"Vixen NYC Volume One" is a strong addition to DC's growing collection of YA focused graphic novels. Many of these books have focused on young woman meeting challenges and defining their way in the world. In this case the featured character Mari Jiwe is a Ghanaian -American college student who has recently been bequeathed a family heirloom with magical powers.

The subsequent origin story told by this book is a fast paced tale that should be appropriate for YA audiences and some older elementary students. However, the book does not pull many punches and it touches on complex and unsettling topics that many books aimed at this audience simply ignore.
Most importantly, this book is a lot of fun as it portrays Mari's initial steps on the hero's journey as she navigates the challenges of her freshman year at college and unknowingly engages in her first superhero adventure.

Four and a half stars rounded to four.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, DC Entertainment, which provided me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

In this volume we get to see the origin story of Mari/Vixen who wears a necklace that gives her animal powers. This necklace is a family heirloom that was given to her when she visited her grandmother in Ghana. She doesn't realize that the necklace contains magic powers until her life is in jeopardy while getting mugged and she uses the necklace without thinking about it. A few other things happen, no spoilers here, and Mari is forced to use her powers to save people.

Like other reviewers have said, the Batman random pop-up was weird. It just seemed like he was shoehorned in because this is a DC book so therefore he should show up at some point. Other than that, I liked the story and the art style. I read a lot of manga so maybe that's why the art style didn't bother me. I like it when characters have actual expressions on their face instead of just being stoic all the time *cough cough* Batman. If you are a fan of Black Panther or Beast Boy then I would recommend this series to you.

This was a fast-paced story, and a good introduction to Vixen. I did have questions still at the end, but that's due to my unfamiliarity with the DC universe, not the story - I mean, yes, there were story-related questions, but I can tell a cliffhanger from empty spaces in my knowledge. Anyway, it's a fun story with a dark underbelly, good character growth, and some really lovely art. Looking forward to the next volume!

#VixenNYC #NetGalley

A nice introduction to a new hero. The college student in NY works well for a setting and although the book's tone makes it feel like it's aimed at a very youthful audience, the story worked well enough to be entertaining. I like that they didn't spell out all of her powers and we are discovering them along with her. And the befuddled Beast Boy cameos were hilarious too.

I had a great time reading this graphic novel. It is an origin story of sorts for a teen who is given a strange looking totem by a family member. At first, they think nothing of it and just wear it sometimes. Slowly though, they realize there might be more to this totem than they thought. When a friend gets kidnapped, they begin to realize just how powerful this item might be. As this graphic novel comes to a close, it is clear this story has only just begun.

This was such a cute story. I love DC and their WEBTOONs are really giving what the people want… badass heroes, fun characters, and dynamic relationships.

This was originally on Webtoon and it sometimes shows in the paneling. Webtoon comics are out of continuity. In this Vixen comes to NYC to attend college. She has just inherited the totem from her grandmother and has no idea that it actually has powers. In fact, she barely uses any powers in this so that cover is a misnomer.

As Mari settles into college, someone is kidnapping girls in New York. It somehow has to do with her totem. Thankfully for Mari, she comes across some other women of the DC universe that help her out (and are probably the true heroes of this book.) It is left open-ended as there are plenty more Webtoon stories out there. The art is fine. It's very manga influenced.

This is such a good story, incorporating new people and voices into the DC world, it was so fun to see characters from the universe within this story. I think Vixen is a great compliment to the Black Panther franchise. Maybe I'm uninformed if this was a very big thing before, because I'm very casual with comics and graphic novels.

I love the diversity of characters, the powerful storyline of animal magic, and strong roots to Africa (a criminally underrepresented demographic in fantasy and comics). This includes a mainly female cast of BIPOC identity, with a variety of personalities to connect to. This is a comic/graphic novel that will bring joy to girls without feeling pandering.

This is a great graphic novel. Mari takes a trip to visit her relatives before she starts her freshman year of college. While on the trip, she is gifted an ancestral totem with magical powers. While initially dismissed as superstitions, she eventually accepted that her life would be different than expected. It's also a beautiful celebration of culture and ancestry.

One thing I learned from reviewing Vixen NYC is that I NEED to go on Webtoons and find more of the DC web comics. This one was really good. The art is fun and while I am not familiar with Vixen, everything seems to match what I have seen of her on TV shows that I have watched. It is a lot of fun and I think she will be a huge hit with my students.

4 stars

Finally, Vixen!!!

Vixen is one of my favorite DC characters and I'm excited to have read a book series with her :D This is a great series for beginners as it's basically an origin story. But older fans don't worry - there's still plenty to be excited about. Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend this! :D

I wasn’t expecting an origin story and a slow burn at once but it was interesting. The story was okay and something I would have kept up to when it originally came out. My only criticism is the art. It feels like the artist is drawing in a style that’s not their strong suit and trying to fit into a Webtoon mold. It turns the colorful characters of the DC universe in generic anime esq designs. It’s not bad but it’s just distracting. I wish the style was different but it’s what’s on the page so I can’t pretend it doesn’t exist. Pretty interesting tho.

Turns out that the 'magical powers' are actually a thing, and Mari is next up to wield them. Freshman year is gonna be a doozy.

A little-known DC comics character gets her own Y.A. graphic novel and it's so much fun! I loved the writing and the art so much!

This has the problem of all the other DC/Webtoon books, in that it feels very juvenile to me. I enjoyed it a lot, but I wish the tone matched the story better. I loved Anissa so much
A small gripe I have as a native NYCer is the way NYC was drawn. It doesn't look like that!

A very cute introduction to a hero I didn't know much about before opening this book. Great artwork and likeable characters, with a fast-moving storyline.

This was really fun, as someone from Wilmington it's exciting to think of possible flashbacks showing the town if it ever happens.

I really loved all the characters and the orgin story. I can't wait to read more. I don't have any negative feedback, it was all fun and gave me the super hero feels I needed!

Great representation, fun art, fun characters, can't wait to read more!

Thank you to NetGallery, the publishers, and the author for letting me review this title!

I had no clue who Vixen was, so for me, this story was a great introduction to a new character! The art work was great and vibrant. I enjoyed the Easter Eggs about other supers. I'd pick up vol 2.

This was a lot of fun, and really captured some of the charm (and...less charming bits) of moving to NYC for college. I enjoyed the ride for sure!

This is an introductory to the DC Comics character Vixen, who obtains animalistic powers from a family totem.

As someone with moderate superhero knowledge, I’ve always been interested in Vixen. This is a very light introduction and as Vixen is just coming into her powers, you don’t learn a lot about them right off. It reads like a pilot of a show, just enough to pique your interest and introduce characters, but I’ll really need to continue the series to get into the story.

Along with Vixen, you are introduced to Grace and her girlfriend, Anissa. There was enough of Grace that I had to look her up on the internet to learn more about her without being too confused. This likely isn’t a problem for avid DC fans who likely know who she is, and it was more for my own curiosity than for necessity of the story that I looked her up. But she is an awesome and diverse character!

I enjoyed the illustrations, especially the change in styles when the girls were “fangirling” somewhat at the end. I would continue to read this comic series!

Thank you NetGalley and DC Entertainment for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a slightly interesting start to a superhero origin story, but for some reason, it just didn't grab me. Mari Jiwe falls into that "naive and adorkable small-town girl in the big city for the first time" trope and it's so incredibly tired. The back story of the totem she has been given the task of protecting is honestly far more interesting than her herself. This first volume moves incredibly fast and gives you no space to breathe. You don't really get to see Mari do normal college student things, except when she's accidentally making a fool of herself. The end of the volume starts to get a little interesting but that's only when Mari teams up with other characters, who are honestly all far more interesting than her. The art style is fine, but it is nothing like the cover art. The cover art was part of what got me interested in reading this, so I was sorely disappointed to see that the styles didn't match.

(Spoiler talk will be on my GR as always)