Enjoyed this little space comic, I am usually not one for space themed stories however when it comes to graphic novels I'll try just about anything. I am happy I did, recommended for purchase.

I really enjoyed the art in the graphic novel. Very nice.

Exactly what it is expected to be, a bubblegum pop rom-com set in a race across space and time. Multiple potential love interests, but also some educational tidbits interspersed that is good for young tween readers.

This is the beginning of a fun, intergalactic adventure through time and space. I really enjoyed it, but I would have preferred if there was more of a focus on friendship rather than romance. I am excited to find out what happens next though!

My daughter didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped she would.
She said many times she would put the book down because it didn't seem to make since. I started to read the book and she meant was the plot jumped all of the place which caused her to lose interest in the book.
The art work she loved and enjoyed looking at the graphic comic side of the book but the story itself left much to be desired.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Ana and the Cosmic Race.

*thank you to Papercutz and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.
Teenager, sci-fi, time travelling, outer space, comic book.....YES PLEASE!

This was rather enjoyable. I would like to read the rest of this series. The colours are pretty and the characters are likeable. I would definitely recommend this. Wish it was a bit longer though and a bit more added to the story but I guess this will appeal to pre-teens more so than people older.

The storyline of this comics or graphic novel is quite interesting. Probably, the only downside is the conversation scripts. I find them a little dull. so I guess Amy Chu should improve it so will be more entertaining to read.

Cute GN, but not much substance. The other characters were too willing to help Ana with no real reason...and it cane't be friendship b/c they don't really speak outside the race. It had a lot of potential, but fell flat as more of a cut story than a story with much substance.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review!

Right from the bat, -1 star for the crappy quality of the images. The text bubbles are sharp and clear, but the illustrations/images are blurry. Which is a terrible shame, as I love the style of the illustrations. I just don't get why this keeps being a problem in graphic novel/comic ARCS. I have seen this happen over and over again. I get that this is an unfinished copy, but really, why not make sure the image quality is at least good.

Ana was a really fun character, I liked her right from the start. She looks cool (I want that hairdo + colour) + she is a great student (I can imagine she is doing it to keep her scholarship, but I have a feeling even without that she would be studious and responsible). Though I had a laugh when she landed in old England in her fancy space clothes, even after she changed, I would think that having pink hair is something of a rarity in those times, but no one glanced at them.

Ekene? My second favourite character. Though I am confused about their gender. For most of the book I confused him with a her. For various reasons. But I guess he is really a he. Eh, it would have been fun if Ana's biggest rival would have been a girl. I am not sure how to explain the whys, maybe because this combo always works in other books. :)

Zyx was a bleh character, I liked her when we first met her (at lunch), but when she stowed away on Ana's ship? And then what happens next? Sorry, but can this girl please get a brain? You are not helping, you are making everything worse. Plus I just can't forgive anyone who hates libraries. ;P
She was just too much of a little kid. If I didn't know better I would have thought she was a kid.

There are hints of romance between Ana > Keio (my favourite) and also Ana > Ekene. I do dearly hope that we won't get some silly love triangle. *shivers*

The race, the clues, the travelling through space? I loved it!

This first volume is all about the first clue, I am guessing there will be quite a few more books to come if every one of them is about one clue and the outcome of that clue.

The art was pretty great, well, from what I was able to see in crappy quality. I love the expressions on the characters (so hilarious), plus the way the characters were drawn was great.

All in all, I did quite enjoy this first volume, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the rest. I would recommend it to everyone looking for a fun space adventure comic.

*First, I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this amazing manga arc.*

I recently requested this arc and it was approved. This manga it's quite memorable for me, maybe because I haven't read much manga in my life, so I don't have big expectations. But it doesn't matter, it was still amazing!

This book talks about Ana Silva, a powerful thirteen years old chick with pink hair and a cute haircut. She is at the prestigious "Galactic Scholastic Federation" together with other 1.247 smart kids all over the entire galaxy. She studies hard for the biggest competition, the "Cosmic Race", and help her family.
There are 8 competitors, including Ana herself, and two cute guys she likes: Keio (from Tokyo) which is a very smart kid, mysterious and cool, and Ekene (from South African Federation), who won this "cosmic race" before, two times in a row, that everybody loves (and has a bright attitude).
This competition is created by Laslo, a "megaquadrillionaire" presence which we see only on screen. He is living somewhere in the galaxy, but nobody knows where, because it's a secret hideout. He invented some cool stuff, so he is the most appreciated person.
He hides three colorful gems (green, red and light blue) somewhere in time and space. There are three races for every gem. For every race there is a clue. But there is another big prize that Laslo offers: if a student is smart enough to find his hidden location, that person will get his empire.

In this first volume, they have to search for the green gem. We only see Ana meeting with Keio and Ekene and she has crushes on them. They help her in some way or another. We only know that Keio helps Ana only because he's tired of Ekene always winning this competition. But we have no clue why Ekene is helping her. Without them, she couldn't make it, that's for sure.
I can't say much, because I don't want to give spoilers, but one thing I can mention: The green gem is found, but the unexpected thing is that two people will put their hands on the gem in the same time, and only one will have it and win the first round. But I won't say who. The volume ends when they go for the next round, looking for the red gem.

I really liked the characters and the story as well. I love books/manga etc that has mysterious stories and adventure. I really can't wait to read the next volume.
It had something wrong, and that thing is that there are a few text balloons that are blank. But this book hasn't been published yet, so Amy Chu has time to fix that little problem.
Another thing I liked was that at the end of the story, there are 3 Previews of other three cool stories: "Stitched #1", "Sweeties #1" and "Chloe #1". Thanks again to Amy Chu. I'm waiting for the next volume in the series.

I give this manga 4 stars and recommend it to adventure-lovers all over the world!

Ana and the Cosmic Race is a shojo comic (school romance aimed at female tween readers) from Papercutz under the Charmz imprint.



I really loved a lot of things about this comic. There's a romance element, true, but the first volume is full of strong female characters. There's also a cute slightly madcap sidekick (a shapechanging alien with 4 arms who's Ana's dorm roommate called Zyx), a mysterious gazillionaire (and in Willy Wonka style, he's giving his empire to the winner of the cosmic race), and a space academy full of supporting characters including Ana's potential love interests Keio Meida and Ekene Botha (see cover).


The art is charming and naive (in a good way), the action and plotting are fast paced. Yes, it's ridiculous and somewhat sappy, but it is shojo and my test audience (my daughter who is only slightly older than the target audience) absolutely loved it.


The creators also managed to sneak in some information/history along with the entertaining storyline.

Thoroughly enjoyable!


Four stars



Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.

This graphic novel provided a great deal of excitement and entertainment for such a quick read, as it delved into competition and collaboration with colourful images and cute characters.