It's a little hard to review this because I only received maybe the first 100 pages--if that. So what I saw, I enjoyed enough, and I liked the art and the story, but it's hard to make an overall assessment.

Pitched as Riverdale meets Stranger Things, I found this short comic to be neither of these things but it is definitely a readalike for Teen Wolf. Unfortunately this eARC was 'printed' in black and white, which caused it to be very dark and impossible to see anything, similar to Teen Wolf. I thought a lot of the dialogue was very funny but unfortunately I didn't really know what was going on. Three and a half stars, rounded up for NetGalley/Goodreads.

I received an advanced copy of Blackwater through Netgalley so I could share my review with you!

Content Warning: bullying, ableism, violence, animal carcass shown on-page, homophobia, and gore

I went into Blackwater under the impression that it would be a standalone graphic novel, or at the very least have a self-contained story within its pages, which turned out not to be the case. The book ended on a strange note, that I wouldn’t necessarily call a cliffhanger as the story just felt unfinished, not suspensefully ended. I suspect that when a future Blackwater sequel is released, the story will have a more complete arc, but as it was the book was lacking in a real plot, favoring exposition more than content.

I really disliked the characters in Blackwater as well, as I found most of them to be difficult to sympathize with. I found that they felt very one-dimensional to me, and lacked compelling traits or storylines. This may also stem from the unresolved nature of the ending, as the characters weren’t given room to redeem themselves or improve as people.

Though I had some issues with Blackwater, I did quite enjoy the spooky atmosphere of the book, and the underlying element of magical mystery! These features were what drew me to the book in the first place, and I did genuinely enjoy them in the end.

My Recommendation-
While I was not the biggest fan of Blackwater, that doesn’t mean that you won’t enjoy it. If you are a fan of Stranger Things or Summer Sons, you might want to grab a copy of Blackwater to see if you enjoy it!
#Blackwater #BlackwaterGraphicNovel #Webcomic #Webtoons #GraphicNovels #SummerReading #SpookyBooks #Bookstagram #YaBooks #Books #YaBookstagram #BookReview #BookBirthday #LGBT #LGBTBooks #QueerLit #QueerBooks #GraphicNovel #Booktube #BookTok #NewBook #Bookish #GayBooks #MLMBooks #QueerGraphicNovel #YAHorror

Blackwater takes the readers into a dark mystery where lives are on the line. The illustrations were vivid and full of emotion. The story took some time to develop, while the character development too some time to get going.

I was disappointed to realize that this was a sample and not the complete work, but I have to say I didn't enjoy what I was able to read. I really didn't find much to hang on to with either main character.

*Sampler (that was marketed as a full length book) Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*

I have to be honest, I received this graphic novel to review and at first I was delighted, but then disappointment settled in as the copy I received was only a sampler and not a full novel (even though that isn't mentioned or disclaimed once on the site). 

So the four chapters I did get to read, I was intrigued by the mystery. The authors alternated illustrating each chapter but the art still flowed smoothly. I liked all the representation, I am not even sure I got a complete grasp on it all. Yet in those brief chapters, none of the characters are really good, they honestly all seem like rotten brats in their own ways, with the exception of Marcia. And while the romance undertone seemed rushed, I don't even know for sure if it was there, the story had extensive bullying. The bullying was kind of awful and horrendous and left a sour taste in my mouth. 

So based on the brief introduction to this world, the question is would I pick up the full length graphic novel? Probably not, while the art flowed, the storyline felt choppy and the world building was none existent, you are just thrust into their lives. I didn't find any of the characters to be relatable and their behavior was outlandish even for the settings.

Although I enjoyed Blackwater, it felt like a necessary build up to something even better. Characters were formed and the setting was set. I was left expecting more. I thought there would be more action and less charter building. It might have also been that the Advanced Readers Copy was not fully illustrated and had some formatting errors. The illustration was in itself well done and pleasant to look at. I’m sure the finished edition will be much more enjoyable. I appreciated the queer and disability representation. I will definitely read the next parts of the story as they are released in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ecopy of the ARC.

How can I resist requesting this book when it's described as Riverdale meets Stranger Things?

Unfortunately, I did not expect my ARC to be just a 130-page sampler (nowhere on the Netgalley listing does it say so) which means I'm missing half the book. It was too short a read for me to be invested, especially since there's no conclusion.

I enjoyed the paranormal mystery aspect but wanted to know so much more. The artwork was okay but I would have preferred full colour. Definitely keen to find out what happens next.

graphic novels are not always my cup of tea, but i found this one interesting. I wouldn't say its my favorite book but definitely not my least favorite. i loved the storyline, characters, and illustrations. definitely recommend

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc of Blackwater!

I will be 100% honest. I tried to read this on the Netgalley app, and even though not all of the pages displayed correctly, I did like what I read! I liked our two main characters and the emerging supernatural mystery! The sample of this ebook ended on a pretty big cliffhanger also!

I got a chance to read the rest of the book, so I want to mention the representation in this! There is BIPOC, trans, and disability rep. While I can't speak to the validity of the rep, I personally thought they were done well.

I recommend picking this up!

I'm not really sure quite how to review this. After reading Heartstopper I wanted to try some other graphic novels so I requested Blackwater on NetGalley- the cover was great and the story sounded interesting. Imagine my surprise though, when I started reading it today, for it to come to rather an abrupt end, after just over 100 pages. I went to NG to see if it mentioned on the description that we'd only be getting a sample, or that this was a part one, but it didn't note that any where on the book info. So I checked out some of the reviews and apparently I'm not the only one who was expected a full length book, only to receive about a third of it. I'm not sure what the purpose of this was, without discloing it as a sample.

I'm giving it 3* because the story was starting to get good, and I really enjoyed the art. But I am very disappointed that I'm not able to review the full story.

I enjoyed the graphic novel preview. I was disappointed that it wasn't the full story. Also, several of the pages had white lines through the middle of frames, so they were impossible to read. I enjoyed the book enough that I do plan to read it once it releases.

5/10

i was very excited to read this story, but i can only seem to open it on the netgalley phone app where i think it is incomplete (only 136 pages but should have around 300) and multiple pages i was unable to read due to the formatting with bars going horizontally across the screen. from what i could read i thought it was just okay, but there was a lot of plot that i could not understand because of the formatting.

I enjoyed what I did read so far, but there were several pages of the galley that were unreadable. The ending was also more abrupt than I was anticipating. I’m not sure if this was just a sample or if that is where the published book will end as well, but I am looking forward to reading it when it is published.

I don't think I got a complete copy of the graphic novel because it certainly wasn't 304 pages long! My estimate is that I read a third of the story so my review is based on that. Overall, I liked it! The art for the chapters alternates between the two creators and I like both of their styles. The setting is spooky and ominous, creating the perfect monster story vibe. I like that we have a diverse cast of characters, and from the summary it seems like the two main guys will get together. There were some things that I had questions about, like some of the characters' actions, that hopefully will be addressed further on in the story. I want to see the characters get fleshed out some more, find out about the ghosts and monsters, and get to the romance! I'll definitely be checking out the volume once it's published. In the meantime, I'm going to check out the webcomic it's adapted from.

I really liked this story and I can't wait to read the next one!!! I love the alternating art style and the timeless feeling to the narrative.

The monster is super cool and I'm such a sucker for werewolf stories so definitely excited for the rest of the series!!!

3.5 stars for this captivating beginning to a queer supernatural romance that feels like it has potential but ends just when things get interesting.
I really like the fact that the art changes from one chapter to another as the authors switch places on who's in charge of it. It adds to the eerie disquiet of the location to which they dedicate so much page time.
Leading me to my major complaint. So much page time is dedicated to setting the mood and introducing the town and woods as a major part of the story that there's not much space left to let the characters and the actual plot develop. I mean, just when we get a tiny morsel of actual plot is when the book ends.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks for the early read!

First of all, I just wanted to mention that it would be nice to have had the option to read this on something that wasn't the NetGalley app, because it made the art so tiny and it's not set up for smoothly zooming in and out of panels (like the Comixology app used to). It just made my reading experience more difficult than it should have been. Anyway, now for the actual review (which does not intentionally reflect my app experience).

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

To begin, I just wanted to say that the Blackwater arc I read is either a partial arc or the first volume in what I presume is going to be a series, so if you're expecting to read a standalone like I did, you're going to be in for a surprise. This volume lays down the foundation of the story to come, with pretty slow pacing until about the halfway mark and the ending. It's a little slow, but if you're used to reading graphic novels or comics you probably won't think twice about it since that's how the format tends to work.

Tony and Eli fell a bit flat for me, we got to see both of their lives before the more supernatural elements of the story got more intense, and how frustrated they were with their everyday lives. Part of that was potentially setting up the next volumes, but for someone who could see ghosts and someone else who turned into a werewolf, it was surprisingly... unexciting. Eli is lonely and struggling to make friends and keep up with school due to his health. Tony and his dad don't get along, and he's hanging out with his "best friend" who is more like a bullying ringleader. Marcia, who is Tony's friend, outshone the rest of the cast. She called her friends out, had strong witchy energy and was in general just a cool person.

Blackwater fell a bit flat for me, I had been hoping for more of a connection with the characters since it was off to such a slow start. If I were to try to comp it to something, I would say the first episode of the 2011 Teen Wolf series, rather than the comps from the blurb (Stranger Things and Riverdale). This might work better for someone else though, so if you're interested in Blackwater, definitely try checking it out! The ending was enough of a cliffhanger that I'll probably pick up volume 2 (or the whole thing. I'm still a bit confused as to what happened there since I've seen people refer to it as a partial arc and volume 1).

I had a hard time reading this, and ultimately won’t be finishing. I read this through the netgalley shelf app, which seemed to be the only option for reading it. However, lots of the pages had big white bars going horizontally across the screen, even after I quit the app and restarted it (I took a screenshot if someone from netgalley or the publisher would like to see). About 40 pages in it happened so frequently (pages 39, 41, 42, 44, 49-51, and more afterwards all had the white bars), that I was completely unable to follow the plot. Additionally, my copy of the arc was only 131 pages, despite Goodreads and StoryGraph listing the page number as 304, so I suspect this is a sample despite not being listed as such on netgalley.

This problem making the copy illegible began shortly after a troubling scene where one character (I presume a bully) forcibly grabs a disabled character’s wheelchair and dumps him in a lake. I am not a wheelchair user, and found this extremely alarming; I understand this character is supposed to be a bully, but I wasn’t prepared for blatant ableism.

As a result of these two issues, I will not be finishing this book. If my copy were legible, I would likely muddle through until the end (at least of the sample) but because the content was uncomfortable, I won’t be going through the trouble of obtaining a more legible copy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for providing me with an arc to review.

cw: ableism

Note: The galley is only a sample, but the whole webcomic is still up online. There are minor changes to the galley - mostly language and more polished art. I'm looking forward to seeing a final copy.

This is a really fun queer graphic novel with not only werewolves but ghosts too! I love that there's two artists using their own unique styles to flip back and forth between chapters. It makes for such a unique reading experience. I also love all the rep in this book - particularly the immunocompromised/chronic illness rep. I would have liked a little more insight into it - but I still appreciate that it was there. Also the trans rep! Though I am curious to see if either of those are fleshed out more in the published copy.

I'm also curious to see if the published copy will be in full-color or not as the galley and webcomic are both greyscale.

Either way, super fun graphic novel!