(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)

In 2041, Jen Nakauto invented a floating pod ~
The equivalent of a trailer home that lives in the skies forever.
She called it "Dandelion".

Vagrants, immigrants without asylum,
And workers displaced by post-labor automation
Were sent to the skies to live out their days in these Dandelions.

They were known as EXILES.

***

In the not-too-distant future, the 1% are clinging to a dying earth, banishing the most marginalized humans to trailer homes in the sky. At first blush, life in a Dandelion doesn't seem all that bad: food is delivered via drones; virtual reality helps to stave off loneliness and alienation (from nature, the earth, and humanity); and, let's face it, a five-bedroom house is more than most of us can afford, even in 2024. But these modern miracles are floating prisons, no matter how gilded the cage. (Although, tbh, it sounds pretty awesome to this socially anxious introvert. Throw in a few doggos and I'm sold!)

DANDELION explores this all-too-plausible future through a series of interconnected stories. There's Reggie and Amy, whose lives were changed irrevocably after a car accident. After witnessing the massacre of a community of Dandelion citizens who dared touch down on earth, violating international law, an artist known only as Vesper crashes her stolen Dandelion to earth, vowing revenge. When Somchair and his brother become orphans in the flooding of Bangkok, they rebuild their family home - only to see it burned to the ground by vandals. Rather than board a Dandelion with his brother, Somchair rebuilds once again - this time taking to the seas as a pirate.

These vignettes are interspersed with interviews and podcast transcripts featuring Jen Nakauto, the elderly - and missing - inventor of the Dandelion, who supposedly got the idea from a dream. But there's more to the story than Jen is willing to tell.

I wanted to like DANDELION more than I did. It's an interesting idea, but in jumping between characters, I felt a little disconnected from the story. Also, some of the details didn't quite make sense to me; for example, why would the government (and thus the 1%) waste money keeping "unproductive" and "useless" Dandelion citizens in supplies?

Climate change is real and we need to do something about it if we want to survive. But is floating in the air the answer? I loved the concept (very real) but I feel like it could have used some more development and I didn’t like that the art wasn’t consistent throughout.

Overall though, it wasn’t bad.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Firstly, I love this cover it is so pretty, that’s kind of why I requested this book hahah. Secondly, I liked the premise of the dandelion ships. They sound cool and I want one. Some of the things I’m not sold on, each chapter looks like it has been illustrated by a different artist. That’s not a bad thing but it makes the red more disjointed to me. Theres also a lot of characters that we are following and nothing has been resolved between any of their stories. I do like that there is queer representation.
I want to read more I just haven’t decided if I like it yet.
Thank you to Image Comics and Netgalley for a complimentary copy.

I've never read anything like this before. I loved the graphics and it was intruiging to read, even if it wasn't what I was expecting

It confronts a lot of climate and world issues through the lens of a dystopian world and the aftermath of world devastation and introduces us to "Dandelions", floating vessels in the sky for *some* to live in. This is very violent and showcases humanity at its loneliest and most depraved.

The different art styles & separate yet interlinking stories make up a fully fleshed out dystopia that I couldn't help but want to explore more.
I devoured this in one sitting! Right from the 1st story, you are thrust into a dark world where people are exiled into dandelions. I am so glad we returned to the couple from that 1st story to see a happier side. I really enjoyed that each story had its own tone & did find myself enjoying the happier ones most.
I loved how the stories slowly show how the lovely hopeful invention was twisted for government gain. Along side the backgrounds of the exiles, the exploration of isolation & its effects is really made me think.

Thank you Netgalley for the chance to read this in exchange for a honest review!

Unfortunately, not a fan. The artwork is unique but the stories did not work for me, there were just okay.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my e-arc of this graphic novel.

The art style changed with each issue - I like this becuase it gives a distinct difference to who's story we are following. This is less of one story, than an anthology of many stories happening in the same world. The art is beautiful and I loved seeing all the changes in each issue.

I particularly loved the opening panels of the issues. The openeing text is always the same, describing dandelions and giving a brief history (like an opening titles scene to a TV show), but the art beneath is different depending on the issue.

The overarching plot was lovely to piece together from the tidbits given throughout all the stories. Though, I understand that this won't be for everyone.

In a world where the "unwanteds" live in the sky never to touch foot on the ground again. Pizada explores big concepts: Can VR replace human experiences? Should we trust AI to take care of our needs? Who makes the decisions? What do you do when your invention is used for harm?Each vignette give us reminders of what is important in life.

I've seen a lot of praise for this, but it ultimately just wasn't for me. I didn't enjoy the art style, and the violence was not to my taste.

What It's About: In a gettting-towards-dystopian future, a woman invents floating mobile homes called Dandelions. Once you pay for one you float through the sky forever, forbidden to set foot on the ground again. This book is an anthology about how this changes both people's lives and society in general.

How the Heck Is It? It's pretty awesome. All anthologies have their ups and downs, but there weren't any stories in here that I didn't like, and I loved several of them. Characters also re-appear, which creates a more cohesive world. The art styles on display are vastly different, but they work well together.

My favorite story in the anthology was The Pirate and the Fisherman. But, really, it was all good.

Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy.

I went into this thinking it was for young adults because all the advertizing that I have seen pointed to that. It is definitely an adult title. It was a decent collection of short stories all based in the same world, and the art was exactly the great quality I have come to expect.

"Dandelion" is an immensely satisfying and imaginative work of science fiction. The plot in this loosely connected series of vignettes floats and darts like a dandelion in a breeze as it explores the impact of a benevolently designed technology implemented without adequate safeguards. The technology itself is unlikely, if not downright fantastical, but that is far from the point since this book, at its core is, not so much a prediction of a dire future, as a candid and unflinching look at the dystopian present we live in now.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Image Comics for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I did not expect to love this anthology as much as I did, but I absolutely could not put it down.

‘Dandelion’ is a graphic novel anthology of interconnected stories set in a chillingly realistic near-future dystopia. In this world, citizens are forced to live in dandelion-like structures in the sky, whilst the rich stay rich on the ground, hoarding the remaining natural resources for themselves.

Each story seamlessly weaves into the overarching narrative, and the variety of art is genuinely breathtaking. There were so many moments where I simply had to stop and stare at the page.

While this is a quick and entertaining read, it serves as a vital reminder, much like many near-future dystopian tales, of the realities of where this planet is headed.

I look forward to diving into more graphic novels with diverse representation and important themes.

This story was fascinating. The melding together of artists and colorists to build this beautiful graphic novel was such an awesome thing to see. I loved the high concepts and how even though there was various art styles it all came together to form a singular cohesive story.

Every story within this graphic novel layered upon each other and added together to form something full of substance. Nothing was too much or out there everything felt like it worked together to make the story that much more rich.

The concept of having these floating cities where people could live and all their food and amenities were provided for them was fascinating. The touches of adding blueprints of what these pods were conceptualized to be by their creator and what the intentions behind the project were from the beginning. This story marries sci-fi and dystopia together beautifully to create something otherworldly yet wholly realistic.

This is a story I could read again and again to find more tidbits and things that add to the detail and think for myself what a world like that would be. My absolute favorite pieces of art in the whole graphic novel was a part that had no words at all. It told the story completely in its art work of a man’s murder, redemption, love, and partnership all the way to its end and it was absolutely breathtaking.

If you love dystopia as much as I do, Especially, if stories like The Giver (my all time favorite book) are stories that you rate very highly, you will absolutely adore this graphic novel. It’s such a cool mind meld that gives just enough of how the world is like to make you imagination take it even further and enough similarities to issues of our world to wonder what sort of horrors that we may be heading towards.

I don't normally read comic/ graphic novels but I did enjoy this one. I found it interesting to learn about the dandelion from so many different perspectives and the use of multimedia like interviews kept it interesting. I did find it confusing at first when sometimes we revisited the same story multiple times. I also found that some of the stories lacked endings and just felt unfinished. One part that I loved was the art style from all of the artists, they done a fantastic job. Any superhero fan would love this comic.

This was very interesting! The illustration was great and I really liked the writing style of the author. Not one of my favorite graphic novels because I didn’t realize there were multiple stories pertaining to the same thing. Not just one fluid story. But overall not a bad read.

That cover is pretty, but doesn't really sell the core concept here, the eponymous Dandelion being a mobile home in the skies, conceived by the mysterious Jen Nakamuto as part of the old human dream of being up among the clouds. But just as it took us less than a lifetime to turn powered flight from aspiration to arseache, so the Dandelions have been flipped from escapes to prisons, the world's copious unwanted given a subsidised life up there so long as they never darken the ground with their presence again. Even with lots more space than is considered necessary for the modern poor, never mind refugees, and even with VR and aerial hubs to ameliorate matters, it doesn't entirely make sense, but if there's one thing the 2020s has taught us, it's that dystopias don't have to - that's part of what makes them suck (and it definitely feels like the 2020s were an influence on the lockdown (even if it's up) of the airborne Exiles). Much like slow glass, or Niven's teleportation stories, this is SF of the one big change school, and like them it's told through showing us various characters navigating the changed world, rather than following a single protagonist (though some characters here do recur). And to emphasise that variety, different stories have different artists, Martin Morazzo and Vanesa del Rey probably the biggest names but all of them pretty good. I feel a little as if what we've got here is at an uncomfortable midpoint between scattered vignettes and giving us the full, Cities In Flight-style story of the rise and fall, but overall it's a strong introduction for a writer I've only previously encountered on minor superhero tie-ins.

(Netgalley ARC)

This is an anthology of stories based around the concept of the Dandelion city in the sky, trying to deal with climate issues, not created for but used by the political rich to force the poor into the sky to leave the resources to them, I liked the comics style, the artwork style of the portrayal of the story of the Dandelion designer’s concept being abused. I found a mix of enjoyment in some of the other stories and puzzlement in others, which may play out and make more sense in future volumes. Overall I enjoyed the visual presentation of the comic. Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

This is one of the coolest comics I've read in a long time. The format of an anthology was such a smart choice that really flattered the story in a way I didn't expect. It was really fascinating concept wise, too! I think I'd pick up a copy for myself.