Like looking at our world through a kaleidoscope: a global pandemic; "fake news"; discrimination based on color; a fight for truth. Good story and a great main character.

At its heart, Bylines in Blood is a cyberpunk noir P.I. story about the truth and what it means. What happens when journalism collapses and there's no one to hold those in power accountable? What happens when those who speak the loudest about telling the truth do anything but? It's meant to feel not far off from reality. Don't you just love that dystopia is so close you can feel it?

Our protagonist is Satya Chatterjee, who goes by Lady Dick in her professional role. A P.I. and former journalist, Satya must look into a former colleague's death. When Satya got out of the newspaper business, he set up shop independently to continue the noble task of reporting. As he continued to rattle the bars of the mayor's office, it seems he pushed too far and paid the price.

The art features strategic use of color and an eye for action. We get a clear visual of a city suffering on past its prime. Satya stands out in every scene, drawing the eye by wearing her signature yellow in at least one detail. We get plenty of fight scenes, some quite intense. Satya isn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

While the plot is fairly generic for a P.I. story, I think the art is arresting. With a deeper dive into characters or world-building, I might have been more invested. It's still an interesting read that I would recommend to fans of classic noir stories who'd like to see it in a dystopian setting. Thanks to Aftershock Comics for my copy to read and review!

I would like to thank Erica Schultz, Van Jensen, Mike Marts, Aneke, Aftershock Comics and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange of an honest and unbiased review. In the future the concept of future is long dead whatever a politician says is fact and independent journalism and newspapers are long dead. Private detectives are hired to uncover the hard truths and unveil the desperate lies people are keen to hide. One of the best of these detectives is Satya a former journalist and now detective who leaves no stone unturned or case cold. However, she now faces a new challenge when the editor of the old newspaper she used to work at is murdered and the trail of blood crumbs leads to those with the most power, she must decide whether following the blood crumbs is worth putting everyone she knows and loves at risk. Overall, for a graphic novel the storytelling was pretty well done. The art style helped convey what the words couldn’t. Throughout the story however it felt drawn out in specific parts and I found myself occasionally losing interest. However, the somewhat unique plot and beautiful art kept me intrigued long enough to finish the comic. It was interesting, nonetheless. It’s one of those comics you can spend a good 45 minutes reading in the afternoon and evening when you have time to kill that will be satisfying but it wont leave you with hours of afterthought. If you pass the second issue in the bookstore of library, you might be tempted to pick it up but otherwise it really isn’t all that memorable. Overall, I give it 3 stars it was okay not something overtly extraordinary but not something overtly horrendous either just a fun little comic to read on a nice afternoon.

*A review copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read a graphic novel in so long and the change of pace is so refreshing.

Bylines in Blood is action-packed and fast-paced. A crime investigation, set in a sci-fi, dystopian future, filled with interesting characters in both major and minor roles. 100+ pages went by so fast, you wish there were more.

While I liked some parts of the story, it’s very predictable. Sure, predictability is a sign that the storyline is sound and there’s enough support for the outcome, but there wasn’t enough tension built into the story. So while the characters stood out, it all felt flat. There’s definitely potential to improve in the later volumes.

As I'm writing this now, nothing particularly stood out, but I did wish the minor characters will appear again in the future. They were enjoyable. Satya's a pretty okay character, but without her friend and sibling, I doubt I'd like this as much.

One thing that I absolutely loved was the art style and colouring. Many of the pages were monochromatic, and you’d think it would be difficult to make the subject stand out, but wow they did it so well. The gradients, pops of red during intense scenes… the design is definitely something to look forward to.

'Bylines In Blood' by Erica Schultz with art by Aneke is a graphic novel noir mystery set in the future.

In the future, truth is suspect, as it sometimes is during our times. Satya, a former journalist turned detective for hire, seeks out the truth that others want to hide. When her old editor is murdered, Satya will stop at nothing to find out who is behind it.

This has pretty good art and a decent story. The main character is interesting enough that I'd like to read more stories with her.

It suffers a bit from cramming way too much worldbuilding into a single volume, but the story of a tough-as-nails former journalist turned private eye is intriguing enough to let that slide. I enjoyed the slow revealing of elements more than the actual ending because it's obvious from the very beginning, but I'm not faulting it for that either because I really liked the pacing and how things develop.
The art is perfect for the kind of story being told and contributes to the urgent feel of it with chaotic lines and details. I particularly enjoyed going back through it later just finding all the sight gags and little cartoon commentaries that Aneke sneaks in.

Happy thanks to NetGalley, Diamond Book Distributors, and Aftershock Comics for the early read!

Bylines in Blood was a quick,, action-packed read. The art style was lovely. The use of color to distinguish locations and to draw the reader's eye to main characters was well done. There were also moments when the artwork did not hide things from the reader, but also did not over-emphasize them, which caused me to go back and re-read for the signs I had originally missed (ex. Irman missing one arm, I did not notice until it was mentioned aloud even though it had been clearly illustrated). This was a lovely touch for a book about relative truth and perception.

I did have different expectations for the overall plot, which was more "predictable" to me than I originally thought if might be. From the preface by Schultz, I thought this book might attempt a more solid depiction of Satya as an unreliable narrator. Or that Satya's worldview would come more into question. Instead, the plot was more of a straightforward neo-noir, which is not a negative thing. Just different from what I was expecting based on the description and introduction.

Bylines in Blood imagines a future without newspapers where politicians tell you what you need to know. Satay is former journalist and now a private detective that will uncover the truth for a price. A former colleague’s daughter comes to Satya asking her to look into the death of her father and plunges the private eye into a world of danger. The story unfolds into an unpredictable whodunnit full of action and subterfuge that has the pages flying by. The art work has a unique enjoyable style that nicely compliments the suspense of the story for a good graphic novel reading experience. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Hammer Power, Go!
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: The hammer
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Easy
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Comics
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Investigative with some Sci-fi
4.3/𝟱

With the quote game in point, an engaging 1900s PI story-esque & sci-fi elements, this was MADE to be compelling.

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ PI mystery & tech
~ Morally grey characters
~ Great quotes
~ Fun & fearless female lead ;)
~ Neat little world 🙌
~ Bright artwork

The Truthers are leading a new movement after a pandemic that bleached those affected, destroyed neigbourhoods, caused bad behaviour to reign supreme & put Lady Dick out of a job as a journalist at The Herald. She’s been scratching by as a PI, but when her old editor dies & his daughter comes calling for a favour, she dives headfirst into solving the mystery of his death. Unfortunately, as she goes up against the corrupt mayor and his croonies trying to find the Hidden King she endangers those she loves. She must now use all of her skills & cunning to solve the mysteries & get justice for her ex-mentor.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ Conclusion is somewhat obvious, as is ‘bad’ person


♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

It was interesting but I felt that it was relying too much on what the typical tropes of the genre convey without establishing enough of its own unique world. The motivations for the villain made no sense.

The premise was good but the execution didn’t work very well. It was pretty obvious from the beginning who the bad guy was. The ends of chapters contained philosophical quotes. This could have been a pretty cool idea, but some of the quotes only vaguely seemed to tie into the rest of the story. The main character’s code name is “Lady Dick.” She tries to justify it in the story, but I couldn’t really buy her explanation and everytime someone said her name it took me out of the story.

This was fun ! i really loved the art style and the characters design + the story itself was entertaining too.

First, before I could even read this graphic novel, I had to download it. And find a way to open it. I wasted more than an hour and when I finally had it on my computer, it was impossible to read (loading too slowly, skipping pages) so I had to go through the whole thing again on my phone and waste more time! So, my question is: why can’t I just read it on the NetGalley Shelf App? Or on my Kindle like I do every other ARC? One of the first ARCs I read was a graphic novel and I simply downloaded it and read it – none of what I had to do today.

So, Bylines in Blood is about journalist turned private detective Satya, who lives in a post-pandemic (not our pandemic) world, where truth and journalism are dead. In this book, she sets out to discover who killed her former mentor and why. With a corrupt mayor, untrustworthy cops and a kind of ‘Truther’ cult, it’s like a noir detective story meets dystopian sci-fi, and I liked it! I really like the artwork and I like the characters of Satya, a tough, cynical detective in a cool coat; and Tom, her friend/sidekick.

An enjoyable story, albeit a little predictable but it serves as a good introduction and I’d be interested in reading future instalments.

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publishers Aftershock Comics and Diamond Book Distributors for an advanced copy of this new science fiction graphic novel.

'Truthiness' seems to be the new religion making more and more converts everyday. Their tenent is that their version of the truth is the true truth and gosh dang it everyone else should believe it too. 'I Did My Own Research' will be their epitaph. The real story for many people is just a few uncanny valleys away. Science fiction writers have always been at the forefront, writing about this changing world, the effect of technology and how a great boon to mankind can easily corrupted to make more money, or as William Burroughs warned, for control. Dystopia, it seems, is only 20 minutes in the future. Bylines in Blood is a graphic novel about one possible future, written by Erica Schultz and Van Jensen, illustrated by Spanish artist Aneke and tells of a future where news is dead, everything can be hacked and lying is the easiest way to live.

Future pandemics have caused a lot of changes to life, leaving a lot more people with less, and those with plenty scheming to make even more. Independent news is dead, and a once popular journalist can lie dead in the streets for days, murdered in plain sight by a killer that can't be picked up on any visual medium. Satya Chatterjee was once a protege of the murdered man, before quitting the reporting life to become a private detective known better on the street as Lady Dick. Asked by her mentor's daughter to find out what happened Satya is thrust into a mystery involving crooked cops, sadistic mayors, supposed allies with ulterior motives and the invisible assassin. Satya will risk her family, friends and her own life and reputation to get to the only thing that she still cares about, the truth.

A neat little noir mystery set in a future that is probably coming on quicker than expected. Satya is an interesting character, with a believable motivation, skills and the ability to bounce back from a beating or two, plus a stabbing or three. The support characters are good, and plot moves well though there are a few points where the story seemed to advance without telling why, but that is a minor quibble. The City is well designed, and there is a nice history in the endnotes of the graphic novel to fill it out. The Pandemic of course makes an appearance, and I thought the incorporation of masks and there evolution was interesting, and sadly thanks to the people whose medical advice comes from social media accounts probably something that we will see soon. The art is really beautiful, with rich colors, and flair that you don't usually see in comics. Satya's look is both reminiscent of Blade Runner, and yet more fashionable. The City was well portrayed and the art really carried the story and gave it a sense of place.

Fans of science fiction noir, or Transmetropolitan will really enjoy this story. A few points were left dangling so I hope these will be picked up in a second series, as I did enjoy this story. The book is about the future, but it really is about the lies that we tell, to get ahead, to make money, or in Satya's case to make her family less ashamed of what was. A good story with a lot going on, and with really beautiful art.

I LOVE the art style: the bold colors, sharp lines, lots of particles and high contrast moments. I’m also a really big fan of the color-swapped title pages for each issue contained in the volume; when read digitally, it felt like you were stepping into an alternate reality or something similar.

However, the issues lacked continuity from one to the next. When they’re compiled in one volume like this, I felt like I missed a step at every transition. Even though it’s all one case being solved, there were jumps between scenes that required the reader to fill in the blanks and, as such, I found myself often a few steps behind Satya in situations where that remove didn’t make sense.