Friday, May 15, 2015

Zaya by Jean-David Morvan & Huang-Jia Wei - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Diamond Book Distributors/Magnetic Press on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Zaya
Contributors: Jean-David Morvan, Huang-Jia Wei (Illustrator), Mike Kennedy (Translator)
Publication Date: August 26, 2014

Paul's Review

Synopsis: Zaya tells the story of secret agent in the distant future who left her post to seek a normal
life as an artist and mother. 

When a biomechanical threat destroys an orbiting colony station and former fellow agents start dying, she is called back into the field to find and stop the danger. 

Her investigation leads to many questions about her own past, filled with explosive revelations.



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Review: I really enjoyed Naja, also by Jean-David Morvan, so I was really looking forward to reading Zaya. I was hoping for an exciting, multi-layered, sci-fi adventure, and that's pretty much what I got! There were a few things that didn't work for me, and a couple of times when things got really weird, but for the most part I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel.

I think the basis of this story is very interesting. An ex-spy has settled down and is now the mother to twins. But in order to save the world, she has to go back in the field and risk everything she's worked so hard to build. The plot progressed predictably at first, and I felt like it was dragging for at least the first half. But then things get real weird and there are twists that I did not see coming at all! They hooked me, and kept me wanting more as I read on.

I really loved the artwork in this graphic novel. The art speaks for itself, and there are several passages when there's no dialogue at all and we get to see glimpses of Zaya's past go by almost like a photo album. Since the dialogue often didn't help progress the story as much as I would have liked, I really enjoyed these moments and thought they added quite a bit to the comic as a whole.

Zaya is a strong, independent, and sexy woman. She has some revealing outfits, but her spy gear and working outfits are sensible and not as ridiculous as many of the outfits women in comic books wear. It was a nice change of pace! There's still enough mature content that I'd say a younger crowd should probably not read this one, even though it is toned down quite a bit from something like, say, Well. This is an interesting comic, and I'll be looking for more of Jean-David's works in the future. 3/5!


--Ashley

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