This was my first encounter with Lady Mechankia, an English lady with mechanical limbs travelling the New World. Originally published in a three part series this compilation let's you enjoy the complete story and all the accompanying artwork. And that means artwork is a good place to start.

You're not exactly picking up a graphic novel for stick figures that would be at home in an XKCD comic strip, but this one? Wow. It's stunning and vibrant. It's one of those that indulges in flourishes, the frames often decorated with cogs and gears. Some of the frames are a little static at times, but they're generally fairly minor pieces. The showstoppers are spectacular though. The front cover is incredibly eye catching - it stands out as slightly different. It's a wonderful take on <i>La Calavera Catrina</i> (if you'll forgive the anachronism) with a gorgeous palette and presence. Luckily it doesn't stop there. Aside from the story artwork we're also treated the the individual covers of the original books - something that is a huge bonus if you've ever felt cheated at the collections that rob you of those pieces.

The story? Well coming into the middle of a series I don't know how or why Lady Mechanika turns up in a seemingly random Mexican village, but as it's Día de los Muertos we get some glimpses of previous stories. I didn't feel lost but I've no doubt there would be some extra richness if I'd greater background to the story. At times Benitez possibly over-explains the local customs, but not harmfully so. Its a fine balancing act though, and any less could well have invited criticism for it being too obscure and inaccessible so I was happy to ride it out. Likewise the smattering of Spanish words. I really don't speak the language, just a few words picked up here and there, but the use of them here wasn't difficult to understand and gave a nice flavour to the conversations. But I digress. The story is good. It's brief too so don't expect huge character exposition, although I'd say Benitez does impressively well in that regard given the limited opportunities. We get a few interesting minor characters, a little dose of action, and it's enjoyable. The whole thing is fairly self-contained and I'd be surprised if it had much impact on other stories in the series, but that's also good. Much as it left me feeling I wanted more Lady Mechanika on my shelves I didn't feel I was robbed of a conclusion or left hanging as the author taunted me into hunting down the next installment.

A good story with great artwork. It's eye-catching, and a satisfying read.

Read this book! It has innovative ideas, a steampunk vista, beautiful artwork and a strong female protagonist.

Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte is a stunning new graphic novel about a woman who takes a trip to Mexico over the Day of the Dead holiday and gets more than she bargained for. It was action packed and offered a colorful look at some of the local cultural beliefs. The plot of this story was solidly entertaining and left things open for further series installments. Speaking of which, this is apparently not the first Lady Mechanika book, but it was the first I have read. So while I didn't know anything about this character's background, going into the story, it didn't seem to affect my overall ability to follow this individual storyline.

Loved the intensity and pop of the illustrations. I did, however, find some of the pages were a little hard to make out because there was just too much going on or too many details to discern.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for hooking me up with his advanced review copy. If I ever get to go to comic con I so have a kick butt costume idea ready!

I received an ARC through Netgalley, for which I'm grateful. This does not, however, affect my review, or how friggin' much I love this series.

This was probably my most favourite installment yet. It had everything; culture, heart and action. And even though the premisse isn't a new one (little Mexican town is terrorised by a gang of bandits...), it's presented in such a way, that it does not feel stale at all. On the contrary.

The artwork is always top notch in this series, but the details in this one were particularly great. I loved the make-up design. And the borders (which are usually decorated with gears), were, where appropriate, decorated with Aztec-inspired art, skulls, bones and roses. Absolutely stunning!

Lady Mechanika vol 4: La Dama de la Muerte by Joe Benitez and M. M. Chen

Illustrated by Joe Benitez and Martin Montiel

Pros: gorgeous artwork, touching story

Cons: makes the locals look ignorant

Mourning the death of a friend, Lady Mechanika makes her way to Mexico, where she’s coerced into joining the Day of the Dead festivities.

This graphic novel gathers a 3 issue storyline.

As with the previous volumes the artwork is simply gorgeous. I love the costumes and make-up associated with the festival. There are some beautiful double page spreads.

I enjoyed the story, though it does depend on the ‘superstitious natives are easily duped’ trope and it’s not particularly original. I found the opening beautiful and sad, despite the positive message of the festival.

I was confused by who Dallas was. He isn’t mentioned in the earlier volumes nor was there a flashback explaining how he died or any explanation of why Mechanika felt responsible for his death.

Despite a few minor issues, I love this series. Each volume stands alone and uses unique new locations and outfits. The artwork really is worth it.

Lady Mechanika: La Dama de la Muerte by Joe Benetiz proves beyond a doubt that this is Benetiz's character and he has a firm handle on developing Lady Mechanika into one of the few Steampunk characters that will transcend into the mainstream. Whether that be in comic form only or in all literature.

Reeling from the death of her closest friend and confidante, Lady Mechanika leaves England for a small town in Mexico where she can hide away and find solace. She needs time to grieve and deal with the guilt she feels. She finds that she has arrived just in time for a festival and though she would like to stay alone in her room, she is enticed by the family she is staying with to take part in the celebration for the Dia de los Muertos. The festival for the dead. It seems just the thing to ease her pain.

But the festival turns into a time of horror as a young bleeding boy wanders into the town. He is the lone survivor of the Jinetes del Infierno, the mythical Hell Riders. They are on their way to take thier payment from the village. They cannot be opposed but Lady Mechanika cannot sit back and allow them to pillage the small town. But can even she stand against these supernatural creatures?

One of the more put together and well plotted stories so far from Benitez and crew. Lady Mechanika flows seamlessly into Mexican culture and takes the helm as the Lady of Death during the time of Day of the Dead. Benitez has actually humanized her more than ever for this book, allowing her humanity to outshine her mechanical attributes for this tale.

The villains are well constructed and evil beyond reproach. The horror they do to the weaker townspeople is repugnant and even more so as we learned their past and their secrets. This is an old west kind of comic, with the lone hero protecting the village from the oncoming marauders. Benitez has adapted this tale well into his comic and Mechanika is terrific.

Another well written and beautifully drawn series.

Gorgeous illustrations, perfect dark story that mixes history and religion with revenge.

The story was pretty good, but it's really the artwork that keeps me coming back to this series. It's simply fantastic! More, please!

I haven't read any of the previous mechanika books...but I didn't need to in order to start this. The artwork was stunning. Beautiful, intense, colorful. It drew me in almost more than the story. I did enjoy the story, but i could stare at the artwork for days.

This book was too beautiful to rate at anything less than five stars. The gorgeous covers reflect the wonderful artwork throughout , which is vivid and dramatic and dynamically enhances the story being told.
In this volume Mechankia heads to Mexico and finds herself celebrating Dia de Los Muertos with the inhabitants of a small village. The celebrations come to an abrupt halt following an interruption in the form of the arrival of a mutilated young boy, and Mechanika soon learns that he is a messenger, and a warning - the village must pay a tithe of gold, wine and anything else of value or face the consequences. Mechanika decides to fight, but will she save the village, or is this band of supernatural thieves more than she can handle?
While the story is good, it is the artwork that really elevates this book from four to five stars for me, every page was a treat, with so much detail and colour to enjoy.
I reviewed an ARC from NetGalley

I gave the book 4 stars on what I could see when I downloaded it. I could not really read the book but I could see most of the artwork which was gorgeous. I think either my computer or the file was messed up since I could not see everything the book had but what I did see, I liked.

It's my first Lady Mechanika and I want more. The graphism are beautiful. We can see the work behind the book. We have a part of Ghost Rider inside. Can't wait to read other one. Very good.

Thank you Net Galley and Diamond Book Distributors for this book.

This time Lady Mechanika is taking a trip to Mexico. She is taking a break from her life to pull herself together and mourn, and she stops in a small Mexican town. It is the celebration of the Day of the Dead and Lady Mechanika is drawn into the celebration. The town while in the midst of this celebration is also dealing with bandits kidnapping people for ransom, sometimes hurting people who cannot pay. Lady Mechanika cannot stand for innocent people to be harmed and steps in to help the people of this town. The art is beautiful, the story is excellent and Lady Mechanika has story to tell.

The story loosely reflects Mexican lore,and the wonderfully colorful and graphic illustrations create a graphic novel with broad and lasting appeal. Violence is explicit and brutal so much so that my recommendation is that younger readers not be exposed. Other than that I recommend this highly.

ARC Copy...Wow just blown by the gorgeous "Day of the Dead" artwork plus it's extremely rare to find Latin American culture in a steampunk setting. Plus I liken the Lady is grieving but joining in/learning about the day of the dead festivities kind of "heals" her spirit/heart to the point she's ready to take arms and fulfill her mission when the flaming riders emerge. I like there are both supernatural and mundane elements at work.

As brilliant as the previous editions, La Dama is a beauty of storytelling and art.

Was not able to read as the book was not compatible with my Kindle Fire.

I loved this comic. The art style is simply stunning. I needed a break form all the books I was reading and Lady Mechanika provided a prefect "in between" read.
Art has always been my weakness, I envy everyone who can draw at least a little bit and I can appreciate anything that has something to do with art. That's one of the reasons I enjoy reading comics so much. Lady Mechanika has the most astonishingly beautiful illustrations I've ever encountered while reading a comic. The story itself was filled with emotional moments while at the same time keeping widely enjoyable action packed parts comics are so well known for. Would I recommend reading Lady Mechanika? Definitely!

Fair warning: I HATE the Day of the Dead. . . or better to say it scares the crap out of me. The scariest night of my life was one of these festivals on the tiny island of Janitzio in Lake Patzcuaro, in the state of Michoacan in Mexico, where this whole thing originated. So I’m gonna try really hard not to let that affect me, but I doubt I’ll succeed.
A curandero—think witch doctor—leads Mechanika to a small Mexican town on the night of the festival. Among the people she meets is a little girl who’s incredibly adorable. . . when she’s not in skullface. As I’ve mentioned in previous stories, it’s amazing how good she is with kids.
This is a weird story in a literary sense as well; by the end of the first issue she would have usually been in a few fights, and the villain introduced. This time it doesn’t happen till much later, with everything before it some sort of exposition, either hints at her reasons for being there or the author delving really deep into the traditions. For example, “Life is only a dream, a temporary holiday. Every minute here is a gift.”
As always there’s a few fun moments, usually at the Lady’s expense. For one, we see her dancing, which is so out of the ordinary for her that it’s pretty shocking. She has been to fancy dances back in England, but that was undercover; this time she had no other reason to do it but to enjoy herself, and it actually looks like she does.
Best line: “She threw a tortilla at him. . . and he ate it.” I can picture him catching it in his mouth. And I find it completely hilarious the local catholic priest is also engaged in this pagan heresy ritual.
But the one thing I’ve always hated about these stories is how many innocent people have to die so Mechanika can learn a lesson or feel the urge of revenge. This one ramps it up to 11; I’m mad at the author for making me care about all those people and then wiping them all out for no other reason than to send the Lady on a rampage. Feels almost like a betrayal.
Toward the end it more than makes up for the lack of action early. There’s quite a bit of her backstory early on, but none of it is in context. No surprise she spares the last guy, seeing herself in him, but as far as her development, that’s about it. This was so completely different than the previous stories it hardly feels like the same character; for one thing, she didn’t get to play dress up more than once.
Despite an abundance of colors that are actually quite typical if you’ve ever traveled through Mexico, most of this story takes place at night, and there’s green phosphorescence everywhere, so artistically it’s not as interesting as the previous editions.
A few pages of covers as usual at the end.

While the artwork in this comic is absolutely stunning, I found the panels to be a little chaotic and awkward to read - especially on pages with a lot of action happening.
Also, because I haven't read the prior series I was a bit confused about her past and who she lost (and why her eyes are red) so this took the enjoyment out of reading the comic.
I found the storyline to be interesting - I liked the take on Día de los Muertos and the artwork surrounding the festival but the dialogue was a little stilted at times and didn't seem natural - so I was hyperaware that I was reading a comic and it took me out of the story.
I'd recommend this to fans of Lady Mechanika comics, but if like me someone hasn't read the previous comics before, I wouldn't recommend jumping in to these comics straight away.