This graphic novel was absolutely fantastic!

This is a historical graphic novel that follows three characters in a 1900s alternate setting. Jay, Fix, and Sable were all such interesting characters and I loved watching their story unfold. The romance was absolutely amazing, and made me feel so many emotions. There were several quotes, all in relation to the romance, that will definitely be sticking with me.

The art in this was absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to own a physical copy of the book!

There were times that the text bubbles on page were in the format of the characters' handwriting, and I found some of those a little harder to read. There were also some times that the art was a little jumbled, mostly during fight scenes, so it was a little difficult to understand what was going on. Neither of those totally took me away from the story but it did make it a little harder to read.

I can't believe this was a debut graphic novel, and I cannot wait to see what else this author does in the future!

rating: 5/5 stars

"Eighty Days" was a brilliant story! A story about a man who just wants to fly but gets swept up in a bureaucratic war of the skies. While I don't think you need any preexisting knowledge of planes before going into this, I did have to look up a decent amount of things to make sure I was understanding the story fully. Jay, Fix, and Sable are all flawed but bring out the best in each other which I admire greatly in a story. The romance is tender and not overdone, and the friendships are withstanding and unapologetic about their flaws. I'm happy that Sable was able to admit she was on the wrong side of the war.

The art style is traditional in nature which creates a beautiful flow to the narration. The only downside to this is that some of the more busy scenes (battles for example) got a bit too simplified due to the nature of the brushstrokes and became a bit confusing. The character designs are beautiful and imaginative. I like how overbearing and fearsome The Maestro was drawn.

Overall this is definitely something worth having in my library's collection!

Eighty Days is an outstanding graphic novel. It is teeming with representation, high stakes, and relationships that are so incredibly moving. It is beautiful and whimsical in places but also covers a large range of heavy topics and portrays them with grace whilst still throwing a heavy punch.

The artwork in this is absolutely gorgeous and fits the story so well it's almost uncanny. Some of the drawings are viscerally moving. I was a fan of all of the characters and the plot flowed very well although I did hit a bit of a lull about 60% through, it didn't last long though.

This was such a good read and I absolutely adored it and was ridiculously invested in both the characters as a whole and the beautiful little queer love story that was at the heart of this.

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

A superb work!

In the four parts that make up this story, we follow one of the three main characters. Developing their personality, but also their vision of events, the author succeeds in making the three characters captivating.
We get attached to them and we can only be driven by their desire for freedom.

But the big plus of the book lies in its graphic style: it captivated me! The design was superb and carried me throughout the plot. I really want to frame some boards!

In short, to discover! ^^

“Pilots not angels, at best supply wings for them.”

Thanks to BOOM! Studios and NetGalley for this ARC.

Wow I can not believe it. I loved it. And this time I mean it.
I will hold this story very close to my heart. 100% recommended.

This book was described as a love letter to flight and that was a great description. There is a lot of technical pilot talk. The art is cute, but I struggled getting into the story. I can see pilots or people who are just really into planes loving this though. Maybe if I could have followed the technical stuff I would have enjoyed it more.

I received an e-ARC of this graphic novel in exchange for my review. I'll be honest, I did not manage to finish reading this. The artwork was beautiful, but became confusing. The premise sounded fantastic, but I needed more prose to inform me on the universe in which this story is set. I wanted to love this, but I couldn't get past these factors to really care about the characters. This one is a pass for me.

A story of valor and love, 80 Days follows a pilot, a resistance fighter, and a woman rising through the ranks to leadership as their world is at war, and they have to choose which side(s) they will fight on. At times the story and the action scenes were unclear, but the black and white illustrations were dynamic, striking, and the relationships between the characters complex and moving. A.C. will be an author/artist to watch.

This was captivating, action packed, full of political intrigue and the ins and outs of war and it tore my little gay heart to shreds— in both the best of ways and in some pretty heart-wrenching ways.

This graphic novel follows a pilot Jay and the crafty, super smart thief that he ends up falling in love with. Their relationship started off in the best way possible— enemies to reluctant allies to lovers and I loved every second of it.

The art style in this was gorgeous. I can’t believe this is this author’s debut! They really did a stunning job not only with the art but the plot, the characters, just everything about it was done to perfection.

If you like forbidden love but make it gay, war, what it means to truly be free and fight for that freedom and a story that will have you feeling every emotion— you need this in your life!

5/5⭐️

3.5 stars

I have some mixed feelings about this comic.
I don't know if it was because I read it in an e-arc, but several parts of the story and dialogues I just couldn't read, because the font used for the letters made it very difficult.
I also found several panels very difficult to see because they were too dark or had so much information that I couldn't understand what was going on, very well.
But I loved the lines of the drawings, I thought all the characters were beautiful, and I have fallen in love with them all.
The story itself is amazing at first you don't really know where it's going but it takes on huge proportions and you have an epic story in this comic, I loved the romance too.
So in the end, I can say that I liked it a lot but it could improve in some aspects!

I really appreciate the aesthetic of this world, though it could be fleshed out a bit better. I want to know more about it! The main romance was cute and the adventure was fun! I enjoyed this graphic novel but wish it simply a bit more polished,

This was a rather cool graphic novel!

I really enjoyed the art style and the overall aesthetics of the story/world. I mean you really can't go wrong with historical pilots. Despite this, I found that a lot of the aspects of the worldbuilding weren't that well fleshed out, or maybe just went over my head. As a result, I was pretty confused as I was reading and by the halfway point I was really just there for the vibes, which were truly on point. The main relationship (m/m) was also quite cute and lovely.

Eighty Days, written and drawn by A.C. Esguerra, is a sweeping, epic graphic novel about 3 lives intertwined during a war against a relentless and power-hungry regime.

I’m not going to say more about the plot, but OH MY GOD PLEASE READ THIS!
It has EVERYTHING. And I mean it. A rich world, with diverse nations and ways of life, 2 main characters are POC and a queer love story. War-torn nations trying to resist. A mafia family. Lies, deceit double-crossing and alliances changing and re-forming its every turn of war. Need I say more.

The art is absolutely gorgeous. So many beautiful panels that I could just stare at for days. As beautiful as it is though, sometimes it was hard to decipher what was going on during the action scenes. But literally everything else about the art and style was phenomenal. The character designs *chefs kiss*

This novel was just SO COOOOOOOOOL. I hope it gets made into a movie or something someday. I also hope that the author A.C. Esguerra (queer Filipino btw) gets the recognition they deserve. I am sooo looking forward to their future works.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I don’t have much to say about this graphic novel. I’m hoping that the final will have color because I think that will really add to it. Other than that, I was moderately confused throughout the whole thing (most likely a me thing) but I could not get into the world or the characters.I mint have to give the published version a second try.

I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!

Beautiful love story! Gorgeously illustrated! Brilliant linework! Dynamic panels! Excellent flow! Engaging story! Happy ending!

Esguerra's work is absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to see what else this exceptional artist has in store for us!

I would like to thank BOOM! Studios/ ARCHAIA and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’m planning on purchasing this graphic novel for myself once it is published! It has a rich story with well developed characters. I liked the fictional world that was created, but the struggles the characters faced were real and heartbreaking. Fighting for love and freedom was central to the story. I liked the art style, and I hope to see more color in the final printing. My only critique is that some of the fonts were difficult to read. I have trouble with reading certain fonts that are stylized to look like handwriting, so it helps when “written” fonts are able to be easily read. Otherwise, I loved this!

Absolutely stunning! I was riveted from the start and flew through this graphic novel! The art is gorgeous and conveys so much emotion and depth and yearning. Is it possible to fall in love with characters in just a few hours? Yes! I was captivated by Jay, Fix, and Sable, and their intertwining narratives. In a world where an oppressive government is bent on conquering the world, these characters find ways to resist. I liked that none of them have the same sort of approach or background -- they're unique individuals with their own motivations and trials, they make mistakes, they try again, and they keep fighting. There's beautiful diversity within the story as well as an epic queer love story at its heart. I experienced so many intense feels while reading and I can't wait to buy a copy of this graphic novel so I can reread again and again and savor the brilliant art and storytelling. A must read!

This book is beautiful in story, art, and message.
The story focuses on several characters as they try to live with and then fight against the all-powerful, Nazi-like organization waging war on the world. A pilot that only wants to fly, a genius radio operator, a pilot/engineer who must decide what truly matters, and a host of smaller characters that nonetheless contribute to the great humanity of the book. It also makes for a bit of a confusing read when several characters converge and you're not sure who's saying what, but it's such a great story that I'm perfectly willing to forgive that.
The art is beautiful, fluid, and full of motion and emotion that drives the story even better than the words. Esguerra manages to make what could be argued are nothing more than ink smudges communicate everything from dark violence to a love that soars.
It's a great story told beautifully with great messages of freedom, love, and fighting for what's right. Definitely, one that's getting added to the list of recommendations.

Many very happy thanks to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios, Archaia for the early read!

Wow, wow, wow, I absolutely loved this! I think the graphic novel format worked excellently - I felt totally drawn into the world of the story, and fully engaged throughout. While sometimes things were a little unclear to me, I kind of like having to wonder and fill in the gaps. The set-up is intriguing, and the characters and their relationships are absolutely amazing. I love how clear each of their voices is, and how they used different fonts to show it in writing. The art is also absolutely stunning - there's a sequence near the climax that is breathtaking.

I don't know if the author intends to do anything more with this world or story, but I would happily read it! The ending was satisfying and sweet on its own, but there was definitely room for more exploration if they ever chose to do so!

Thank you so much to Boom! Studios and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

This graphic novel jumps right into the mind of AVO pilot, Jay. It is split into four "books", and the first one is mostly done in the form of Jay's flight journal. This gives us small, precise sentences, but not a lot of information. I found myself confused as to what/who AVO was, and why they were such a big deal. The scenes also transitioned so quickly, that I wasn't sure what was going on, what character's motivations were, and why they had the labels they did.

Book two & three follow a more traditional storytelling route, but it was very hard to interpret what was happening in action scenes. They are such a jumble of movement that I couldn't tell what I was looking at. I would often have to rely on the dialogue afterword to know what had happened.

Book four was my favorite, and the most easy to understand. This is where I could better sympathize with the characters and their goals. Unfortunately, there was still a lot I didn't understand by the end. It's never really explained why AVO is bad, or what their goal is. I really wish we got to see more of the history of this world, and how the people lived. It just kinda feels like we were dropped into the middle of a conflict without knowing who anyone is.

The art style also wasn't for me. I think mainly the confusion during action scenes is why I feel that way. I loved how the artist drew the hair and the planes, but everything else felt a little off. The ending is satisfying though, and the character's receive a good conclusion.

2.5 Stars