3.5 Stars - Dandelion is a compelling graphic novel comprised of stories and vignettes. The central concept is that Earth's exiles take to the sky, aboard individual sky homes called Dandelions, when Earth becomes unliveable for the average person. The stories are sometimes interconnected and threaded together by discussions of the now-missing founder of the Dandelion.

I've been looking forward to Dandelion for a long, long time. Speculative stories are my favorites, especially those that involve a ravaged near-future earth and a society that must deal with the consequences. While Dandelion had a unique premise, it didn't hold my interest as well as I'd hoped. I also didn't find the art in the graphic novel pages quite as breathtaking as the cover.

I do think Dandelion has an audience - and even an audience that will rate it five stars. For me, though, Dandelion wasn't fresh enough and didn't grip me right away.

It took me a little while to get into this one, some of the characters stuck more than others. Getting to revisit characters/plot lines made it more immersive, and the world building is pretty cool. An interesting combination of sci fi and current concerns/issues in society. Certain stories are really heightened by the art with beautiful colors, details, and scope.

Conceptually, I think Dandelion has an incredible premise and some really strong world building ideas. At least for me, however, the choice to tell this story through an anthology of short stories meant it didn't land as well as it could've. I felt like there wasn't enough there to get deeper into the characters or world, it all felt a little surface level. The art, throughout, was beautiful.

*2.75*

thank you to NetGalley for giving me a free copy of this in return for an honest review (apologies that it isn’t a positive one)

when i read the description of this i thought “brilliant, this is going to be the perfect graphic novel that critiques the rich and really fleshes out the characters” but it didnt do any of that for me, if anything it fell flat. I loved the idea of having multiple POVs and character storylines throughout, but to me they all lacked depth that made them feel so distanced that i didnt really care about them. the “dystopian” element also fell flat to me, because yeah we got some small details about the world and some minor flashbacks to its creation, but we didnt really get to see into the characters enough to understand the impact of the new world. I wanted to get more experience of the characters thoughts and feelings regarding their new situation to understand how the world has gone backwards and the impacts it has had- but i got barely anything.

I know that graphic novels are short and therefore its inherently harder to provide more detail, but i do think there were so many ways inn which the world could have been developed better to help the reader get a better grasp.

unfortunately this was not for me.

Dandelion has a really intriguing premise, but is much more focused on the effects of this premise on individuals, rather than the world-building. As someone who is a big fan of a character-led narrative, this wasn't an issue for me - even with the short vignettes only returning to a fraction of the characters featured. I did feel like there were a lot of loose ends - particularly in the more plot-focussed short glimpses, where we don't learn what happens next even after violence or terror, and we are often not shown a lot of the character's motivations. Certain ideas could have been explored more fully - for example, the impact of climate change on the world below only really becomes apparent towards the very end of the collection and throws into question some of the things the reader thought they knew about the world that the stories are set in. However, all in all, this was a fascinating read - although some of the vignettes weren't very effective for me, others were beautiful - and the premise of the Dandelions and the communities fostered by them will give me food for thought (I would happily read more set in this world).
3.5 rounded up to 4.

I'm not sure how I felt about this one. I'd give it either 2 or 3 stars, but I'm undecided in the way I'm leaning. The stories felt pretty disjointed and all over the place, but maybe that's part of the point. I feel like it tries to say so many things and touch on so many different topics that it, sadly, doesn't talk about any of them well or enough. The cover art is beautiful, and some of the art in the comic are beautiful as well, such as the last chapter. I can appreciate the threads that, I think, the stories were trying to tell, but feel like it could have been plotted out better and deeper to create more impactful meaning overall. It was also difficult to remain interested in the storylines and just felt....like it lacked something. I do appreciate the attempt with this work! Perhaps I'm just not the right audience for it?

I appreciate the quick pace of the novel as well as its topical subjects. The illustrations are very well done. I will be adding this to our library's collection.

"Dandelion" is a collection of non-chronological vignettes that create a troubling view into what our world will quickly become without systemic change. In this dystopian version of our future, displaced and disenfranchised individuals are all but forced to give up all of their worldly possessions and move into suspended trailer parks and are exiled from living on the earth's surface. It is a violent view at the impact climate change, corporate greed, and desperation, though it never veers into the fantastical. It feels to real that I am reticent to call it scifi, despite it being clearly scifi.

This graphic novel includes:
- futuristic tech
- "stick it to the man" attitude
- social commentary on bootlickers
- LGBT
- TW

I received this graphic novel ebook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sabir Pirzada (and collaborators), and Image Comics for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted to GoodReads - check out my profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863

There are works in here that I really enjoyed... And works in here that I really hated...
There was one specific story that while I wasn't super interested in the story but the art had me completely enthralled
"Oil and Water" art by Thomas Campi had such a drastically different style from the rest of them it stood out.

Overall I just don't think I was the audience for Pirzada's works and that's okay.

As a collection of comics depicting a near future where exiles or otherwise unwanted citizens are sent away in flying structures called Dandelion, this album explores a gritty reality from multiple point of views, bringing in interesting reflections about AI, the over reliance on technology and the ecological implications of human impact on the planet.

I especially enjoyed Thomas Campi’s art in the chapter Oil and Water and the story of The Pirate and The Fisherman.

I’m grateful to have had a chance to read an advance copy from NetGalley.

Posted on good reads:

4.25/5⭐️
This dystopian world is brought to life through the stories of those directly impacted by this new invention and by an old interview of the creator of said invention.

Dandelion is an airborne home that was originally created to have another way of living, affordable, a way to travel while living, you know a whole positive view. That is until the governments uses this method to send up all of the riff raff , the poor, the disabled…all of those they deem unwelcome on ground.

The artwork is beautiful. Loved the cover and enjoyed reading the different POV and their tale of how Dandelions have impacted their life.

Thank you netgalley, image comics and creators for the opportunity to read this arc.

I thoroughly enjoyed this dystopian graphic novel from Image Comics. I would highly recommend this if you enjoy comics like Paper Girls or Y: the Last Man.

Dandelion is a collection of stories about the invention of floating homes, created initially by a girl who dreamed of living in the clouds. In reality, these homes became prisons used to exile poor people to live out of sight from the rich and those in power. There is a lot of commentary throughout on automation displacing people from their jobs and how those in power distort good intentions for their own gain.

The stories are all interconnected and have various authors. I thought they did a great job of weaving characters and storylines together. The artwork is also gorgeous and there are different styles in each section.

I will definitely be picking up a physical copy when it comes out in June!

I read a lot of graphic novels. This one was not in my wheelhouse, for sure. I didn't hate it but I felt like it was very disjointed. I didn't jive with the content but I got it. I wish it had more flow from one story to the next.

Dandelion is a dystopian science fiction anthology where the individual short stories form an interconnected narrative around the Dandelion technology and the mystery surrounding its inventor. The Dandelion pods are flying mobile homes that, though originally intended for easy travel and accessibility in a time of climate crisis, have become a way to displace people and “exile” them from land. The story touches on important themes such as global warming, forced displacement, and ethics within technological development.
I really wanted to fall in love with this graphic novel, but overall, it fell a bit short for me. I loved the concept, and I thought that the underlying story of Jen Nakamuto and the Dandelions was well done for the most part, but the short stories themselves felt a bit underdeveloped for me and didn’t always feel like they fit into the overall narrative. There were a lot of really good moments throughout though; I particularly liked the “To Build a Paradise” poem, and the reveal of the story “Grounded”.

What a clever and gorgeous anthology. The future depicted in Dandelion not only feels realistic, it feels possible and close. There was so much to love in this collection, and I wanted to sink my teeth into every single story and learn more about the people that live in this world. Beautifully done.

rep: Characters of color, characters with disabilities, wheelchair user, queer characters

spice: none

tw: trauma, racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment

Expect the unexpected! What I thought would be a fun futuristic read turned out to be a much heavier read. The possibility of our world heading in this direction was eye-opening. Second chances aren't always possible, and punishment isn't always given to those who deserve it. A vital lesson I noticed was the need to be kinder to one another. We are the future; we will fail until we start working together and practicing compassion. The art was incredible and truly helped paint the picture in the best way of understanding.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for a copy of this graphic novel’s ARC in exchange for an honest review !!

☆ ☆ ☆ [ 3 Stars ]

— “Dandelion” had such a good premise and such a cool set-up. In a dystopian world where the invention of sky pods where people could live - and later become exiled to - and free themselves of earth becomes polarized and popularized in society, “Dandelion” speaks of social and human issues. It was such a cool foundation, something I have not really seen in the dystopian, end of the world type genres and was super engaged with the summary.

But man did it fall short.

The art style was impeccable, I liked the range of diverse casting of characters we saw, but other than that — I feel like nothing really happened. We learn a few things about the history of the Dandelions and find out some secrets, but the varying different storylines ( and there are quite a few ) and the different pairings of characters, really make everything feel one-dimensional. I didn’t get connected to any of the characters or the storylines occurring, because after the first one ended and a new one began, I went into the next ones expecting the same thing ( and was right ). Henceforth it was hard to feel connected to the characters or really have them be memorable to me in any fashion, even the one who made the dandelions !!!!

Overall, the art style was great, and the premise was super cool, but the execution fell short of the promised outcome. I wish that there had been more fleshing out of one or two storylines rather than converging upwards of four - five different storylines of people. A cool read, though!

Wow, I really loved this one. It had so much to say but the ways it says it are varied and beautiful. Through poetry, interview, chance meetings; I could read the stories of Dandelion for a very, very long time.

The story delves into concepts of the future in regards to going to live in what they call "dandelions." It is a futuristic place to live in the sky and many of the stories show the benefits, cons, and the aftermath of Earth in the perspective that worst has happened. This can be a precautionary tale, however, there are different short stories that will blow you away by the color, and illustrations. The primary audience for this is for people sixteen and up for the cursing, the violence. The conversations or some of the stories didn't resonate or add depth but I found the podcast excerpts to be very fascinating addition to the graphic novel. I found myself pretty distant from enjoying the characters wholeheartedly but there are few instances where I found myself enjoying the characters. I find this more of an art about society in a new revolutionary and innovative light. This graphic novel is a 3.5, I am not sure if I would recommend this to an average consummer for their light reading but I would recommend this to a climate activist for literature. Thanks to NetGalley, I got to experience some sweet colors with epic backgrounds with a touch of pondering about our future.

What a unique book with one of the most beautiful covers I have seen lately!
The cover art was what actually made me want to pick it up and read it.
The story did not disappoint, although the book’s art is not of the same level as the cover art. Each chapter has a different vibe in its art, each chapter has a different touch and tells the story differently. It’s not a bad thing per se, it was just something I was not entirely prepared for.
The story is well told and the art in general complements the story really well.