An examination of enhanced abilities and a contemplation of just what makes us human, set in a future dystopic USA where sports & the military reign supreme. It is also a fascinating examination of fame and power. A bit Akira. A bit Superman/Captain Marvel. A bit Hunger Games. ( )

I posted my review of this on my blog, The Itinerant Librarian. Click or copy/paste the link to your browser to read.

Review link: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.com/2014/01/booknote-mara.html ( )

The thing about this is, I wanted more. Much more. I wanted to know what Mara was going through when she left the earth. I wanted to know what she was feeling and thinking. I wanted to know what got her to the place where she was willing to look upon that rocket and the person inside.

This was great but it just felt unfinished to me. As if it were an outline as opposed to a full story. I long for the full story.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

This is just another generic first-person-in-the-world-to-get-super-powers graphic novel. The only original aspect is that in this future world, women's volleyball is the most popular sport in the world. I almost gave the book another star for the sheer audacity of that. ( )

I am just not totally sure about this... The ending to this trade came up and I felt like a whole lot of random things had happened that didn't totally mesh together well.

The one thing I LOVED was the art! You better believe I will be looking up more of Ming Doyle's work. The composition was full of strong lines and everything from the scenery to the characters looked fierce. Totally beautiful.

Now, the story was a different matter. It was very choppy and all over the place. I wasn't crazy about the random moments of omniscient narrative. There were several plot lines that I am sure think might possibly show up again in later issues, but by the end I felt bored with Mara and the whole story. Which is exactly what I didn't want to feel. The beginning was addictive, but as the issues went on, I continued to lose interest due to confusing narration and story lines.

Probably won't pick up this particular series again, but I will definitely be looking for more of Doyle's artwork.

Copy courtesy of Diamond Book Distributors, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. ( )