A teen detective comes home for Christmas during college and finds herself drawn back into her best friend and fellow detective's orbit... and the strange and deadly things happening in her small New England town. Friday Fitzhugh grew up solving crimes and digging into occult cases with her best friend Lancelot Jones. But as they grew up they separated ways and now Friday is back home for vacation and finds herself once again drawn back to Lance. Friday also might have feelings for him... yet something sinister is happening in town and their lives might be in danger. Can these two find a way to reconnect and solve the case or will one of them be killed? This was definitely a really interesting first book in the series and leaves you with a deadly cliffhanger. I liked the kind of cozy small town vibes the story had and I enjoy the relationship between Friday and Lance. It's like a mixture of post young adult detective novel meets kind of horror mystery. Definitely give it a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Image Comics for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for a copy of Friday.

Friday Book One was the first installment of a detective mystery/horror series that takes place in the fictional town of Kings Hill. Two best friends since childhood, Friday and Lance, solve mysteries that occur around the town, and they usually involve some type of local folklore.

This was a very quick read, with a lot of gorgeous artwork. I think this was aimed for YA/New Adult, because it did have a little bit of violence and gore and some language/suggestive material, but nothing too offensive. The characters are just starting college, so that adds up. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and seeing a bit into their backstory/friendship while this strange mystery is unfolding in their town. Unfortunately, this ended on a cliffhanger, so I will have to find Book 2 and read that before the third installment comes out in June. Very fast-paced and I am definitely wanting to know how this ends.

Friday Fitzhugh is home from college for vacation. She's hoping to reconnect with her old friend, Lancelot Jones, and discuss an awkward situation that happened her last night before college. Instead she walks right into a mystery-in-progress, where she and Lancelot fall into old patterns. Familiar, comfortable, but maybe not what she wants right now.

Friday Book One is like reading Encyclopedia Brown as a teenager, told from his friend Sally's point of view, with a touch of gothic magic mixed in. The illustrations are engaging, and while the mystery may be secondary in this coming-of-age graphic novel, it is an intriguing one that is not resolved in the first book. Prepare for a cliffhanger!

Big thanks to Image Comics and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Friday by Ed Brubaker features the mystery-solving team that you're going to love!

Mysteries abound in this thriller about a girl returning to her hometown and uncovering a mystery that even she can't solve. Friday Fitzhugh returns and meets back up with her best friend and avid mystery solver, Lancelot Jones. However, not all are willing to stay hidden in this small town and that could mean imminent peril for these characters.

I really enjoyed this illustration style in conjunction with this story. It felt familiar and made me want to learn all of the secrets that I could. However, Brubaker does a great job of teasing all of the amazing and fantastical things to come. I know that readers are going to flock to this story and enjoy all that this collected edition contains. I know I will be immediately purchasing this and can't wait to read the other issues that come out.

Perfect for Fans of Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantaro, any classic Scooby-Doo, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Friday Book One is the first three chapters of what appears to be a nine chapter story. Friday and Lance solved mysteries in high school, less Scooby Doo style and more Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys. Friday has just come back to town from college and tries to reconnect with Lance but gets thrown into an ongoing investigation. So far we get an introduction to their lives, some back story and history between the two main characters, and then a major event happens..... to be continued. I loved what I read so far and the graphics are beautiful. I wish book one had a complete story arc instead of a huge teaser, but what are you going to do?

Thank you to Netgalley and Image Comics for the opportunity to read and review this book.

My thanks to both NetGalley and Image Comics for an copy of this graphic novel about two young detectives in a small eerie New England town, and how the mysteries they solve are easier to deal with than the feelings they have for each other.

I was a big reader as a kid, and it was hard to keep up with my reading habits. Tag sales, book sales, and libraries could only supply so much, so I had to reread a lot of my favorites, something I had no problem doing. Outside of comics, my biggest love was teen detective stories, such as Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Harriet the Spy, Encyclopedia Brown, and my personal favorite the Three Investigators. I'd read them over and over, go crazy when I found new ones, an tried anything that looked like teens solving crime. Even though the Hardy's drove and Nancy had a boyfriend, I never really thought of them as old, or even aging. They always stayed the same, as I started to catch up, and suddenly the mysteries of being a teen, high school, and everything else got in the way. The graphic novel Friday Book One: The First Day of Christmas written by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Marcos Martín with colors by Muntsa Vicente is a story about of teen detectives, growing older, relationships, and the strange secrets a small town always seem to have.

Friday Fitzhugh spent the best years of her life solving crimes and hitting bad guys as partner, bodyguard and best friend to the smartest boy in the world Lancelot Jones. Their adventures were epic, until Friday started to feel that life was more than spooky artifacts and fighting crime. The night Friday left for college something happened that endangered her relationship with Lancelot, and she has regretted it ever since. Coming home for Christmas break she is met by Lancelot and is off on another adventure. One that ends weirdly, and brings up memories of something else that happened the last night she saw Lancelot. Something that might be coming for them all.

There is a strong feeling of familarity with this story, along with a healthy dose of the odd and the strange. A mix of Lovecraft added to an Encyclopedia Brown story. The balance between the two sides is really good. Friday is an interesting character, a loner with a family that could make living in a small town difficult, who finds her best friend by saving his life. And feels bad for messing everything up between them. Lancelot is more of a cipher, a boy who is supersmart, skipped ahead in school, and yet has no idea how to be a normal person. The story is rich, and there is a deep mythology and history to draw on. Being Brubaker the dialogue is good, the story unfolds nicely, and nothing seems rushed, or unplanned. The art is really good. A mix of innocence and small town feelings, to sudden weirdness and what the heck is that. The colors are really good, and there are some really beautiful panels, especially during a snowstorm by the lighthouse. A really well done project.

Recommended for fans of teen detectives, or even Brubaker fans in general. I get that this is a teen story, but I think it really is more than that. Friends can hurt each other without meaning to, and sometimes relationships are far deeper mysteries than one can ever puzzle out.

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary

What I read wasn't bad, and I appreciated the older color schemes present, next to newer elements. I haven't read the single-issues, so the ending of this compilation presents a cliffhanger, which doesn't have the strongest lead up to it, but I am curious to see, and know what happens next. Looking forward to updating myself with the story overall.

This comic has the perfect creepy something isn’t right feel. The artist has found the right vibe to match the story. Friday has returned home from College to find herself slipping back into her old life, at least as far as Lancelot Jones is concerned. Straight back into another mystery. Friday is the side kick protector to Jones’ ‘Sherlock’. The comic has three chapters which are fairly short, but these drew me into the start of an exciting, off-kilter mystery. Friday and the reader are in for a ride. Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for the comic ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

Ed Brubaker and Marcos Martin's Friday Book One: The First Day of Christmas is an amazing ode to the Encyclopedia Brown and Great Brain. The graphic novels that Brubaker and Sean Phillips have done over the past decade have been amazing and it's excellent to see him work with a different artist and play in another sandbox. The result is no less than excellent. This opening volume features the beginnings of an amazing mystery filled with excellent characters that start off as archetypes but are quickly turned on their heads and the meeting of the reality and YA conventions is incredibly entertaining. I got to the end of the story and wanted more. I'm excited to delve into the next volume as soon as I am able.

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

"Friday, Book One: The First Day of Christmas" by Ed Brubaker and Marcus Martin is an imaginative tribute to classic 1970s YA detective fiction that integrates more mature horror and suspense but fails to create a story that is entirely convincing or engaging. There is definitely a lot on offer here. Of particular note, are the extremely well designed characters that match the genre well. However, the story itself drags, seems overly dark at times and never manages to fully stand on its own. Combined with what seems to be a rather abrupt ending the result is a book that draws the reader in enough to create interest but not enough for engagement or a true resolution.
In that this is only the first book it will be interesting to see how this series develops.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Image Comics for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Friday centers on Friday Fitzhugh, a college freshman returning to her hometown for the winter holidays. Spar Creek is that quintessential, idyllic small town we all wish we were running away from. While our hometowns are full of exes and high school bullies, Friday's is full of monsters, occult mysteries, and a bad dream she can't quite can't remember. There's also Lancelot Jones - her childhood best friend and partner-in-not-crime. Friday and Lancelot spent their childhoods and high school years solving crimes and mysteries, sometimes even alongside the police. Once home, all Friday wants to do is talk with Lancelot. Instead, she's pulled right into the middle of his latest mystery. 

Friday Fitzhugh is remarkably refreshing - smart, tomboyish, and the bodyguard of Lancelot Jones. After nearly a decade as a young detective and Lance's right-hand-woman, best friend, and not-quite-something-more, Friday just wants to be herself. Friday is the perfect embodiment of 18-year-olds everywhere. Were we teen detectives? No. But we all felt that same desire to finally be ourselves for once.

The mystery in Friday is speculative, weird, and so unsettling. I loved it. There is a gigantic cliffhanger at the end of the volume, so be forewarned. You'll want to pick up Volume Two after this; luckily, it's already out! 

Friday is perfect for fans of Stranger Things and The Society, as well as quiet horror readers. If you're already a fan of Brubaker, you'll feel right at home with Friday. The final volume drops in March, so now is the time to get caught up!

Friday Book One is exactly what you expect from Ed Brubaker, the start of an interesting story that you want to keep reading. In fact, I wish it was longer. There is so much possible in this world of Friday Fitzhugh and Lancelot Jones. The book takes a look at an area we don’t normally get to see – what happens after the kid detectives grow up? Do they move on with their lives or are they stuck still solving crimes as they always have? I can’t wait to find out what happens next. The art is also a perfect match for the story. It is beautifully drawn, and really brings the characters to life for the reader.

This was a short, quick read but the tension ratcheted up the whole time without my even realizing it. A girl is home for break and odd things are happening ... right when I got really invested, it stopped, to be continued. The artwork is gorgeous, and the characters are based on some of my favorites from when I grew up (there is a section at the end showing character development). I am looking forward to reading the next one!
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this fantastic graphic novel

Wow! I LOVED this! Friday is the story of a kid detective who comes back home after her first semester away at college and gets pulled back into a mystery with her detective partner. Who she may or may not have some unresolved feelings for.

Friday ( a pretty obvious stand-in for Sally Kimball from the Encyclopedia Brown books) is the point of view character, and the story unfolds around her beautifully. We not only see the mystery unfolding, we see her falling back in love with the town where she started becoming the person she will be.

The artwork on display is wonderful! Marcos Martin does a brilliant job of creating a Gorey-esque town populated with unique characters. His linework is amazing to behold.

I loved every second of reading this! I would recommend it to anyone who likes graphic novels and anyone who loved Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, or an any other kid detective series!!!

I really enjoyed getting to know Friday through this comic and being able to explore a mystery with her kept me captivated, I cannot wait to read more especially after the cliffhanger!

Friday was a great YA horror comic that immediately pulls the reader into another time. The mysterious occurrences of the small town are teased so well and the art is fantastic. It felt like a mix of shadowy Lovecraftian lore meets Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys, and it left me wanting to have more adventures in this dark setting. The main character was refreshing, being at once tough and fragile, smart, yet incapable of escaping the typical emotional dramas of youth. Looking forward to reading more!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.
Ed Brubaker never disappoints, and Friday is no exception. I love the concept of "what happens after" for mystery-solving kids. The first volume definitely intrigued me and I'd love to read the rest of the series.

I really enjoyed this short read. The mystery was great and the odd things happening kept me intrigued. Friday and Lance are both great characters. By the time I got to the end I was fully invested and wanted more.

Remember being into all those child detectives? I sure do, so it was immediately obvious to me that Friday Fitzhugh was inspired by, among others, Harriet the Spy. It was fun to pick up all the other references in the book, from Encyclopedia Brown to Nancy Drew & the Hardy Boys. But now Friday is college-age, and coming home to her small town and the awkwardness she left in her wake with her best friend and partner in (solving) crime, Lancelot Jones.

I really loved this and can't wait to see where it goes.

I really enjoyed the grittier spin on young investigators and the introduction the comic gave us to the world and characters. While I thought book one was short, I understand why that was case in the end. I'm excited to continue the story!