‘Underground, Volume 1: Fight Club’ by J.R. De Bard is a graphic novel about a biracial fighter navigating an underground world of brutal opponents.

Karim Yun, a talented taekwondo fighter had his Olympic dreams shattered after a brutal assault. Now he is out to find the gang that caused his injuries. He will do that fight by fight, but what is the personal cost to Karim and those who love him?

Author JR De Bard is a second-degree black belt himself and uses that experience to make the fight scenes authentic and brutal. It’s a captivating story and I loved getting inside Karim’s head during the fights.

A manga about fighting. There's not much else to this than lots of fighting. Just not much there to keep me interested.

Excellent comic. This feels very different from a lot of comics I've read, and it's definitely different from other Saturday AM offerings. I love the characters and the combat sequences. I'm hooked and need more volumes for this story.

I thought the artwork was good and conveyed the grittiness of the story. If you like stories about underground fighting and you are looking for something hard hitting then this is for you. I wasn’t too keen on the story but I did appreciate the artwork.

My Rating: 4
Thank you Quarto Publishing, Rockport publishing for providing an e-book copy through NetGalley.

Synopsis:
Karim Yun was on the path to greatness, ready to start his journey on the Taekwondo Olympic team and showcase his fighting skills. But then a member of a violent gang attacked him and his brother, leaving Karim too broken to compete in the Olympics. He was about to fall into despair when he stumbled across his one salvation: Underground fighting. Not only do these illegal tournaments excite his fighting spirit like never before, but the gang member who ruined his life also participates in the events. His nurse reminds him that any extreme damage to his body could kill him, but Karim is unfazed as he enters the underground tournament scene, not only to get revenge but to finally continue his passion for martial arts and to strive to be the best.

What I Liked:
JR De Bard is a black belt martial artists and manga artist, and it shows in the pages. The fight choreography is intense yet easy to follow, fast-paced and brutal yet has readers quickly turning the pages for more. The line art is clean and sharp: It leads the eye to follow the movement of the fighters so that action scenes are not confusing. The contrast of bold and thin lines also elevates the scenes so readers know what is important to look at. Overall, the art is very well done. The story is simple, but that’s all you need in a manga about fighting: A simple motivation for the main character to fight multiple people in a row. And in Karim’s case, both revenge and his passion for fighting fuel him to pursue this dangerous path and helps the characters root for him. Karim is biracial, half Black and half Asian. His nurse is Asian.

What I Didn’t Like: Nothing

Who Would I Recommend This To: Older teens and adults who like pure fighting manga.

Review Date: June 30, 2023

This manga is very gritty and has a lot of violence. I appreciated De Bard's anatomical illustrations that are included when characters are physically hurt by punches, kicks, etc. I felt some of the pain by seeing what exactly was broken, so it made the impact a bit more real.

In «Underground» we meet Karim Yun and his incredible skills as a taekwondo fighter. At some point, he finds himself in the middle of a struggle that changes not only his dream of life, but dictates his purpose in life: revenge.

I liked the art and the fact that the story was full of action. At one point I found myself thinking that the images were so well done that they gave me the feeling of watching a movie.

Despite finding the premise interesting, the story seemed to run a little rushed. I would have liked to have access to more details and explanations. Still, I'm curious to read the next volume and see how Karim fares in the much-anticipated fight against his biggest rival.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I thank NetGalley, the author and the the publishers for the ARC and this review is based on my reading of this book.

This book started off with a bang and gave me full Bloodsport vibes (the Jean claude Van damme movie), which has all the similar stuff, mixed martial arts, villains, banned underground fights with betting and blood and gore.

The volume has some great art and action, very manga. Our protagonist Karim is a Taekwondo fighter who has been bloodied once by a fighter on the street who seems to bay for blood and who slips him a fly leaf and a challenge to him in an underground fight club after he defeats him and tells him to get better both in health and prowess.
He joins up and meets other fighters on and off the ring.

The rest of the story is like any other fight movie and we have had many including several video games and books.

Brisk stuff and the author gets the reader to invest in the story.

Recommended.

Expolsive, immersive & powerful.
I loved the theme of Underground fight clubs, and dirty deals which are made to ring in money. We follow Karim who is a Taekwondo fighter, who falls into the dark world of Underground fighting. One by one he is put up against different fighters who are pros in their own field of combat. I especially enjoyed the art work which is clean and crisp, the fight scenes are a treat to watch.

So very grateful to have gotten an arc for this, my only con point is that it was over too quick! Definitely will be keeping my eyes peeled for vol 2 as I do want to follow Karim's story and see if he becomes stronger. because throughout Vol 1 his spirit has been unshakable.

I picked this up randomly and OH BOY am I glad I did.
It was gritty, it was exciting, it was a fighting story stripped down to its bare bones and presented with some excellent artwork!

The story follows Karim Yun, a young taekwondo fighter who is forced into the world of underground fighting after a gang injures him enough to end his Olympic career.
The story and drawings were raw and emotional, the artist clearly did a lot of work researching how to draw extreme movement and impacts and it came across clearly!

I would have liked some more backstory on Karim, though the setup is quick and explains the necessary backstory easily and clearly. I felt we got more of an emotional connection to the backstory of the boxer Espinoza than we did Karim, but am happy to keep reading to find out more about him!

Overall easy 4* and I want to read more

Toally can not wait for the next volume in the series! Story was fresh and new and uncommercial which I love. I felt truly immersed in the story and main character was totally realatable. The diologue was really good and mannerisms very similar to my own. Definitely a plus and I could not put down! I got through it very quickly.