I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

This book was truly unique. Bash is a basketball like game on a futuristic earth. This game is of major importance to the world and has many levels. What makes it different from basketball as we know it now, is the ability of the environment to change, which changes the play of the game. It can go from a standard court, to an artic court, to a desert court, in the flash of a light. Rudy is a star player, but a novice. He has dreams of making it to the elite pro league, but mom has other plans. She is not a fan of Bash, as it took her husband away and left her child fatherless. This is also the story of world domination. People from space, supreme commander type people, are looking for Atlas, Ruby’s father. Apparently, he is some kind of God, and must be destroyed. This story meshes well together and even those who don’t like sports will find something to love and keep them entertained.

I really liked this graphic novel it was unique it was intreasting the back story of the main character I would love to read more of this series. I liked this basketball take on this genre and I would love to read more the main character is intreasting.

I'll start out with a few disclaimers: my family are lifelong Utah Jazz fans and we were quite disappointed when Rudy Gobert was traded away in the off-season, and Gobert is my daughter's favorite player. So, I'm probably inclined to like this book--but at the same time, as a former librarian and an avid bibliophile, I've read a LOT of books and will be (kindly) honest if I don't like a book. So, that said, when I saw that Gobert had a graphic novel coming out, I immediately went to NetGalley to see if I could get an eARC to read it early; the publisher graciously granted my request. I did have issues with the formatting--the book displayed sideways and split pages into two--no matter what device I tried to read it on. So, it wasn't the smoothest reading experience, and I definitely want to get my hands on a physical copy to read, but I still got a good enough feel for the book to give an honest review.

This book spent a lot of time on backstory (which makes sense, as it's the first volume in a series), so there's not a ton of action but enough to keep it interesting. There are appealing storylines--the main character wanting to excel at Bash, a hyped-up basketball-like sport; his father having left the family years before and the impact on him and his mother; as well as the political storm that he has no idea is coming, as earth's colonial rule Sybelius is sending a delegation to find that missing father, who is more than he seemed. All of those will draw readers in and want them to know more. There are really cool details--like the rules of bash, which include environmental changes during the game--and the illustrations are terrific.
There were some clichés--a parent who doesn't love the game that the main character loves, an opponent with a pretty girlfriend that he doesn't treat well--as well as some ideas that weren't developed as well as I would have liked (I didn't find the mother's reasons for blaming the bash to be strong enough, and the reason why so many people love this game even though it can lead to death didn't come through). Characters are mostly flat, and sometimes the writing felt stilted, with an over-reliance on dialogue to explain things that happened in the past, which didn't quite feel like realistic conversations, as well as moments that the language seemed to reflect the fact that English isn't Gobert's native tongue. None of those are huge problems, and readers who are looking solely for entertainment rather than planning to write a review might well skip right over them.

Overall, I think it's an interesting book that will appeal to a lot of teenagers as well as fans of basketball and of Gobert himself. I definitely want to continue the series to see what happens next!
4 stars!

I read an eARC provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book was absolutely fantastic. I've already added it to our list for order this year and will recommend it to students.

I read this whole graphic novel in like an hour inside the bus because I couldn’t stop. It’s really good. 

Rudy wants nothing more than to play in the Bash Pro- a basketball game with players across the galaxy with modified rounds that make the sets more difficult. 

But soon, as he plays in the street BASH game that would lead to the start of his intergalactic journey

He soon discovers secrets about his past, his father and his father’s past. 

Yall, when I say I couldn’t put my phone down until I reached the last chapter and I kept scrolling because I wanted book 2 to appear immediately.

He’s also struggling with his mother who refuses to acknowledge that Rudy might be a good BASH player because of fear of him disappearing like his father did.

I loved Rudy’s friendship with Dao and Raul. Honestly every panel in the graphic novel is beautiful. The characters are incredible, I need book 2 like right now.

It’s a starting story that introduces us into the beautiful world of BASH players who unknowingly to them play at the hands of a bigger galactic force.

If you’re a comic geek and you love sports, basketball and you want a world that mixes dystopian futuristic setting like Star wars then BASH by Rudy Gobert should be part of your collection. Trust me the art style, the plot it’s everything black kids want. Thank you Titan Comics

An interesting graphic novel. It's aimed at younger readers, I think, so the dialogue was sometimes a little underwhelming, but the artwork is fun (very manga-esque), and the SF basketball concept is well done. (I love the idea of different climates kicking in during the game, for example. Made me think of Dungeon/Blood Bowl.)

Should appeal to fans of Space Jam. Worth checking out.