Eighty Days

DRC provided by BOOM! Studios via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Representation: queer protagonists, protagonist of colour, secondary and tertiary characters of colour.

Content Warning: violence, oppression, war, mafia, bombing, death, homophobia, slurs, torture, post-traumatic stress disorder, child death, elitism.

Eighty Days by A.C. Esguerra is a beautiful graphic novel set in the twentieth century in a land where the aviation controls most of the territory, its operations and its citizens. The chance encounter of a pilot and a radio operator will bring about the birth of a resistance front that will fight its oppressors in order to re-establish peace in the continent.

Despite a confusing first part, I really loved this story, the captivating drawings that accompanied it and its charming and complex characters. All three protagonists have very distinct personalities, but they all share one common trait, namely one cannot not love them.

My favourite part of the novel was definitely the relationship between Jay and Fix which was simultaneously central and not the focus of the plot in an effortlessly intricate way who shared that kind of love that led to move mountains for one another.

A.C. Esguerra’s debut is unquestionably a graphic novel everyone should read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boom! Studios for the ARC.

Gosh, this comic book!!

It's a fantastic tale of adventure, love and freedom. The illustrations are amazing black and white, somewhat simple, and just alive with motion. Beautiful.

The characters were somewhat... eh at first, and I did not know what to think of them, but as I kept reading they really grew on me and now I love them to bits.

The story is of a rebellion against a Nazi-like flying company that dominates the sky. We follow Jay, a brilliant pilot that only wants to fly, and Fix, an engineer with a troublesome background.
The duo finds themselves in the middle of the war, and our stubborn pilot must pick a side.

It's an utterly stunning comic book.

Jay is a phenomenal pilot who works for Avo, a military government, although he would not consider himself a strong supporter. When he meets Fix, a quirky guy needing a lift, Jay takes him on a trip… then does not get paid and finds out his passenger is a smuggler and a thief. Fix is also gifted working with radios and code. As they get to know each other on the run, they begin to try and find a way to take down Avo.

The illustrations in this novel are great! I like the simplicity of them. The beginning part of the novel is almost written like a journal/logbook from Jay’s perspective. Then it shifts to other characters point of views later on. I like the changes in font when characters are talking at times, so you know who is who in the communication – since much of it is over radio. It took me some time to get the gist of what was going on at the beginning and get to know the characters and what they were doing. There is a queer romance that is rather endearing, but not over-the-top – just sweet. One thing I found hard to follow were the action scenes, maybe that was intentional in the chaos, but the images just seem like blurred and squiggle lines at times.

Thank you Netgalley and BOOM! Studios for this ARC. I look forward to sharing this book with my secondary students.

Wow, this was kind of amazing and completely blew me away? The story drops you into a world slowing being overrun by an aviation company that felt like the magic and wonder of a Ghibli movie. Told in four parts, moving between the points of view of our three main characters, this is a story about love, about war, about friendship, about fighting back, about freedom. It's incredible and I'm completely obsessed with Jay, Fix, and Sable. I loved each of their stories and how they remained true to themselves in a world being torn apart by war. I love how they never give in to their oppressors. This is definitely a story everyone needs to check out and fall in love with!

An absolutely beautiful graphic novel! I loved the artwork. It took a short while to get into the story at first, but it becomes very intriguing very quickly, and then I couldn't put it down. The romance is gradual and sweet, and I loved the different protagonists and side characters we met through out. The artwork really is the stand out aspect of this book, but I also enjoyed the gathering tension of the plot. It's told in four parts, and each of them had a distinct mood. The ending is wonderful - there's a lot of action and great payoff for the themes interwoven throughout the four parts. A really terrific graphic novel. Thank you NetGalley and Archaia for the opportunity to read an ARC.

Let’s start with a confession: I was obsessed with this book since the moment I saw the cover reveal. I had no idea what it was about, nor I needed to. “Can love outfly the shadow of war?”, it said, but I was absorbed by the strokes, and the colour.
And then, I got the opportunity to read it, and I fell hard for the characters: Jay was mysterious and silent, but you could see his heart pounding in each page; Fix was so quirky and so courageous, you knew he was destined to something big. And they were surrounded by such amazing secondary characters as well, all fleshed with a few of those amazing strokes that got me from the beginning.
I am really looking forward to recommending it to everybody who is in need of an adventure.
***Thanks to Netgalley and Boom! Studios for the ARC

Uh... wow.

Just, wow.

I would not have put a literal million dollars on Eighty Days being a debut. This story follows a pilot who wants nothing more than to fly until his path crosses with a thief who has a knack for radio operating. Set in the 20th century where an aviation empire seeks to control every country and citizen in the land, Jay has to find what freedom means for himself, and what he's willing to risk for it. This was a love letter to flight, resistance, and, well, love, and was the kind of book so good that my mind felt wiped after a finished the last page.

I barely know where to start. The story drops you right in the middle of Jay's world, at the beginning of the AVO's quest for domination, but I never felt lost or confused. The world builds itself up around the three main characters, Jay, Sable, and Fix, and weaves around their relationships with the AVO and each other. I loved how genuine they all felt as they developed, made mistakes, and found love. The dynamic art brought everything to life in a way that had my heart in my throat and yes, I sometimes cried just because of how beautiful it all was.

This queer historical romance will sweep you off your feet and take you to the skies, and I can't recommend it enough. Go! Go on! Preorder it! Request it! Get it at your library! Don't make me hit you with a broom!

❧ 5 ★

Jay is a pilot who ends up teaming up with a rebel thief, Fix, in order to take down AVO, an organization bent on taking over and replacing the current government. Jay finds himself on the run with Fix, rebelling against a brutal regime and falling in love along the way. The romantic aspect is cute, but doesn't overwhelm the plot.
The writing style is unique, often told from the viewpoint of Jay's flight logs or as written conversations between the characters. The font style changes depending on the character.
A fairly large book, this is a stand alone title. Artwork is a bit wispy, but still well drawn. Some of the action sequences were a little hard to follow, but very enjoyable overall.

Eighty Days is a really fun and exciting graphic novel! I was immediately drawn in by the gorgeous art style and premise. This is definitely a. must-read for sure!

Eighty Days has beautiful artwork and an engaging story. I sped through this graphic novel and would recommend it for young readers. Love the style, love the representation.

Wow, wow, wow, I absolutely loved this! I think the graphic novel format worked excellently - I felt totally drawn into the world of the story, and fully engaged throughout. While sometimes things were a little unclear to me, I kind of like having to wonder and fill in the gaps. The set-up is intriguing, and the characters and their relationships are absolutely amazing. I love how clear each of their voices is, and how they used different fonts to show it in writing. The art is also absolutely stunning - there's a sequence near the climax that is breathtaking.

I don't know if the author intends to do anything more with this world or story, but I would happily read it! The ending was satisfying and sweet on its own, but there was definitely room for more exploration if they ever chose to do so!

I’m planning on purchasing this graphic novel for myself once it is published! It has a rich story with well developed characters. I liked the fictional world that was created, but the struggles the characters faced were real and heartbreaking. Fighting for love and freedom was central to the story. I liked the art style, and I hope to see more color in the final printing. My only critique is that some of the fonts were difficult to read. I have trouble with reading certain fonts that are stylized to look like handwriting, so it helps when “written” fonts are able to be easily read. Otherwise, I loved this!

Eighty Days, written and drawn by A.C. Esguerra, is a sweeping, epic graphic novel about 3 lives intertwined during a war against a relentless and power-hungry regime.

I’m not going to say more about the plot, but OH MY GOD PLEASE READ THIS!
It has EVERYTHING. And I mean it. A rich world, with diverse nations and ways of life, 2 main characters are POC and a queer love story. War-torn nations trying to resist. A mafia family. Lies, deceit double-crossing and alliances changing and re-forming its every turn of war. Need I say more.

The art is absolutely gorgeous. So many beautiful panels that I could just stare at for days. As beautiful as it is though, sometimes it was hard to decipher what was going on during the action scenes. But literally everything else about the art and style was phenomenal. The character designs *chefs kiss*

This novel was just SO COOOOOOOOOL. I hope it gets made into a movie or something someday. I also hope that the author A.C. Esguerra (queer Filipino btw) gets the recognition they deserve. I am sooo looking forward to their future works.

I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!I love it! I love it! I love it! I love it!

Beautiful love story! Gorgeously illustrated! Brilliant linework! Dynamic panels! Excellent flow! Engaging story! Happy ending!

Esguerra's work is absolutely fantastic and I cannot wait to see what else this exceptional artist has in store for us!

I would like to thank BOOM! Studios/ ARCHAIA and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"Eighty Days" was a brilliant story! A story about a man who just wants to fly but gets swept up in a bureaucratic war of the skies. While I don't think you need any preexisting knowledge of planes before going into this, I did have to look up a decent amount of things to make sure I was understanding the story fully. Jay, Fix, and Sable are all flawed but bring out the best in each other which I admire greatly in a story. The romance is tender and not overdone, and the friendships are withstanding and unapologetic about their flaws. I'm happy that Sable was able to admit she was on the wrong side of the war.

The art style is traditional in nature which creates a beautiful flow to the narration. The only downside to this is that some of the more busy scenes (battles for example) got a bit too simplified due to the nature of the brushstrokes and became a bit confusing. The character designs are beautiful and imaginative. I like how overbearing and fearsome The Maestro was drawn.

Overall this is definitely something worth having in my library's collection!

Look, I don't usually buy books before I'm even done with the ARC but Eighty Days was in my cart before I even made it halfway through. Between the art and the story, it was instant love and I knew I needed to have a physical copy to share (and shove onto all my friends). This world, although different from our own, resonates strongly with what many of us have grown up with in terms of power-hungry corporations and militant restrictions on how people live their lives or move about the world. Esguerra's art is ethereal and subtle shifts in their style help to capture the emotional impact of each scene. The beautiful illustrations complement that narrative, allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves into the narrative, empathizing with the struggles and hopes the characters experience.

Anyway, I love this book, bought it for myself, bought it for our library, will get another copy for the lgbt library once we re-open post-pandemic, and it's probably going to be gifted to some friends as well because I'm just that in love with this book.

I have to say that this took me quite a bit to get into but that's no fault of the writing. The artist did some truly beautiful work with this book but in some panels there is A LOT going on that it was hard for my eyes to grasp just what was going on. Being in black and white also didn't help alleviate my own confusion but the story and most of the panels was beautiful and engaging. I loved the characters of Jay and Fix. Two different people brought together by chance during a time of war, turmoil and betrayal. I'm not normally one for historical fiction but this was akin to the few war stories that I've read in my time and Jay/Fix were characters you couldn't help but root for.

An unlikely pair, a pilot and a thief, find themselves as key members of the resistance. Avo has a monopoly over the skies and thus have near ironclad control. Jay and Fix are thrust into battle against Avo's control.

Eighty Days by A.C. Esguerra is an action packed, emotional graphic novel. Characters are fleshed out with complex motivations and personalities. Jay and Fix's relationship was so well developed; from beginning to end their romance was perfect.

The art style here is top notch. It brings you into this aerial-centric world with a historical feel. The combat scenes were fast paced and the emotional scenes hit hard.

Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.