3.75 stars

C/W: Gang violence, blood, gun-use, implied drug use and alcohol use, death

I really enjoyed "Dry Foot", The story follows four teens who attempt to rob a serial killer in order to move out of their gang-controlled neighbourhood in Miami.

I loved the story, although fast-paced was simple to follow. This was aided by the use of large panels and a consistent art-style that seemed to draw inspiration from the colours of red, blue, white and yellow in various combinations. Which could represent the colours of the Cuban flag.

Both the illustrator and colourist are the highlights of the story, for me. Because while I felt the comic needed a lot more than the 95 or so pages it had to make a reader invested in the storylines, the story it did tell was very efficient and I wasn't bored. I definitely think this is a good intro comic if someone is looking for a comic outside of superheroes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for allowing me access to an e-arc of this comic. All opinions are my own.

Dry Foot by Jarred Lujan takes place in Miami set in the 80's. Four teenagers are living

Dry Foot by Jarred Lujan is set in 1980's Miami, the most dangerous decade to live in. This novel follows four desperate teens who want to escape the drugs, gangs and the violence that follow people around the city. These friends design a heist to steal loads of money from a very dangerous gang known as Los Marielitos.

I'm going to rate Dry Foot by Jarred Lujan, 3 stars. I loved the diversity of characters in this novel; it was infused with hispanic culture as well as other ethnicities. What I also love about Dry Foot is that it includes the value of friendship, family and how much each friend was willing to sacrifice to leave Miami.

I will be honest and say that a 3 star rating is not a normal rating for me since I usually rate graphic novels 5 stars. I rated Dry Foot lower because I felt as if this graphic novel was missing something. I wanted to know a little more about each character and their background. Even though we do receive a little bit of information of each character but I wanted more. While reading this novel, I wanted a better understanding of why this group of friends wanted to steal this money from Los Marielitos. It didn't make a lot of sense to me because if they wanted to escape the violence of Miami, they didn't believe that stealing this money, would cause them to be in that same violence. It just gave me a lot to think about and it just caused me to ask more questions than to gain some answers.

This graphic novel is about 4 teens who decide to rob a drug dealer. If you think that is a terrible idea and it's probably going to go horribly wrong. You would be correct. I would say the biggest issue I had with this is the reveal about a certain character. It just didn't make sense to me why they would go thru all this trouble. I mean surely there was an easier way. (Sorry to be vague but I don't' wanna spoil anyone) Anyway, I enjoyed the characters but wish I would have learned a little bit more about them. Also, the art style wasn't my favorite,.

Dry Foot is a thriller graphic novel that follows a group of friends as they try to take out a crime boss in 1980s Miami. What more could you want?

This graphic novel was so fun! The story was gripping, action packed, and exciting. The characters were unique, fun, and I kind of wanted to be their friend. The art style was stunning. I felt so immersed in their story, every twist and turn took me by surprise in the best way. The action sequences were thrilling and so stunningly drawn. My only complaint was that it wasn't long enough.

And that cover is stunning.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Set in Miami during its most dangerous and decadent decade, the 1980s, this coming-of-age tale follows four teens desperate to escape the drugs and violence of the city. Together, they plot a heist to steal large sums of cash from the most dangerous gang on Calle Ocho, Los Marielitos. Dry Foot is a fearless story infused with Hispanic culture that deals with friendship, family, and sacrifice.- Goodreads

I liked this. It definitely felt like the beginning of something big and I am really looking forward to seeing how the next volume plays out. However, with that being said, the story did feel rushed. As if the author didn't take the time to flesh things out. I would have liked to see more of the Hispanic culture infused in the story and I would have liked to see more insight on each of the teens. There wasn't enough there for me to say I knew them or even liked them. Also there wasn't enough backstory overall.

Loved the artwork and the bright bold colors.

Overall, this is a good start to what can be a thrilling and intense story.

3 Pickles

The cover and the description drew me in but unfortunately this story wasn't all I hoped for. This is a story that relies on the strength of its characters but it failed to develop them beyond hints at vague tragic back stories and an underdeveloped villain. This accumulated in a rushed ending and it could probably benefited from being a longer story.

The first thing that caught my eye about this book was the vibrant and distinct art style. I really enjoyed the start of the book when the characters were being introduced, but the book doesn't give us much time to understand or connect with them before jumping right into the action, and so I found it really hard to care about what happened to the characters. The story was over before I really got into it, and I really wish that this was longer and more drawn out. However, if you're looking for a quick read, this is perfect if you have 30 minutes. Overall, the art and colours beautiful, but the story was way too fast-paced.

Ok - first the good stuff. The art is great. Super colorful and vibrant with good character design. Also, the story starts out strong, introducing us to some great diverse characters. Then, it jumps into the "action" part before we really get to know that much about the characters. More background would have been super helpful to develop the characters. Also, the ending is SUPER abrupt and tries to tie everything together WAY too neatly with way too many unanswered questions left.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The artwork is gorgeous. The graphic novel should have been a little longer to build the plot and develop the characters more. I thought the plot development was pretty sudden and way too quickly wrapped up, considering the story revolves around stealing from a drug lord. However, I loved the setting and Hispanic culture infused into the writing. The Hispanic background and 80s scene are believable. I loved Mariana; she is a well-rounded character and all-around badass. I also really enjoyed the Indiana Jones bit. I wanted to love the other characters, but it just felt a little short with showing the readers the history of their friendships. I expected the story to end on a cliffhanger to have room for more character and story development, so I was surprised that it didn't end that way. It seems like this could be a one-off type of story. I'm interested to see if this will turn into a series or not.

I enjoyed this one! It was a short and simple read. The artwork is beautiful, and the storyline is solid. I think I was expecting more though? Or something different, at least. I feel like the twist with Diego at the end isn’t really needed, but it doesn’t hurt the story. I wish we’d get to see what happens with Angel, but the ending was nice with Mari and Diego.

This is literally the perfect graphic novel for you to get out of a reading slump; it's fast-paced, short and quick to get invested in. I also really enjoyed the diversity in the characters. The art style is also my style and it's easy to see characteristics and to follow the story even better with the help of the colorful art style!

I posted this in GoodReads as well.

Set in 1984, the story follow 4 teenage friends, one of them Diego, wants to steal a large amount of money from notorious gang called Calle Ocho. Diego wants his friends to join in so that they can steal the money and run away to start a better life elsewhere.

Now, of course these teenagers are not some kind of mastermind thieves so you know something is about to happen for sure. I'm glad Mariana, the BADARSE chick and the only female in the group with any common sense and "balls" is such a standout character own her own. She maybe all tough and bitch but she is loyal for sure, you can always count on her watching out for you. I like Angel and Fabian too. I think they all had their own unique personality.

This is a very short comic but it comes packed with loads of drama, action and twist. I think it's kind of pointless to review the entire story here since it will literally give away spoilers, so I'm not going to do that. To be honest, I really didn't expect the story to turn out like that....or did it ? *stroke chin*

Alas, I liked it a lot, although if I must complain about something, it will be the no translation provided for some dialogue. I can't make out what they're saying in their native language, so part of the conversation between the characters is lost to me.....I wish it had some sort of small text translation for non Latin readers.

Love the artwork, coloring and character designs. I always appreciate a clean design artwork and story telling. I stopped reading a few times just to admire the artwork.

I received this ARC from NetGalley but the opinions are still fully mine.

The art was really pretty and gave me that 80’s vibe that the illustrator was going for...still the book itself really didn’t do it for me.

I enjoyed the first part of the graphic novel where we got to know the four main characters a bit, but I feel like we got to know them too shallowly to really form any attachment to them/to start liking them.

The story was non-stop and very action packed which I enjoyed. But I wish that we’d gotten to know the characters more so we could’ve understood their motives for their actions better as I found some things that happened a bit confusing.

Perhaps if the graphic novel was a bit longer the reader could’ve gotten to know them more? Which might’ve made the book feel less rushed as a lot happened in quite few pages.

For a person that doesn’t speak Spanish it got a bit confusing when the characters spoke in their language every now and then, it made me feel like I missed out a bit.

⭐️ “Dry Foot” by Jarred Lujan, Orlando Caicedo & Warnia Sahadewa gets 2/5 stars from me!

”It takes money just to live, but nobody wants to die.”

Dry Foot a quick, fun read (only 98 pages long). It’s set in Miami in the 1980s, in the *best” possible way. There were tons of great references- from Space Invaders to everyone in the squad keeping in touch on massive walkie-talkies, to an entire Raiders of the Lost Ark montage. The art style was fantastic, and it complemented the glamour and vice of 1980s Miami perfectly. I do wish this had been a little longer, and that the heist itself had been a bigger scene.

Thank you for approving me for this copy! My husband loves comics and has gotten me into them more. I really enjoyed this fast-paced story. It was intense, the characters were well-rounded, there was a twist I didn’t expect, and an ending I really liked.

A heist story with an all latino star cast with nice friendships and 80 pop culture references?
This feels like it was custom made for me

I did not really like the art style. I did not like the character Fabian whose only personality trait is that he likes girls. I did not relate to the 80s nostalgia but that is probably people I wasn’t alive during that time but overall this was not for me

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review from Diamond Book Distributors and Mad Cave Studios via NetGalley.

Firstly thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this beautifully illustrated graphic novel.

Do you like On My Block? Then this graphic novel is for you. Set in the 1980s in Miami, Dry Foot deals with the gritty reality of trying to survive in a town ruled by gangs and crime and the ripple effects this has on our young characters.

Although I really enjoyed the set up to this story, I felt like the ending was rather rushed and because we didn’t get much time in our protagonists heads, the ending lacked a lot of emotional impacted.

I will however keep my eye out for more graphic novels by this author, this story had a lot of promise so I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a graphic novel I enjoy more from them in the future.

What could have been a fun adventure, turned out be underwhelming. It was cool to see a diverse cast though!

Thanks to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors / Mad Cave Studios for the digital review copy of this graphic novel.

This coming-of-age tale follow four teenage friends in Miami during the 1980s, a tumultuous time full of gangs and danger. These Latix kids hatch a plot to steal enough money to escape their lives from the most dangerous gang around, Los Marielitos.

I enjoyed so much about this graphic novel, the art, the story, the characters, and the pace. It moves lightning fast, and even though I got sleepy while reading, I refused to go to bed until I finished. The epilogue felt a tad disjointed, like, I wanted to spend more time with them, but I understand the need for a quick and tidy wrap up to such a fast-paced story tumultuous story.

If you’re looking for a cool, adventurous and self-contained story between longer comic runs, this one’s out in March, so keep an eye out for it.