The review copy being black/white is a bit disappointing, but I tried not to let it impact my views.

The story starts mid-action. We see North's ship crash into the planet and her begin her journey to locate the escape pod. This journey takes her through the planet's dangers. Apparently, Black Star began its life as a screenplay, and I can that influence in this book. The travels of an unfamiliar MC through dangerous environments is something I think would catch my interest more in a film format. After a while, we discover that North isn't the only survivor. The story then has some flashbacks to set-up the dynamic between North and Parrish. As the MC, North is set-up as being the hero, but slowly the story reveals that may not be the case. I enjoy this trope, but I can't help but thinking this book didn't nail the execution. Overall, Black Star is enjoyable but a bit lacklustre story-wise.

Positives
The art is well done, but I cannot say it blew me away at any point. I only took one screenshot whilst reading it, which is substantially below average for a book where I like the art.

The characters, although not particularly developed, where pleasingly diverse. I can't be sure in a black/white book, but I would say the majority of characters were POC. There's also a lesbian relationship which drives quite a bit of the background story.

Negatives
The plot is a bit bare-bones. The characters are on a mission to locate a flower that is very important for unspecified reasons. I would say it's a MacGuffin, but although it's important for the set-up it doesn't drive the plot. It's just there. The ship crashes and then the survivors are in a race to get to the emergency shuttle first. There's friction between the survivors, but mostly the plot hangs on the race to the shuttle.

The characters are not well-developed. Even North is a bit one-note. Again, I think this might have worked better on the big screen.

i honestly got lost and had to search for inner meaning after completing this book cause it had such weak plot that made me think is it enough for publishing a whole novel on it without anything to remember it with.

I want to start this off with the complete insanity that the "rescue" ship is only built to handle one person. Like I get the odds are grim just generally in this world but I feel like that's insane like assuming everyone made it out of the crash, how does a crew make that decision of who to send back.

But once you get past the lack of forethought on what are we going to do if things go down. This story is action-packed from beginning to end, it leaves you on the edge of your seat the entire read. Because up until the last page you really don't know how this is going to turn out

As I was reading I really ended up feeling like this was a commentary on humanity, and how it is easy to put your survival over everyone else

•Character development- 2☆
• Story Plot- 2.5☆
• Side characters- 2.5☆
• Flow of the story- 4☆
• Overall - 2.5☆

It was hard to follow the story on this one. I feel like it started in the middle with very little background as to how she ended up crashed on the planet and why she was being pursued by her commanding officer. I also think not getting full colored pages is a detriment to reviewing. I'd have to read more of the series, if there is more.

Ahhhhh. So I loved the cover and the concept. But I felt like I was missing a lot. I was confused by the end wondering what I missed. I didn’t particularly care for either character and all of the potential just didn’t grow enough for me to care about the end “battle”.

The artwork was in black and white but will print in color. I think Black and White looked better. The plot is two astronauts go to a dangerous planet to find a cure that will help millions but get stranded and have to get to a shuttle built for one. Not anything groundbreaking or unique. Characters felt like they could be switched with anyone and would have the same story. Felt a little long. Have a feeling it will be a Netflix movie. The ending was the best part.

Eric and Arielle have crafted a dynamic fast-paced and truly messed up in the best sense story with this SF thriller. I literally was holding my breath as the two scientists battled the planet and each other to see if either could survive and reach the single shuttlecraft in time!! Cinematic and compelling and a wonderful part of the Megascope collection!

Black Star is a good debut sci-fi survival story, with a lot of potential. The beginning was quite slow for me, with some awkward inconsistent communication during the contextual flashbacks. The action in the first half of the book also struggled to communicate what was happening between panels.

However, I became very invested Parrish and North's dynamics right around page 36, where they have their first real suspenseful "interaction" (a distanced and mostly psychological interaction). North is not a likeable character and I like that. It is a pleasant change of pace to see a flawed character constantly be confronted by her hubris and see how she resists throughout. North and Parrish were both very nicely fleshed out and had a good weight given to their motivation and psychology.

Overall, this was a good debut. The art was nice and I was impressed with some of the interesting paneling, despite some of the action scenes becoming confusing. The survival was tense, the flashbacks in the beginning muddled the plot. I would be happy to read other works by this author and see other works by this artist.

The perfect lockdown read--a tense, engaging puzzle that hooks you into rereading it the moment it's over. Looking forward to more from Eric Anthony Glover and Arielle Jovellanos, who are clearly distinct new voices in sci-fi and graphic novels.

An excellent, edge of your seat tale of space exploration, greed, and the instinct for survival that drives every human. I know several reviews have said they found the story confusing but I don't think it is at all - a tea of astronauts are on their way to an inhospitable planet in search of a plant that cures some kind of deadly cancer. terrible accident occurs and two crew members that hate each other are the only survivors, crashed miles apart on a planet that is out to kill them, and must find their way to the emergency vessel that will allow ONE of them to return home safely. Action ensues. Very well crafted and nicely drawn. I had an ARC copy from Netgalley which was in black in white, I can imagine it would be even better in full color!

I was not a fan of the main character. She was extremely unlikeable, leaving her crewmates to die and emotionally manipulating her rival. It would be one thing if North was set up as a charming villain protagonist, but it’s clear we’re supposed to see her as the good guy. This unlikeability killed the tension for me as I didn’t care if she succeeded or not. The unique setting was completely wasted. The characters are on an alien planet yet their only real threats come from each other. Where are the sentient man-eating plants? Where are the acid spitting monsters? This book could have been set on a jungle on Earth and not one thing would have needed to be changed.

An ambitious science fiction story with a lot going on, reminiscent of earlier sci-fi stories about astronauts grappling with philosophical questions as they figure out how to survive as things go wrong (think Interstellar, Sunshine, etc.). While the plot doesn't hold together as well as it should, it shows promise for the writing team and suggests more good things to come from them.

This book has a LOT going for it! The cover, for starters, is a vibrant calling card to sci-fi lovers. The female cast is empowering and refreshing. I enjoyed several elements of the drama of the story.

Though the art was not bad, it was not memorable either. I felt some scenes lacked consistency and flow between the next panels.
Perhaps in a final volume that is donned in color and a few changes might garner 1-2 more stars from me. But for now, I give this story a 2/5.

Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.

Two astronauts fight against a harsh environment and each other after their ship collided with an asteroid and crashed on the planet’s surface. Harper North, the lead scientist, and the team’s survival expert are the only survivors. The ship’s emergency shuttle crashes around 100 kilometers away, so it’s a race against each other and the deadly summer sun and acid rains to see who can get to the one-person shuttle first. The team came to this deadly planet in search of a special flower with properties that can help an unknown sickness on Earth, but the tragedy of the crash and loss of the rest of the crew bring out the worst in North and her surviving shipmate.

This story really needed some more set up. Why do we need this flower? There were some key pieces of information revealed in the book’s summary that weren’t all on the pages in the story. The crash is also extremely abrupt. Within a page, we go from cryo sleep to crash landed, and we learn more about How North got out of the wreckage through “flashbacks” that are incomplete - North continues to replay certain key events through her visor, which apparently records everything she sees. There was a lot of leaps at the very beginning that could have had more panels of illustration to explain everything. Despite the rocky start, the survival portion and race to the shuttle was very intense and not predictable. If the amount of detail was spent in the beginning to set up everything, this would be a fantastic story.

​This story has some intense moments with some fairly violent scuffles but isn’t bloody or gory. There is some language.
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Sara’s Rating: 6/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

I received an advance review copy of this graphic novel from NetGalley.

There are a few things I really like about this book, however there were several issues with the ARC which I have not run into in the past.

Firstly, the cover is absolutely brilliant. Readers will see this on the shelf and will immediately be compelled to pick it up to see what it is all about.

Second, I am thrilled with the fact that the Author chose to make this book with solely female characters. I don't remember ever seeing an all-female graphic novel before. It is unique.

Third on my list of comments is that the interior of the advance copy was only shown in black, white and grey. The novel that will be released for sale will be in full colour and even though I really liked the illustrations, I believe I would have rated it higher if I could have seen it in colour.

My fourth and final comment again has to do with the fact that I received an incomplete copy of this book. I had a difficult time following the story since much of the dialogue was missing.

Keeping in mind that the finished product will be much better, I am rating this as ,3 out of 5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been in a real science-fiction mood recently so took the opportunity to read this upcoming graphic novel.

Unfortunately I don’t feel like I could enjoy this one because the story was so confusing. I couldn’t figure out what was going on from panel to panel and although there was a lot of drama, there was no suspense because it felt incoherent.

This is a case where I enjoyed the illustration style but the story was just not well explained. I would pick up another book by this author but this just didn’t work for me.

1 out of 5 stars!

Black Star is a sci-fi graphic novel about interstellar survival. Featuring a cast of all female characters, we narrow in on two: North and Parrish, and their battle to survive the elements on a perilous alien planet after their ship crashes, and each other. Black Star is a flawed, but gripping read. The preview copy I received to review is in black and white, though I would be very curious to see how much richer the story would be upon release in colour.

Wow, that was one wild ride. I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I think it was well-pasted and action-packed. I didn't want to put it down. I just needed to find out who was going to survive. Now it was a bit odd that the rescue shuttle only fits one person when there was a whole crew that was going to this planet. I loved the way the story was told but I do wish it was a bit longer. I wanted to know more about why they had to get this flower. I also wanted to know more about the planet they were on. With that being said I loved the journey through this world because it really showed how unstable it was. I just kept thinking if this is the planet now I definitely wouldn't want to be there during the summer. The characters aren't exactly likable but I was fine with it.

Black Star is the story of a crew of scientists who are dispatched to collect a flower from an alien planet that has powerful medicinal properties. However, something goes wrong and the shuttle crashes, killing almost everyone on board. The only survivors are Parrish and North, two scientists who already don't like each other, but there's only room for one on the rescue shuttle. What follows is a race across deadly terrain to be the first to the shuttle.

I enjoyed the story as it was quick and full of action, and you can definitely tell it was a screenplay first, but neither of the characters were really likable and I didn't understand why there would only be one rescue shuttle - it sounds like a poorly planned mission if they didn't consider the need for an escape shuttle that would fit them all, or at least decide on who would take the shuttle and who would remain behind. I feel like it would have been a more fulfilling story if we had a "the ships other shuttles were damaged beyond repair" or "North was the one who was chosen to take the shuttle in the event of a crash but Parrish refuses to follow the agreement," etc. I guess possibly the point could be the depths of depravity ordinarily "good" people will go to in order to survive, including manipulating and attacking other innocent survivors - but I also feel that would have been a far more powerful story if perhaps they had been close friends and one had shockingly betrayed the other, or if we'd had more in-depth to the "bully" Parrish appeared to be (or the potential love triangle with the captain that I may have just read too much into) but the tension is far more "lukewarm" than anything the way it stands now.

I enjoyed the book as a boredom buster and I loved the diversity and all-female cast of characters, and I also do think it would make a good action movie, so I definitely think it's worth a read, but I feel like some things could have been elaborated on further to make it even more interesting. I also always have a nitpick about ARCs that are provided without full color - it leaves me feeling like I perhaps missed out on important details that could have really boosted the story.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

Black Star is a tense story of survival on a hostile planet and a cut-throat competition. The reader is thrown into the action and learns about the technologies available and histories between the characters through context clues. This makes certain parts of the story opaque, but there is a visceral gut-punch feeling that comes when the reader realizes exactly what's going on. Both characters are devious and intent on survival, committing brutal acts to gain the upper hand, and I wasn't able to predict the ending. Jovellanos does a great job with the art. The characters have access to different surveillance equipment, and Jovellanos does a good job showing simulations, recordings, and how the characters think through and interface with these technologies.

A group of scientists are on their way to a planet where a flower grows that within it holds the key to helping humanity survive (not entirely sure in what way, I guess in a curative way?). The mission is to retrieve samples of the flower to take back to Earth. The crew is hybernating snugly in their hybernation pods, when the ship collides with some comets (I think..?), and is about to explode. One of the scientists, Harper North awakes, and quickly flees the burning ship (not entirely sure how she gets to the surface of the planet?).

Turns out through a flashback that another crewmember was awake, Parrish, who was pleading to North to help save yet another crewmember called Fletcher. North says she thinks she can't help, and leaves. We then see Parrish trying to save Fletcher, failing and she also jumps ship, to the planet below.

There is an auxillary shuttle on the planet, that will carry one (1) person back to Earth. Both Parrish and North have been dropped (I guess) about 4 hours from the shuttle. Who gets there first has to repair the shuttle, and can then leave. Parrish despises North for not helping her save Fletcher - turns out Fletcher was Parrish's partner. North argues that she deserves the shuttle, to take back one of the flowers. Supposedly Parrish is only interested in the flower for the money (not entirely sure why this is bad, per se, as long as the flower is delivered back to Earth?).

And so there's a race against time, and against a very hostile planet. It's unclear if we're supposed to root for one character over the other. We spend most time with North, but I quickly came to dislike her - I guess this ambiguity is what the author was going for?

Thing is, comics can be ambiguous as a medium, especially when they're based on the script for an unproduced film. There's a lot of action, and I don't feel the art is proficient enough at correctly conveying what is happening. I'm not a huge fan of narration in comics, but I feel like this book could've used some in places. The fact that there are so many things I'm unsure about should tell you something, both about script and art.

In the end, a filmscript is a fundamentally different thing than a comic script. I don't know how this book was produced, but it feels like either they took the filmscript as it was, or it was badly rewritten.

The book is produced as part of Abrams Comic Arts' Megascope initiative, which dedicates itself to producing stories by and about people of colour, which is fantastic. Sadly, this book isn't that fantastic.