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Not wholely a “boy and his monster” tale as there are so many interconnected themes here regarding humans and our base behaviors. I did enjoy how it all came together but the story definitely is completed by the illustrations - one of those combos that rely on each other to stand upright. Marvelous illustration and the original attractant to the book but the story kept me.

I absolutely loved the illustrations. Definitely 5-star from me.

However I wasn't fully satisfied with the story line and some open-ended questions that were left in my mind. IMHO the story could have been told differently and possibly with better effect on the reader.

The art was great, the story had big potential, and there was a great philosophical meaning underneath it all. I'm all about anarchy, peace, and love. I really thought this would be one of my favorites. I don't know how to explain why it wasn't, it was just lacking something cohesive I guess. It had all of these great ideas to work with, and it just didn't come through well. I think it could be because the author wasn't used to write this kind of story.

I initially chose to get this book for the cover. I probably should have paid a little more attention to the synopsis. For a graphic novel that's rather short, a lot seems to be happening. The ending was rather unsatisfactory and I definitely wished the plot was a little less all over the place.

This book tells the story of a small town where everyone’s at least a little bit mean, which is something I appreciate – it shows that the author tried to give everyone some substance.

The story, however, was quite simple. The fact that it’s cyclical also doesn’t help.

With all that said, there’s something else I’d like to point out: the art. It’s beautiful and evokes this time in history perfectly.

Rating: 3 stars

'Fraternity Vol. 1' by Juan Diaz Canales with art by Jose-Luis Munuera is a story about a boy and his relationship with a strange creature. At least that's what the cover would have you think.

It is 1863 in Fraternity, Indiana, and the community is trying to be a utopia. They want nothing to do with the war, and they really don't want their lives disrupted. When a young feral boy is found in the wild, the town takes him in, but food is scarce and the town seems to be on the brink of failure. The young boy seems to be connected to a large creature, but when the town stumble across him, they react with fear. That and the prejudice the townspeople have make this a less than idyllic utopia.

Let's start with the positive. I really liked the illustrations. They do a great job of setting the mood. The color is muted and some of the drawings are muted and mysterious.

The story may just be setting things up, so I'm going to cut it a bit of a break. All the elements are here for an interesting story, but I'm left with questions. Is the large creature an alien or some odd native creature? How did this group of people ever agree to live together? Why is this boy alone? None of these are answered, and the story feels a bit lacking in momentum because of this.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Lion Forge, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

Fraternity is a darkly beautiful work based on a utopian society, New Fraternity. that once existed in the United States. Of course, the dream is crumbling, as the Civil War rages on, making resources harder to find. A child found in the woods is taken in, and is unable to speak. A creature that walks on two legs, seen by townsfolk as a terror forms an unlikely bond with the child. Fear, conflict, and a heart-wrenching tale of love & murder awaits in this masterpiece.

I attempted to read this about 3 times. I did manage to finish it. I just found that this graphic novel, overall, didn't appeal to me. That is not to say that this book isn't good. The art is very good, dialogue works for the most part. You might enjoy it. It's worth a look.
This is just a book that didn't grab my personal interest enough.

"Fraternity" is the story of a utopian town of New Fraternity, Indiana, a mute boy found in the woods, and a monster that is killing deer and livestock. This setup sounds good, and some parts of the story are incredible, but as a whole, most of the story is more about political strife in the town, those who believe the monster is a sign from God versus the founding members of the town who built the structure on atheistic beliefs, and the sightings and destruction of people and property by this monster are what bring the town into turmoil. I really love the style of the comics, some of the panels I just stared at for a long periods before moving on to the rest of the story, but this is only an average book because the storytelling seems to drag. I feel like they really wanted to do something different, make this more about the repercussions on the town's morality due to a monster in the woods more than the monster himself, and the effort is noticed. It is a nice try but not the best direction to telling this story. The art is beautiful though. This saves "Fraternity" in my mind.

I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lots to unpack here. The art is a mixed bag. The color scheme, mostly black and white with some muted color, is great. Very atmospheric. The people are very angular, their expressions kind of wooden. So, when there was come confusion about the plot, the art didn't always clarify. The story accomplishes a lot, with a monster in the forest bringing down what's meant to be an ideal community, bringing secrets and problems to the surface. It's a fascinating exploration of human nature and politics, occasionally muddied by plot holes.

The plots and characters take a while to reach an unsatisfactory ending. There's no answer to the creature or its potential connection to Emile, the love triangle fizzles, and the town council is stuck in their ways.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I initially chose this because of the cover. It looked pretty cool and I didn't really pay too much attention to the description. As many readers have already said, there was a lot going on in this book, especially with it being so short, but there didn't really seem to be any connections. There were so many loose ends with people, monsters, a wild child, and an experimental utopia in the middle of nowhere.
The artwork was ok for me but I just couldn't get into the story. It was just ok for me because it wasn't what I was expecting.

Though the art was pretty decent (with the exception of a couple of characters who were drawn in a way that felt like caricature that you'd get in a tourist trap) and the creature design was pretty cool, I largely was unimpressed by this graphic novel. I felt like there was a lot going on-- a monster in the woods, a silent wild child, a town built on principles of atheism, military desertion, racism, sexism... I don't mind there being many facets to a story, but many of these didn't really connect to each other in any meaningful way, which made the shotgun-blast of ideas covered a bit confusing (which then left me bored).

I read this graphic novel together with The Husband, who has already posted a full review. Please go check it out, cause he put it all Way better than me…

This was an okay read. Yes, I picked it up for the cover and didn’t read the blurb – maybe, probably, I went into it with the wrong expectations…

The story tells about a colony founded upon utopian ideas and their struggles. Add to this the Civil War, a child found in the forest and a strange, monterous creature and you get Fraternity. Although the story was somewhat interesting, in the end it focussed a lot on religion, while I wanted it to tell me about the child and the creature. As it is, those felt more like an out of place subplot.

I did like the artwork a Lot, it fits the story perfectly:

Overall, an okay read but not what I had hoped for.

The drawing was excellent, the writing was good, but the story was blah... shame, as this could've been much much better. Will be looking out for further work from the authors, but this one wasn't particularly worth it.

I unfortunately didn't finish this because it really isn't my kind of thing. I found it confusing and I couldn't tell the difference between most of the male characters because it's set at a time where I think all men pretty much looked and dressed the same. The time setting seems kind of interesting and I liked the art, but I wasn't getting anything out of the reading experience so I think I'll just try Blacksad by the author which gets much better reviews instead.

I have tried to read this graphic novel four times now, and between the content and the artwork, I simply cannot seem to get into it enough to finish it. The writing doesn't click with me, the religious notes were off-putting, and it feels very info-dump-y in the beginning.

“Fraternity” is inspired by real-life people, philosophies, and communities, but it is set in an imaginary town. The date is 1863, and the Civil War is still raging. The town of New Fraternity is a utopian experiment founded on the idea of equality for all. The town thinks it is removed from the war, but unfortunately finds it cannot escape the external War nor the internal battle being waged within the town.

Plotlines featuring various characters – a feral boy rescued from the forest, a returning wanderer, an independent thinking schoolteacher, etc., are interwoven, painting a complex tale of how human nature can ultimately ruin a wonderful ideal. Peace is easy when prosperity reigns, but tensions rise when times are tough. All of a sudden, socioeconomics, race, gender, ideology, and religion divide people. And then add to that already potent combination, a demon living in the nearby forest, which is terrifying the townspeople.

Munuera’s art is detailed and gorgeous. Sedyas’ colors are dark and muted, creating atmosphere and increasing tension. Canales exercises control in knowing when to allow the visuals to tell the story and when to include dialogue. It is in the silences that we are allowed time to process and feel the horror building as the story heads toward its inevitable conclusion.

I would recommend “Fraternity.” It is a beautiful and tragic reminder of what happens when we let fear control us.