Such a fun read! The artwork was delightful and I loved the main character. SO relatable! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC oppportunity!

A most cute and fast-paced, Soma was a sci-fi genre entry that I quite enjoyed reading. I received this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

SOMA was a very interesting graphic novel with peculiar characters with a range of depth and a journey of character discovery.

Thanks to Oni Press and NetGalley for the advanced e-copy.

2.5 stars
Soma is a whacky adventure that follows a comic book artist suffering from burnout that suddenly becomes the only hope of survival when aliens resembling fish invade planet Earth.

Soma is irreverent, funny and a wild ride. Though Maya's story starts normal and then becomes part of this sci-fi/action kind of plot, we also follow Maya's best friend, Juu, who only wants to go on a first date and get a girlfriend.

Can we talk about the art style? I have to talk about it. It's by far the best part of this graphic novel. It's fun, it's fresh, it's cute. Carles Dalmau does an excellent job keeping up with the tone of the story, making the character designs and worldbuilding fun, adventurous and dynamic. The coloring by Eiden Zamora takes the art style to the next level making the illustrations stunning.
I also really appreciate the speech bubbles being different colors when scenes with multiple characters were happening.

Though the artwork is so pretty and fun, I sadly didn't care for the story or characters in this comic. I think the script was a bit of a mess, the pacing uneven and Juu's story super shallow.
However, though it didn't work for me, I think If you have fun with stories that have more of a middle grade vibe, you'll enjoy this one. It's short, it has jokes and it's just so pretty to look at.

A sleep deprived comic author who somehow ends up with an alien in her apartment and will be trying to save the world. That's exactly what she got tired of writing about and now it's happening in real life. Though I feel like it's playing a bit into the cliché of the weirdo artist who barely has friends and lives in a dirty place, the story was really nice and on a deeper level has a great meaning.
I can highly recommend reading this graphic novel. It's for everyone, the ones that want a quick and nice read and the ones who want to look for a deeper meaning.

Thank you NetGalley, Oni Press and Fernando Llor for the e-arc
This was such a fun and colourful read. I really enjoyed the art.
The story is also very nice!

Okay, this book was weird nice but a great lot of things could be better.

The art was really good but I just wish the story didn't run in parallel with dual pov and had a single track pov. The alien stuff was really dystopian scary and made a good alien trope, the story behind that was good.

I just didn't like that so much was crammed in the graphic novel. What was with all the snot. Anyway thank you @netgalley for the ARC

I think for someone who is reading a sci-fi graphic novel for the first time like me this was something that was very different and I really enjoyed it and it’s really crazy because I had a dream about this graphic novel and I hope the others can enjoy it as much as I did. I don’t wanna talk too much about what goes on in the book because I don’t want to spoil the book, but here’s my small review. Maya, a comic book artist caught in a creative slump, is stressed by looming deadlines and frustrated that her work doesn’t align with her true passion. Struggling to shake off writer’s block while also giving dating advice to her best friend, Maya’s routine is interrupted by an unusual visitor: Soma, an alien who crash-lands right in her living room. Soma brings an urgent warning—an impending invasion by his own species is on the horizon, and he needs Maya’s help to stop it!

I enjoyed the journey Soma took me in, from its incredible characters to the stunning art. This was a surprising gem, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a graphic novel with heart, humor, and unforgettable visuals! At first it seemed like it’d be a slice-of-life story centered around a cartoonist’s daily life, but it turned out to be so much more thrilling and immersive than I thought. I mean... aliens coming to end all human life?? Like whyyyy!?

From the first pages, it’s clear that this graphic novel is a unique blend of humor, adventure, and personality that draws you right in. The art is stunning, so colorful and unique, it really immerses you in the world and complements the story beautifully.

I wish these was also a novel so we can get more information about the aliens and the life of Maya and Juu. I feel like i can personally relate to both 😂.

“Soma” by Fernando Llor is a fun, little sci-fi adventure with gorgeous illustrations by Carles Dalmau.
The story follows Maya, a comic book artist experiencing a creative block. Her life takes a thrilling turn when she encounters Soma, an extraterrestrial in desperate need of her help to stop an impending invasion. Overall, “Soma” is an exploration of creativity, friendship, and facing fears.

The story is a bit dark but the graphic novel is really bright and vibrant.

I picked up Soma because I’ve been following Carles Dalmau’s art on Instagram, and honestly, the art style is just as cute and colourful as I expected. Every page is beautiful and I'm obsessed with the art style. The story is super cute, and engaging, with its sad moments. If you’re into beautiful art and a fun, quick read, definitely check Soma out.

In Soma, by Fernando Llor, I immersed myself in a fun and vibrant world on the brink of alien invasion. The comic book takes place while Maya is trying to get out of a creative slump while feeling disconnected. After helping a friend with dating problems, she returns to work and finds an alien, Soma, crash-landing in her living room. Soma warns her of an imminent invasion, and together, Maya and Soma must try to save her neighborhood/city, which is the alien invasion's first stop before the rest of the world.

I thought this comic was super fun and fast-paced. Due to its easy-to-follow nature, this would be an excellent story for young adults and beyond. As someone firmly in adulthood, I find this a fun read to pass the time. The story kept me on my toes, and I enjoyed the straightforward nature of all the characters. I think the colors of the art and style matched the story.

I didn't give it five stars because I felt that because the story valued straightforwardness, it sacrificed a bit of depth. The most fleshed-out characters seemed to be Maya's friend, but we are asked to care a lot about Maya and Soma when we don't know as much as I'd like to know about them. Maya is a struggling artist, and I understand why Soma cares about humans, but what else? Regardless, I will still read a sequel in the future, and I am now a fan of Fernando Llor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing a copy for review. All opinions are my own.

Soma follows the story of Maya a struggling and burnt out comic book artist as her world is turned upside down when an alien crash lands through her window.

I loved how the art style changed and adapted for the different circumstances Maya finds herself in. Be it the flashbacks from Soma's perspective, the different comics she is illustrating or the one off snippets of something different and unique. The art style in general was beautiful and kept me engaged.

Soma is a character is cute and funny and his story brought a tear to my eye. Highly recommend to anyone looking for a good graphic novel to read!

I'm sad about this one, I had high hopes for it. The premise sounded potentially really cute, but unfortunately it just really did not work for me. The art is the main thing, if I flip through a graphic novel and don't like the art style I won't read it, but bc this is an ARC I didn't have the option to do that so I read as much as I could. I didn't like color scheme, it was a lot of different shades of pink and purple, I didn;t like the art style, it was super busy and cluttered and just wasn't easy to read, it wasn't enjoyable and the actual captions often got lost within the cluttered landscape. I'm rating this a 2 bc I can't help but think this isn't the worst of the worst, but for me the reading experience was a 2.

Firstly a big thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for this ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of SOMA by Fernando Llor.

First Impressions:

The cover art is beautiful, with an esthetically pleasing colour pallette of neon pinks and blue accents. The following blurb is from the publishers description:

'Maya is a comic book artist in the middle of a creative crisis. She’s constantly stressed about deadlines and feels like she’s not doing the type of work she loves. In between trying to fight her writer’s block and doling out advice to her best friend on how to finally land a date, Maya receives an unexpected visitor: Soma, an extraterrestrial alien who crashlands in Maya’s living room. Soma delivers a message to Maya, warning her that an alien invasion from his own kind is fast approaching, and he needs her help to stop it!'

Impressions after reading it:

After reading this over two weeks, but in two lone sittings, one each week, I really wish I had time to pick it back up and reread it because I really enjoyed it and would enjoy it more if it had stayed fresher in my head.

Absolutely stunning art and the plot proper consumed me. Filled to the brim with violence and adventure.
Probably good for teenagers up, rather than anyone younger as the themes are darker and kids just soak that sort of thing up.

Either way, I really enjoyed this graphic novel and highly recommend it.

Soma is a fun read. I really enjoyed the art style of the illustrations and how well it fit with the characters in the story.

Soma is a cute graphic novel about a comic author named Maya, her friend Juu who is looking for love, and Soma, the alien who shows up on her planet (specifically in her living room). The story details how the three all deal with a full scale planetary invasion!

I loved the kids in the park playing D&D and the older friends playing their game as the world fell apart. Those felt like cute homages to how lifelong gaming can be. Loved the references to everyone buying out toilet paper during a crisis. The pigeons in scarves deserve their own story as well.

From a more technical standpoint, I enjoyed the art and liked that we got glimpses of other styles at times, including 8-bit. I loved at the end when the creators took some time to show the reader how a graphic novel comes to fruition. That being said, I felt like the intro was a little confusing and it took me a second to catch what was going on. I also felt like some of the transitions were jarring as well, particularly when we first see the kids playing D&D in the park.

Finally, for me personally, I struggle with any book that shows so much smoking. I appreciate that Maya was shown to struggle with the side effects of smoking, but it was still such a bummer to me. For others, it's likely a non-issue.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Oni Press for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own!

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in February. This comic was so good! It was funny and emotional and sad and just such a ride. Well done!!!

Soma is a graphic novel with incredible illustrations, definitely leaning into the "show it, don't say it" approach. The story is both outrageous and fun, centering on a comic book artist dealing with burnout and art block when an alien arrives via window to help with a planet-wide invasion started by his own people.

While the art is phenomenal and the story unique, the plot itself wasn't as well developed as the visuals. The pacing felt off at times, with entire pages filled almost entirely with (admittedly gorgeous) artwork and minimal text. The characters could have used more depth and development too. It feels like beyond very surface level details, we don't really get to know them. I liked it, but it didn't quite strike the right balance for me.

Overall, Soma is worth checking out for its stunning artwork and unique concept, but don't expect a deeply developed story. If you're a fan of light and visual narratives, this one might be up your alley.

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

I enjoyed this entire story from start to finish. The story is so wholesome and so captivating. I told myself I was going to read a couple of pages but then I ended up finishing it in one sitting. The illustrations and colours are so pretty which makes this book an overall great read.