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jessica_dw's review
4.0
I hesitate to give this a low rating as the art style and characters are brilliant, however, these volumes keep getting shorter and shorter and I feel unfulfilled by the end of the story.
katetownsend's review
3.0
You know what? There aren’t enough steampunk stories. Doubly so for graphic novels. I mean who doesn’t love cool steam based tech and gorgeous Victorian outfits? Well, thankfully there’s the Lady Mechanika series. Lady Mechanika Vol 4 by Joe Benitez, M.M. Chen, Beth Sotelo, Michael Heisler, and Martin Montiel is a steampunk graphic novel series with detectives, fabulous lady investigators, and some scientists closer to the evil genius side of things than is comfortable.
Lady Mechanika Vol 4 is a classic murder mystery – or at least starts out that way. The volume opens with a murder, but not just any murder. A scientist and former friend of Archibald Lewis has been killed, bringing a past Mr. Lewis would rather forget rushing back. Inspector Singh is assigned to the investigation, which quickly goes from bad to worse. But the few witnesses there are all report a woman too strong and quick to be human, one with mechanical limbs. And the only person who fits the description is Lady Mechanika herself.
This volume was a lot fun. We are once again in the capital city, following some familiar faces. The story really focuses on Mr. Lewis. As much as I liked him before, Mr. Lewis often was relegated to the role of funny sidekick. Here, he gets plenty of backstory and character development, fleshing out his character very well. He really takes a lead role in this volume, which was a welcome change.
Not only do we learn a lot about him, we learn a lot about some of the other scientists working with mechanics. Familiar faces make appearances as well as many brand new ones. Despite this, we don’t necessarily learn much in regards to Lady Mechanika’s still hazy past, leaving questions on this front still unanswered.
The art is, once again, very beautiful. The world is gorgeous, steeped in Victorian charm and fancy outfits. One of the reasons why I love the art is the beautiful outfits Lady Mechanika wears. However, I did find one or two of the outfits a little plainer than some of the previous volume. This isn’t any kind of make or break deal, but it is worth mentioning.
Lady Mechanika Vol 4 was another solid entry in the series. If you like mysteries and steampunk I would suggest picking up this series.
This graphic novel was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Review originally found Looking Glass Reads.
Lady Mechanika Vol 4 is a classic murder mystery – or at least starts out that way. The volume opens with a murder, but not just any murder. A scientist and former friend of Archibald Lewis has been killed, bringing a past Mr. Lewis would rather forget rushing back. Inspector Singh is assigned to the investigation, which quickly goes from bad to worse. But the few witnesses there are all report a woman too strong and quick to be human, one with mechanical limbs. And the only person who fits the description is Lady Mechanika herself.
This volume was a lot fun. We are once again in the capital city, following some familiar faces. The story really focuses on Mr. Lewis. As much as I liked him before, Mr. Lewis often was relegated to the role of funny sidekick. Here, he gets plenty of backstory and character development, fleshing out his character very well. He really takes a lead role in this volume, which was a welcome change.
Not only do we learn a lot about him, we learn a lot about some of the other scientists working with mechanics. Familiar faces make appearances as well as many brand new ones. Despite this, we don’t necessarily learn much in regards to Lady Mechanika’s still hazy past, leaving questions on this front still unanswered.
The art is, once again, very beautiful. The world is gorgeous, steeped in Victorian charm and fancy outfits. One of the reasons why I love the art is the beautiful outfits Lady Mechanika wears. However, I did find one or two of the outfits a little plainer than some of the previous volume. This isn’t any kind of make or break deal, but it is worth mentioning.
Lady Mechanika Vol 4 was another solid entry in the series. If you like mysteries and steampunk I would suggest picking up this series.
This graphic novel was sent by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Review originally found Looking Glass Reads.
adancewithbooks's review
3.0
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review
One graphic novel I have heard a bit about would be Lady Mechanika. While searching through what kind of comics and graphic novels I could read through the library I found a few volumes of this graphic novel. Shortly after that I found this volume on Netgalley and decided to give it a try.
When I first looked into Lady Mechanika I had to really search what was what. Most of these big volumes are first published in six different issues. Adding on to that confusion is that this volume is marked as 4 on the cover and the inside page, but the file is called volume 5. I do think that you can easily settle into this without having read any of the previous installments.
The art is great. Very consistent. The whole tone of the colors fit very well with the steampunk elements and Lady Mechanika’s personality. The full spread bust and pictures of Lady Mechanika in the back are also gorgeous. However the adult females, lady mechanika included, are all drawn the same. Fanservice for males. Skimpy clothes. Very busty, very thin waist. I mean, I’ve seen skimpier clothes but even so…be aware of that when you go into these.
Lady Mechanika is a very tough lady but it is also clear to see that she has her attachments to people. Like Lewis. I wish there had been more of an emphasis on their relationship. This is not a very long volume and could have easily been lengthened with a few pages.
As for the main mystery, I thought it was a bit boring. It was quite honestly a rather standard murder mystery. The twist at the end was easy to guess. Again, I feel like this whole volume could have used a few extra pages to deepen things out here and there. The question proposed in the synopsis about Lady Mechanika was to my eyes not touched upon at all.
As it stands now, this is a very standard volume. Nothing special. Nothing that seems to hint towards a bigger story line. Just a simple murder mystery. A nice in between read, but that is all it is.
One graphic novel I have heard a bit about would be Lady Mechanika. While searching through what kind of comics and graphic novels I could read through the library I found a few volumes of this graphic novel. Shortly after that I found this volume on Netgalley and decided to give it a try.
When I first looked into Lady Mechanika I had to really search what was what. Most of these big volumes are first published in six different issues. Adding on to that confusion is that this volume is marked as 4 on the cover and the inside page, but the file is called volume 5. I do think that you can easily settle into this without having read any of the previous installments.
The art is great. Very consistent. The whole tone of the colors fit very well with the steampunk elements and Lady Mechanika’s personality. The full spread bust and pictures of Lady Mechanika in the back are also gorgeous. However the adult females, lady mechanika included, are all drawn the same. Fanservice for males. Skimpy clothes. Very busty, very thin waist. I mean, I’ve seen skimpier clothes but even so…be aware of that when you go into these.
Lady Mechanika is a very tough lady but it is also clear to see that she has her attachments to people. Like Lewis. I wish there had been more of an emphasis on their relationship. This is not a very long volume and could have easily been lengthened with a few pages.
As for the main mystery, I thought it was a bit boring. It was quite honestly a rather standard murder mystery. The twist at the end was easy to guess. Again, I feel like this whole volume could have used a few extra pages to deepen things out here and there. The question proposed in the synopsis about Lady Mechanika was to my eyes not touched upon at all.
As it stands now, this is a very standard volume. Nothing special. Nothing that seems to hint towards a bigger story line. Just a simple murder mystery. A nice in between read, but that is all it is.
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