5 friends, Cleo, Kaite, Lux, Wade and Will, go to explore and film a movie in an off limits cave to commerate their last summer together.
Cleo admits she dragged her friends to the cave not to make a movie but to search for her missing brother.
While exploring they go across a beautiful world with dangerous secrets that will changw their lives.
I personally felt it had a healthy mix of Curious Tides, The Decent and War of the Worlds vibes.
The art work is interesting and beautiful

Thank you Netgalley and Image Comics for access to this eARC of The Cull by Kelly Thompson.

Trigger warning: self-harm, grief, and physical abuse.

“You cull the weak, but you’re culling every person that has had to survive something horrific!”

This is an intriguing first installment into a multiverse, video game-like, survival of the fittest. The set up of this story was brilliantly done with the almost perfect balance of intrigue and fleshed out world-building. The dialogue never takes away from the enchanting artwork on each page. I’m deeply anticipating the next installment in this series!

Summary:

How far will one girl go to find her missing brother? As it turns out, to the end of the world – and straight into the next. It all starts with a simple lie. She wants to film a movie on the beach with her friends. But quickly, everything changes.

Review:

Wow. I wish I could leave my review at "wow" because that accurately sums up how I felt upon finishing The Cull Vol. 1. This book is A LOT, but in the best ways possible. It's dark, emotional, tense, and fascinating, all in one.

There are five characters in total, and right away, we get a glimpse into their lives. In a few short panels, we learn the broad strokes of each teen. Then, the adventure begins. I'll admit that I wish we had a bit more time to learn their history, but that did develop along the way.

As for the adventure, well, that was something else. Picture Paper Girls but with a Saga-esque surreal vibe. That'sThat's how this story goes. And yes, that should tell you something about the level of danger and action that occurs.

I am so relieved that The Cull Vol. 1 is only the first volume in this adventure. Could it have ended here? Well...technically? But I would much (MUCH) rather see how the rest of this story will play out.

Highlights:
Written by Kelly Thompson
Sci-Fi Horror
Body Horror
Strange Lands

Trigger Warnings
Self Harm
Abuse
Missing Child
Violence/Death

The Cull Volume 1 (containing issues #1-#5) follows five friends who sneak out of their homes in the dead of night to shoot a short film. After meeting on a near beach, they make their way to a large rock that ends up being more than meets the eye. One thing is for certain, their lives will never be the same.

This story surprised me! The artwork was so different from anything I’ve seen before, almost like a realistic painting. The story does a lot of character introduction at first, which makes sense but can be a little much off the bat. I don’t want to give anything away, just know that it’s a wild and horrifying time! The ending was JARRING and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

I love the art in this! The imagery is astounding and so realistic, even when it is otherworldly. The story is intriguing, and the end of this volume is reasonably satisfying while also setting up the next, which can be hard for monthly comics. I especially appreciate the characters and how their motivations seem very realistic and plausible, even in the weirder circumstances

Fast paced action packed science fiction fantasy with a diverse cast. At some points felt as though I was being dropped into a story in the middle. Exposition heavy at times but enjoyable nonetheless and a fun read.

What a wild and crazy ride this was! When a teens brother goes missing and she finds a place that’s not been explored at low tide, she and her friends lie to be able to explore it and look for the missing boy. What they actually discover is a world between parallel worlds, and strange things begin happening from there and once they travel back through the portal. The illustrations and the mysteries of the worlds kept me hanging on every single word. I absolutely loved this series and will be following it in the future.
*4.5 stars*

Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange with an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was incredible - found family (just go with me here), supernatural creatures, PARALLEL WORLDS? yeah I'll be needing a volume 2 ASAP!

In The Cull we follow a group of friends setting out to shoot a short film, while looking for the perfect shot, they end up...on another plants or in a parallel world? They aren't too sure and frankly neither am I. Things quickly get dicey when the gang meets a red (blue) panda looking creature who eventually turns into a human, clueing the gang in on some of the lore of their current habitat.

Madness, of course, ensues.

Aliens(?) or creatures of some sort invade their home earth...or so they think. The Cull is a fun take on the parallel universe setting and the art is absolutely beautiful. I cannot recommend this enough to sci-fi fans who are looking for something exciting!

Thank you to Image Comics and Net Galley for the ARC. The story is an interesting one, but also one that kept me at arms length until the end. The ending was fantastic and makes me want to pick up volume 2 when it’s available. But it took me too long to care. The artwork is gorgeous and creepy in places!

Cleo's little brother is missing and she believes she knows where he went. So, with the help of her friends, they go looking for him.

I absolutely loved this. The art looks genuinely cinematic, the cast of characters are diverse and all feel distinctly human, and the plot feels efficiently paced and the twists are genuinely shocking and heart breaking.

I wish the filmmaking aspects weren't lost after the first third, it would have been cool for more 'found footage' style frames. I also would have liked to explore the relationships between the five characters more, especially Lux and Will.

Gripping, thrilling and shocking. I’m hooked. I’m not usually into the whole “superhero”/powers trope but this hits different. I love the female characters as well as the male ones too but there’s something badass about women being badass.

The artwork is so pretty and so good I had to look up the artist.

Can’t wait for the next volume.

I’m honestly kind of perplexed by Kelly Thompson’s <i>The Cull</i>. It’s not that I think the story was bad or anything, in fact I was actually really interested in the ideas that she ways playing with here. I just don’t know how well they all came together in the end.

I don’t know if this is due to the format—oftentimes, I find myself stuck on similar complaints with graphic novels that are trying to tell a story you’d expect to see in a novel. But, I’ve also had the fortune to have found a great many graphic novels that don’t suffer from this problem, so I know there’s a way to make it work. The issue, you see, is that <i>The Cull</i> is trying to stuff so much into this first volume that there are too many questions left unanswered, far too much of the story overall is convoluted, and the emotional payout you expect from the situations these characters are dealing with is not properly portrayed.

Everything just moves far too quickly for any of those pieces to come together and, unfortunately, those pieces are precisely what the story needs connected in order to be <i>good</i>. I always felt right on the cusp—right on the cusp of feeling connected to these characters, right on the cusp of feeling the emotions they felt in their journey, right on the cusp of understanding what was happening—and that does not lead your reader to connecting with or loving your story.

So, all in all, this was a good effort. But it just wasn’t quite enough. The pieces were there, they just needed to be tied together more efficiently.

I initially wanted to read this because of Kelly Thompson. If it has her name on it, I've most likely read it or want to read it. The premise of this felt new and although it felt a little rushed at times, I know it's hard to fully flesh out a story given a 5 issue run. The ending made me impatient for the next volume to hopefully come out!! Overall, definitely worth a read.

I received a copy of the Cull by NetGalley and Image Comics, Thank you!

The Cull is one of my first Graphic novels, so I am coming at this from a different perspective. The first thing that really drew me in to The Cull is the artwork. It is absolutely beautiful. The scenery, the people, the attire. Everything was so well done! It really kept me visually engaged the entire time.

This follows a handful of young adults on an endeavor to find a missing little brother and really what they end up finding is something far greater than they ever imagined. I really enjoyed most the characters, (tbh, Will didnt really have much of a say in here), but I did feel some of their interactions were a bit rushed or hollow (random sex in an unknown world??? We love sex here but, where the heck did this come from?) I also didn't quite understand the lack of fear of entering this entirely foreign place. They were so calm and collected! Ahh!

You really get immediately thrown into the story which I was not used to, but if I'm being honest, really enjoyed. There was a bit of foreshadowing in the early pages that really led to a big wow plot twist at the end that actually got me excited to learn about.


Definitelly recommend!

This was terrific. It's about a group of friends who go out in the middle of the night to "make a film". I reality, they've found a portal and think that the little brother that is missing may have went through it as well. Mattia de Iulis does a fantastic job of making this alien world look alien. It very much has a Stranger Things vibe to it crossed with The Mist. I really hope we get more of this story.

This is an interesting story which i would definitely like to see more of (how about that ending??). The artwork was really different, and the characters were really interesting. Definitely worth checking it out.

Intense. This story deals with mature themes and topics, but wraps everything up within this world of magic. While I’m not a big fan of the art style, I did enjoy the story and the cliffhanger.

I didn't know what to expect from the one but it's a portal fantasy graphic novel with magic, danger, and adventure that also navigates topics like grief, depression, and violence. I loved the artwork and colors, everything was so detailed and just beautiful. There are 5 main characters who are all given pretty much equal page time and consideration; each is developed pretty well and given their own motivations and backstories. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll be vague but you'll know what I'm talking about if you read it. There's a scene towards the end where one of the characters embraces what's perceived to be as weakness and turns it into strength -- it was a powerful scene and made me very happy that it was included. Also, not sure if anyone else will agree but there was a moment where I got a very "Power Rangers" feel from this one and since I grew up watching them, it was fun to be like ooh this reminds me of one of my favorite shows as a kid. It was cute and fun but with lots of drama and deeper emotion. It's definitely a story worth trying out and it's such a quick read. I was surprised by the ending and look forward to the next volume!

Thank you Image Comics for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It is Volume 1, though an excellent story so far! What first stood out throughout was the quality and detail of the artwork and design. The story and charcters developed well, and became increasingly engaging as it moved into the latter half of this volume. Look forward to more.

The worst thing about volume 1 is knowing I have to wait to read volume 2!!

The Cull is a cross between War of the Worlds, Stranger Things and X-men. It is really freaking cool.