If you're into steampunk and have not yet delved into the world of Lady Mechanika, you're missing out. It's a great comic with a fast-paced plot, full of adventure and some incredibly detailed artwork. This volume is a self-contained story involving Mechanika's search for a girl similar to herself in the hopes that she can rediscover (and remember) her past.

I loved everything about this graphic novel collection. It is beautifully illustrated, the characters are well developed, and the story is entertaining and draws you along with it. This is easily one of my new favorites! I would totally cosplay Lady Mechanika, well done!

I'm a sucker for steampunk...and I loved the flare and story portrayed in this one. The artwork is wonderful, although a little dark on some panels.

If you're interested in steampunk, humans fused with machines, badass heroines with giant boobs, and some of the most gorgeous artwork I've ever seen in a comic, check out this first volume in the Lady Mechanika series.

Lady Mechanika Volume 1: Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse was, for me, a good but lacking work. The artwork is wonderful though I think we should have reached the point where extreme emphasis on cleavage has given way to more realistically drawn characters. I know, realistic-looking when talking about a steampunk graphic novel involving a part-mechanical woman, but I think you know what I mean, whether you agree or not. I would have gone with 3.5 stars but that isn't an option here so I went with 4 stars because I also read Volume 2 and found it to be better.

One definite redeeming quality throughout the series that I can see is the emphasis on being more accepting of those who might otherwise be considered "other." This is a great message and one that is evident without, I feel, beating the reader over the head with it.

Steampunk is not a normal go-to genre for me, with the exception of earlier works from SF&F that have retroactively become considered steampunk even though such a genre or subgenre did not exist at the time. In fact, I tend to be drawn to graphic novels in the genre over regular novels because the combination of periods is stunning in visual form. As a story I did feel this was a little lacking but I am overlooking some of the dryness because I think some of it was to set-up the characters for future volumes.

I would recommend this to both steampunk and graphic novel fans.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Volume One collects the first comic arc, issue 0 as well as 1 through 6. A young girl is found in Mechanika City, and dies at the train station after escaping being hunted. This is the titular mechanical corpse for the volume, and Lady Mechanika is determined to uncover her origins, as it might lead her to the people that created her. The art is gorgeously detailed and the lettering fits the time period depicted. The cover art gallery at the end of the book is especially gorgeous to look at. Some speech bubbles are rather cluttered, such as when Mechanika and Katherine meet and find that the corpse is gone, or during Mechani-Con. Lady Mechanika doesn't seem to have much of a personality here, though it could be because she's suspicious of everyone and seems to have only one friend. Her suspicions are rather justified, as Katherine (aka Commander Winter) and Lord Blackpool have teamed up and are interested in killing her. We discover what happened to the mechanical girl, but we never really learn why. There are far more questions left unanswered by the end of it, and a sense of foreboding about what will happen to Lady Mechanika. It's a great way to hook in readers for future issues, as there isn't quite enough in Mechanika's interactions on her own to draw interest.

I love a good steampunk and this is probably one of the best I've read. It certainly helps that it is a comic and therefor can show more than tell. I was afraid this would be too mature for our teen graphic novels collection, but thanks to the ARC, I can safely say we will absolutely be purchashing this title! I was completely enamored with Lady Mechanika and can't wait to read more!

Lady Mechanic Vol 1 by Joe Benitez Review

As always I’m grateful for NetGalley and the publishers of this book for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read any steampunk before and I was more than willing to try my hand at Lady Mechanic Vol 1.: The Mystery of Mechanical Corpse that includes 0-5. When I saw the cover of this book I was more than excited, and who won’t be. Have you seen this gorgeous cover! How can you not be curious to read this graphic novel that has a beautiful illustrated steampunk world of airships, monstrous monsters, and a bad ass courageous but devilishly haunting heroine in the “Lady Mechanika.”

The artwork in this book is like no other graphic novel that I have seen in a very long time. The artwork of Joe Benitez is famous in it’s own right since he is also the illustrator for so many amazing comic books such as:

-Supergirl published by DC Comics

-Weapon Zero published by Top Cow Productions

-Witchblade/Elektra published by Marvel and Top Cow Crossover

Just to name a few of the comics that Benitez have worked on. So you can only imagine how amazing the artwork for a futuristic world of Steampunk England would look like. The artistry is amazing and will not disappoint you nor will the story line do anything but enchant you. As a first time reading a steampunk graphic novel, this is an amazing book to start with, it will leave you 100% enchanted, never disappointed, not one bit.

Once again let me just say, the artwork is amazing. I know I said it before but I have to say it again, the artwork is jaw dropping in it’s detail and it’s colors!

Okay enought about the artwork, let’s talk about the story. O.M.G. The story!

The story of “ Lady Mechanika” is filled to the brim with action, lots of action. There are so many different elements of mystery, thrilling suspenseful that will leave you on the endge of you’re seat if not pulling on the edge of each page of the graphic novel.

Lady Mechanika, is a lady whose amazing. Not only she is a mechanical limbs with no memory of her past. When I read about Lady Mechanika I automatically thought about Faye Valentine from Cowboy Bebop, who also had forgotten her past in a course of character building events. If you’re a fan of Cowboy Bebop I’m sure you’ll find room in you’re heart to fall in love with this series as well. Unlike Faye Valentine Lady Mechanika is fearless if not equal in her determination in finding out who she is. Even though her memory is lost to her, her determination is what I love the most about this character. Even though she is a cyborg by steampunk definition of the word, there is an element of vulnerability and badassory (yes that is a word) that make you not only want to fallow her story, but also make you very glad you’re not a monster standing in her way. While she is investigating the death of this mechanical corpse of a young girl, the investigation reveals a mystery about unique people that showcases horrendous experiments that make even the most SyFy version of Dr. Frankenstein look like literal child's play.
Overall I think any manga or comic book lover will love this amazing steampunk comic book adventure of Lady Mechanika because of it’s rich illustrations, wonderful detail in story lines, as well as the thrilling mystery that it gives for readers to enjoy.

As always I’m thankful to Diamond Book Distributors via NetGalley for allowing me the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!
Happy Reading Ya’ll
Lia!

A decently intriguing graphic novel, though at times it seemed to get bogged down a bit. The art was pretty good if a little unrealistically proportioned in regards to Mechanika herself but the steampunk elements were beautiful and sharp. I did get a little confused with of the guy characters: they were both drawn enough alike that at first I couldn't tell one from the other in one scene (and didn't remember their names so I couldn't identify them that way either :D) but otherwise the artwork was pretty good (Mechanika is just a bit unbelievably busty). The story itself was intriguing enough but it did seem to drag at times, partly due to some of the drawn out dialogue. I am looking forward to reading through the second book which I hope leans a little more towards the adventure side of the story.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s talk Artwork

What drew me first to these graphic novels was the steampunk styled art. I glanced at some of the covers from the various chapters on GoodReads and was instantly wanting to read more. Sometimes when I have a lot of anticipation with something it’s easy to get disappointed but that wasn’t the case at all here.

Both of these volumes were done entirely in rich and vibrant color.
Each character had a very defined look which helped them feel more real.
The amount of detail in the scenes was a perfect balance. It never felt too busy or too simplistic. This was especially true for the airships which were stunning.
Let’s talk Plot and Character

One of my biggest issues with a lot of graphic novels surrounds the plot. All too often they just don’t feel as immersive or deep as a regular novel. This series shocked me with the level plot and multiple storylines that are constantly taking place, without being confusing.

Lady Mechanica is the star of the show and for good reason. She’s a magnificent strong female lead that can seriously kick ass.
Support characters are equally strong and interesting. I really liked Mr. Lewis in the first volume.
It’s easy to root for the good guys but I was equally interested in the other side. Cain from the first volume was mysterious and I am wondering if he will show up again in the future.
Not many graphic novels have kept me on the edge of my seat with suspense, but this one did. I was completely immersed into the story and felt like I was on an adventure while reading.
What I Thought Overall

I absolutely adored these graphic novels. My favorite part was the artwork – I loved the style and color. I’m still trying to decide if I disliked the idealistic character portrayals. Especially with the women, it seemed like they were very sexualized and while I loved the look of it artistically it left me feeling a little off. Lady Mechanica is built pretty perfectly being tall and slender but somehow with ample curves that seem very natural. It’s not too big of a problem but I would like to see more body types in future chapters. In summary, I’m really glad I went for these graphic novels and I highly recommend them to anyone who is a fan of steampunk or action. Artists will also be sure to enjoy this series.

Lady Mechanika is hunting for her maker, the one who grafted mechanical parts onto a female form years ago. But every time she gets close, Lord Blackpool and his armaments corporation gets in the way. Now, when a dead partially mechanical girl shows up in the city, Lady Mechanika investigates. Now, all she has to do is infiltrate a flying masquerade ball and locate a missing gypsy for the hope of an answer. I am looking forward to more tales in Lady Mechanika's world.

Too steampunky for my taste. I picked it up a handful of times but was never drawn in by the story nor its illustrations.

This was beyond boring. Very little action. Mostly just people talking in steampunk outfits. So. Much. dialogue. I actually nodded off a few times. I liked the character designs. Benitez is a talented artist. However, he needs to study real female anatomy some more. I'm guessing Lady Mechanika became a cyborg to help hold those comicly large breasts up.

Lady Mechanika, Vol. 1: the Mystery of Mechanical Corpse by Joe Benitez brings back the unique and incredibly well written tale of everyone's favorite Victorian England Steampunk hero. Beautifully illustrated, this collection is sure to create another generation of fans to join the cult following Lady Mechanika already enjoys.

She is Lady Mechanika, the lone survivor of a mad scientist's experiments, which left her with mechanical limbs. She has no memory of her former life and finds that she must rebuild a new one for herself. She becomes an adventurer and private investigator, using her strange and new abilities to solve crimes the police are not able to.

When the corpse of a young woman with mechanical limbs is found in the very city where she was found, Lady Mechanika may finally have a lead to her very own origin and moves all she can to investigate. Set in an alternative Steampunk Victorian England where magic and inventions clash for their hold on reality. Where beautiful women with mechanical appendages and corsets and steam powered dirigibles fill the skies. this new Lady Mechanika tale tells the story of a young woman's search for her past.

Joe Benitez continues the story of Lady Mechanika and with terrific artwork backing up some of the best storytelling going around he has created an independent comic line not to be missed. This one is far superior to so many of the comic books on the market that it would be criminal to miss this one.

Lady Mechanika is a book that will be hard to find in its current print run so be one of the few in the know and get your copies now!

Very entertaining and engaging, and spectacular artwork. Some might say that this volume is very wordy, and it is, but the wordiness is vital to understanding the plot. At any rate, I'll keep reading this series.

Lady Mechanika sounded very interesting, since I enjoy steampunk. There's something about the rusty mechanics. Even the cover looks very appealing, but that's about it. The comic introduces us Lady Mechanika, who tries to solve how she came to be this mechanical monstress she is. She also finds a dead mechanical girl and starts to investigate that and whether they have the same maker or not. In a sense this is a mystery and detective story, but we don't really get anything out of it. The plot moves very slowly and the structure is heavy. The walls of text are unappealing and the story is just running from one place to another without a good pace. The comic is messy mostly and it's odd how how fast it is considering that nothing happens in it. We don't really get to know the characters and they are paper thin and mostly boring. There's hardly any soul to the content, sadly so.

The color theme of dark and brown works well, although it's slightly cliched considering that they seem to be the standard for steampunk. The art reminded me of Battle Angel Alita mostly and thus it's a bit 1990s. Also, who would wear shirts like that? Tits always ganging out? The inking is sketchy and rough looking, which makes the comic crude at times, but otherwise it creates this horror-look that suits the atmosphere. The panels are too full mostly and the structure is psychedelic every once in a while. The different kinds of fonts are distracting too and I'd say less is more, trust me. It took me forever to read this.

DNF. Steampunk London, and a pneumatic Edwina Scissorhands has to work out where her origins lay. You have to work out how much of the boring characters just coming and going is down to shoddy storytelling and/or prior series of comics giving a background you know nothing of – and as I can't see any mention of other appearances of this character I just have to blame the author. The first sections of the story were fine, then it just turned into boring, stodgy talkie bits, and I had to give up.

It was a great graphic novel and would recommend it to people who like steampunk fantasy but manga is still my go to for comics.

It was love at first sight with this graphic novel and even though you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, I’m very glad I did! It does help that I’m a big fan of Steampunk.

This is the story of Lady Mechanika, a half-human half-machine in her search to discover her identity and her maker. As her journey takes her to the city where she was found, the Lady investigates a peculiar death of a young girl much like her at the local train station. Does it have anything to do with her? Was it the same person that transformed her? In a Steampunk world where Man and machine are one, nothing will stand in her way until she gets her answers.

There isn’t anything I didn’t like in this graphic novel: the artwork is breathtaking, absolutely brilliant and the colours go perfectly with the dark and industrial setting. It was amazing to see how this world worked and it was impossible not to love the beautiful landscapes. The story-line is very well thought and it’s steady-paced. Details of this world are all around the story, but not enough to be boring.

Lady Mechanika is a great character: elegant, graceful, quick with the guns, seemly cold and detached but with a caring heart hidden underneath. She doesn’t care if it’s human, machine or not human at all, if they need help she will give it. However, don’t piss her off. Lady Mechanika doesn’t care about power or hierarchy in society, if anyone stands in her way or even threatens her… well, you have to read it to find out the rest.

Loved every minute and I’ll start the second volume very soon!

I unfortunately did not finish this graphic novel.