I don't know, this story is way too short for the things it wants to tell. There's very little explanation or world building, although the setting and imagery are quite nice.
The art style though is partly too messy for my liking and sometimes makes it hard to see what's even going on.
2,5 stars.

This wasn't quite for me due to the fast=pacedness and the use of colour and art style, but I appreciate the work the author has put in the worldbuilding! I also didn't realise that this was Volume 1, but thought it was a standalone.

2.5 stars

Dega, a lone survivor of a ship crash discovers a secret hidden under the surface of a desolate world.

Unfortunately, this story didn't feel complete to me, more like a random fragment of a bigger whole. After slowly re-reading this graphic novel, I could appreciate some worldbuilding and intriguing flashbacks, but at the end of the day, they pose more questions than give answers. This story lacked continuity, we don't know what drives Dega, there is no character development, no context.. I can see there is an idea behind it, but to me it's like we got a rough draft, instead of a complete work.

The book (a short sci-fi story of a female astronaut stranded on an unknown planet) is a short but virtuoso piece by long-time veteran Dan McDaid. The short graphic novel, originally self-published and sold online by the cartoonist himself, is more than anything a display of virtuosity from a learned artist in his element. Expansive, dusty vistas, creepy aliens, and eldritch beings are all known quantities in science fiction, but McDaid tackles them with flair. His bold brushstrokes, strong color choices, and wild lettering make the book an ideal gift for those interested in the artistic side of comics. If there is any issue with the book, that is its short length and its somewhat vague story, but that also means there's very little fat to be had and the action is successfully front-loaded. Overall, a worthwhile addition to any teen-and-up library, even if it could be more substantive.

I am not sure what this is? I know it’s only the first volume, but it didn’t set up a story that I could honestly continue. The art was sometimes hard to follow and the story seemed a bit lacking. I’m not sure what was going on or where it was going. I don't really care if the character makes it off the planet or understand what they were doing to decide how I felt about them and their actions/story.

Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for this ARC. This just wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

I was a bit confused with this graphic novel. I’m hoping that it is not a standalone but an actual prequel of what it can be. There is a young 8 year old female exploring mechanism, beasts and what lies underground. It feels like she is losing her mind and trying to piece what her mother has taught her. I did like the additional ending as the artist shared rough sketches of how a creation is built.

This was very weird. I'm not entirely sure what was happening. I didn't like how the colors changed. Normally, there's a point to having colors and then having black and white, but with this, I could not tell a difference. I did enjoy the art style mostly but the story was meh.

This was such an interesting introduction to this series! It was a bit of a slow start but the drip feed style storytelling pays off by the end. I’m excited to see where it goes.

3.5 stars.

I did enjoy this graphic novel but I was also really confused throughout, and I needed to know more. It did make a bit more sense at the end and all in all I did enjoy it.

This was a story about a female astronaut who is stranded on an alien planet with only a bot for company. She spends her days collecting intel about the planet and slowly losing her mind.

The author also provided rough sketches at the end to show the creative process, which I really appreciated! I did enjoy this volume and am eagerly awaiting the next volume, as I think there is yet a lot to be explored!

Thanks to Netgalley and Oni Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Is this profound and deeply symbolic? Or is this an undercooked idea?
Honestly, it's hard to say.

One needs a synopsis of this one to be able to comprehend the story beyond 'there's a girl on a strange planet and things are happening'.

An astronaut is stuck on an alien planet with only a data-gathering bot for company. Together, they collate intel about the planet, until a new, unknown species arrives. They are all hunting for a way to harness the power hidden beneath the planet's surface but the planet's fighting back.

This is not a sci-fi novel that the audience is gently guided through. It's a tough environment and the reader will share in the experience. The layout of the panels is interesting, using a variety of shapes and structures to vary each page; as a thing to look at, it's nice.

The book uses a sketchy art style, which creates good imagery and uses colour well to emphasise important elements of the plot. But, for the purpose of storytelling, the style is ambiguous. It can be difficult to determine the action within each panel making certain events unclear.

This book feels like what it is: the first volume. There isn't anything bad about it but there isn't enough to form an opinion about it. It's a good prologue to a rich world and that, undoubtedly, will have a complex story arc- it just doesn't give enough at this point.

Some really excellent artwork meets an engaging storyline in Dan McDaid's Dega - Volume 1. If you like most dark sci-fi, you will like this.

3.5

Wow, what a surreal, quick, sci-fi graphic novel! Dans art style for one, was absolutely phenomenal. This was such a beautifully illustrated tale. I will admit, I didn’t know what to expect so it took me a second to understand the direction of the story, but the end result was well worth it! This story was hard to wrap my head around at the beginning, but as the story progressed, this felt deliberate.

I also loved that the artist included their initial rough story sketches at the end of the volume as it was really interesting to see McDaid’s creative processes. I would very much like to see this universe expanded upon and will be recommending this to my friends who like sci-fi graphic novels!

This is supposed to be a graphic novel about a female astronaut and her mission on a hostile alien planet, not only discovering the secrets of the planet, but also about loosing her sanity.

Which - if you know anything about my taste in books - sounds perfect and should be very much my jam. Unfortunately it wasn't. The whole thing reads fast and took me only a few minutes, but it felt like a fever dream and I was very confused.
Maybe it was the art style, but I didn't know what was going on throughout the whole story. It was very overwhelming and maybe this was supposed to kind of portray the mind of the main character, but it was a bit too much in my opinion. Or maybe I'm just not the graphic novel type after all, I don't know.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this eARC, I will not be posting any reviews of this online, because I'm sure other people will enjoy this and it just wasn't for me.

3.5 stars — This was a very fun and interesting read that left me very confused and wanting to learn more. I would have given this 4 stars if there was just a smidge more context. The main character seems interested and I’m eager to see what happens next for them. I want to know about the hands and their mother and the machine and honestly… what the heck is going on in general.

Posted on goodreads 10/28

I LOVED DEGA! I cannot wait for the next one to come out!

This is a sci-fi comic with a hint of horror. The main character is alone on a planet and something is happening to her. She is trying to figure out an escape from the emptiness. There isn't a whole lot in this first volume, but the ending makes the confusion at the beginning so worth it.

If you like the Aliens comic or most dark sci-fi, you will like this. Also, it's short so why not try it?