Gorgeous escape graphic novel focusing on the survivors of a spaceship wreck trying to get to the one way off the planet. Fun read, gorgeous art.

Took me a very long time to get to this title, but let me tell you, it was worth the wait. I wish I could wipe it from my mind and read it fresh again.

"Black Star" by Eric A. Glover is an incredible work of science fiction that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The story takes place in a distant future where humanity has colonized several planets and has developed advanced technology that allows them to travel faster than the speed of light. The protagonist, Captain Jonathan Shepard, is tasked with investigating a mysterious alien artifact that has been discovered on the planet Tenebrae, and he soon finds himself embroiled in a deadly conspiracy that threatens to destroy everything he holds dear.

One of the things I loved most about this book was the world-building. The author has created a vast and intricate universe that feels both believable and immersive. The different planets, cultures, and species are all well-developed and add to the overall richness of the story.

The characters are also well-crafted and memorable. Captain Shepard is a complex and flawed protagonist who is forced to confront his own demons as he faces new challenges and dangers. The supporting cast is equally compelling, with each character having their own motivations and backstories that add depth to the overall narrative.

The pacing of the book is excellent, with the action and tension ramping up steadily as the story progresses. There are plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end, and the resolution was satisfying and well-executed.

Overall, "Black Star" is a must-read for any science fiction fan. It's a thrilling and thought-provoking adventure that explores themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and the consequences of power. I give it a 5/5 rating and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great sci-fi read.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

I had issues downloading and attempting to access the format provided to read the ARC. Did not resolve or find work around before title was archived. Would have liked to give book a chance.

Action packed with kickass female characters is probably the best I can say about this comic. The art was ok, and while the writing did a good job with exciting set pieces and an overall chase structure, we didn't get enough backstory in the brief flashbacks to really understand what was going on, develop a connection with any of the characters, or know the limits and abilities of the future technology to not feel like some of the twists were convenient deus ex machinas. There may have been well thought out rules and word building, but we didn't get enough to really tell.

A cat and mouse story with a sci-fi twist. North and Parrish are two scientists that have crash landed separately on a deadly planet with 4 days to get to the only rescue shuttle that can only carry one person. They are also there to find a flower that could somehow save humanity. (How is not explained, it's just a macguffin.) The two do not get along and are at odds to get to the shuttle first. Some of the story is told in flashbacks that aren't that clear as to what their backstory is.

I did like how the two of them would use the tech in their suits to monitor each other in different ways even if it wasn't clear at first as to what was happening. An inner monologue in these instances would have been helpful.

Jovellanos art was pretty solid. It had same cartoon and anime influences to it. My only issue were more along with her panels. Sometimes the action wasn't clear who it was happening to.

With a second pass at this, it could have been great. As it is now, it's just some decent sci-fi.

Sticking with a recent theme in my reading, Black Star is minimalist sci-fi, focusing on characters caught in a deadly conflict. In this case, my favorite part of the book was the art. The story was straightforward enough, but the main character spends all her time doing terrible things for the sake of no one but herself.

When the book opens, asteroids strike the research ship crewed by doctor Harper North and her team of scientists and it crash-lands on the planet Eleos. Everyone on the crew dies except for North and Parrish, one of her crew. Complicating matters is the fact that their auxiliary shuttle separated from the ship and deployed miles away across rough terrain. It’s a race for survival between North and Parrish, who also have a history of personal conflict.

I know I shouldn’t focus on the “likability” of a character, but the problem with North is that she isn’t compelling enough to root for even when she’s betraying her crew and doing morally questionable things in the name of survival. The book never makes the stakes of her mission clear – something about researching a local plant that might have medicinal uses – so it’s hard to use that as justification for her actions. The thrust of the story boils down to North trying to survive at the expense of everyone else.

The end result is that this is a book about a terrible person doing terrible things to someone who never did anything wrong as far as we know. The story asks you to care about a character who never feels like anything other than the villain of the piece. If you re-centered the book on Parrish’s perspective, it would be about a crew-member betrayed and abandoned by her ruthless, selfish leader.

It’s possible this book would have worked better for me if the two viewpoints were more equally balanced, but really it feels like North’s show with only momentary glimpses of Parrish’s perspective. I think I might have been willing to go along with North as a main character if Parrish also felt like an anti-hero with questionable motivations, but as it stands, she is absolutely the wronged party here.

I did like the art, which has a unique style and flair of its own, servicing the tone and setting of the story while also being unique enough to stand out. Unfortunately, the story just doesn’t do it justice, and I can’t recommend this book.

This was not at all what I was expecting from a middle grade graphic novel. A space crew has an emergency and only 2 survive but they are fierce rivals. The book explores their competitiveness and their wills to survive. Beware, this book has a realistic ending, not a happy one. I loved the artwork and while I did not have a full color galley, based just on the cover, I bet the color added to the artwork will help make the story memorable and long lasting.

NOTE: I received a free preliminary, and likely unedited copy of this book from Netgalley for the purposes of providing an honest, unbiased review of the material. Thank you to all involved.

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into when I was awarded a review copy of Black Star. The plot was intriguing, but I was unfamiliar with the creative team, so I had no idea what to expect. What Black Star is, is a solid debut for Eric Glover, one would never guess that this was his first foray into comic writing (granted, this was originally a screenplay) by what we have here.

[…] "In order to retrieve samples of an alien flower that may hold the key to saving countless lives, Harper North and her crew of scientists must journey to Eleos, a dangerous planet in deep space. But as they approach Eleos, their ship is caught in an asteroid storm and as it hurtles towards the surface, its reserve shuttle detaches, landing over 100 kilometers away. When the rest of the crew perishes in the burning wreckage of the ship, North races towards the rescue shuttle built for one, hoping to fulfill their mission and survive. But North isn’t alone: The team’s wilderness expert is still alive and hell-bent on hunting North down and claiming the shuttle for herself." --Press synopsis excerpt

It’s hard to talk about this without giving away tons of spoilers, so I will attempt avoid that. This is an unconventional disaster story of sorts – a survival story akin to Lord of the Flies, in that the protagonists are not necessarily “good guys”. Perhaps the strongest thing about Black Star is its emphasis on moral ambiguity. This is the story of people doing things they need to do in order to survive. Sometimes that means making tough decisions and hurting others, selflessness is not always an option if you believe your own survival is the key to saving the world. That also comes with a burden, can one live with their choices if bad things are done?

There is a point in the book where one of the characters actions was pretty upsetting, I realized that they had basically “turned heel” entirely – their actions are rough to witness and really make you question if, in the same shoes, a sane person could go through with such an act.

All-in-all, Black Star has really put Eric E. Glover and Arielle Jovellanos on my radar. If this doesn’t get picked up as a film, I’m hoping this is successful and they continue in the comics industry. Not only is the story interesting, but it avoids cliches in a lot of comics. The story structure almost reminds me of European comics, such as ones found in Metal Hurlant and Humanoids to name a few. The storytelling has a darker edge, and doesn’t feel the need to have “a happy ending” for the sake of it. I would definitely recommend this book.

this was an interesting story about a race between two colleagues to get to the one rescue pod after a crash in a foreign planet, and the lengths they go to. the artwork was very evocative of the emotions in play. the storyline was interesting, with lots of twists and turns and adrenaline moments. thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to review an ARC of this graphic novel.

I overall liked this original sci-fi tale with a few familiar elements and an environmental angle, but I would have appreciated more character development and color (the e-galley was greyscaled). (Full disclosure: The author is a friend and former co-worker.)

A team of four women are on the way to Eleos to retrieve an alien flower that has near-miraculous medical properties when an accident causes their ship to crash on the planet, with the auxiliary shuttle landing almost 200km away. Alone and with few resources, scientist North has to navigate the unforgiving terrain to make it to the shuttle before the planet’s deadly summer season starts. But there’s a wrinkle: the ship’s wilderness expert, Parrish, has also survived, and she’s also heading for the one-person shuttle. Between floods, fires and alien creatures, will either of them make it out alive?

The story follows Dr. North as she navigates towards the shuttle. There’s flashbacks, courtesy of her visor, that explain some of the dynamics between her, Parrish and Fletch, who North left to die on the ship (there’s also a fourth crew member, but she doesn’t do much besides die on impact). As the book progresses, North and Parrish’s attempts to survive both the planet and each other take on an increasingly desperate tone, and there’s a sinking sensation that at least one of them isn’t telling the whole truth about what happened on the ship. There’s lots of tension, between hailstorms, floods and setting traps for each other, so it’s definitely a page turner.



That’s helped along by the art, which is detailed and dynamic. I especially loved how the flashback visor scenes were done. My main problem is that the ARC was in black and white while it appears that the final version will be in color. I didn’t realize this until reading the notes at the back, where the illustrator talks about using uniform colors to distinguish between North and Parrish. I’m completely stumped as to why the publisher would chose to do the ARC this way as I think it negatively effects the story. There’s definitely scenes where the art is confusing in black and white where I think it would be perfectly clear in color. Based on the gorgeous color cover, I think this would’ve a huge difference for me.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but find it hard to rate due to the fact that it’s basically incomplete. If time allows, I’ll plan on checking this book out from the library once it’s published and update my review.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A sci-fi comic about a ruthless scientist searching for a plant with miraculous potential after crash landing on a dangerous alien planet. The steps she took to survive go far beyond morally gray, but she believes it will all be worth it if she can find the plant and create the cure. But one of her crewmates survived the crash, too--and she wants revenge. A fun read with lots of sci-fi survivalist adventure.

I found Black Star to be a pretty straightforward survival tale. The most interesting thing about it is certainly the questionable protagonist and how there isn't a clear hero. But for a story that's meant to be a tense cat and mouse thriller, I found the characters too distant and the artwork ill-suited to the atmosphere. It isn't a bad read, but it needed a stronger authorial/visual voice.

The Short Version: A breezy read about survival on an alien planet with plenty of twists and turns, but not a lot to show for it.

The Long Version: This is a pretty straightforward story about a ship crash landing on a deserted planet and the astronaut fighting to save their life against the wilds of said planet.

The art was good but gets messy in places being all in black and white. Would be better if the final product is in color

I struggled to really care about the characters and the set up for their motivations seemed very arbitrary to me, like it was mean girls in space being mean girls just to be mean girls.

The plot has twists and turns and it’s odd because I feel like it should work more than it did. I mean the stakes are life and death, but it didn’t feel that way.

Overall 3 out of 5. It’s an enjoyable and quick read, but the stakes don’t feel as life and death as they are because I couldn’t care about the characters.

Component Ratings
Idea/Concept: 2.5 out 5
Art: 3.5 out of 5
Characters: 1 out of 5
Character development: 1 out of 5
Dialogue: 3.5 out of 5
Layout: 5 out of 5
Plot: 3.5 out of 5
Ending: 3.5 out of 5

Black Star starts with out protagonist Dr.North struggling to make her way to the rescue ship after awakening from a catastrophe that practically destroyed her whole crew.

Right away I’m drawn in by the art style, truly mesmerized by it. It makes reading it all the better, it’s as if I’m watching a show.
I especially love the technology here, it’s very creative the alien life as well!

So, Dr. North has all the odds stacked against her, but perhaps this is karma for a past decision she has made? I still find myself routing for her though, as the rescue ship is only built for one. And as you discover early on, she isn’t the only one who survived the catastrophe. Her crew mate and once friend Parish survived as well, now full of hate and revenge for Dr.North

The whole purpose of the mission was to recover a flower needed for the survival of their kind, our kind, humans! So a lot of pressure, I can understand why Dr. North made the decision she did, I’m still side eyeing her though lol.

It’s become a battle of time, elements and each other now. As they race to the rescue ship, each using dirty tricks on one another, basically using their humanity against each other if you really think about it. We feel, deeply, it’s apart of what makes us, well us!

In the end, the two finally reach the ship, and the real fight begins. Who will be left? Read it and find out!

I really, enjoyed this Graphic Novel. I was engulfed by it, couldn’t put it down.


Thank you to NetGalley and the amazing publishers/authors for giving me a chance to read & review such a wonderful story.

Wasn't able to read it, disappointed. because it looked cool. The file type wouldn't download. The cover looks amazing though.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

This was a very quick and intense read! I really felt like the story was paced well, and it genuinely made me stressed towards the end! Love the dystopian feel to it, and I love how you can see the mc's mental and physical state progress in the art too!
The only criticism I have for this is that I wish we either got more buildup in the beginning or that we got a lot more flashbacks! I feel like everything would have been even more devastating, and if I had grown to care more for the other characters I would probably feel more conflicted.

I was quite underwhelmed with this one. The story starts off confusing regarding the characters and why they hate each other so, the reasons for being on the planet, and why they are stuck there.

The story moves very fast with nothing being explicitly stated as to what the actual problem is with the two female characters (miscommunication perhaps). It’s a very high-stakes action, life or death with both characters trying to outsmart the other while attempting to get to their downed ship.

Ultimately I think this story needs to be longer, it was way too short for the interesting situation these characters were placed in.

2.5 stars.

**ARC provided by Abrams Comics via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.