Reviews

Abbott: 1973 by Saladin Ahmed, Sami Kivelä

sarahskorupa's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lurker_stalker's review

4.0

I've blown through the first Abbott and this upcoming sequel today and wish there were more.

This edition brought along a few new characters - including a douche bag publisher - and more darkness to Elena's life. I enjoyed the volume but, man, they just go by so quickly making me want so much more. Hopefully, I won't have to wait too long before the next volume is ready.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read Abbott: 1973 early!

hannahhbic's review

4.0

WILD! This graphic novel's vibrant and detailed to the nines. The artist brought their A game and it's gorgeous. The story itself has some holes but I'm 10000% willing to wait for some more answers. I liked that the protagonist is an established hero already and that we didn't have to go through yet ANOTHER origin story.

Thank you to NetGalley for a preview ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

eileenthecrow's review

3.0

Thank you so much to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing me with a DRC of this graphic novel for an honest review.

I should admit that I made the mistake of thinking this was the first volume of the series and read it as such, only to quickly realize it was a sequel. That's fine though, even when you read it with no prior knowledge of what happened before, it still manages to hold up well. There were a few things that I got confused with but the world building was solid enough for me to catch up soon after. This read like a superhero comic (my favorite!) and reminded me of Gotham Central.

Elena is a black queer reporter in the 70s, battling sexism, racism, homophobia AND dark powers that are trying to take her down ALL at the same time. I don't know what your definition of a superhero is but she definitely is one! This was an engaging and interesting read and I can't wait to read more - especially about how Elena and Amelia's relationship progressed over time since I enjoyed the flashbacks a lot and thought I should definitely read the previous volume. My enjoyment of it ultimately suffers from the fact that I thought it was a standalone, even though this isn't the author's fault, so hopefully I will enjoy the other volumes as much as I did this one - with more context on the story.

hilham's review

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

geekwayne's review

4.0

'Abbott: 1973' by Saladin Ahmed with art by Sami Kivela is an urban fantasy graphic novel set in 1970s Detroit.

Elena Abbott is a reporter, but also can fight the supernatural. When the Detroit mayoral race looks like it's being rigged, she realizes there is more at stake. She enlists her ex-military brother and one of his friends, but will that be enough?

I really liked the setting, the story and the vibe of this story. The art is pretty great too. This was a great idea for an urban fantasy story.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from BOOM! Studios and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

kleonard's review

5.0

Abbott: 1973 is a superb collection of several issues of the comic. Detroit reporter and general badass Elena Abbott is covering the mayor's election when she finds herself faced with a gross and sexist boss, the return of the umbra--a malevolent power used by white supremacists to try to bring down the city's first viable Black mayoral candidate--and the local mob. As always, the storytelling is tight and the characters are deep and resonant. My only quibble is the lettering style, in which Us often look like and L and an I, causing some difficulty reading quickly.. Words like CUT don't do well in this lettering style.

ohhdeanna's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

theduchess93's review

4.0

I loved the concept and the artwork and the characters -- everything was just A Good Vibe. I'm super excited to see how it all gets fleshed out in future issues!

exploradora's review

2.0

***2 stars***

I really hoped I'd like this graphic novel, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I feel like the story itself had a lot of potential and the art is beautiful, but the writing was terrible. I just couldn't look past that.

I still think many will like this way more than I did, though..