Thank you to NetGalley for granting this ARC, super cute and fast read. The illustrations were adorable and the story was cute.

Loved this graphic the novel. The artwork was so colorful and fun! I also enjoyed reading about Pax and his journey to find himself. It was a really fun read that I think a lot of young readers would enjoy.

Everything about this was adorable. I loved the characters and the plot. The art was also phenomenal.

POC superheroes! Cooking! Magic! Lore!

Good book, but had A LOT going on so at times it was hard to keep track but I did like it.

This is a story about a superhero Pax, whos whole family is superheroes.

It was a detailed graphic novel (at times maybe a bit to detailed) we got a lot of information about the world and grandma's backstory, but not a lot about the other characters. I needed them a bit more flushed out.
It was easy enough to read, but I found myself constantly checking how many pages there was left in the story.

Something positive was I loved that the colours was so vibrent in the story.

It was just missing a lot for me and that's why I can't give it any more stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the ARC of Pax Samson Volume 1: The cookout.

Unfortunately, this story didn`t click with me the way I expected it will. It took me too long to finish this grafic novel. But I must say, overall it`s a cute story, the art side is pretty good, the premise is cute and inspiring. In my opinion this will be perfect for kids. I`m sure, this story will inspire and incourage young readers

This was such a sweet depiction of family and working together for a common cause. I love that this family dynamic appears in a work of speculative fiction.

Pax Samson is a twelve-year-old superhero who loves to cook. He comes from a big family of superheroes, but cooking is his passion. His family is led by Grandma Samson, the strongest and most powerful superhero. Now Pax, his sister, and his cousins have to step up and help the family defeat his grandma’s enemy, the ancient god Odin.

I love superhero stories. Pax was a fun character because he was trying to figure out where he fit in with his family and in the superhero world. He felt torn between following his family’s legacy and doing what he wanted, which was cooking. Luckily, he was able to do both.

The art was brightly coloured. The superheroes had distinct costumes in vibrant colours. I liked seeing the different generations depicted in the art. There were some flashbacks that had monochromatic illustrations, so they stood out against the present story.

Pax Samson is a fun middle grade graphic novel!

Thank you Oni Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. It has lots of promise and is quite entertaining but it has too many lulls making it easy to put down. I don't need nonstop action picking up the pace a bit would help.

Superheroes are the standard when we're talking about graphic novels. Most people expect the standards: Superman, Spider-man, that sort of thing. These stories explore the pressures of the superhero life, the need to keep a secret identity, balancing personal lives. Stuff that isn't especially relatable for kids. That leads to books like Pax Samson, the story of a world with many superheroes. Our hero is learning how to be a hero, practicing and building up his abilities. He has other interests too and is allowed to explore them. He fights villains but also gathers rare ingredients for new recipes. Both of his interests are given equal value by the author and the characters. The plot also explores the history of this world and the effects of perspective. Enough nuance to make it good for discussion but not so much as to make it a difficult read.

This was one that I had trouble getting into. I like the mythology in the story and the family structure, but it just didn't hold my attention.

12-year-old Pax Samson is not sure if he wants to be a superhero like the rest of his family. He's passionate about cooking, but not so much about training. The family matriarch, Grandma Samson, has had to be tough--especially after how long she has been protecting her community, not only her family--and Pax's decision of being a hero is not to be taken lightly.

This graphic novel is full of magic, powers, the mad king Odin, and lore about the Samson family. The illustrations are beautiful and the family dynamics are familiar; thus, making the family empathetic. It was a little difficult to get into at first because of so much information about this fantasy world. However, about a quarter of the way through, I was fully immersed. I cannot wait to read the next two. If you love graphic novels--with Black superheroes!!--this is a good one for you!

A boy from a superhero family with a passion for cooking tries to find his place among his legendary grandmother, famous parents, and talented siblings / cousins. Pax Samson mixes the superhero story with science fiction, setting the whole tale on an alien planet with a complicated history. Sometimes things felt a little muddled because of how many things the graphic novel was trying to do, which I think took away from the overall story.

What a lovely book! I think this can be classified as a middle grade comic or graphic novel. A fun premise about a boy named Pax who belongs to a family of superheroes called the Samsons. Pax, however, is just interested in cooking. He's a really good cook, and a superhero in training. He feels like he's better at cooking than at superhero duties.

Pax is a kind, respectful boy and I'm sure he'll turn into a wonderfully well-rounded grown up as well. Grandma Samson was the original superhero and her character is the most fleshed out in this story. However, this is Vol. 1 so I fully expect equally detailed backstories for other characters in future volumes! I'd love to read this series for sure.

Pax's family may be full of superheroes, but otherwise they're a normal family with a really supportive and healthy dynamic. I loved how much emphasis they'd put on family, relationships and respect.

Oh, and the artwork was just so beautiful! When I first saw this book on Netgalley, it immediately caught my eye because of how wonderful the cover was. The entire novel is just as beautifully illustrated, and it was a joy to read. If you purchase the e-book version, I'd suggest reading it on a tablet in it's full glory. A phone will certainly not do justice to the beauty in these pages.

I was so pleased to see black representation for all the black boys and girls out there. It's really important for children to be able to see people who look like them - whom they can identify with and look up to - in books and movies, and this book makes a wonderful addition with it's family of black superheroes. I'm not black, so I obviously can't speak for them; this is only my view as a person of color. Oh, and both the author and illustrator are also black!

I definitely recommended this book for middle grade and above! Adults will love it too. If you're artistically inclined, you must certainly check this book out for the wonderful artwork as well. I look forward to reading the next volumes of this lovely debut.

Thank you to Oni Press and Netgalley for the e-arc.

Pax Samson is a detailed graphic novel following a cool superhero family who all like to follow in the footsteps of their greatest superhero- Gran- except Pax doesn't really want to follow in the family business. He'd rather be cooking and creating new recipes but he's trying to fit in, and do his duty.

The world building within this book is so interesting, where the world looks like ours but not quite because there are cars then there are dinosaurs being used as police vehicles. But then there is the superheroes and elves and magic, along with time travel and different worlds.

There is so much that can be done with this and we as the reader only get an inkling of what this universe holds and what could show up in any potential volumes.

The characters stole the show as each one is so vivid. We have Pax with his cooking and learning to better his schools; Gran with her tragic story and legendary status; Pinnacle with his 'coolness'; and so many others you can meet. We only really got to explore one characters backstory which is enough but I do hope we can learn more as the series goes on.

Overall, this is a very solid graphic novel but I did have two qualms with it. For a book that centers around a child who would rather cook than have superpowers, I wish we could've seen more cooking and Pax fighting with the two sides of his life.

It also gets a little wordy at times when explaining a few characters past or the backstory. For me, this made the story slower in places when I wanted to find out what was happening.


If you love Marvel or DC stories and looking for something a bit different and not your traditional superhero origin story then I definitely recommend this one!

Amazing color choices and character design, but the plot was confusing. And I wish we had seen him cooking!

Pax comes from a long line of superheroes. His Grandma Samson is the one who defeated Odin and helped broker a peace between humans and enchanteds. The Samson family business is superheroing, but Pax would rather just be a chef. He isn’t confident in his skills, and isn’t sure about the way his Grandma and the rest of the family handle things. As a holiday celebrating an old enchanted king draws near, Odin again threatens the city and a small group of enchanteds has something else on the agenda.

It took me a little while to get into this. I could tell it was going to be about Pax figuring out his place in the family and world, but beyond that I couldn’t tell where the plot was headed and a good portion of time is spent introducing the members of the family and background of the city, and that seemed a little slow for me. Once they are all introduced, things pick up and get more interesting and I think future volumes may be more fun now that this stuff is all out of the way. The Samson family may have their individual issues, but I like how they work together and care for each other, their city, and their friends. Recommended to superhero fans.

Notes on content: No language issues. No sexual content. There are some superhero battles, but it mostly is just a battle for who ends up on top not who is the most injured or anything.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was able to read almost this entire graphic novel before I ran into an issue and then Netgalley would not allow me to redownload it. I absolutely loved what I was able to read and intend to pick up a copy when this comes out so I can finish it up!

Fantastical graphic novel that uses some elements of Norse mythology and other fantasy creatures to create a whole new world. Pax is born into a family of superheroes, but his real talent is cooking. Although the plot is full of action packed moments, the best part of this book is emphasis on talking things out before fighting. It's also enjoyable to see diversity in characters not just racially, but in age as well. This book is great for middle grade readers who enjoy the fantasy and superhero genres.

Thank you for the arc!
This is a nice story but it wasn’t for me.
The illustrations are great.
I think many people may love this book but it truly wasn’t for me.