Mythology and graphic novel fans have a new series that they are going to love! My Percy Jackson fans really like this graphic novel!

Nico Bravo and the Hound of Hades is a little bit of a mixed bag and falters at time with pacing, but as the first in a series, does an acceptable job of setting up future adventures.

Nico Bravo is just a guy working at Vulcan’s shop. While Vulcan works on creations in the back, Nico, with coworkers Buck the paranoid unicorn, and Lula the more upbeat and down to earth sphinx man the shop. Their days are normally filled with manning the register and helping gods, heroes, and others find things like bottomless backpacks, invisibility cloaks, magic swords, and epic reading material. But when Eowulf, the many greats descendant of Beowulf shows up and informs them she’s going to carry on the monster slaying tradition by taking out Cerberus. When she won’t listen to reason about how Cerberus is rather important at preventing shades from flooding the world and starting a zombie apocalypse, Nico abandons his post to try and stop her. At first Buck and Lula just man the shop, but then they both find themselves in another dimension with their own special mission.

This was so much more fun than I even hoped it could be. I love the concept of Vulcan’s shop, a place where mythological figures and creatures from all sorts of mythologies go to do their shopping. Nico, Buck, Lula, and Eowulf are all such entertaining characters to follow around. The adventure is the right kind of zany, with touches of humor and little drips of actual mythological information here and there. This adventure is wrapped up nicely, but there’s an epilogue that will make sure readers are desperate for book 2 to come out fast. I’m going to have to order several copies of this to satisfy the ravenous fantasy/mythology graphic novel fans at our school. Highly recommended to fantasy adventure fans, mythology fans, and slightly zany humorous graphic novel fans.

Notes on content: No language issues or sexual content. Some battles happen, but everyone ends up ok.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book kept me engaged from cover to cover. I enjoyed the references to various mythological creatures and gods. In this book, Nico travels through the Underworld to get Eowulf. In the process, Cerberus escapes and the Underworld is no longer guarded. It’s a funny and enjoyable journey!

So much imagination in each frame, I almost forget to follow the story. Honestly the story itself seems to be in service to this amazing visual universe, and for Nico Bravo that seems appropriate. The problem I have so far: the only feminine character seems to exist only as a sounding board for the guys.

This fun new graphic novel adventure is perfect for mythology fans. Vulcan is a kid working at Vulcan's Celestial Supply Shop, serving all the gods' and goddesses' needs. He works with a sphinx named Lula and Buck, a unicorn with PTSD, and things are fine and dandy until Eowulf - descendant of Beowulf himself - targets a monster for slaying, to keep the family name going. The problem? The monster happens to be Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld! If Cerberus isn't there to guard the gates, there's about to be a whole lot of dead folks invading our world. Nico has to get it together and stop Eowulf from bringing on a zombie apocalypse!I like Mike Cavallaro's storytelling. He's great at worldbuilding - something I discovered when I read his fencing graphic novels, Foiled and Curses! Foiled Again, where he created a side-world filled with fantasy and myth. There are mythological references throughout the book that kids will recognize, and some possibly new ones to draw more readers in. Have your Rick Riordan books ready, and your mythological reference books on hand - you've got great display possibilities! The cartoon art reminds me of popular animation on TV, with book expressive eyes, colorful artwork, and fantastically cool monsters and beasts for everyone to enjoy. There's a lot of mythology available, and kids love reading about it - I hope we get some more adventures with Nico Bravo soon!

This middle grade graphic novel will certainly appeal to fans of Rick Riordan and other myth retellings. Nico Bravo is a regular kid, except that he works for Vulcan's Celestial Supply Shop and his best friends are a unicorn and a flying sphinx. When an unknown adventurer stops by one day to stock up on supplies (including the most epic sword in the place) and lets slip a plan that could mean the end of the world. It's up to Nico and friends to embark on a trans-dimensional journey to restore order. This book started out really strong for me, and I like the way Nico and Lula deliberate on when to follow the rules and when to break them. I also loved everyone's obsession with the Gilgamesh comics. There are a lot of funny one-liners, puns, and wordplay as well. What worked less well for me was the entire unicorn-war subplot with Buck-- was there any point to it beyond an extended Rambo reference?-- and the nuances of interdimensional travel in this world. Still, I think kids at my library will eat this up, particularly if the sequels keep coming.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this creative and catchy story about Nico Bravo's adventure to Hades. This book would be the perfect addition to a 7th grade language arts and/or social studies classroom, given the focus of the social studies standards at this grade level. The illustrations and coloring helped me as a reader to capture the overall tone and mood of the characters within the story. There were multiple times throughout the story that I was afraid the female was going to be portrayed as pushy or needing male assistance to achieve her mission. However, the author did an incredible of using her character to demonstrate internal conflict. I have already pre-ordered this graphic novel, and can't wait to share it with my students.

Nico works at the corner store and celestial shop for Earth's gods and goddesses along with a brash unicorn with PTSD from the Unciron Wars and a patient flying Sphinx. One day an aspiring and reckless young monster slayer named Eouwolf comes into the store to suit up to takedown Cerberus. Nico feeling the adventurer is to blinded by heroism sets off to stop them from attacking Cerberus.

Will grade school kids like this graphic novel, yes. Did I like this story, meh. The movement between dimensions was jumbled, the art was good but goofy, and the language between the characters was often rude rather than supportive. The story did give some information about the world’s deities like Thor and Hades. The adventure kept me reading and engaged, but overall I don’t prefer the style of banter offered up between characters in this story. Recommended for reluctant readers.

This a very clever and entertaining graphic novel that includes a wide variety of mythologies. I also liked the way the storylines diverged unexpectedly, but came to a satisfying conclusion. I can't wait to read the next in the series.

This was a fun adventure story! I really enjoyed the plot, characters, and artwork. The action was exciting and it made me laugh. I would hand this to a patron 10 and up. Can't wait for the next adventure!

Fun and zany middle grade graphic fantasy novel that should find appeal among the reluctant reader sect. There's a cartoon-like element to the work (both in terms of artwork and plot), that seems bound to strongly appeal to some young people. It appears to be a part of a forthcoming series.