I have to say that this was a bit of a disappointment. The plot was good, but the execution felt very choppy/fractured. The art was consistent, but did not really fit. The book. Overall it was an ok read, but I would not recommend it

Not recommended, basically Batman with the "f" word...meh. So much of this imprint has been a big disappointment.

Gotham City is full of both costumed vigilantes and bad guys so there's got to be room for one more. Mother Panic is a book released as part of Gerard Way's Young Animal imprint, a somewhat specialized series of books that launched in 2016. It launched alongside Shade, The Changing Girl; Cave Carson Has a Cybernetic Eye; and Doom Patrol. It's a line that takes chances and does things a bit differently than the rest of the DC Comics books you might see on the shelves.

Mother Panic is the first Young Animal series I've read and I picked it because I liked the general idea behind it. Mother Panic follows a young woman named Violet Paige who takes to the streets in Gotham City to exact revenge on those who wronged her when she was younger. Unlike the rest of the Gotham vigilantes she favors white over black and her motives are much more self-centered. She even has a couple brief run ins with the Bat himself.

It seems like a great premise. But I'm going to be perfectly honest here: I was not a huge fan of Mother Panic. Trust me, I wanted to like it. I really like Jody Houser and Tommy Lee Edwards' work on this book is phenomenal.

I just wasn't that into Paige's story.

In a lot of ways her general book mirrors that of many of the usual Batman-related books. Violet Paige is almost a female version of Bruce Wayne except that her childhood trauma beats his by tenfold. She may dress in white but she uses the same sort of futuristic gadgets and lives the same sort of double life as a Gotham celebrity socialite. At times it seems deliberately contrary to the usual Batman-esque format which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I think it's good that Houser and Edwards are doing something a little different in Gotham.

I just didn't find Paige to be a compelling character. Her motives aren't particularly admirable and if her background and history were better explained I could probably forgive that. The problem is that they come about in bits and pieces as part of random, overly dramatic flashbacks. And it's hard to look past her personal revenge motivations to imagine any sort of narrative longevity for the character. (Obviously I'm wrong there since this series featured 12 issues and a second series was recently announced for 2018.)

I do love Paige's little group of supporters, though. I think her relationship with her mother is a very unique relationship for the comic to show. And her little team - which includes a surprisingly sympathetic villain with a penchant for rats - ends up being a very different sort of 'family' than most 'superheroes' end up attracting. The secondary character are what kept me reading and were really the most compelling part of this book for me.

Mother Panic has a great premise that it only manages to half realize in this first volume, Mother Panic Vol. 1: A Work In Progress. I certainly think there is a fair amount of potential in this characters -- especially in the hands of Jody Houser. Some books, however, aren't for everyone and if the second volume doesn't hook me more than the first one I'll probably pass on any future issues.

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A REVIEW COPY WAS PROVIDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF THIS REVIEW

Mother Panic, Volume 1: Work in Progress by Jody Houser is a new addition to the Batman Universe. A violent vigilante whose tragic and traumatic past has shaped her into a jaded and bitter anti-hero. With the wealth at her disposal and science behind her, she is able to battle, not crime per-say, but her own agenda.

Violet Paige is an amoralistic celebrity with an entitled attitude and bad temper. She is fodder for the paparazzi and works hard at her bad reputation. But its all a sham. Its a distraction from who she really is; Mother Panic. Paige is a bored heiress by day and a violent vigilante by night. But she does not seek out crime on Gotham's streets, instead she looks to take revenge on her own peers, whose appetites for perversion and greed have shaped her own life.

Now Mother Panic is on the hunt for an art dealer who makes paintings from blood and uses discarded children to do her work. But in her search, will Mother Panic find something far worse?

I am on the fence over this character. She does seem in too many ways to be a mirror of Bruce Wayne if he had allowed his hurt to turn him into a vengeful vigilante with a personal agenda instead of adhering to his code of justice. Making Mother Panic a young woman is a nice twist but is not really explored very well. This book isn't about justice, its about revenge and the justice that comes from it comes by accident. Perhaps this has to do with character growth but only time will tell.

I cannot help but believe that it would have been much better served if it had been turned into a Vertigo comic instead of a DC book. It reminds me a little of Marvel's MAX line, sex and violence and curse words that are not normally found in a Batman title, fill the pages. But not for shock value, they actually work within the framework of the comic. Again, perhaps this is a Vertigo comic in disguise.

Overall it was decent to good and worth following for a bit more. Hopefully the character will become something more than a distraction and short lived experiment.

ARC from Netgalley.
Mother Panic is a bit hard to follow. It's not horrible by any means, but the combination of art style (which makes character distinction hard to differentiate) and storytelling (not extremely descriptive) make this one not as entertaining as other DC titles. Hopefully other "Young Animal" tales are better.

This volume collects the first six issues of Mother Panic and tells the story of a grittier side of Gotham City and Violet Page, aka Mother Panic. I love the art style and I believe it really fits the tone of the narrative. Violet is unique and creepy. If you're looking for something fast-paced and a little different in the DC world this is a comic series you should check out.

This is a very dark and brooding title. Nothing appears to be overly gratuitous in the context of the main character's life and background, but make no mistake, this is not an easy read. A disturbing and complex story with little signs of redemption yet. This title breaks new ground. Not for the sensitive.

What do you get when you cross the line with Batman? Probably something like 'Mother Panic, Volume 1: Work in Progress' by Jody Houser with art by Tommy Lee Edwards and Shawn Crystal.

By day, Violet Paige is a cranky 'celebutante,' showing up at parties and showing diffidence to everyone. By night, she is Gotham City's newest vigilante, Mother Panic. She seeks revenge for things that happened in her past. When she was a child, her father died in a questionable incident. Her older brother was unable to care for their mother or his little sister. Mother was sent to a strange institution, and sister was sent to a cruel boarding school called Gather House. Her methods are darker than Batman and that puts her into conflict with Batman and Batwoman.

I've read a lot of dark takes on Batman. This one takes the premise of a modern celebrity and how they would handle things. In this case, kind of badly. I get that Violet is messed up, but it's hard to feel anything for her, to be honest. Maybe that will change in later issues. I wasn't as crazy about Tommy Lee Edwards art. When Shawn Crystal took over, I liked his approach a bit better. This collects issues 1-6 or Mother Panic from the DC Young Animal imprint.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from DC Entertainment and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Gorgeous artwork, riveting story. Cannot wait for the next installment.

Oh dear. This is by far the best Young Animals book I downloaded but still it's shockingly bad. Clumsily written, drawn to try and look like a lost Vertigo title when it has nothing like the quality needed whatsoever... Just plain uninteresting (even with pointless, non-diegetic white animals, and strawberries with white juice, ahoy). But at least readable, as if that's an achievement.

This is one very strange Gotham Tale. Another vigilante is loose; this one dressed in white and out for revenge. Over the course of the tale, we learn at least part of her backstory and meet her mother in her Alice-in-Wonderland lifestyle. The question arises with this tale and the Gotham Radio add-on story - what is the point? How will this add to the confusion that keeps raining in Gotham. And how will the Bat family react?

This wasn't my favorite DC title, but I did enjoy it. The story is interesting, and I like the idea, but something just didn't work for me. I also found the galley hard to read - not sure if that's the stylization, or the fact that it was digital.

Violet Paige is a modern-day celebrity like Kim Kardashian or her siblings. Wherever Violet goes there is a social media frenzy that goes along. No one gets too close personally. Her relationships, romantic or otherwise, are usually short-lived.

But behind the celebrity, are shadows of Violet’s past, including horrific experiments. Her return to Gotham is a homecoming of sorts. Not one of renewal, rather one filled with chaos and violence.

Her purpose in returning to Gotham is to track down those from her traumatic past and deliver justice. Whether they live or die is not her concern. She sets out to right a wrong that directly affected her.

Unlike Batman (who only makes a cameo, despite being featured on the cover) and Batwoman (who fills a supporting role) whose justice seeking is for the good of all society, Mother Panic is concerned only with herself.

The gritty artwork from Tommy Lee Edwards adds to the idea that this is not a Batman replacement. Mother Panic is darker (she may be the only DC character who drops the f-bomb in reference to the Bat). The overall look is more modern and slick. When the artwork switches from Edwards to Shawn Crystal it becomes more cartoony and more sexualized, which becomes problematic. Edwards’ Violet/Mother Panic appeared more genderless, breaking down a barrier. Crystal’s artwork affects the illusion, and possibly Violent’s story.

Read more at : http://jasoncstanley.com/comic-review-mother-panic-vol-1-work-progress/#more-11902

Mother Panic, part of Gerard Way’s new adult DC comics line Young Animal, takes a well-worn concept and injects a punk freshness to it.
Anyone who knows anything about Batman can realize that the Through the Looking Glass concept of the character is perennial in all the new incarnations of the character. His rogue gallery consists mostly of dangerous parallels to the Dark Knight (Joker for craziness, Riddler for his intellect and detective skills, Bane for rage and so on and so on) and his allies normally share some form of his pathos. Mother Panic is a comic about an ultra-famous Gotham millionaire that becomes a vigilante. The concept itself is to imagine a Batman-like character but with a XXI century outlook of life. Violet Page is the sort of infamous celebrity who is only famous for being rich and unlikable (cue Kardashian reference). She has a dubious past full of controversy and a mean streak and her vigilante persona is reflective of it. In all, this is not a new concept but it might be one of the smarter versions of it.
This is not a dark and gritty comic or a 90’s rip-off. It is dark, yes, and a post-modern look at superheroes. It’s cynical and deconstructive, but not in a Zack Snyder of Frank Miller kind of way. Jody Houser is careful to construct a reluctant heroine that resembles Batman & Co. more than she would care to admit. Mother Panic is a bad-ass who constantly finds herself derailed from her vengeance because of her (admittedly shoddy) moral compass. She is a true Batman analog that represents in a lot of ways the good and bad of him.
In the tradition of a Superhero looking at itself through the mirror, Mother Panic is a white and rat-like whilst Batman is dark and bat-like. Both are violent, but the latter feels justified by his mission and the former is justified in her thirst for revenge. Both fuel their passion in their childhood trauma, but Bruce became his persona while Violet was forced into hers. Both deal with overall craziness, depression and guilt, but take their characters to opposite ends of the spectrum. However, Violet is not only an antihero. She is constantly being watched by the do-gooders of Gotham and, much to her annoyance, constantly being validated by them. Her story is going less in the direction of the Crow and more in the direction of a DC character like the Red Hood.
Regardless of how unoriginal the comic’s motivations may be, Mother Panic lays it’s point across beautifully. The story needs fleshing out, still, and the jury is still out on how well the character can distinguish itself as original, but for now Young Animal has another interesting addition to its lineup.

There was a lot going on in this TPB and so it took me awhile to get into who is who and what in the world is going on.

There was Violet aka Mother Panic who seems even more violent than usual for Gotham (and her costume was definitely unique). She seems to be going after those who are somehow affiliated with something called the Gather House.

Mother Panic also had a meeting on the Gotham rooftops with Batwoman that was tense, though I wasn't sure why it was Batwoman who did the meet and greet and not one of the other Bat Family members.

And then there was Violet's mother's storyline, which had some unique characters in it and I thought was the most interesting part of the TPB.

This was my first foray into the Young Animal imprint of DC Comics and it was definitely different.

I was given this galley through Netgalley on behalf of DC Entertainment.

This is sort of a mixed bag - I liked the first arc (first three issues) 'Work in Progress', and was excited to read more. At that point, I was thinking that perhaps it was the best thing I had read from DC in awhile. And then I read the second arc. As a result in the artist changing, the art style changes tremendously (for the worse, in my opinion) and the story starts going in ways that I found hard to understand. Overall, I'm not sure how I feel about this one.

Jody Houser’s Young Animal title Mother Panic, a modern, mature readers answer to Batman, takes a lot of admirable risks, with elements that remind of Arrow and The Hunger Games, plus Batwoman and Marc Andreyko's Manhunter. Tommy Lee Edwards's sketchy, gritty art gives the book a lot of visual pizazz.

Having already heard a lot about this title I was delighted to be approved and jumped in a quickly as I could. In Mother Panic we are introduced to a new character Violet Page who patrols the streets of Gotham in this new Mature Teens series from DC. It's an interesting premise and while it's beautifully drawn and certainly more mature than previous DC titles it's not really for me.

The series I never suspected I would love. It's a violent revenge story. It's a horrible chunk of the past manifest in the present. It's dark and messy and absolutely wonderful. Batman is indeed a bully and I much prefer Mother Panic's brand of justice. Recommended for those who want a vigilante without the BS of Batman.