Jackie and the Magical Guys

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this graphic novel

That was allot of fun and I loved it, I do look forward to more and also the chosen one troph as well as saving the world, I think this was a good opening and I would not of complained If their was a bit more of a slow burn.

This was fast Paced, funny with good art work

Jackie and the Magical Guys follows Jackie, a girl from a grim future, who is sent back in time to save the world. The only problem...she transformed a bunch of teen guys into magical girls to save them all from a monster, and they ARE NOT happy with her.

Overall, the concept sounded super interesting. I mean, teen boys turning into magical girls to save the world-so unique! After reading, I found the story was very average. It wasn't bad but also didn't grip me or make me want to read any more installments. I felt confused some of the time as to what was happening. For instance, she tells all the boys to take this serum which transforms them into magical girls with powers, but we only see 2 of them transform. So what happened to the other 2? Did they take the serum and just not transform, or was it omitted?

I wasn't in love with the art style either-from the cover I was thinking there would be brighter colors, and more chibi like characters. But since it was a grim novel, the color palette was darker with more grey tones than anything, and the characters more graphic novel style than manga. (Cover style does not match interior art style). I also think that the novel was very short. It did end at a good spot (cliffhanger ending), but if I was going to purchase a graphic novel, I'd expect at least 150-200 pages. Otherwise it ends up getting too expensive when you buy multiple installments.

Overall for me this story was average, 3/5 stars. I'd recommend trying if you think the concept sounds cool and are into slightly darker stories, with a unique magical girl twist.

Thank you to netgalley and Victory Editing for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Far into Earth’s future, monsters have taken over completely. Jackie’s mother sends her back into the past to change the outcome of the future. In the past, younger Jackie enlists four guys to help her defeat a creature of the future. Can Jackie and the four “magical” boys defeat the monster before the end of the day?
This comic takes the magical girl theme into a gender-swapped adventure. Jackie’s from a futuristic Earth, as humanity is on the brink of extinction. She time-travels back into the modern past to save Earth. With the reluctant help of four random boys, Jackie becomes desperate to save her future and that of mankind. It was interesting, in the form of the magic that was used for the boys and what they got as gifts. Otherwise, fast paced and poppin’ colors, this comic draws science fiction meets social media together as one.

Jackie is a sixteen-year-old girl, with a lot on her plate, her mother has just sent her back in time with no training to save the world from monsters. Where she is tasked with finding four strong females to help her, however, a monster shows up and she is forced to convert four guys instead to magic girls, can this ragtag team save the world?

If you like magic girls, a lot of puns and humour this manga is for you.

I loved the art style, it was amazingly done and you can 100% tell there was alot of care put into this. i read it perfectly on the kobo libra color without having to do anything but send it to my device.

The store was well thought out and I loved how time-traveling was implemented. i cant wait to see whats next

This was short and hasty. Jackie is sent back in time to save the future, and she chooses four high school boys as her champions. The only catch is, she has to change them into girls—though the effect can be countered. Why? No idea.

A monster from the future has followed Jackie to the past and the champions defeat it. But Jackie refuses to transform them back to regular humans. Which is good, because the cliffhanger ending reveals there’s more work for them.

Illustrations were full colour, but really small and cramped. Dialogue was mostly the cringiest puns I’ve read in a long while. The story didn’t make much sense and there wasn’t really anything that would entice me to reading more.

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Jackie and the Magical Guys Vol. 1 by Amy Linsamouth and illustrator Hamons is the goofy beginning to what I believe will be an entertaining series. When I saw this on Net Galley I knew I needed to read it, the cover alone had me interested and then I read the title. I'm so glad I requested it and was accepted as a reader. I read it almost immediately after getting the email that I was approved. It gave me this odd nostalgic feeling. There's something about the writing and humor that felt like watching cartoons as a kid. It also already has me speculating on what's going to happen next. I am so excited for volume 2. I personally loved this comic, but I know its not going to be for everyone. There are so many goofy moments and even more puns. So, if you don't like puns, fast pace team building, or accidental gender fuckery this book is not for you.

However, if you do like puns, fast pace team building, or accidental gender fuckery then read this comic. It has that same outlandish humor and general disregard for weird shit as The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. And if Beast Boy was your favorite Teen Titan you will love this story. Or at the very least you will love the characters. Especially since there is no shortage of goofy and diverse characters to love. I think my personal favorites so far are Blaze's grandmother and Reid. I love Blaze's grandma because she is silly and through everything her only concerns were her Matcha Love Coffee House drink and getting her grandson some friends and a date. I love Reid because of his personality, lack of shame, and proclivity for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That and he's a bit of an idiot which is my favorite type of character to read about.

However, there was something in this comic that I usually don't like in books and media in general. Cliff hangers. Technically there were 2 cliff hangers. But I didn't dislike them in this case. It got me even more excited for volume 2. I was already planning on continuing the series before I even finished this volume. I mean it has all my favorite things: beautiful art, a diverse cast, lovable characters, and gender fuckery. The cliff hangers just made me drift off into excited speculation about the story. I've already talked the ears off of my housemates and anyone else who will listen. (But I've tried to do so without spoiling the comic for them. So, I think I mostly sound like I'm rambling in insanity).

Overall, Jackie and the Magical Guys Vol.1 was an entertaining opening to a series that I believe will be equal parts goofy and dark. The world Amy Linsamouth has created is so interesting and unique. I enjoyed the time travel, I don't think I've seen it written like it is in this comic before. I'm so glad I requested this comic. Honestly the art and story go so well together. Hamons captures the emotions of the characters in the funniest ways. While also capturing the more nitty gritty side of the story in a way that doesn't diminish either. I love Hamons' art, it is absolutely beautiful and at times funny. (I especially enjoyed the goofy little memeish faces the characters make.)

I will leave you with a couple of my favorite out of context quotes. First: "I just urinated, and I don't know where it came from..." (pg 93). And: "That is correct. I am very maternal. For example, I know plants are just waiting for us to die until our carcasses become fertilizer for them. That is my maternal warning to you." (pg. 81).

There is just one last thing I want to say its not about the comic itself at all. I think Monster Candy Publishing has my favorite logo I have ever seen. You need to look is up because it is perfect and my mind will not be changed. It honestly feels like they were the perfect choice to publish this goofy and wonderful comic.

In order to save the world from being taken over by monsters,sixteen year old Jackie is sent back in time to stop the apocalypse.

The cover for this is misleading, you’d expect a bright and colorful graphic novel with cute illustrations. Once I started reading I was taken back by how different the art style is from the cover. The plot seemed rather interesting so I decided to just push forward,but boy was this a mess.

This felt so incredibly rushed, the plot goes from zero to one hundred instantly. There’s no setup, we’re barely given any information on these characters at all and the story just continues as if this is normal? The transformation of the magical guys is dull, we only see one of them completely transform and even then we’re not told what his powers are.

At the very end of this volume there’s pages dedicated to the characters, in which we finally get more details about them. Having that be at the end of the story instead of at the beginning or even once the characters are introduced just doesn’t flow well.

This is definitely not one I’m going to continue reading,there wasn’t much to grab my attention and the execution of it all was poor.

Thank you NetGalley and Monster candy publishing for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved the cover of this book and thought the concept sounded really interesting!

The art style on the inside of the book isn’t the same style as the cover, and makes you think it’s going to be a lot cuter and more lighthearted than it is. The art style in the book isn’t bad at all, just not what I would have expected.

The plot sounded interesting and there was a lot of unique things to this story I think could have been done really well. The story starts without giving you really any information and it can feel like things are being skipped over. Hopefully the next volumes even out the pacing and storyline a bit.

Overall this is an interesting premise and has promise, but I don’t know if I will continue with it.

This book has some great moments that make you laugh at times, this is such a new spin on transforming girls. The girl who is supposed to find a group of girls to take some powers, she gives them to some guys instead. And they aren't happy about it. Can't wait to read the rest of this series.

This book advertises itself as heavy on puns and dad jokes and I will definitely agree it is filled with them. If you're interested in a possible parody on the trope of a small group of people being granted magical transformation powers, you very well may enjoy this. My major issues were the art quality/character designs, the jokes did not feel inventive and were all ones I'd expect to find commonly on social media sites turned into the majority of the dialogue, and the pacing of the plot felt rushed and confusing. It was a quick read, so there's no harm in checking it out if the premise makes you curious like it did for me. I definitely think there's an audience for pretty much every book and this one would not take much time to make your own decision on. I was heavily interested in the gender bending aspect, but we did not get much of it at all in this first volume and the execution left me very unclear on how it would actually factor in to the story. Unfortunately, this is not a series I will be continuing.

Before I begin my review, this book is supposedly for 13-18 year olds. This information will be used later on.

Honestly, this was a wild ride- and not the good kind. The art itself may not be amazing
but the fact it varies so much between literal panels was not the most pleasant.
Theres some character profiles at the end for our female MC as well as the males. This would be great except.. 1. The profiles were not worth a read- and 2. The art on these pages evoked the Uncanny Valley response.. very unsettling!

The story was boring which was really disappointing as I'm really into the whole magical girl thing so was excited for this concept with a comedy take on the whole thing. The problem is, it was just not well written. It seemed so pointless and bland. Though only being 20, I thought 'maybe I'm just too old for this'. So I gave it to my comic and graphic novel obsessed 13 year old sister with no context... Surprisingly enough, she said it was one of the most boring graphic novels she's read.

But wait! There's more!

Let's talk about the constant puns- and when I say constant, I mean there were 3+ on a page at any given time...
Aside from them just being terrible, this took away from the main story and really broke it up. You can write a good comedy without it following *this* lazy structure.

Remember that 13-18 year target audience I mentioned at the start? Now let's take a look at some of the jokes.

In reference to a monster one character describes it as "Hot Topic on steroids"
Regarding one of the characters abilities snd I quote "Just because I like to motorboat boobs doesn't mean I want to use them as personal floatation devices!" This is so painfully inappropriate as well as being completely unfunny to all ages, especially the target audience.
There's definitely more but I couldn't find the patience with this book to note them all down.

All in all! I would not recommend this to kids in the officially stated age range... Actually... I wouldn't recommend this to anyone...

Thanks (?) to NetGalley, the author and illustrator for the ARC.

Review to come late September on blog/other places.

I received this graphic novel from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

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I LOVE LOVE a good Mahou Shounen, but this was sadly not it. *sighs* It looked and sounded so cool, but sadly it was not.

So much potential, but this was just so rushed and apparently not even a completed volume as I had expected. Maybe next time put that somewhere? On the cover for instance? It just went from one thing from another. There weren't many moments that you could just relax and get your bearings. At times I had a hard time keeping up and found myself going back because I lost things and it just went by too fast. I feel with about 50 pages more and things just a bit less rushed it would have been much better.

I could imagine the guys being pissed though it was also kinda their own fault for just jabbing in those injections without care. I get it was the heat of the moment, but seriously, maybe next time don't just go for it?

Also eww to the mermaid guy just peeing????

Why WHY is the art inside totally different from the fun and fab cover? Why does our MC's ponytail keep growing back and forth in length? Magic??

But sorry, that was just bad. Maybe if the scythe wasn't there and some more adjustments to the outfit, but now when I saw one of the guys transform I was like, HEY Ruby Rose! RWBY! And that is not a good look. Not at all.I get that he is supposed to be Red Riding Hood, but this was just wayyyyy to copy/paste for me. And also others I asked, like my hubby who is a big fan of RWBY.

All in all, this didn't work and I won't be continuing this series. I am giving 2 stars, for grandma, for the mahou shounen theme, I liked how the time travel worked, the cover, and that I could see the potential.

Oh I wanted to like this one! I got about 50% in and realized I was only in it for the puns. I have no idea what is going on or who any of these people are.

I will preface this review with: I knew better going in. I want to love graphic novels. I love the idea of graphic novels but whenever I read them, I'm disappointed. I always end up wanting more. I want more background on the characters, more thoughts, more story. I want more and Jackie and the Magical Guys is no different. I wanted more. More on the guys. More on what was going on. Just more overall. But that's on me.

The graphic novel itself was good; there was action, I was pulled in by the characters, I want the next story. I read it quickly (probably too quickly) and I enjoyed it.

This was a goofy, action-packed read. I sat down and read it before bed, and it had me cracking up—and rolling my eyes at the puns!

When Jackie is sent back in time to save the world, she recruits four guys (unbeknownst to them) to assist her in her mission. Also unbeknownst to them—they will be turned into women during the process!

I absolutely adored the use of color in this story—each Magical Guy has their own color representation and it was a striking and pleasurable visual experience to read through with the color motifs throughout.

Also, the grandma and her little matcha boba tea is such a vibe—such a cute and darling addition to the story that I had to be sure to mention!

If you are looking for a quick, silly read that is not lacking in action nor in (sometimes cringey) humor, this is for you!

Jackie isn't ready to be a hero, but then again, who is? Forced to travel back in time, Jackie is charged with a serious mission: change the past so the future can survive. She'll need help, though, and she'll find it in the most unexpected places.

The first volume sets up the group, and gives the reader some basic information about the plot, but I felt like there were more questions than answers. In fact, a number of things didn't line up or make sense to me. For example, Reid's grandmother is completely unbothered by the gargoyle-like creature who tears open her car and carries her away. After the battle she just hops up, and moves along, chill as her favorite frozen drink. (She was, however, a delightful character I would've liked to see more.)

Jackie and the Magical Guys was a book I really, really, really wanted to like, and I'm sad to say I didn't. Do I love fun quips? Yup. Do I love a group of unexpected heroes? Absolutely. Do I love magical transformations? You betcha. But this book didn't do it for me. The characters were thrown into a terrifying and dangerous situation, and instead of dealing with it like normal people they kept making jokes. It felt really forced. It's one thing for Buffy to snap a funny comeback to a vamp - she's been doing this for awhile, but these guys haven't. Jackie, maybe, but not them. Jackie also failed to explain why the guys have to shift to women in their magical persona, and I felt like that could've been useful in the first volume.

I wasn’t sure about this book, but I ended up loving it. I have already recommended it to several coworkers as well as made certain we would be getting it into our store. I am very much looking forward to the next volume.

This was really bad. The art, dialogue, pacing, and plot were poorly done. Multiple bad puns on every page were unfunny and distracting, and not much even happened. Only one character of the promised "Magical Guys" even transformed.

Jackie is sent back from the future to prevent an end-of-the-world creature. Jackie needs a little help. Enter Our 4 Magical Girls/Guys. This is a good reminder to always ask questions before just jabbing yourself with an unknown injection. It leads to some laugh-out-loud moments and some cringe-worthy dialogue. This is a fun take on a Magical Girl story. It's a fast read that ends in a cliffhanger. I will be reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy with an honest review.

Jackie and the Magical Guys is a fun spin on the magical girl genre, but instead of girls, it is gender bent with men being the magical beings. Jackie is from the future and has the incredible responsibility of recruiting magical warriors to save the planet from aliens invading earth. Using a super soldier serum, Jackie turns unwitting young men into magical "girls".

This graphic novel was action packed, but there didn't leave much room for character development. Each character has a brief introductory page and then they are thrown into the action. The graphic novel is also half the length of a Japanese manga, at only 120 pages. This leaves very little room for anything to happen in terms of plot.

The art does not match the cover in terms of quality, which was a disappointment and the humor in the novel seemed rather juvenile. I also didn't understand the motivations of the characters and why the would willingly trust a stranger and take the serum.

All in all, I loved the idea but the execution wasn't there, and it didn't feel long enough to be a full graphic novel. I have high hopes for this author though and will anticipate future releases.

What a fun adventure. I really enjoyed this one, can't wait for the next volume.

I think the idea is a fun concept, and the "I'm here to make magical girls but all I've got are these guys" was pretty fun. I also appreciate that "man in dress" was not the center of the joke. The characters, both personality and design, were interesting, and I can't wait to learn more about them as the story continues.

Weirdly fun. I'm excited to read the next installment. The artwork is excellent and the story is pretty unique.