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thecolourblue's review
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The first half of the Harbinger Wars spin-off Generation Zero series - collecting #1-5
Keisha puts out a call online after her boyfriend dies mysteriously, and Generation Zero answers - a.k.a. the group of misfit psiot kids who escaped Project Red Rising in Harbinger Wars. From then on out this is pretty much a standalone story in the Valiant universe, as the kids strat to investigate the town and generally get into trouble as the super-powered little shits they are. It's a cool group of characters with cool powers.
Keisha puts out a call online after her boyfriend dies mysteriously, and Generation Zero answers - a.k.a. the group of misfit psiot kids who escaped Project Red Rising in Harbinger Wars. From then on out this is pretty much a standalone story in the Valiant universe, as the kids strat to investigate the town and generally get into trouble as the super-powered little shits they are. It's a cool group of characters with cool powers.
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
4.0
Van Lente's run on Harbinger was the series that convinced me to do a deep dive on Valiant's titles. It was mostly great. I enjoy the way he writes dialogue, and his stories seem to unfold more nautrally than many of the other authors working within this universe. So I was disappointed when I realized the relaunch of Harbinger was written by [a:Rafer Roberts|2815901|Rafer Roberts|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]. (It turned out okay, his Harbinger relaunch is much better than his run on [b:A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1: In the Bag|29985973|A&A The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1 In the Bag|Rafer Roberts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530691008l/29985973._SY75_.jpg|50387101].)
I was thrilled to see that, while he may not be working on Harbinger, Van Lente was continuing his story with a focus on Generation Zero.
This is a new-reader friendly story that introduces us to the city of Rook (Detroitish) and a young woman who's not a psiot but who contacts Generation Zero for help when her boyfriend dies.
What follows is a fun action story full of reveals and twists. It's both one of the most accessible hero stories from this 2019ish era of Valiant, and the most unexpected. I would actually recommend starting with this book, and then going to check out the books that will eventually intersect with it ([b:A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1: In the Bag|29985973|A&A The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1 In the Bag|Rafer Roberts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530691008l/29985973._SY75_.jpg|50387101], [b:Faith, Volume 1: Hollywood & Vine|29332093|Faith, Volume 1 Hollywood & Vine (Faith, #1)|Jody Houser|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456858096l/29332093._SY75_.jpg|49564767], and [b:Harbinger Renegade, Vol. 1: The Judgment of Solomon|33142313|Harbinger Renegade, Vol. 1 The Judgment of Solomon|Rafer Roberts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480338202l/33142313._SY75_.jpg|53827200]).
I was thrilled to see that, while he may not be working on Harbinger, Van Lente was continuing his story with a focus on Generation Zero.
This is a new-reader friendly story that introduces us to the city of Rook (Detroitish) and a young woman who's not a psiot but who contacts Generation Zero for help when her boyfriend dies.
What follows is a fun action story full of reveals and twists. It's both one of the most accessible hero stories from this 2019ish era of Valiant, and the most unexpected. I would actually recommend starting with this book, and then going to check out the books that will eventually intersect with it ([b:A&A: The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1: In the Bag|29985973|A&A The Adventures of Archer & Armstrong, Volume 1 In the Bag|Rafer Roberts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530691008l/29985973._SY75_.jpg|50387101], [b:Faith, Volume 1: Hollywood & Vine|29332093|Faith, Volume 1 Hollywood & Vine (Faith, #1)|Jody Houser|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456858096l/29332093._SY75_.jpg|49564767], and [b:Harbinger Renegade, Vol. 1: The Judgment of Solomon|33142313|Harbinger Renegade, Vol. 1 The Judgment of Solomon|Rafer Roberts|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480338202l/33142313._SY75_.jpg|53827200]).
ljrinaldi's review against another edition
4.0
This volume, the one that Netgalley made available, is only the start of the series, but what a cool start.
There are kids that have been changed to have super powers, but they, the kids are in hiding. This is the near future. These kids, Generation Zero might be able to help, if anyone was able to contact them, which Keisha does.
To tell more, gives away most of the first few collected issues of this volume. The mystery is out there, and Keisha and Generation Zero kids are trying to solve it. But, of course, don't trust anyone else, especially the adults.
I'm sure this story has been done before, but this was well done, as far as it goes, and nice illustrations.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this available for an honest review.
There are kids that have been changed to have super powers, but they, the kids are in hiding. This is the near future. These kids, Generation Zero might be able to help, if anyone was able to contact them, which Keisha does.
To tell more, gives away most of the first few collected issues of this volume. The mystery is out there, and Keisha and Generation Zero kids are trying to solve it. But, of course, don't trust anyone else, especially the adults.
I'm sure this story has been done before, but this was well done, as far as it goes, and nice illustrations.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this available for an honest review.
carroq's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Anyone paying attention to my reviews will recognize that I enjoy stuff put out by Valiant Entertainment. Generation Zero features some characters introduced in the Harbinger Wars story, but it is well removed from that. The focal character is a young woman whose boyfriend dies in car crash. She thinks there is something fishy about his death and reaches out to a fabled group, Generation Zero, that helps people in need. They respond in spectacular fashion and it is unlike anything she expected.
This is the fourth series I've read written by Fred Van Lente. I'm not sure if it is the source material or his writing, but they have been consistently good. I enjoyed the characters a lot. The members of Generation Zero have a nice array of powers, and their interactions among themselves and with others show off their personalities. They felt different from the Renegades, which is another group of young superheroes in the Valiant books. That can be tough to pull off.
The town where everything takes place is great. There are references to some other events, which gives it some life because what happens in the other books clearly has an impact. The town itself has become stinking rich. There's really no other way to describe it. This has affected everything in the town and the art reflects that. It's very well put together in that regard. I wasn't too impressed with the art at first, but one of the later issues takes a huge turn that I thought was wonderful.
It can move a little slow at times and it helps to have some knowledge of what's been happening in the Valiant comics. Yet, it is written really well and has enough oomph that it doesn't really matter.
Anyone paying attention to my reviews will recognize that I enjoy stuff put out by Valiant Entertainment. Generation Zero features some characters introduced in the Harbinger Wars story, but it is well removed from that. The focal character is a young woman whose boyfriend dies in car crash. She thinks there is something fishy about his death and reaches out to a fabled group, Generation Zero, that helps people in need. They respond in spectacular fashion and it is unlike anything she expected.
This is the fourth series I've read written by Fred Van Lente. I'm not sure if it is the source material or his writing, but they have been consistently good. I enjoyed the characters a lot. The members of Generation Zero have a nice array of powers, and their interactions among themselves and with others show off their personalities. They felt different from the Renegades, which is another group of young superheroes in the Valiant books. That can be tough to pull off.
The town where everything takes place is great. There are references to some other events, which gives it some life because what happens in the other books clearly has an impact. The town itself has become stinking rich. There's really no other way to describe it. This has affected everything in the town and the art reflects that. It's very well put together in that regard. I wasn't too impressed with the art at first, but one of the later issues takes a huge turn that I thought was wonderful.
It can move a little slow at times and it helps to have some knowledge of what's been happening in the Valiant comics. Yet, it is written really well and has enough oomph that it doesn't really matter.
familiar_diversions's review against another edition
3.0
Keisha Sherman desperately wants to find out the truth about what happened to her boyfriend, Stephen. He supposedly got drunk and died in a car crash, but she knows he wasn't the kind of guy to do that - he didn't drink, do drugs, or smoke. Since her dad, the local Sheriff, won't listen and thinks she's just in denial, Keisha turns to the only people she can think of: Generation Zero. She makes a desperate plea for their help...and they answer.
This was another graphic novel I requested via ILL after finding out about it while doing some research for a grant proposal. It was a 2017 Virginia Library Association Diversity Award Honor Book.
I can't recall the last time I read a Valiant series. Honestly, looking through their list of titles, it's possible I've never read a Valiant series. I certainly haven't read any of the Harbringer comics, which are apparently related to the Generation Zero comics somehow.
Although I could definitely tell that there was some backstory I was unaware of (I didn't realize until after I'd read the whole graphic novel that the description on the back cover included some useful info for complete newbies to this world, like me), I think I was able to follow along pretty well. The members of Generation Zero had originally been taken from their families and trained as weapons. Each of them had of them had special powers of some sort, and each of them dealt with their trauma and having their childhoods stolen from them in different ways.
Cronus (I'm not sure about his powers), who appeared to be the team's leader, wanted to do good. Telic (could see a little into the future), meanwhile, wanted Cronus to embrace the fact that they'd been trained to be weapons. Animalia (could give herself other forms, although I think it wasn't so much shapeshifting as crafting an illusion over herself), one of the group's youngest members, just wanted a life that was nice and good. Cloud (telepath) was the group's gentlest and most positive member, despite constantly being exposed to humanity's collective consciousness. The Zygos twins (super smart?) didn't seem to particularly like humans in general. I didn't really get much of a feel for Gamete, a super fetus who got around by controlling the body of her comatose mother like some sort of creepy puppet.
I wasn't really a fan of the artwork. Facial expressions were a bit stiff, and the artist(s) sometimes had trouble drawing the characters consistently. The female Zygos twin, for example, usually looked almost exactly like her brother, only with longer hair and very slightly more defined lips. In some panels, however, she was inexplicably drawn with more stereotypically feminine features: much more prominent lips and thicker eyelashes. It was weird. I did think the switch to Archie comics-style artwork during the "questioning Adele" portion was really effective, though.
This volume just scratched the surface of whatever was going on in Keisha's hometown, which involved weird faceless Cornermen, technology that shouldn't exist yet, and Momoo energy shakes. The characters were relatively interesting, but I don't know whether I'll be continuing on with this. If I do continue on: Keisha's autistic (?) brother just flat-out disappeared near the end of the volume, so here's hoping the writer doesn't forget about him and actually answers the question of where he went in the next volume.
Extras:
Variant covers and a few examples of the artwork in progress (line art, and line art with some color applied but no shading).
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
This was another graphic novel I requested via ILL after finding out about it while doing some research for a grant proposal. It was a 2017 Virginia Library Association Diversity Award Honor Book.
I can't recall the last time I read a Valiant series. Honestly, looking through their list of titles, it's possible I've never read a Valiant series. I certainly haven't read any of the Harbringer comics, which are apparently related to the Generation Zero comics somehow.
Although I could definitely tell that there was some backstory I was unaware of (I didn't realize until after I'd read the whole graphic novel that the description on the back cover included some useful info for complete newbies to this world, like me), I think I was able to follow along pretty well. The members of Generation Zero had originally been taken from their families and trained as weapons. Each of them had of them had special powers of some sort, and each of them dealt with their trauma and having their childhoods stolen from them in different ways.
Cronus (I'm not sure about his powers), who appeared to be the team's leader, wanted to do good. Telic (could see a little into the future), meanwhile, wanted Cronus to embrace the fact that they'd been trained to be weapons. Animalia (could give herself other forms, although I think it wasn't so much shapeshifting as crafting an illusion over herself), one of the group's youngest members, just wanted a life that was nice and good. Cloud (telepath) was the group's gentlest and most positive member, despite constantly being exposed to humanity's collective consciousness. The Zygos twins (super smart?) didn't seem to particularly like humans in general. I didn't really get much of a feel for Gamete, a super fetus who got around by controlling the body of her comatose mother like some sort of creepy puppet.
I wasn't really a fan of the artwork. Facial expressions were a bit stiff, and the artist(s) sometimes had trouble drawing the characters consistently. The female Zygos twin, for example, usually looked almost exactly like her brother, only with longer hair and very slightly more defined lips. In some panels, however, she was inexplicably drawn with more stereotypically feminine features: much more prominent lips and thicker eyelashes. It was weird. I did think the switch to Archie comics-style artwork during the "questioning Adele" portion was really effective, though.
This volume just scratched the surface of whatever was going on in Keisha's hometown, which involved weird faceless Cornermen, technology that shouldn't exist yet, and Momoo energy shakes. The characters were relatively interesting, but I don't know whether I'll be continuing on with this. If I do continue on: Keisha's autistic (?) brother just flat-out disappeared near the end of the volume, so here's hoping the writer doesn't forget about him and actually answers the question of where he went in the next volume.
Extras:
Variant covers and a few examples of the artwork in progress (line art, and line art with some color applied but no shading).
(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.)
alexauthorshay's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting concept and characters, but I didn't feel emotionally invested in any of them. The Cornermen were neat, but the 'heroes' weren't that great. It was actually the twins that interested me the most, the rest were kind of headstrong and unrelatable.
The art was really neat, and the different art style for when they go inside someone's head and view things how they do was really interesting, especially since it seemed to be a bit of a throwback to Archie.
The plot had enough to keep it going, and the little hook on the end is enough to continue reading to the next volume to know what's happening, but I would say more out of curiosity than any real need or desire to read on.
The art was really neat, and the different art style for when they go inside someone's head and view things how they do was really interesting, especially since it seemed to be a bit of a throwback to Archie.
The plot had enough to keep it going, and the little hook on the end is enough to continue reading to the next volume to know what's happening, but I would say more out of curiosity than any real need or desire to read on.
circlesofflame's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great start to what looks to be a really exciting series.
We follow Keisha, who believes that her boyfriend- who died after crashing his car into a tree - may have been murdered. She contacts a group to help investigate and after receiving a message sent by Stephen prior to his death, is further convinced hat there has been some foul play.
The storyline was engaging and relatable to its audience, with realistic dialogue, a classic art style and a diverse mix of characters; making it different to others within the genre. I'm looking forward to seeing how the series progresses and would not hesitate to recommend it to those looking for some YA SciFi or just something a little offbeat.
Thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors, who made this available in exchange for an honest review.
We follow Keisha, who believes that her boyfriend- who died after crashing his car into a tree - may have been murdered. She contacts a group to help investigate and after receiving a message sent by Stephen prior to his death, is further convinced hat there has been some foul play.
The storyline was engaging and relatable to its audience, with realistic dialogue, a classic art style and a diverse mix of characters; making it different to others within the genre. I'm looking forward to seeing how the series progresses and would not hesitate to recommend it to those looking for some YA SciFi or just something a little offbeat.
Thanks to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors, who made this available in exchange for an honest review.
librarianryan's review
3.0
A new graphic novel series about a different kind of superhero. These are the superheroes of the future. No one knows who they are, or how to get in contact with them. You can only try, and hope that your case is one they will take on. When you read the blurb about this book, the “superheroes” are actually a military experiment that escaped. But nowhere in this volume is that mentioned. It doesn’t need to be, as I am sure that will come up in later issues, but it does make the book harder to follow. Right now they are solving the case of a murdered high school student. It has cool artwork and an interesting story. I want to continue the series.
loulaubye's review
4.0
Look ma, I read a comic! And I liked it! I still have trouble pacing my reading, and I finished 60 pages of this in an hour and it all happened too quickly for me, but it was interesting nonetheless. Though the story seems a little cliché at first, it has good elements that make it unpredictable, and I can see myself reading more of this, specially because the ending of this volume actually made me gasp. Good stuff.
paulweymouth's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this first volume of Generation Zero. Valiant is putting out some good stuff and I need to read more. My favorite part of this volume was the panel design. If you like the idea of a teenager super team with unique powers that figure out Twin Peaks like mysteries, check this out.
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