This graphic novel has lovely art, but the story line is rather choppy, so it makes it hard to follow along. Many characters get their short "intro" storylines, all coming together, but a more linear approach might have been more enjoyable.

3,5 stars

Volume 1 of Chimera is the collection of the first six issues of this graphic novel series. Based on the synopsis, a crew of thieves and sci-fi, I got instant Six of Crows and Firefly vibes. It wasn’t quite that good. But I am interested in more. 

Let us start with the art which drew me to click on this book on Netgalley on the first place. It has solid art for the most part, all in color. I did think that in the first two issues the drawn motion of full body and falling rocks felt stiff and unnatural. But as I was absorbed by the story I can’t remember seeing more of this later on in the volume. In the back there are a few gorgeous illustrations, including the front cover. They are stunning. 

As mentioned this story focuses on a crew of thieves who are send on a difficult mission of retrieving something called the Chimera. Unwillingly this draws them into a holy war that is drawn out over various planets. The story is told through now and then pieces. There was a bit too much changing between the timelines for me which made it hard to keep all the lines straight as it concerned some of the back story of our cast.  I also felt there was a bit too much religious going on but that is a personal feeling. 

I wasn’t sure about the characters initially but as the story continued they started growing on me and I especially took a liking to rough Russel. For that reason I hate the ending because, ouch, right in the feels. 

There is still a lot left to explore in the world building, these characters and the plot. And I can’t wait to see where this is all going.

I liked it more than I thought I would. This book collects the first 6 issues, and the first issue was interesting but nothing too amazing. As this volume continued and started to get deeper into the plot, I found that I genuinely wanted to know where things would go. I like the art, the characters seem like they could be interesting (even if only a few of them grabbed me in this volume), and overall I think this is a solid start to a series.

A fantastic graphic novel. Very reminiscent of Saga, but with its very own flavor.

While I'm reading it, I feel a bit lost. The story itself is not clear enough. 
Only worth 1 star in my opinion.

This was just cool! It was fun, exiting and action packed. It did show a hint of typical first comic in a series, but that's understandable. The need for world building and character development is there, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I will definitely be checking out this series further down the road!

DNF - got to a halfway, but the story was too scattershot and weird for me to feel like continuing.  Sure it looks great, but the different religious kinds (I think) battling each other (I think) for a Macguffin (I think), and the copious switching of timeline, all conspired to make me less and less interested in seeing the pretty artwork as I went on.  Marked up for the visuals.

A ragtag gang of thieves tries steal a magical artifact in the midst of interstellar war in Tyler Ellis’s graphic novel Chimera. Ellis’s book has good action sequences, chrisp artwork, and several well-developed characters. There is some real strength in the artist’s experimentation on the page, and in the building of the world’s religions. 

The issues of this book occur in the constant shifting of time. Ellis indicates each switch by labeling the page as ‘Then’ or ‘Now.’ This device does not permit the reader to spend enough time with any one character or story line. And unfortunately, the payoff is not worth the energy it takes to figure when in time each event is happening.

Thank you to Comicker Press and Tyler Ellis for the copy to review.