If you're looking for a graphic novel with a unique style of artwork, keep Brigada on your radar. I'm not a massive graphic novel/comic book reader, but I have never seen artwork quite like this before. However, it didn't always work for me. It's definitely eye-catching. The bright colors and crisp lines worked for me, but it was often very hard to distinguish what was happening. And even though all the characters are from a fantasy world and are not real people, they were drawn in such a way that I could never imagine them as being real. They were like strange, squat, distorted figures that, for me, took halfway through the novel to get used to.

Another problem that I had with this GN was the plot. By the end of the novel, I was clear on the main storyline and world-building, but readers are thrust right into the story and it's not clear what is going on until that halfway point. In a regular fantasy novel, I have no problems with that. I think it was because the artwork was confusing as well that I had issues. The combined vagueness of the artwork and plot meant I couldn't engage at all the with story and that left me feeling bored and a bit frustrated.

I can see the potential in the story and think it's introducing a lot of interesting elements that I haven't seen that much before. But it's not a graphic novel series that I will be continuing. However, I would still suggest flipping through the first few pages, and if the artwork appeals to you, you might really enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Magnetic Press for the opportunity to read an advanced reader copy.

I was liking it at the beginning...and then not. I think this type of fantasy is not my thing.

This book tells the story of a brigade of dwarves that only seem to not want to kill each other when Ivro, their leader, is around.

This book's art is amazing, the drawing style is different from everything else I've read and the colours are vividly wonderful.

The cast of characters is as interesting as their design.

The plot itself is unique; I've never read anything like that.

This volume is primarily exposition and sets up for an excellent story. I'm really looking forward to seeing what will come.

Brigada is gorgeous, with art that is sometimes a bit off putting, but is incredibly vibrant. It follows a group of dwarves, but their intentions remained rather murky to me. The plot was rather difficult to follow as the beginning of the book character jumped quite a bit. That said, I loved what world building was done and I want to see more of the elves.
I love dwarf/elf conflicts.

A rather enjoyable story that gets better and better with every page. I admit I needed a moment to get used to this graphic, but I really like it. It's original and feels fresh among all those other look-alike graphics out there.

And the story? Well, I admit it was a bit chaotic at times, but in the end, I think it worked out fine. Basically, we're following Ivro and his brigade of misfits on a sort of quest. There are several jumps between characters showing different parts of events and different points of view and even though this makes the story and out view of it more complete, I think this was the reason for the chaos. Maybe if the authors concentrated on the dwarves it would be a bit easier to follow.

Once again I have to say that the graphic made up for the bits of chaos. I liked the color pattern, the character design and the uniqueness of it all. Quite pleasurable to look at, even if it might require some getting used to.

For the most part, the various story lines in this graphic novel were interesting, but some of the formatting made it difficult to follow, especially when jumping from one plot to another. The background artwork was stunning, but a lot of the characters (especially the ones wearing masks) were too visually similar, making it hard to remember which characters belonged to which story lines. This might have worked better if I'd read a physical copy instead of a digital one, and it's possible that the character distinctions become clearer in following issues, but at this point, I would've liked more detailed differences between characters.

Amazing art - engaging story! Loved it!
Recommended!!
Thanks for giving me the chance to read it - Highly appreciated.

'Brigada' by Enrique Fernandez was a graphic novel that I found confusing. Both the art and the story made this a story that was hard to follow.

The story is about a bunch of violent dwarves. When they are preparing for a battle, they end up in a weird mist and all get separated. There are large fierce beasts in the forest, and witches and other creatures. There is a strange well. There is the chaos that happens during battles, and at the heart of the story is Ivro, who is just trying to get his party back together safely.

I alternated between liking and disliking the graphic style. The characters were very angular in nature, and I had a hard time sometimes distinguishing the dwarves. There is one human (?) character with a long distended chin. It kind of kept pulling me out of the story because it seemed a bit grotesque. I think the art is good, but it doesn't serve the story so well. The story was convoluted and confusing as well. There were a lot of times I could understand how Ivro felt, because I felt completely lost in a mist as well. Maybe I should try to read this again, and it might make more sense.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Magnetic Press, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.