Aristophania is the first in the Kingdom of Azur series by Xavier Dorison. What originally attracted me to this series was the striking artwork – the cover alone should give you a good idea of what we're dealing with here. It's so vibrant and beautiful. 
	The series, or at least the first novel in the series, follows three Francoeur children as they try to survive. On their journey they come across strange and magical events, some help, and some hinder. But where exactly does Countess Aristophania Bolt fall into the scheme of things?
	I'll confess that I had some trouble getting into this one. I really did try. I wanted to love it for so many reasons. The tones were similar to a Series of Unfortunate Events, but it has the potential to be more as well.
	I think the series has a lot of potential, despite my difficulty getting into it. I'll be curious to see what comes out next though, and if they creators end up working on any other series.

Very pretty images in this graphic novel. I had no idea what this sorry was about when I took it out but it was overall very interesting and well done. Enjoyed this a lot more than I expected.

There have been a bunch of books in the last few years with similar color palettes, and quite a few with a similar art style. The style was extremely pleasing to my eye, and I liked how body language and facial expressions were well utilized in the drawings. There have also been a fair amount of humorous fantasy adventure books, and post apocalyptic tales, but this one in particular takes those two genres into a new setting of 1900's France. This story flips all the others on their backs and exposes their scarred, shameful bellies.

That being said, the story itself fell short for me. The concept is very original following 3 siblings whose parents have both left their lives and they are invited to live with a lady of considerable wealth. PLUS MAGIC. LOTS OF MAGIC. I liked it. It didn't blow me away. I didn't really connect with or particularly like any of the characters which came to a surprise for me because I normally don't have that problem. I found their personalities to be flat and pretty similar. Also the execution of the text just wasn't there.

All in all, a beautiful piece of art but not sure it's a series I see myself continuing.

I actually wasnt a huge fan of the art style of this graphic novel. I'll keep in mind next time to check out the sample of it before requesting future graphic novels.

The art was breathtaking and I wish I could just judge Aristophania on that, because then it would have easily gotten 5 stars, but unfortunately the characters were all unlikeable and the story never actually took off.

If you've got the patience to read a novel with he occasional picture thrown in, you'll love this. 

Honestly, I love graphic novels, but I read them for the 'graphic' part. If I want a wordy experience I'll read a traditional novel. 

However, the story was compelling and the characters were interesting. I'm not sure I'd re-read but that's purely down to it being a little too wordy for my own personal tastes. 

This will be a bit of a divider for people, but overall I enjoyed. 3/5

Interesting graphic novel that adds small magical elements to what is really a story about the plight of blue collar workers in early 1900's France and the terrible working and living conditions they had to endure to keep their families fed (though poorly, for sure). The magic doesn't really even come into the story until near the very end, and it's very subtle, but it makes for a solid introduction to a promising series.

Hmmm…  A graphic novel that's quite strong on the visual side (albeit the tails of the speech bubbles are a little hard to see at times), but not one with much that's really original to offer.  Three children get placed in the sanctuary of a magical landscape at the request of an old biddy, but that's because they're destined to play a part in killing an evil king, and the old biddy and their dead father were warriors against him.  Only the French would make one of the three kids such a rabble-rousing socialist aggravator, but that doesn't really make for an improvement to what is really a bunch of standard fantasy tropes.  Yes, the final beat of this part of the story does suggest a different approach, but one was certainly needed.

Two and a half stars.

This was such a beautiful book! 
The artwork is absolutely stunning. As an art educator, I could teach any number of artistic lessons using the book as an example. 
The story, characters, and setting are all beautifully rendered. A truly gorgeous read.

This graphic novel was extremely hard to read.  Not only was the print size small, the plot line was hard to follow.  The illustrations were just not my style.  Maybe for another reader, this would be really enjoyable; just not my cup of tea.

"Aristophania" is a fun graphic novel. It has great color work and art throughout. The story is interesting and engaging too.

"Aristophania" sports some beautiful illustrations and an intriguing setting. Sadly, the story was too dark for my liking and I found it difficult to connect with the characters or the story. Someone interested in historical fiction or magical realism may enjoy this piece!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy. 

I wanted to love this. I mean look at the art so I just knew this would have great art work but I was very disappointed. The art wasn't the best and it was very hard to read and follow. The story was okay but I think I was just expecting more. It is an okay read so I suggest picking it up but just know I did find it hard to follow and read.

This was a delightful read.  The author seemed to be very intuned with the characters.  This, I very much enjoyed.   would recommend this book.

I had some difficulty reading some of the text and so my review might be a bit biased. Overall, Aristophania was... okay. It didn't really charm me, the story felt a bit cliche and some of the characters annoyed me. As with every graphic novel/comic book art style is very important, in this case it wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't like the colour scheme nor the "grainy"(i don't know how to explain it otherwise) backgrounds.

IIf i’m being honest this wasn’t my favorite. I read a digital copy and while some of the words were crisp and easy to read others were very blurry. I didn’t particularly like the art and I struggled to like the story. I think because I was expecting something more whimsical like the cover art. It reminded my almost of nanny McPhee but this story was pretty brutal and the kids seemed unlikeable. The older boy with his nude photos and ect. It wasn’t for me. But I think maybe others might enjoy it more. I also think it was pretty short so maybe with further storyline or context it would be better.

The story - I liked it. It felt like the beginning of an interesting story. It's a bit dark and it feels like you need a lot of background story to actually understand it all, but all in all, a good beginning.

The illustrations - very fitting for the darkness of the story, but the copy I read on my computer was blurry and sometimes hard to get into for that. I also have difficulty reading graphic novels with so much text in the boxes. It takes some energy to figure out how to read and it, of course, made it more difficult when the text was blurry.

Recommend? Well, yes, sure. For someone who likes graphic novels and the beginning of a dark story, you can definitely pick this one up.

Thanks for the opportunity to read this story!

'Aristophania (The Kingdom of Azur #1) by Xavier Dorison with art by Joël Parnotte is about three children and a fantastical benefactor looking out for them.

It is the early 20th Century and three children live with their mother.  Years before their father died, and an old woman gave the children a dice to use if they ever needed help.  Now times are hard.  One child works in the factory and plays confidence games.  When their mother is taken, they have no choice but to call on the mysterious Countess Aristophania Bolt.   She will help them, but what is the price they must pay.

I liked this story of fantasy and the setting it was in.  I liked that all three kids had unique personalities.  I thought the art was good as well as the story.  I'm curious where this story will lead.

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

Received via Netgalley for review.

I'm not sure if it's because I was reading on a computer, but some of the text wasn't the easiest to read. The text boxes had a lot crammed into them, and the words became kind of blurry. 

I don't mind that we didn't get a lot of background on the kingdom of Azur and the children's father and his place in the court - the context clues were enough to figure out what was going on. The artwork was beautifully matched to the tone of the story (drab and colorless for the slums, bright and beautiful for Azur), and the characters were distinct and well-realized.

‘Aristophania: 1. The Kingdom of Azur’ is a French graphic novel written by Xavier Dorison and illustrated by Joël Parnotte. It is published in English by Europe Comics. My thanks to them for a digital edition in exchange for an honest review.

In the early 1900s the three Francœur children are struggling to survive in the slums of Paris. Nine years previously their father was murdered and a mysterious stranger, the Countess Aristophania Bolt, came to their home and urged their mother to take them away from Marseille and never talk again about her relationship with Clement Francoeur.

When their mother is arrested on a trumped up charge, the Countess reappears and takes the children to a beautiful and mysterious estate in Provence. However, there are strict rules to follow that they rebel against and this brings them into danger.

This is the opening of a series that combines historical fiction with fantasy. I found it a compelling start that left me wanting to know what happens next. The artwork was exquisite;  contrasting the gritty realistic urban scenes with the pastoral and fantastical in the countryside and Azur. 

The children were all likeable, especially the youngest Calixe, who seemed more open than her brothers to the unseen. I found the Countess amazing and really hope to learn more about her and the legacy of both the Court of Azur and the Dark Court if further volumes are published in English.