In this sequel to The Only Living Boy graphic novels for kids, Zee awakens in this weird amalgam world of her father's creation. She and her friend Erik are the only two humans left in a dystopian world populated by fantastical creatures. After a strange storm, Zee, Erik and their warrior friend Morgan are sent on a mission to find the Unseen City. A lot of the world reminded me of Thundarr the Barbarian. The volumes are short at 70 pages. Steve Ellis is a solid, veteran comic book artist.

This story is an appealing adventure both for fans of The Only Living Boy and of adventure/science fiction graphic novels.

With dynamic art, creative character design, and an intriguing protagonist, The Only Living Girl is an enjoyable beginning to a spinoff sci-fi comic series. The exposition does become a tad boring and confusing at times, but as the afterword says, it's "a tricky balancing act" trying to continue a story from a previous series (The Only Living Boy) in a way that catches up new readers and still keeps old readers entertained. The art is good enough to make me want to check out The Only Living Boy, but its protagonist Erik is very bland in this story, so I'm curious to see if he has more of a personality when he's the main character. I'm more interested in continuing this series, though, as Zee is a far more compelling character: she's a Black female scientist with a fascinating backstory as the daughter of a supervillain. Overall, The Only Living Girl is a fun sci-fi adventure that will hopefully reward patient readers in the next volume.

'The Only Living Girl: The Island at the Edge of Infinity' by David Gallaher with illustrations by Steve Ellis is a continuation of The Only Living Boy series.

Zandra 'Zee' Parfitt has a mad doctor for a planet, Dcotor Once. He has created a weird patchwork planet of Chimerika. Zee finds herself there with a boy named Erik Farrell and a strange mermaid creature named Morgan. The book is about their adventures and the odd creatures they encounter.

I liked the story, but felt a bit lost since I hadn't read the previous series. I still liked the characters in this interesting world. The art is colorful and busy. I think this would be a fun series for younger readers and I'd like to read more of this world.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Papercutz and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

Another great story by David Gallaher and Steve Ellis! I highly recommend this for readers who enjoyed The Only Living Boy. My library has already purchased a copy for the collection.

The library has seen continued interest in this author's works. I had not previously read The Only Living Boy series, so I feel like maybe I was missing some important background information, but it was still an enjoyable read and I was a fan of the illustration style.

I Couldn't finish this one! I struggled! But I enjoyed the illustrations! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley for review.

Summary from Goodreads page:
Zandra 'Zee' Parfitt is one of the last human survivors of a cosmic disaster that merged hundreds of planets into the mysterious patchwork wasteland of Chimerika. After learning that the experiments of her late father, the diabolical Doctor Once, created this world, Zee and her companions -- classmate Erik Farrell and mermaid warrior Morgan -- embark on a dangerous quest filled with robots, monsters, unknown civilizations, and unlikely allies. Together they push back against the relentless Consortium, who want control of this new world at any cost. Through it all, Zee searches for the truth of her past so she can redeem her father's legacy.

Unfortunately I could not get into this book at all. I got lost with the plot within the first few pages and really had to push through to keep going with the story.
I did not know this was part of a series, which would have helped me to understand the storyline.
On the plus side, I really enjoyed the art style and the bright colours used in this book, that made it quite different from your typical graphic novel.

Thanks to the publishers for sharing this one. It's a fun adventure story for younger readers. My full review appears on Weekend Notes.

This graphic novel is about Zandra, one of the last humans who live in a planet created by her father, Doctor Once. The Consortium wants to control this new world and it’s up to Zandra and her friends to stop it.
I did not care for any of the characters and was bored most of the time. Ended up dropping it at ~70% just because I was forcing myself to read and was hating it.
This one was not my cup of tea.

72 pages| Papercutz| Kids/YA/Teen/Sci-fi Comic

 

<span style="color: var(--color-text);">I received an ARC of this comic book via NetGalley.</span>

 

<strong>The digest: </strong>Enjoyable artwork and cool character design, but probably only worth a look if you've read the previous series (<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25664491-the-only-living-boy-1">The Only Living Boy</a>).

 

From the book's <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39863179-the-only-living-girl-1">Goodreads page</a>:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Zandra 'Zee' Parfitt is one of the last human survivors of a cosmic disaster that merged hundreds of planets into the mysterious patchwork wasteland of Chimerika. After learning that the experiments of her late father, the diabolical Doctor Once, created this world, Zee and her companions -- classmate Erik Farrell and mermaid warrior Morgan -- embark on a dangerous quest filled with robots, monsters, unknown civilizations, and unlikely allies. Together they push back against the relentless Consortium, who want control of this new world at any cost. Through it all, Zee searches for the truth of her past so she can redeem her father's legacy."</p>
 

<strong>What did I like?</strong>
<ul>
<li><strong>The art style</strong> is quite different from other graphic novels I have read (such as Hellboy, a bit of Marvel, and the odd indie mag), and I really enjoyed it. It's a nice mixture of bright colours and intricate design - Ellis did an excellent job here.
<ul>
<li>I really rate the <strong>character design</strong>, especially those of the second half of the story (no spoilers, though!). There is a wide cast of characters (and species) on the 72 pages of this comic, and <strong>all </strong>of them were interesting.</li>
<li>Similarly, the <strong>settings were all rather well done</strong>, with no obvious weak points (but definite highlights, especially in the second half).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong><em>The Only Living Girls #1</em> is (relatively) innocent.</strong> Yes, there's a fair amount of violence and fighting, but nothing you wouldn't see on a Saturday morning cartoon. Everyone now and again it's nice to see a story which just stays well away from any sort of swearing or sex.</li>
<li>I'm always glad to see diverse characters - and the protagonist Zee is a young BAME girl who is ridiculously clever and gutsy. There's nothing not to like there.</li>
<li><strong>The worldbuilding, though limited, is interesting</strong> and is made all the more entertaining by the illustrator's imagination. It was really cool to see his creations, and Gallaher provides a decent explanation about how such a wide range of beings got mixed up together. We learn a bit about how all these people came together and what some of the problems they face are, with plenty of room for development in the coming issues.</li>
</ul>
 

<strong>What did I not like?</strong>
<ul>
<li><strong>The plot is... not good.</strong> Having not read the other series from Gallaher I knew I'd be at a bit of a disadvantage, but I was lost for most of my time here. Nothing really seemed to click for me until the last 20% or so; there's a bit of an on-going summary of the events which led up to the present events of this story, and I feel like a couple of pages of prose at the start of the volume would have been much better.
<ul>
<li><strong>For me, the story didn't make sense and I feel like there should have been a better effort to retell the events of the prior series.</strong> I've seen other reviewers say that they didn't think this was the case, but either way there was just too little actually going on here to keep me interested. As the authors say, there's a balancing act going on at 'jumping-on' points in fiction, and unfortunately, I think it went a bit wrong here.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The actual plot of these 72 pages could be summed up in about 2 sentences and while I wasn't expecting a groundbreaking story, <strong>I was a little disappointed with how little actually goes on here</strong>. Of course, this is the first of a serial publication, but there just wasn't enough to persuade me to care about anything much that happened.</li>
<li><strong>The characters are... eh.</strong> None of them really did anything for me, and some of them were outright frustrating. I get that this is aimed at younger people than me, but in the first few pages, we are presented with a sparring duo practising in the open when their training is meant to be secret. That wouldn't have made any more sense to 12-year old me than it did 22-year old me.
<ul>
<li><strong>There is no meaningful character development.</strong> It was interesting to learn a bit about our protagonist's history, but there was nothing that made me care about any of the cast.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
 

<strong>Conclusion: 2.5/5 rounded to 3/5 where required. </strong>If you have read The Only Living Boy and enjoyed it then I reckon you'll probably enjoy this one, too. If not, then I think that most people would be fine giving this a miss. Maybe if you have/know kids who are after a very simple plot and like bright colours this would be for them - and I don't mean that disparagingly at all.

A steady theme here at Graphic Novel Weekly is that I’m always keeping my eye out for young-reader friendly titles that I think would be a great fit for my stepdaughter. I was thrilled to come across The Only Living Girl, as I had heard great things about the series that proceeded it, The Only Living Boy, and it seemed like it could be just what I was hoping for.
Zee lives in a patchwork world that was created by the evil Doctor Once, who also was her father. Zee is afraid of standing out from her father’s terrible legacy. Along with her friend Erik (of The Only Living Boy fame), Zee sets out on adventures and strives to help the menagerie of aliens that live on this new planet. However, when a threat from another dimension puts everyone at risk, can Zee and her companions save the day?
The first volume of The Only Living Girl was so much fun. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of early Fantastic Four, as super-science must be used to combat threats from outer space. This story has lots of heart, spending time exploring Zee’s background and character, and balances this nicely with high adventure. I was also thrilled to be able to dive right in, and not feeling like I was confused for having not read The Only Living Boy.
I had a blast with The Only Living Girl, and I can’t wait for the second volume. This title is highly recommended for readers of all ages who are interested in science and adventure.
Review will appear at provided link on May 30, 2019.

I wasn't aware there were other books within this universe so reading those probably would've helped me understand the characters more, but with that being said, I was able to catch onto the story.

The Only Living Girl follows Zee who lives on a planet created by her father who did whatever he could to save her. I really like the premise and the main character is a strong, POC who many could look up to.

I also enjoyed the artwork and the design of the characters and the world.

3.5/5 stars

I am a novice when it comes to reading and reviewing graphic novels. However, I will say that I enjoyed this story. The art and animation were incredibly done. I loved the dialogue and although I am not well versed in the world the story is taking place in, I enjoyed the intergalactic adventures.

I think the creators did a very good job of combining science, action, and diversity. Each theme was perfectly placed and didn’t overshadow the other.

Though this is an interesting graphic novel for middle grades which has a lot of focus on science and technology, it took me a while to get into it. The broken monologues didn't really works for me. It also feels like I am missing a lot from the story. It is a spin-off of another graphic novel and I guess I need to read it, too, if I want to fully understand Zee's story. I am not sure if the target readers will like it, but it might help that the pacing is fast plus some action.

I received an ARC copy of The Only Living Girl #1 in exchange for an honest and fair review.

Rating: 3.5 stars

This graphic novel is a adventurous story about a girl named Zee. She lives on a planet that was created by science at the hands of her father. This story is field with monsters, aliens, adventure, strong female lead who also is a POC, science, and hints of self discovery.

The story line is great and I LOVE the inner conversations Zee has with herself as she’s figuring life out.

I don’t really like the artwork, however. While it is colorful, I wish some of the pictures were sharper and more consistent throughout the graphic novel. This is a big part of why I gave my rating.

However, the ending definitely left me on a cliff hanger and I’m interested to see what happens next.

The Only Living Girl Volume 1 follows a young girl who is a brilliant scientist on another world beyond Earth. She’s inquisitive and incredibly smart, using her skills to problem solve in dangerous situations. With such a scientific mind at the forefront, this becomes a teaching piece at times, showing how scientific curiosity typically unfolds from a hypothesis through to the experiment stage. She’s a wonderfully complex character, balancing her commitment to the greater good while nurturing her love of science learned from a parent who was much feared by the general population.

The artist has done a great job creating a large number of alien species, showing us originality on every page. This is an action-packed series and the artist meets the challenge in every panel. The monster-dominated battle scenes near the end are especially admirable, showing an impressive level of detail that’s both beautiful and grotesque.

This alternate world full of alien species, incredible technology, and any number of natural threats makes for a fascinating setting. I’m new to the series but I didn’t feel in over my head when encountering all of these characters and places that have existed for some time. The story starts with the origin of our protagonist and how she came to be in this strange place. It’s clear from the beginning that her father would become some kind of supervillain and that hunch turns out to be correct. If you’re a completionist, you should pick up The Only Living Boy series as well, but it’s not necessary to enjoy everything happening in this first issue of the new series.

Review will be published on 5/14: https://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/05/14/the-only-living-girl-volume-1-book-review

I love this! It has an emotional hook, great well developed characters, and a lot of science jargon which can be hard to follow but it’s refreshing.

The opening is a bit confusing, especially with the non-linear sequence. The rest is fast paced and not a single scene was a letdown. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

I have not read "The Only Living Boy" series, but having read this, I think I will be making a request. As the first volume in a sequel series, "The Only Living Girl" volume 1 starts off with a smooth introduction to an exotic cast of characters who live on the planet Chimerika, the monstrous creation of Zee's father. Enough background is provided that this story could be read independently of the initial series, however I believe the story would have even more kick with the Erik's adventures as a backdrop. Zee's science-minded internal dialogue works well in counterpoint to the main track of the story as we learn of the Consortium's new plots against the city on Stronghold.

From my understanding, The Only Living Girl is a spin-off from The Only Living Boy. Now, I haven’t actually read The Only Living Boy, but I can honestly say that I had no trouble understanding the plot behind this one. So you can easily skip ahead to this one, if you’ve spotted it and thought it looked interesting (that’s what happened to me).
This was a really fun and quick read. I loved how they explained the backstory of the characters and world. It felt more immersive than usual. I felt that the pace moved around at the perfect speed as well. They gave us enough time to understand what was happening before moving on, yet never let it go so long that it ever felt like nothing was happening. That’s the perfect balance in graphic novels, if you ask me.
I absolutely adored the artwork for this issue. That’s what caught my eye originally, so I’m not terribly surprised by this. But I am pleased that the artwork held up.
I’m looking forward to seeing more of the series. It should be interesting to see what happens next.