Obsessed. I need more of this immediately.

One of the things I love most about Image is that they give a lot of opportunities for character work in their indie titles, unafraid of writers being wordy or trying new things. Typically art and writing in a comic compliment each other, because as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and so the script for a comic doesn't necessarily need paragraphs of narration or dialogue but I think The Cull benefits from its characters wordiness since the art panels need to do the heavy lifting of setting for a sci-fi/fantasy/horror comic. The art is telling a lot of story all on its own.

Kelly Thompson's The Cull is one part cosmic horror, one part superhero origin story, with a hell of a twist in issue 5 that you start to suspect but don't want to be true. Each character feels like a real, unique, fleshed out person. We're drip fed bits and pieces, though we'd don't get enough time with everyone since this is just the first five issues, but we get enough to know them and want to know more.

Mattia de Iulis's art is STUNNING. Like, these books are so gorgeous. The art waivers between photorealism and surreal almost-photorealism, which is perfect for a story about liminal spaces. It makes everything feel very dreamlike but with a veil of uncanny valley vibes. I also highly recommend checking out all the various covers for each issues because WOW. Like I want some of these framed.

But the end of the volume I was dying for more. I need to continue following these kids' adventures. I need to know they're OK. I need to know more about the liminal space. It's all so beautiful and fascinating and I cannot wait to see where Thompson takes it all.

3.5 * rounded down

The art was captivating, especially the color palette. The story was interesting but I felt it was a bit too rushed at certain parts. Overall an okay read with gorgeous art.

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for granting me access in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning for self-harm

3.5 stars, rounded down

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy.

It's very realistic compared to the comics I usually read and after finishing it, I am unsure if I like it. The colouring on the pages was pretty.

It's a creepy art style overall, which is also coupled with the quite realistic art style which looks more like fanart or a painting, leads to a chilling read as it feels very uncanny valley to me.

There's not many visual differences between the panels of the comic, so this makes it very easy to read and I would have liked some variation to the horizontal rectangle panels.

The plot is interesting and very character-driven, rather than plot, but we do get a huge cliffhanger at the end and I want to know what happens next.

The Cull is an interesting mix of horror/fantasy that does a great job of revealing new twists/surprises at the end of each issue and moving the story forward. Unfortunately I didn't fully understand enough about the story as I was reading, as character backstories and explanations for current events are both fairly vague. But I'm a sucker for these types of "hidden world" stories, so I kept going. The art is a hyperrealistic style that I don't see often. It was gorgeous in much of the volume, but some panels just didn't work. So overall a mixed bag, but I liked it well enough and will continue to read if more issues are put out.

Thanks to Image Comics and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

Interesting story. There was a lot going on; I liked that there weren't any lulls and that the events felt unexpected. There was one goofy part during the action, but I can forgive that considering its overall creativity. I didn't love the art style. It kinda felt like a B level CGI animation movie, but I got used to it as I got more into the story. Definitely curious where the narrative is heading in future volumes. 3.5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for an eARC of The Cull Volume 1!!

What an absolutely stunning graphic novel! I truly enjoyed reading this one, while there was a lot to unpack I really enjoyed where the story was going. There was quite a bit of world building in this volume (which I actually liked), that seemed to really be setting up this graphic novel for success. The illustrations though, were something to behold. Illustrations can often make or break a graphic novel, these illustrations definitely made the the graphic novel!

4.25/5

Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in an exchange for an honest review. TW: self harm, abuse, death, and, violence, The art on this was mind blowing! It is one of the most hyper-realistic art styles I’ve seen in a graphic novel to date. I think this would be perfect for fans of Stranger Things. Overall, a strong and interesting start to a new series. Very excited to see the next volumes come out and to learn more about this world.

The Cull is a sci-fi graphic novel that starts off with a group of teenage friends who go out in the middle of the night to do some filming and end up finding a portal to a strange place. Cleo, one of the main characters, hopes to find her missing brother there but instead they find a creature with its own plans for them.

Initially, I thought I was really going to love this but it fell flat for me in a lot of ways. Shortly after the beginning, you are thrown right into the group discovering the portal world and there isn't much buildup or introduction to the characters. We also don't know why they think Cleo's brother is there so it was a bit confusing. After that, the story continued to feel clunky throughout. One of the characters explains they are in a liminal space and gives a big speech about how this place works without any good reason for why she would know that. Everything felt like it moved forward too quickly and was almost entirely written through dialogue.

I did really like the premise and I'm interested to see where it goes in the next volume. The ending was intriguing and I think it would be worth checking out if you enjoy sci-fi and other Image comics. The illustrations were by far my favorite part. I loved the detailed, hyper-realistic style and thought it worked well with the story.

This was so interesting I LOVED IT. The beginning was a little clunky as they set the stage and caught the reader up to speed with the relationships between the characters but the rest blew me away. Reminds me of James Tynion IV's types of stories, definitely something to check out if you like his books. Also is this a metaphor for AI? Not sure... but loved it.

I picked up Issue 1 of The Cull from my comic book shop and was immediately pulled in. The art style is beautiful and realistic and the cover gallery is amazing. Issue 1 gives just enough detail for you to be intrigued but not confused, and ready to dive into Issues 2 and beyond. The gang gives Stranger Things/Super 8 vibes but a bit older and more mature. The gang is heartfelt and humorous and I can't wait to read more of their story.

A group of teenagers, mourning a disappearance, go down to Black Water Beach before dawn to make a short film - and stumble into another world. We know from the off that something terrible is going to come back, but I don't think that's what made this feel so predictable. Sure, Kelly Thompson's script has the kids pointing out that what they're doing seems like a bad idea, but much better that than the weird genre convention of genre characters not knowing genre conventions; besides, they come up with much better counter-arguments than teens normally need. It's more that Mattia di Iulis' art, while great for the eerie sheen of the other world, and even the wildlife there, leaves the humans with a stilted, glossy quality reminiscent of Greg Land or Ariel Olivetti, meaning whatever dialogue they deliver comes across as unconvincing as an address to camera on The Truman Show. Just when the story starts to look like it might have found a way to make that work, it instead flubs into a superhero story that hopes the lack of costumes will hide how generic it is, before attempting to tease an ongoing with a facepalm of a final twist. Plus, one of the kids uses 'out of pocket' to mean 'out of line', which I'm aware has become a thing but I still wish they wouldn't. All in all, a disappointment, especially after those first previews promised so much.

(Netgalley ARC)

I loved this story so much! It gave me a lot of Goonies and Stranger Things vibes. The twist at the end really got me, I love that it had a twist rather than a ‘happily ever after’ it just fit the story so perfectly. And honestly I cannot get over the images and colours in this, they were stunning! Maybe I am biased because pink is my favourite and the alternative world being pink was amazing! Definitely a 5 star read for me, 100% would recommend!

Thanks NetGalley, I loved the storyline but wasn't a huge fan of the graphics. It reminded me of video games. Will that keep me from reading the next one, absolutely not. I am guessing that part of the issue is that I read it on my phone instead of my Kindle. I couldn't get it to download properly to my Kindle. I will definitely be reading it again when I purchase a physical copy. Plus, I couldn't stop reading if I wanted to! The ending left me needing more. I am extremely excited to see where the story goes.

The Cull is a dark tale about five friends setting off in the middle of the night to shoot a short film on a forbidden rock near their small coastal town the summer before they all go their separate ways. But they're not really there to shoot a film. One of them has lied. And that lie will change EVERYTHING.

A group of five friends sneak out in the early hours to film a special project but not everything is as it seems. The Cull Volume 1 collects issues #1 to #5.

The story is a mixture of science-fiction and horror, I think fans of "Stranger Things" and "Life is Strange" will enjoy this.

The artwork in this graphic is superb, it uses a hyper realistic artwork style and there is lots of details in the world and espeically the emotions in the faces of the characters.

My only ciritism of the collection is that the story is a little bit rushed as whole story takes across 5 issues and the story on a cliff hanger.

Kelly Thompson and Mattia De Iulis's The Cull is a marvelously well told story. It feels familiar without treading over the same ground as Stranger Things, The Goonies, and Paper Girls. I hadn't planned on reading it all in one sitting, but after the first part, I dared not set it down. Beautiful, emotional and unexpected, I really hope we get to see the characters again.

Special thanks to Image Comics and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.

This one ends with a huge cliffhanger. Thank to NetGalley and Image comics for letting me reading an eARC of The Cull. If you enjoyed Y the Last Man and books like Saga, this is a great pick. It is very New Adult and will probably survive best in a public library versus a school library. I can't wait to read more.

This was... creepy and also a fascinating take on dystopia and superheroes! The artwork is incredible and I'm interested to see how this will translate into an ongoing series. Perhaps it's just a me problem, but I felt the pacing was extremely fast - but I think that might be me needing to get used to this type of graphic novel.

The Cull bills itself as Something is Killing the Children meets "The Goonies," which sounds right up my alley. Its summary reads like a Karen McManus young adult mystery-horror, which hooked me. Five teen friends leave their homes in the middle of the night to shoot a film at the beach, but one of them is lying to the others.

The first two issues of The Cull were easily the best of this volume. Kelly Thompson had an incredible idea for this series, and the premise worked so well for me. Young adults in a beach town? Heck, yes. One of the teens has a hidden motive? That sounds fun. Multiverses and alternate worlds? I wasn't expecting that, but I'm certainly not mad at it.

I'm a bit torn by The Cull. Mattia De Iulis's art is incredible, and there's a killer twist at the end of the volume, so The Cull had a lot going right. I also really loved most of the teen characters. While I enjoyed parts of this story, the main narrative wasn't fleshed out enough. The third and fourth issues should have been expanded into one or two more issues, which would have added more depth to the story. The monsters and alternate worlds were interesting, but I wanted more of them both. If more issues are released in this series, I will 10000% continue with the story, though.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to Image Comics for providing me with an advanced review copy! All the above thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this fantasy/sci-fi comic! The absolute stand out of this is the art. The artist does this incredible job of making hyper-realistic yet fantastical settings and creatures. I want to just skim through to look at the art again because it’s just fantastic.

I enjoyed the concept of the story and the overall premise is really cool. However, I wasn’t 100% invested and in love with the characters because there’s not much time to get to know them before their thrust into the new world.

I still highly recommend this little comic series. They’re fighting creatures that are way bigger themselves and dealing with something so mind boggling and they do it by being there for each other. The feeling that I got while reading this the most was how cool it is. It carries the sense of wonderment and “what is going on here?” kind of feeling very well.

If you like sci-fi that’s about huge monsters and whole new worlds you’ll love this! All in all I really enjoyed my time with The Cull.

There is a lot of talking in this story, but not much doing. The plot spends a lot of time having characters talking to one another, but nothing is truly explained. It throws multiple interesting new concepts while also using a lot of commonplace tropes, while nothing is truly explained. The cast of characters is diverse in their appearances, but they feel a bit flat as people. You learn small bits about these characters during long exposition conversations, but it feels unnatural. It's so obvious it's meant to be exposition for "character building". I do like the overall plot idea! Weird portals, magical powers, crazy aliens. But the plot flies by so fast and with so little substance, that you're left with the feeling of "Okay that's something I've read." I will admit though, the ending got me. I didn't fully expect that cliffhanger. I would pick up the next volume, the story did well enough to interest me in seeing how it ends. But I don't think I'd buy a copy for my shelves, you know? Also, the art style I really did not vibe with. No hate towards photo-realistic art styles, but it just does not work here. I didn't realize the characters were meant to be teenagers until I reread the plot blurb. How they're drawn makes them look like they're in their late twenties! The art style also does not look like an art style at all, it looks more like someone used real photos and slapped a "painting" filter on. The kicker is that some of the art on the variant covers would have worked so much better for this story!

Also, my one gripe is the completely random [spice] scene, between two of the teens. Like, what was the point of that? Are you trying to imply the confident curvy girl who is a redhead HAS to also be promiscuous? That trope is SO tired, come on now.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!