande de lo que creen. Y más peligroso también.

Me llamó muchísimo la atención tanto la sinopsis como la portada de esta novela gráfica y esperaba muchísimo más de ella, pero creo que, hasta cierto punto, me gustó pero también me decepcionó y confundió.

El dibujo es precioso! Es divino y encantador y adoré demasiado cada página, especialmente por los colores que usaron y lo fantasiosa que se veía la historia.
También está el hecho de que toda la vida de la familia Glass está llena de misterios y magia y es intrigante a cada paso!

Sin embargo, hay mucha información presentada de forma muy rápida. En algunas ocasiones mencionan nombres o lugares pero no explican quién (o quiénes) son esas personas, qué está sucediendo y durante toda la novela gráfica te preguntas cuándo vas a obtener tus respuestas.
En lo personal creo que nunca las obtuve.

La historia se desarrolla pero hay mucha información pero que no se explica del todo. La mayor parte del tiempo estuve confundida sobre las personas o los lugares y cómo funcionaba la magia o el universo. Pese a las partes donde hay muestras del maravilloso mundo de los chicos, seguía preguntandome los cómos y los por qués. ¿Terroristas? ¿Naturalistas? ¿Mucha tecnologia? ¿Poca? ¿Quiénes son los malos? ¿Por qué? ¿Cuál es su objetivo? ¿Y el nuestro? Todas esas preguntas y más siguen en mi cabeza y no sé si el segundo tomo podrá traer algo de claridad a la situación.

Me encantaría probar leer el segundo tomo para saber si nos explican más todo lo que sucede porque, ciertamente, la historia tiene potencial y es muy llamativa! Me interesaría seguirla si pueden darme algunas respuestas en el próximo tomo.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this Arc in exchange of an honest review.

I went blind in this comic, I just saw the cover and I was a fan.

It starts as a fantasy book with an elf and a human in the escape with their twin kids in a beautiful forest then we see them settled in their life, and then, the story changes completely into Sci-fi. I was like where is it going?
I was like Griffon and Rana, the twins, whom their parents Morgan and Yale had hidden the truth about the real world they come from and about their real identity .

The Glass family have been living in a Haven "Frostbrook" a sleeping ancient forest until they are found out and must flee to the big city of Silver Bay where everything is technology. They are tracked by soldiers from the Muse and the twins find themselves lost with this new situation and world.

The mix of fantasy, magical power, elves and trolls with science fiction, technology and cyborgs was pretty crazy intersting. I just could not stop reading and I loved so much the parents Morgan and Yale. For once the parents are very cool and not dead! Their relatioship and mysterious past make the story so much captivating to read.

That ending wasn't fair, I just want to know what is going to happen.

I got to read an advanced readers copy. I asked for it because the cover made it look like it was a straight up fantasy. Also one of the creators did Rat Queens so bonus points there.
If you’re old enough to remember Shadowrun that’s what this turns into. The fantasy setting you think you’re getting from the cover and the first handful of pages? Nope, this is cyberpunk mercs shooting s*** up.
Now I’m fine with that. It’s all genre and this first volume feels like they’re setting up a big world that’s going to take multiple volumes to really delve into. But I can see someone starting this thinking they’re getting one thing and being really disappointed that they aren’t.
I will read volume two. There’s worlds of potential here but this first volume is mostly setting up a bigger story and the characters.

Dryad Vol. 1 is an intriguing start to the fantastical world of ancient ruins, elf-like creatures, and the reintroduction of magic. While the story took a slow start in the beginning, it allowed the reader to catch up to the sequence of events that the parents are on the run from something or someone. The mystery is great, you don't understand what is happening until a few pages in and time skips 13 years into the future. The children are now curious teenagers (I'm guessing twins) and have a strong connection to the earth around them. However after chapter 2, the series of events becomes confusing; the beings that come out of the ruins look otherworldly but then it's later stated that they are from the city. And if that's so, then how did they find the Glass family? There are several questions and none of then are unfortunately answered in the first volume. I would have liked to have seen the twins test their abilities before hand and maybe that's how the soldiers from the city found them.

At first glance, the comic holds your interests. Although there is an overwhelming amount of talking and information being given, I think that the story is interesting enough and I would like to see what happens next to the family now that they are in the city. Thank you Netgalley and publishers for this arc!

Dryad by Wiebe and Barcelo is an action-packed visual romp that unites fantasy and elements of science fiction seamlessly. I loved the detail in the images, the color choices, and the way this creative team brought this visual story together. This would have made my reading life as a middle grades or young adult adventure — and it’s entertaining for adults, as well. Recommended graphic novel!

The glass family is really something. I downloaded this one first because of the drawings that appealed to me. The artwork here is really stunning, everything is so colourful and full of expression. Justin Osterling really brought to life this complex and fantasy world. However, I found it hard at the beginning to know who was who. This is also due to the story which was quite confusing. It is confusing at the end because the story raises so many questions but I found the beginning to be confusing in a messy way. There were just so many information coming out of nowhere and without any context sometimes. So yeah, I would say the way this graphic novel is structured is the only problematic thing of this graphic novel but it does take down the whole reading experience. Besides that, I think the story is promising and I still want to read the second volume to get answers to my questions. Moreover, the characters all seem complex and full of mystery and the twins, especially Griffon, are quite likeable; I really want to know what will happen to them. I would recommend this book to adults who enjoy a bit of fantasy.
3/5

One of the many problems with the highly-detailed fantasy quest/journey novel is that some of them seem to detail every sight, every thought, every footprint of the way, and nobody ever needs to go behind a bush for a widdle. In contrast to that, our two questors here open the book by changing a soiled nappy. It's an indication that this is an earthy, human fantasy, even if that's borne out as falsely as the promise that everything here is sylvan. A generation later, the nappy-soiler is a young teenaged twin, with a history teacher for a father, and a town guardswoman for a mother. Both of whom have much in the past that's a firm secret, which all comes to the fore when devilish creatures from either an underworld or the city the family fled years ago come to town…

This was alright, but I can't say I got to love any of it. The artwork certainly could have been better – more clarity was needed for both the battle action and the cityscapes when the family return there. But the ideas behind the book, of the way the twins are so exceptionally ignorant of what their parents' pasts were, is more annoying than intriguing. We get guild names, character names and more rattling around, and we're still not really any the wiser when we turn the last page, final sting included. I think the book sets up a lot that sci-fantasy genre fans will enjoy – nappies regardless – but I can't see the reader or the kids learning everything needed, and the current dramas resolved, nearly as quickly enough for my taste. Two and a half stars.

I haven’t read a comic on a long time, but Dryad’s cover caught my eye immediately.

Dryad Vol. 1 starts like a proper fantasy comic but somehow evolves into a combination between fantasy and sci-fi within the first half. I didn’t see this coming, but it was a very pleasant surprise.

The story follows Morgan and Yale, and their twins Griffon and Rana, who lived a happy and peaceful life in the sleepy settlement of Frostbrook. Unfortunately the four of them are targeted during a manhunt across Frostbrook, and dragged back to Silver Bay, a giant metropolis that Rana and Griffin have no idea how to navigate. They now have to find their place in a world they know nothing about, while navigating the consequences of their parents’ past choices and actions.

Dryad Vol. 1 asks a lot of questions and answers just enough of them to keep you interested. The world is vibrant and colorful, the characters unique and interesting and the story mysterious and intriguing. The art by Justin Barcelo is gorgeous and the story and dialogue by Kurtis Wiebe is great. I’ll definitely pick up Vol. 2 once it’s out.