THE DOMAIN - graphic novel

GRAPHIC NOVEL WEEK

I've been in a mood lately to read some graphic novels and was looking for something new and also a first in a series when I stumbled on this, The Domain.

Three friends head out to where an actual UFO may have landed. One of the friends has been actively tracking such events and fortunately this one seems to be close enough for them to go and check it out. It is just what they hoped for - an alien ship with some bona-fide aliens aboard. Though most of the aliens appear to have died in the crash. Since the aliens have no use for anything, the three youngsters help themselves to some pretty fancy wristbands. The bands, though, give the humans super powers! Sort of like Green Lantern's ring, whatever they can imagine seems to happen.

There's a catch, though. Only one can use the power of the bands at a time. So if one of them happens to be in the middle of a superhero action and one of the other friends decide to make use of a power, the one in the middle of a super hero action is suddenly totally human again.

One of the aliens isn't quite dead and rather leave him (her? it?) to tattle on them to some men in black, they take him with them. He warns the kids that each time they use the power of the bands it is acting like a beacon to some really nasty, take-it-or-blow-it-up aliens. Can the kids trust the alien? Can they give up infinite power now that they've tested it? Can they even get along?

There was something kind of charming here. Our three young adults seemed like a pretty natural grouping of outcasts (if they were cool kids they'd be doing sports or something, not chasing UFOs). They react differently to having the ne powers so that the average reader is bound to identify with one of them.

The story moves rapidly. A little too rapidly for my tastes. In our just over 100 pages we go from meeting the kids, to finding a spaceship, to having awesome powers, to being hunted by an intergalactic biker gang with a damaged alien the only thing between the planet's destruction and the bad aliens.

I'd like to have seen more character development, more exploration of the wristbands and how they work. I wouldn't mind if we didn't even meet the bad guys until the next volume. But at the same time, I can picture some middle school kids, or even high schoolers, sitting in a school library and reading through this. The way this story moves is perfect for a middle-schooler.

I thought the art was nicely done. It seemed pretty typical to what I've come to expect with most graphic novels I've read in the past few years.

I had fun and I'm definitely interested in reading the next volume.

Since writing the above I went to look at other reviews (there were only three) and they all referred to this being part of something bigger - whatever Public Domain is.  I'm not an insider here. I'm not a regular graphic novel reader and I don't know many of the authors or artists names so this means nothing to me. I enjoyed this book. I didn't get any sense that I was missing important information,

Looking for a good book? The Domain is a delightful superhero/scifi graphic novel. Great for younger readers, but adults should enjoy this, too.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

3-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

The Domain

author: Chip Zdarsky

artist: Rachell Stott

colors: Eren Angiolini

publisher: Image Comics

ISBN: 9781534364165

paperback, 112 pages

 

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