Plot-wise, there is nothing we haven’t seen in other media, but the character design is interesting, and the colour palettes are incredible. In my opinion, it is very much worth the time to read.

and once more I give thanks to Oni Press for knocking it out of the park with this years offerings.

In Soma we meet Maya who is going through a lot of existential angst in her job. She’s a comic book artists who is finding the run of the mill story arcs that she has to illustrate so frustrating and just can’t find the time to do her own work.

The stories she has to do are so clichéd, each one has and alien invasion or kaiju appear and the main character defeats them… for this to happen all over again.

Maya also has to keep boosting Juu’s confidence about dating, placate her mother’s expectations, and deal with writer’s block. The normal run of the day stuff for all creatives.

Then lo and behold there’s an alien invasion and Maya has to save the world… Tripods though?

I loved Carles Dalmau’s work in Cult of the Lamb which I’d just read recently and those reds and oranges find another life in this angsty actioner.

Maya is great as the saviour and Soma (the alien) works really well in a redemption arc, love some of the side stories, especially the doomsday church and the D&D kids.

A riveting read that kept me glued to it for the evening.

I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The art in this is absolutely insane! The imagery is so visually so drawn in such a cool style. The color palette alone is a reason to read this! There’s also a really cool plot about a comic artist struggling with the content she needs to create and then aliens invade. Take as old as time lol. Soma is funny and weird and exciting. Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the press service.

Maya is a comics author going through a burnout and tired of always doing the same kind of stories. On a morning, she meets with her best friend Juu in order to give him some advices on dating life. Later on the same day, she hears a strange noise coming from her living room. But she wasn’t expecting to find an octopus-shaped creature landing on her floor. After helping it, the little creature links with her to warn her about an alien invasion from it’s own kind which will cause the end of the world. Will Maya be able to help her new partner in order to save the world ?

Soma is a sci fi comic book which I really enjoyed reading. It’s a one shot story about creativity and the importance of timing up during apocalypse. The events take place in one day. The story is interesting and the drawings, from the chara designs to the scenary, are very impressive. Definitly recommend it !

This was a WILD ride! I did not expect this to go in the direction it did, but I am SO happy it did.
The action in this story was phenomenal, I loved the characters so much!
The alien invasion kept me on the edge of my seat. Soma was such a fun read. If you want a story to grab your attention and hold it to the end, this is for you.

Thank you, NetGalley for this advanced readers copy of Soma by Fernando Llor!

4⭐️

We are following Maya an artist in a creative crisis. She's overworked and can't finish any of her assignment .
But one day a weird creature burst out her window and introduce itself as an alien and show her that her world is about to end .
I like that some page have a different art stye for exemple page 172 have a retro game like design . I just realise that the illustrator also worked on the Cult of the Lamb comics.
Even if the situation is dramatic the design make it lighthearted and the Maya don't take it seriously even if people are dying. Thus creating that sensation of "hope", basically you know that it will end well.

In a way it remind me of Maliki, a comic that I think I've read in early 2010's. The character of Maya even look like Maliki and they are both artist.

I like Juu and his reaction to him having to go out at an other time . He prepared and now he have to change every thing. Very relatable.
He's character is pretty empty tho.

Soma was cute and have an interesting story . The moment about his former human family were really cute and when they met again was beautiful I like when stuff like that happen.
My only issues is that I didn't felt anything reading it, a good time but probably an unmemorable one.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

The artwork was really cute and used different color palettes well. I liked that it was a full standalone story and even managed to include the backstory of the alien. The whole thing was told well and although it went by quickly, it still came to a satisfying conclusion.

In Soma we follow Maya, a burned-out comic book artist struggling to find enthusiasm for the projects she is working on, when an alien crashes through her window. An invasion is beginning, and it is up to Maya and her new friend to save the day.

This story is engaging, fast paced and very easy to read. The art and colours are beautiful throughout, and the book is one that will be a joy to come back to and read again and again. I look forward to reading more by this author and illustrator soon.

With thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for a review copy.

The beginning of this book was disappointing, but as I got deeper into the story I was more and more surprised, it is a very entertaining book. Although it is still a shallow story, I hope that in the following parts we see more background of the characters and we can learn the story of Soma, his race and how they managed to get the technology to conquer planets, in short I expect something more elaborate and deep.
But for now I can only say that I perceived this story as something very superficial, that was made only to entertain and not tell anything, it has no basis or a true background, the characters need more to feel real.
Now speaking of the art of this book I have to say that its illustrations are very beautiful and detailed, I feel that the illustrator has the ability to transmit too much with them.

Originality: 5/5 ⭐
Writing Quality: 3.5/5 ⭐
Intellectual Depth: 2/5 ⭐
Character Development: 1/5 ⭐
Addictive: 4/5 ⭐
Image or Illustration Quality: 4.5/5 ⭐
Average rating: 3.3/5⭐

4,25 ⭐️
Soma was a cute and fast paced adventure! The art was beautiful and so does the story honestly. Plot wise nothing we haven’t seen before and yet, it works!
I loved the characters so much, all of them, from the primary to the secondary ones!
I also loved the Cult of The Lamb reference (if I didn’t imagine it but knowing they the artist on this worked on the game I bet I didn’t) anyway, I highly recommend this comic to everyone who loves sci-fi adventures with a cute little yet fierce alien!

Soma is about the creative process of a comic book artist told through an alien invasion.

I loved the play on scenes, causing the alien invasion to happen after a conversation between teens about aliens is the perfect example of how the creators played around with the narrative of the scene to create a timely, witty element. This is then reflected in the larger plot as they are navigating stories within stories and successfully find a way to connect all of these together without creating an overwhelming and clogged up story line. I thought that comedy was the best way to do this within the narrative.

The characters were endearing although at times not fleshed out enough and came across as repetitive at times. I thought that they had a good ark and enjoyed their development but I just wish I could have been more engaged in their relationships as this was one of the only elements that felt really rushed, except for the relationships with soma.

The main stand out line for me was 'some will justify any atrocity in the name of following orders.' I actually found this scene to be very moving and thought the message behind this line was very impactful and timely.

Overall, I would recommend to younger readers, teens and children who are getting into graphic novels as this is a fantastic plot heavy book that engages the reader and flies by! An enjoyable reading experience.

3.5 star
Thank you to #netgalley for the arc.

"I'll be polite and save your leftovers in tupperware so we don't waste anything."

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the ARC of Soma.

Soma had such a fun art style and surprisingly heartful storyline. Centered around Maya, a comic book artist struggling to find inspiration, Soma features a grim (but stunningly illustrated) look at an alien invasion. Maya finds and befriends one of the aliens, and it's up to the two of them to save the world.

The illustrator also worked on the Cult of the Lamb comics, and there are moments where I'm reminded of that art style (and there's a CotL easter egg in one art panel!). In general, I would say that the art of Soma stands on its own merit and we even get treated to whimsical interjections in different art styles, a few pages or panels at a time. Taken across the real world, Maya's comics, a game of d&d, Kingdoms of Rats (which I assume is an MMORPG), and a cute pixel video game style, Dalmau really got to show off his skillsets and give us a visual treat to accompany the story.

This was a cute read - I'm excited to see more from Oni Press. Happy reading!

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
This was such a fun reading! I thought it would be an intimist story about a girl trying to meet her comic book deadlines but never imagined the importance of the alien in her room. I really liked Soma and its design, and the action-packed scenes made me read the whole comic book in one sitting. I personally really liked the way in which the artist made the reader aware that a character was no longer there: such a simple but effective choice.
I liked Juu’s story as well although I must confess, I thought I wouldn’t at first because he is a very intense person. And, even if she was not a very prominent character, I totally loved the “she’s been watching too many action movies” woman.
To sum up, I think this is an amazing comic book for anyone who is looking for something to surprise them. The story was amazing, the colours made it feel very much alive and all the characters were very expressive and unique.

Soma was a blast! It follows a young comic book artist, who is stressed about meeting her deadlines, when an alien crashes into her living room. This graphic novel was so much fun! I loved the parallels between the stories that Soma is illustrating and the one she gets to live in the real world. The aliens designs were super cute, and the colors throughout this book were soo pretty!

Thanks to NetGalley, Fernando Llor, and Oni Press for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own!

Soma follows the story of a comic book artist named Maya who is struggling with her creative output and wondering if her current life is really the one she ought to pursue. We also follow her friend Juu who is trying to find the perfect girlfriend but has trouble with the dates he has met up with so far. When an alien army attacks Earth, Maya must team up with one of the aliens trying to prevent the attack, while Juu does whatever he can to survive.

I enjoyed this graphic novel and thought the premise was super creative. The artwork was fantastic! It was really colorful, utilizing a lot of the primary colors (mostly red, yellow, blue, and green in various shades). I liked that if multiple characters spoke on a page, it was clear who was talking because each character was assigned a color for their speech bubble. I also really liked the style that the characters were drawn in.

What I found a little bit jarring were the constant scene changes; there was no indication that we were switching between Maya's perspective, Maya's comics, and Juu's perspective. It just changed page to page. It also was not always clear to me what was going on. I have a vague idea of how the ending occurred but nothing was quite clear, so I'm wondering if information or context was lost in translation. I also found Maya's character to look awfully similar to the other female character that Juu meets, and for the entirety of the book I thought the child Juu meets was a girl...until the last scene where we see the character topless in a boys bathing suit. So I think there could have been more character distinction, because really there are only around 6 characters total, and it should be easy to tell them apart. There could have also been a bit more character development, as I'm not sure how the 2 girls Juu met were related(mother/daughter or sisters?) These aspects led me to remove a star from the rating, but other than that, the graphic novel was super enjoyable to read!

I think this could be great for teen and adult audiences, and is in the sci-fi genre.

4/5 stars Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

SOMA was an excellent graphic novel! I devoured it in one sitting. I did find the storyline a little confusing at times, but I like the mix of real world and the main character's internal worlds (when she was drawing comics). It was wild, would make a great movie!!