[3.5 stars]

An alien tasked to watch humans realises it can also control them, and this new-found ability quickly turns into a huge mess. The alien has to fix it before its manager finds out, or it'll be terminated. The art style reminds me of caroline/the house in terms of texture and mood. The story itself wasnt really memorable, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It's so melancholy in a hopeful way, and I think this is a good quick read :))


• arc provided by netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review •

For me this was a sweet tale with great art work but I never connected with the story as I was reading the book, which is a shame as the premise sounded interesting.
Sadly if it was allegorical I missed this

The story was a little simple for my taste, so it might be better suited to younger readers. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

This graphic novel is a heartfelt story about a scout robot who is sent ahead to observe earth, it messes up on its mission though and ends up getting way closer to humans than it should.

I feel as though the world is very oversaturated with alien invasion stories, which makes it hard for any story about an invasion to really make an impact on me. However this story really does feel fresh, fun and original. A lot of invasion stories follow the humans and see the effect it has on us but this one being told from the perspective of the alien brings a refreshingly new perspective to the classic trope.

There is a wonderful naivety to the robot that makes this story an absolute delight to read.

I also just really loved the art style, I think it works fantastically for the story and the colour palette is great.

Overall this is a great story that revitalises and extremely oversaturated genre and I would absolutely recommend it

I was over the moon excited to receive an arc of this book. It was a quick read so I don't want to give too much away.

It's a graphic novel about alien life forms coming to earth to study humans while they're in their natural habitat. Our main character alien finds out he has a "defect" and the story evolves from there.

The story covers a lot of aspects briefly, from the aliens origins to the relationships between characters.

I really enjoyed the story and it did a lot in the time we spend with our alien buddy here.

I understood where this mango was going, but I think it should’ve been longer to explain everything. This manga follows a scout who is put on Earth to observe and report back about human beings by excreting spores that he can monitor humans, not realising that he can actually control humans as he thought he was a scout, but then, when his memories return, he realises that he can actually minute populate others with his spores. It is a little confusing. The ending is kind of off. I didn’t feel like it match the book it for a little rushed and it was really short so this is why I’m great at giving it a 2 out of five stars. It was okay, I’ll probably read more, but it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

My Life Among Humans is a fast-moving and beautifully illustrated graphic novel. With bright visuals and a simple story to follow, this is an easy book to slip into, even if the narrative fails to hit the thematic and emotional heights it strives for.

The story focuses on a nameless alien data compiler that arrives on Earth to study humans. With instructions from its manager to watch over Will and his family, it begins working undercover to read the minds of its hosts and figure out what it really means to be human.

Thematically, the book attempts to touch on the key elements of humanity, including ideas like free will, emotion and kinship with our fellow homosapiens. For the most part, that is actually conveyed pretty well on the pages and the journey itself has some suitably melancholic moments. As things escalate, the story becomes that much more intriguing.

The premise feels like an early Pixar prototype, like a hybrid version of Wall-E blended with elements of Monsters VS Aliens. There's nothing wrong with that of course, but at times this story almost needed another 20 pages or so to really flesh out the characters and dive into their psyche a bit more. The internal monologue from our alien narrator does help to alleviate some of those concerns though.

That earlier idea of friendship - especially between man and machine - is not a new concept in this field but given the story is about humans, it's quite surprising then to find a distinct lack of humanity with some of the plot beats. For example, no one really bats an eyelid to discovering this alien data compiler outside of the first instance, while a reveal late on about mind control is completely shrugged off by everyone who learns this. It's a bizarre way of showcasing the story and it holds the narrative back from being more endearing.

On that same note, those earlier themes this comic explores feel very surface level. Given how quick-paced the story is, and how beautiful the artwork is as well, it's reserved to a minor quibble rather than a flaw that holds this back from being more enjoyable.

With all things considered, My Life Among Humans is a fun read and it's not a complete time-sap either. The themes are nicely explored and the story is endearing enough to see through until the end. As a one-time rental or a quick read during a break from work or studying, this one's well worth checking out.

6.5/10

👽my life among humans by jed mcgowan👽

thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book which will be published on 7th Feb 2023.

a short graphic novel with incredibly beautiful art about an alien who is trying to understand the human world. our little alien is supposed to be simply collecting data on humans, but they get too attached to the family they've been sent to monitor, accidentally starts controlling their minds and then tries to fix it while learning how humans behave, think, feel and connect with each other and getting a greater appreciation for human life, all while hiding it from their supervisor. I wish the book was longer, I'd have loved to have seen more of the aliens story and his future adventures. it's a fun little read with beautiful artwork - and also has gay dads! they're not really a part of the story but it's always nice to see casual representation.

Note: Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for sending me an e-arc. This does not affect my opinions and review in any manner.

Jed Gowan's My Life Among Humans is a sci-fi graphic novel about a lonely alien's search for connection amongst humanity.

Our MC is a nameless alien data compiler who is sent to earth to study humans. It works in complete secrecy, sending regular data reports back to its manager. They mainly collect data using a spore-like technology which reads the minds of its hosts. One of them is Will, a human our alien takes an interest in. But when the alien accidentally reveals itself to Will's family, it has to take drastic measures to protect itself... like the forbidden ability to control human minds.

There's something charming about the idea of a human and a sentient non-human forming a connection, as if friendship and belonging extended beyond the confines of a place or language. And that's exactly why I picked this up.

It's a cute premise and its theme of connection and the way the plot goes does somewhat bring this out. It also raises the stakes pretty well. Does a connection simply boil down to knowing someone's every thought or feeling? Will the little alien learn that control has no place in a relationship?

But I think this graphic novel's sadly bogged down by other problems. The story begins fast. Way too fast for me at least because it never gave us the opportunity to really care about the alien. I really wish there was at least one frame where it did something clever or endearing before diving into the meat of the story.

There's the matter of the writing too. Throughout the graphic novel, we get the alien's internal monologue. But the cadence of its words sort of falls short. The wording of the sentences feels awkward. For example, "But it and I would never meet" is quite a mouthful. Simple saying "we" would sound much better. Another line is: “All they could do was collect data from minds and the transmit the data to me to store." It's really wordy and the rhythm of the words kinda off.

The main character, after all, is not human. So the author needs to work extra hard to get us invested in it. And sadly that didn't happen and that kept me from holding on tight to the story.

3 stars for having potential but not quite delivering.

It was a very sweet story that could've been so much more explorative. But for what it was, there was a nice flow to it.

Thank you to the publishers for the ARC of this graphic novel.
A slave alien, the story’s narrator, arrives on earth to gather data on humans by implanting tiny probes into their brains. When his mission goes awry, he must decide which side he’s on in order to survive. “My Life Among Humans” is a unique story that will appeal to all ages. I loved the art, it reminded me of the science fiction movies and tv shows of the 60s and 70s. The story works as a stand alone, but I do hope there’s a sequel.

This little slice of life graphic novel shows how characters can find out things about themselves and develop relationships

I enjoyed this one! Cute and a little weird. The graphics were lovely and I felt a sense of endearment towards our little alien.

When a nameless alien takes a special interest in a human they've been monitoring, they decide to take more of an active role in what is just supposed to be a data collection experience. Quickly, the involvement spirals and leads to the alien watching and interfering with more lives. An interesting story tries to reflects on what it means to be human, but falls short on invoking the emotional connection needed to make it pack a real thought-provoking punch.

Instead of abducting members of different species, this species of aliens send themselves to different planets to observe humans via their thoughts. This story focuses on one little alien sent to spy on humans but it does not all go to plan.

I loved the colours of this graphic novel, it's beautifully illustrated. The alien reminds me visually of Rocky in Project Hail Mary.

A wistful graphic novel / short story about an alien probe investigating human life and things going mildly awry. Clearly and classically designed, McGowan creates simple computer art, which is quite flat but does a good job at juxtaposing the alien nature of the probe with the normality of the day to day human life, and the point of view is very firmly with the probe not understanding human interactions. It also leans heavily on Invasion Of The Body Snatchers for its conceit, and if anything this is "Sympathy For The Body Snatchers (its a hard job pretending to be human).

Enjoyably quirky, the human relations are convincing, and whilst the story does get a little bogged down in its own alien backstory, it ends with a rather sweet and well-played final act, with even a little action thrown in the mix (which doesn't really play up to the strengths of the art). But there is a faith in humanity, and alien-ness too that doesn't necessarily paper over the bad actions here, but means that the overwhelming sense is of redemption and positivity.

My life among humans is a lighthearted story of a little alien coming to earth and studying a chosen family. One day he accidentally lets himself be seen and he goes to great lengths to try to correct this mistake. During this time he comes to learn how connected humans are and begins to question his own making.

I never thought I’d find myself this emotional over an alien, but this little guys backstory brought tears to my eyes.
This graphic novel is a heartwarming, flowing, quick read with a decent plot.

In a Nutshell: An unusual story with decent artwork. Wasn’t memorable for me though.

A little alien has been sent to Planet Earth to research humans and send back daily reports. He chooses one target human named Will, a nerd video-game designer, and begins observing him. However, one day, Will discovers his unknown stalker and in response, the alien ends up controlling Will’s mind so as to not put his own future in jeopardy. This leads to disastrous consequences, and before he knows it, the alien is controlling a whole load of people. How will this end? Will the humans be able to regain control over their own minds? Will the alien end up destroying everyone?

The story took me by surprise. While certain parts were somewhat guessable given the flow, some elements were quite unusual, and even bizarre. The direction taken by the alien’s character and the ending were definitely the high points of the plot. I love how the alien wasn’t given a typical clichéd role to play. His cute appearance also helps; he reminded me of Mike Wazowski from ‘Monsters Inc.’ movies. The story proceeds at a quick pace, the 96 pages almost breezing by due to many panels having only graphics and no text.

But I found it somewhat weird that not a single human being panicked at the thought of aliens controlling them. The reaction was almost a casual, “There are aliens around”, “Oh, let’s go get them”. Surely at least one person would have screamed in shock or disbelief. If you tell me that there are aliens around me controlling fellow humans, I am gonna freak out for sure; you can count on it!

Moreover, as a reader, when you read of an alien coming to the planet and controlling your mind, you would want to feel sorry for the humans involved. But the writing is such that I felt no connect whatsoever with the humans. (Rather, I had a greater understanding of what the alien felt.)

The graphics are pretty simple. They seem to be digitally painted. The hues are subtle and don’t pop out much. But this works to a minor advantage as the story doesn’t get overshadowed by the illustrations. That said, I wasn’t really a big fan of the human characters who seemed very stiff.

Overall, an interesting graphic novel, but not mind-blowing. Good for a one-time read if borrowed from the library.

3.25 stars.

My thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “My Life Among Humans”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

This was a decent graphic novel, and I liked the way the story flows! I especially liked the world-building we get in the second half, and tbh wish we got more of it! What pulled it a little down for me was that I wish it focused on building more depth in the relationships / connection to the humans, the world-building of the city and general world-building. It was still decent tho, and I think a lot of people will also enjoy it!

2.5⭐️

MY LIFE AMONG HUMANS - 3/5 STARS

My Life Among Humans is a graphic novel about an alien sent to observe people on earth and report to their manager. The alien is meant to be an invisible observer, but when he's accidentally found out, he discovers he can take over the human mind and make them do their bidding--even though this was never his intention.

It was a quick read with beautiful graphics. The art style felt unique and was fitting for the desert setting of the story. Still, the story itself was predictable. It's a surface-level message about what it means to be human and a creature realising that those are qualities he also desires. Sadly, there wasn't much depth to the main characters because McGowan didn't take the time to flesh them out before the alien was discovered and took over their bodies. As readers, we're not given many reasons to care that this specific group of humans has their lives dismantled. This made the story fall flat to me.

I didn't necessarily mind that it was based on a familiar premise, but I would've liked for a few more layers to be added to add depth and make the novel memorable. I enjoyed it, but it didn't leave a lasting impression.

I was given an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not influence my opinion.