***I thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review***

first off, ADORABLE! i am in awe of the gorgeous art style. sooo cute and cosy! plus, with the anime-like expressions, the character designs are amazing!!

as a wannabe artist, i related a lot to maya. i love that her personality wasn’t annoying which is a main issue i find these days.

as for the plot, it was fast paced and packed with action. i’m someone who looks for depth in stories which wasn’t exactly in this one. however, that is a me-problem so don’t judge by the rating!

again, kudos to the talented artists for the sweet design!

x

I tried so hard to really enjoy this but I could not get into the story. The art is beautiful and it has the potential to be a really good story but I kept getting pulled out of the story.

This was pretty weird but fun! I liked the alien designs. It was an exciting alien invasion action story.

In a Nutshell: A scifi action graphic novel about a comic artist fighting an alien invasion. Wacky characters and wildly adventurous storytelling. Works in bits and pieces, but doesn’t come together in a cohesive whole. This is partly because the story went in a direction I don’t prefer reading.

Plot Preview:
Maya is a comic book artist frustrated about deadlines and about not doing the kind of comics she loves. Her best friend Juu is also frustrated, but with his lacklustre love life.
One day, when Maya has just returned home after doling out dating advice to Juu, she receives an unexpected visitor: a tiny alien named Soma who has crashlanded in her living room to warn her that his people are planning an invasion against Earth However, as his spacesuit is destroyed, he needs Maya’s help to stop the attack. (He has his reasons for helping humankind.)


This graphic novel was originally published in 2023 under the same title in Spanish (Castilian). This English translation is due to be published in February 2025.

If I have to use one word to describe this entire reading experience, it would probably be “quirky.” From the characters to the plotline, there’s nothing ordinary about this story. But this isn't necessarily a good thing. The quirkiness is as much a strength as a weakness of the book.

Maya is an interesting character. It was fun to see her channelize her frustration with her work into anger against the invading aliens. Soma is a great extra-terrestrial addition to the plot. (Note that his name is revealed only on the last page of the book, which is quite strange considering the book is named after him. Even the blurb mentions his name clearly.) Juu is quite weird at first, and it is good to see him gain courage as the story progresses. However, if we strictly think about it, his arc isn’t vital to the main story at all, so he feels like a page filler at times. In addition to these three characters, there are also a few secondary characters who shine in their limited roles. That said, I couldn’t really get a clear idea of why most of the characters behaved the way they did.

The storyline of the book is good, not great. The alien invasion trope is fairly common in comics. The only differentiating factor here is the type of attack and the counterattack. I like the imaginativeness of the “weapon” that worked against the invaders.

However, I am not that big a reader of action-adventure kind of storylines, so the moment this book diverged into that kind of narrative, I lost my interest. I might not have opted for this graphic novel had I known that at least a third of the book would involve action sequences. (The English cover simply doesn’t indicate that this would go into an actual Hollywood-style alien attack. ☹ The Spanish cover is more accurate in that respect, but I didn’t see it before getting the book.)

The plot is fairly fast-paced. It is divided into three distinct parts – before, during, and after the invasion. The Before section is quite interesting, but there’s a sudden segue into the actual invasion, during which things feel somewhat repetitive and chaotic. The invasion scenes could have benefited with some more detailing. The attack feels too rushed: nothing in one scene and total destruction in the next. The After section is decent, but again, it feels abrupt and too quiet after all the noise of the invasion pages.

The whole book reads like a children’s novel with an overly straightforward plot. But it is actually meant for adults, which leaves me slightly conflicted about how well it will work with the actual target audience.

The illustrations are decent but somewhat cluttered. There’s a lot happening on some pages, which ends up bombarding the eyes with an illustrative overload. Plus, the “invasion” pages are red-dominant, which saturates the eyes sooner. The scenes in the alien spaceships aren’t so clear in plot. The “snot dripping from the nose” expression is a bit too repetitive. That said, I love that the speech bubbles have coloured backgrounds to denote which character is speaking – a great idea.

All in all, not a bad story, but perhaps not a great option for adult graphic novel readers. The storyline is way too simplistic and rushed for adults. However, it might work better for teens and young adults. It might also click with those who enjoy action-adventure comics. Not my cuppa tea, though.

2 stars.

My thanks to Oni Press for providing the DRC of “Soma” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book. Sorry this didn’t work out better.

I really enjoyed the art style and colors used in Soma, which is what originally caught my eye when I saw the cover. The art made this book truly immersive and really compensated for the more simple story line. I think more depth could have been added to the characters to make them more well rounded and make it easier for the reader to understand their motivations. Overall, I had a good time and it was a quick read, but it would have benefitted from some added complexity.

A mostly fun alien invasion story that can be pretty emotional in some parts. It's about Maya, an artist who's struggling with her art and is constantly worried about deadlines, before an alien crash landed in her living room, completely changing her priorities and worldview. That main plot is a lot more compelling than the subplot, which is about Maya's close friend who's been struggling to get a date. The story as a whole can be a bit predictable especially for readers who have seen/read other alien invasion stories before, but for the most part the emotional beats still hit anyway.

“Soma” nos cuenta la historia de Maya, una dibujante de cómics que lleva una vida monótona hasta que un extraterrestre llega a su vida.

Al inicio me parecía aburrido y tardé bastante en empezar a leerlo seriamente; leía una que otra página ocasionalmente. Al saber que era ciencia ficción, esperaba que fuera todo muy intenso desde el inicio.

Ahora que lo terminé y tuve mi tiempo de reflexión, me di cuenta de que construyeron el mundo demasiado bien; sentía aburrimiento porque era lo que Maya sentía en ese momento. Empaticé bastante con los personajes.

Las ilustraciones son hermosas; me encanta que el estilo de dibujo acompañe tan bien a la historia y se adapte a todos los momentos.

Disfruté mucho la lectura.

This one was really weird but really fun! I enjoyed it. I loved how they used different colors for the speech bubbles for each character. I love the art. The story is kinda funny and kinda creepy at the same time. But why is there so much snot? Like every character has snot running down their face all the time and it’s gross. Other than that, it’s a fun book with a storyline that was a nice little distraction from life for a bit. It also snuck in a few little moral lessons near the end. I liked it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic novel! The characters were well-developed and relatable, with dialogue that often felt authentic and conversational. The pacing was well-balanced, with a narrative that was engaging and action-packed.

The artwork was impressive, bringing the sci-fi world to life in a way that was both visually stunning and immersive. I also appreciated the thoughtful commentary on human nature, including the importance of self-care and the kindness of strangers.

One area for improvement is the translation, which sometimes felt a bit awkward or literal. Hopefully, these issues will be addressed in future editions.

Additionally, there were a few scenes that didn't quite resonate with me, feeling slightly incongruous with the rest of the narrative.

Overall, however, I found this graphic novel to be a compelling and engaging read. Fans of sci-fi, graphic novels, and Dalmau's work may particularly enjoy it.

In "Soma" a marginally neurotic and highly stressed artist is forced to take a break from her creative crisis to deal with a friend's romantic frustrations and an all out alien invasion. The resulting wild ride is a frenetic manga inspired take on "The War of the Worlds" with a good sprinkling of Gen Z angst.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Oni Press, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review

This was an okay read that at times became a bit confusing. Maybe it was the art style and how it depicted what was happening nonverbally, but at times I missed cues to things that were happening or about to happen. The storyline was a little messy, with a few different small plotlines taking place simultaneously all over the city while the aliens invaded. The art style was very well drawn though, and also very colorful and visually stunning.

Giving a huge thank you to Oni Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Soma is an adorable story about a woman named Maya, her unlikely friendship with an alien named Soma, and an attempt at world domination. The friendship between these two is adorable. I am obsessed with this story. It was silly and emotional at the perfect moments. Soma is a masterpiece and I think that this could be enjoyed by literally anyone.

This was an intreasting sci-fi esk comic book about a weird alien and it invaiding Soma's life. Soma is a comic artist stuck with what to do in the next installment of her comic series. she then meets the alien head thing and goes through putting him in a bowl just to try to save the world and they have to tackle an invasion togeather. this is fast paced and intreasting i would recommend it.

This was such a fun an quirky book. It has some Scott Pilgrim vibes but the alien situation was somehow both cute and riveting.

I was given a free copy of this from NetGalley for my honest review.
A very fun read.
The illustrations accompany the story perfectly.
I would definitely read it again.

I received an eARC copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was so fun and cute! The art on the cover is what grabbed my attention first, and it remains just as colourful and cute throughout the entire graphic novel. The story was overall fast-paced and fun - it reminded me (heavily) of War Of The Worlds but the way that our main character was handling the situation was refreshingly different. It added to her character development and the relationship between her and Soma. I think the messaging behind the novel to be slightly heavy-handed, but it made the ending feel wholesome so I did not mind that much. With the way the world feels right now, reading a message about how humans can ultimately be kind even when life gets a little rough was nice to read. I did find the side character/plot to feel a little out of place and that specific character to be a little annoying so when we got to their pages I was just reading them to be rid of them. I think it would have benefitted more pages in the beginning to develop their character slightly more and I probably would have enjoyed this graphic novel more.

I loved everything about this. The art style is STUNNING. I adored the colour palette and colour choices; from an artistic perspective, it's the kind of style I personally love.

The story is quite action-packed and fast-paced, which I didn't mind. Some moments could have probably benefitted from more page time, but it didn't affect how much I enjoyed the story. I love a reluctant hero and an unlikely friendship.

Rating 3.75 — a cute and quirky comic with aliens and environmentalism 👽 🌲

I enjoyed this unique and a little zany artwork. The color palette especially caught my eye. As well as Soma themself was so cute. But I found the overall story a bit messy. It was difficult to follow because there here were several “subplots” and it was hard to differentiate from the main plot. I am also unsure what age group this would fall under as the storyline seems younger but there are mature themes.

But for a standalone comic this was pretty fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for this ARC!

Alien invasion and our unlikely heroes is an alien itself and a struggling comic book writer who figures that this adventure will at least give her inspiration and ideas. If they survive it. Fun, quirky, and different.

This just wasn't for me. I'm not sure why. It felt a little odd reading a comic about a comic writer who's struggling to find motivation - like a little too on the nose. I just didn't really enjoy.

Thank you for the ARC!