Nocean is a gorgeous, lush and emotional story about a world much like our own, where corporations rule supreme and the average citizen is dehumanized to death. Nocean is a light of hope in a dystopia that seems hopeless.

I really loved the art in this! The story was so so for me, I liked the idea but wasn’t convinced by the execution. But that might just be the translation. Idk. I’m tired of the theme in media now where people demanding change are always portrayed as violent.

Nocean is an intriguing look at a world where pollution has taken over the oceans and the government - Systema - has zoned the population into socioeconomic divisions. It tells the story of Atari, a young woman trying to find the way to bring about a better future, without losing herself and her humanity. It is a story of finding yourself, finding family in a world full of loss, and the fight for a better tomorrow. The art is beautiful and clear, the pacing is great, and the story development is very effective. I look forward to reading another volume.

The illustration style is the most captivating thing about Nocean - it is just stunning. The characters are so unique, light and shadows fall just right, the character's outfits are super creative in an up cycled, post-apocalyptic fashion kind of way. And the author quotes Ursula LeGuin.
I would have liked to see a bit more of their world building in order to explore the environmental and historical context in more depth. In all, this is a very short graphic novel, 64 pages, including cover, copyright, and blank pages - which quite surprised me. Nevertheless, I imagine this might be the first volume in a larger series.

I found the art style to be really fun and bright. It was by far the biggest highlight of the novel. I also enjoyed the world in which the story was set. Unfortunately, I just wanted more from the story. I felt that the story had a very rushed feeling to it. I didn't spend enough time with the characters to connect to them or too truly understand why they were making the drastic decisions they did.

This was okay! Nocean is set in a dystopian world where the oceans have covered a majority of the land as a result to climate change and everything is regulated by the government that leads to a lot of resistance.

The main character is determined to be a part of the resistance after witnessing her mother die in a young age. The premise and art are good but the story felt mostly introductory for the next ones that will possibly follow so lacked a bit in depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I loved the concept of the book and the illustrations. However, the story itself was very rushed and it felt like this volume could have been split into 2 or 3 different volumes. It seems like everytime the main character, Atari, even starts to settle in a situation she is thrown into a different one. This makes it hard to connect with any of the characters or the situations because you are only seeing the surface level of everything and you aren’t able to process anything because everything is happening so quickly. I think if the author didn’t rush the plot and expanded on each situation that Atari gets into then we would be able to better flush out the characters emotions and thoughts.

Atari lives in a world affected by climate change. She is determined to fight for justice and make change, just like her mother did. So, she joins a rebel group where she meets Tika and they try to figure out how to make change.

Nocean starts off fast and doesn’t let up. Normally, this is wonderful for me and keeps me entertained and focused, but this was possibly too fast which caused this to suffer.

This installment was so short that it didn’t allow for a lot of proper development. The bare minimum is told about this world and how it’s structured. It left me confused more often than not. There is societal unrest, but I don’t understand the structure to really understand fully why things are going on.

A lot of what happened left me questioning and trying to figure out if I had missed something or what due to the quick pace and lack of explanation as everything floated from one scene to the next. Everything was just rushed.

I think this could have been wonderful with a few extra pages to really flesh out the characters and the world would have done wonders. With how this ended, I’m not sure if I would be interested in picking up the next installment. The art is stunning and I do see the potential in this, so I could see how a number of readers could be eager to read this and fall in love.

The book is set in a dystopian world where the ocean has been destroyed, everything is controlled and regulated by the government, the city is divided into zones which are accessible based on ids issued.

The story setting is interesting and the first part of the series sets the stage for the next book in the series. The characters are introduced which aren't yet fully developed, the world-building has begun which seems intriguing yet leaves the readers wanting for more.

1.5/5
I really wanted to love this book, and the art is good! But I couldn’t get into the plot, or most of the ideas expressed in the plot. The pacing is also very fast, there’s almost no character development, and everything just kind of fell flat. It felt shallow and surface level without really going into plot, characters, or anything else.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher!

The artwork in this novel is stunning! The colours complimented each other well, and the design of the city portrayed the dystopian city I know the author was trying to create. However, if it weren’t for the artwork, the novel would have very little going for it. There wasn’t enough character progression or focus on the characters backstories or even reasoning for their resistance. I wish there was more of a backstory provided for the main characters, as well as a plot that’s more in-depth since nothing major really happened, and the ending was a bit subpar as the conclusion they came to was that violence wasn’t the way of things. The switch from wanting to be a fighter and joining the resistance, to wanting the opposite happened almost instantly. Overall, I rate this a 2/5, purely for the artwork and the attempt of plot.

Nocean Vol. 1 was okay to me. The artwork was gorgeous, but the story was overall lacking. In my personal opinion, not enough time was spent with each character in order to build up or show development and the story just devolved into the rebels vs. the rich, without much meat. However, it's still an enjoyable read, a great display of a dystopian world, and would be a great start to graphic novels for older Middle Grade/youngers Teens.

*Thank you Netgalley and Europe Comics for provided an egalley for review.*

Thank you NetGalley for the book!

This is a 2.5 stars for me. The plot seems promising, but some situations felt off the loop. I don't know if it was said explicitly about why the rebels are wanted. For me, it felt glossed over too quickly. I don't know if there will be future volumes, but I wish we learned more about the rebels & their motives alongside Tika's. I wasn't a fan of the end where they're making that preach of violence isn't the answer. I understand that change can happen without violence but the plot of it, but in their situation, their voices demanded to be heard.

The art, however, was incredible, and the design of the world looked fantastic. I understood Atari's anger because of seeing what happened to her mother, it would be nice to see more of that journey of her fighting for what she stands for. I wish the pacing was a bit better to understand fully what's going on in the story & the characters.

I loved this and can’t wait for more from this story!!! The premise so interesting and brutal but not too much. The illustration style is just perfect. Highly recommend!

It was fun to read, felt like a real connection between all the characters. And i did enjoy the the story so i could finish it in one-sitting moment

The art was really beautiful. The story was very interesting, and I think could have been done really well had it been a bit more fleshed out. It felt a bit too quick-paced for me. I wanted to know more about the character's motivations, but everything felt a little surface-level in regards to character development.

I don't normally read Graphic Novels but the premise for this sounded so interesting that I gave it a shot and I'm glad I did. Noceans episode 1 opens to a world in distress. The oceans are deadly and people are struggling to survive in what little land is left.
The story follows Atari and her rebellion against a corrupt government, while meeting some interesting and not always what they seem character along the way.
This episode packed a lot of storyline into a small amount of pages and it's brilliantly illustrated. I'll definitely keep an eye out for episode 2.

This is a great YA comic that kids 12+ will enjoy. It is a scifi set in the not too distant future. The main character, Atari, was strong and grew through the story. I like that the author was not afraid to show her making mistakes, that's important in content for tweens and teens who are just growing into themselves. I enjoyed the found sisterhood between Atari and Tika, and how they both find their voices. I think those who enjoy scifi will enjoy reading it and will want wo know what happens in Volume 2!

This graphic novel is lovely. The art style captured my interest on sight. My initial thought was that not enough has happened throughout the entirety, but as it progressed it felt just right. I will be picking up book two whenever that happens!

If you want a fun dystopian read about found family and moral choices look no further!

Pick up Nocean for a short powerful adventure.

I love dystopians. If I see a graphic novel where the ocean is dead and someone wanting to fight the system, I'm gonna read it. So of course I requested this one (thank you Europe comics for the ARC!).

What I liked:
The art, loved the colors. The story, basically. Iaia, loved her.

What I liked less:
The story was good, but felt confusing and somewhat disjointed at times. I would also have loved more time with getting to know the characters. But, this is a graphic novel and a series, so I'm sure we'll get more of them in the next volume.

/ Denise