Strong 'respect the earth' messages in this one. I loved the two different storylines that show the complicated connection between elves and humans. I'm definitely curious to know more about the varying sort of elves and how the two stories are connected...it seemed to me they were years apart...but it was hard to tell if they were even connected at all.

Rating: 3,5/5

Wow, this were a roller coaster ride of emotions reading this graphic novel. At first were I really intrigued by it. I loved the story, the beautiful artwork and it had ELVES in it, hence the title. But then the story got a little confusing and it jumped all around. It made it harder for me to continue it and i even had to lay it down for a couple of days. I then finally finished the first part and made it to the second part. This part of the graphic novel was much easier to read and you feel more for the characters. I even started crying something happened near the end. It's one of the reasons i pushed the rating up a little.

The artwork in this graphic novel was really beautiful. But sometimes it was a little too much and i felt that there were too much in the picture.

More in-depth review is on my blog

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of “Elves” by Jean-Luc Istin. The artwork is fantastic. It is everything a fantasy lover wants. The plot was very interesting and kept me engaged. I recommend this graphic novel for fantasy lovers and graphic novel enthusiasts alike.

It wasn't my cup of tea, but this title may be good for people who enjoy high fantasy.

Not bad, not good, just sort of middle of the road. This is a French comic being released in the US, and it's interesting to see the difference between the two cultures in regards to comics, both in artwork and plotting.

2.5 stars.
I wanted to like this. The art is impressive. There are some good characters and some well-delivered dramatic moments. The two stories contained in the volume, in a broad sense, are interesting and engaging. However, the volume simply doesn't live up to its potential.

On a relatively minor note, this is yet another fantasy where the female characters wear sparsely-covering articles of clothing with no real explanation. But that aside, the pacing of these stories is inconsistent and sometimes disrupts the reading experience. The dialogue is generally fine, but has some glaring moments where it is awkward and/or overwritten. And, finally, there are moments in the plots where events just don't work for me: The potential of certain characters is wasted when they are killed off in jarring moments that bring the plot to a sudden halt before sending it off in a new, loosely-connected direction. Or characters make decisions without the reader having been given enough information to understand why things are logically happening the way that they are.

So, as a whole, this is not a terrible volume. There are numerous high points to both art and story. Unfortunately, the flaws are great enough that they disrupted my ability to consistently enjoy reading this and ultimately soured my opinion of the volume as a whole.

Content advisory:
Best suited to older teens and adults due to violence, nudity, and language.

I really enjoyed Elves. I loved the story and the illustrations were beautiful! I wish there was a little more background because at times I felt like I had missed something, but overall a really great story!

Elves is the first volume of a French graphic novel soon to be released in the U.S. It contains the first two issues of the series, The crystal of the Blue elves and The honor of Sylvan elves.

The crystal of the Blue elves - ★★☆☆☆

The first issue is about the Blue (water) elves. The story follows Lanawyn and Vaalann. While Lanawyn is investing the murder of a whole town of Blue elves, Vaalann finds out that she is the chosen one, the person who can master the crystal's power. As war against the humans is upon them, the two women start their journeys.

The honor of Sylvan elves - ★★★★☆

The second issue is about the Sylvan (forest) elves. They have hidden themselves inside the forest and refused contact with humans. As Eysine, City-State of the East is besieged by Orcs, the king's daughter, Llali, starts for the forest in order to ask for the elves' help (as humans and elves fought side by side before).

The art for both stories is beautiful. Unfortunately, the stories seemed to be lacking, especially the first one. At times it moved too fast and at other times it seemed as it was not moving at all.

The second story was closer to my heart. I loved the human girl and the elf, and felt for them.

At the end of the day this was a nice, quick read. And it's always interesting to see graphic novels from other countries, too, not only from the U.S.

This was a very nice Graphic Novel, the story line its self was engaging and the art was beautiful!!!!

Elves is a groundbreaking graphic novel created by Jean-Luc Istin and Kyko Duarte. The first volume consists of the first two issues of the Elves: The Crystal of the Blue Elves and The Honor of the Silvan Elves. The two stories are not connected even though they are happening in the same universe.



The Crystal of the Blue Elves

Blue Elves are elves closely connected to the element water. They build cities and live on islands. They build great fleets and are the primary rulers of the sea. On the other hand, there are also humans who resent the Blue Elves for their power and are quite bloodthirsty.
After an Elven city of Ennlya has been massacred, a Blue Elf named Lanawyn and her human companion Turin must investigate who has caused this great tragedy leading them into many dangers and possibly even costing them their lives.



The Honor of the Silvan Elves

When the human city of Eysine has been attacked by orcs mercenaries, the king's daughter Llali endeavours into the forest ruled by the so-called Forest Spirits, who are actually Silvan Elves, to seek their help in driving the orcs away. There she meets a Silvan Elf who realises the power she carries and together they try to bring back the good that the world has almost completely lost.



I have immensely enjoyed this graphic novel! The art was astounding, what I liked the most about it is the fact that it was slightly different in both The Crystal of the Blue Elves and The Honor of the Silvan Elves, but at the same time it kept its beauty. The difference in the aesthetic of the art and the colour pallet only contributed to the story that was told.
The only critique I have is that I wanted a bit more. Not because I feel the story was not well branched out, but because I wanted to dive into the presented world much, much deeper!

I must say I enjoyed the second issue, The Honor of the Silvan Elves a bit more. The characters were as if they were made out of flesh and blood. I could empathise with them and the end made my eyes water.

I simply loved traveling through this fantasy world filled with such magnificent beings. It felt like going home to Tolkiens Middle Earth, but also in the same time it felt like I was discovering a whole new world.
I wholeheartedly recommend this graphic novel.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Elves has some incredibly beautiful illustration and color work that somewhat offset a drearily earnest collection of two stories (each focusing on a type of elf: Blue (water) and Sylvan (forest). The Lord of the Rings reference is pronounced: from the names, stories, characters, world building, races, etc., I couldn't help but feel the author was attempting to add to the LoTR mythos. While not necessarily a bad thing, it was hard to separate the Peter Jackson movies from this graphic novel. There just wasn't an originality here.

Story 1: An elf huntress and nomadic hunter discover an elven city has been slaughtered. Evidence points to a rival human kingdom but both elf and human have their own suspicions. Together, they set out to discover the truth behind the murders. At the same time, an elf maiden has been scryed as the 'chosen one' - the one to find/wield the powerful magic crystal that will unite the races. But if she is the chosen one, why are the crystal's guardians fighting so hard against her? Story 2: a human princess sets out to forge an alliance with the Sylvan elves to help fight the Orcs. But the elves don't want anything to do with the humans and so it will come down to one lone elf to throw away centuries of xenophobia and reach out to the princess.

I'll be honest here - the stories are shallow and lacking nuance. Character dialogues are flat and unimaginative (perhaps too literal a translation from French?) and hardly feel interesting. All the characters pretty much sound the same despite the difference in races, cultures, and social levels. The evil guys are eeevil and the good guys are just plain stupid. Plot twists aren't very interesting and fairly well telegraphed in advance so as not to be all that interesting. The story is meant to be serious but the tepid pacing defeats any attempt at depth. By the end of both stories, one had to wonder why people were so clueless. It's all simple linear plots.

The illustration work is quite lovely but again, you'll feel like you are looking at sketches for the next Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movie. From circlets to flowy fabrics, we've seen these elves before. Add in a lot of braids and it really starts to go Peter Jackson fast. But the coloring is also quite beautiful, although I could wish for fewer blocked shadowing so we could get more definition.

Elves Volume 1 was not a bad read but it also was one where I never became invested in the story or the characters. More caricature than person, it all felt so painfully idealized and romanticized. As such, those looking for a Lord of The Rings type fantasy will likely enjoy Elves, even with the simplistic storytelling. But I honestly expect more sophistication in storytelling to match the lovely artwork. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Unfortunately, the way that it ended up formatting on my device made it incredibly difficult to read this graphic novel. I will say that the story seemed very intriguing, with good world building, and the art was very well done.

Unable to read and review. Did not read. Please see feedback sent to publisher for explanation about downloading problems.

Beautiful art and color scheme, along with an engaging story.