I am so late on giving my feedback, but this book is wonderful. In fact I've worked at two libraries since this book came out and both have purchased the title. The art is exceptional, but the real value is in the stories that are shared in this work. It provides an accessible way for most teens to look into Asian folklore, but also a great avenue for many adults who have never explored the subject. I recommend this one constantly to patrons who are looking for something different as there aren't many titles like this one out there.

I was not able to finish this at 41%, but not by virtue of the content. It was the file I had a problem with, because it took a long time to open every time and my e-reader app would crash after a few minutes of viewing it. The book itself was good. I like the variety of stories and art included, because they were all new to me. I recommend it to anyone curious about the folktales and legends of Asian countries.

I really enjoyed this! I loved getting stories from different areas of Asia and not just the typical ones (China and Japan). We need more books with Asian folklores that are less familiar to a Western audience.

[The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

I really liked the stories in this book and the drawing style was adorable, but I'm personally not a fan of fairytales in comic style. I would still recommend this book for children though!

This read was an amalgamated graphic novel and folklore from various Asian cultures mashup. For me it was a hit or miss scenario. Many of the stories were new to me and their ratings varied wildly. The History of the Spectre Ship was awesome and Frog Skin was Rumpelstiltskin-ish. My favorite by far was The Tongue Cut Sparrow which was poignant and a bit horrifying (even if it was just desserts). There were a couple I didn't get, like Two Foxes and The Flying Ogre. The stories were basically judged on: if lessons were learned, was the moral conveyed, and was the writing style and graphics written well and drawn nicely. Is that shallow? I don't think so...it simply is what it is.

Overall:

The stories, for the most part, were intriguing (especially the ones where lessons were learned), engaging and new (for me). The varying graphics were interesting and showcased quite a lot of talent. Unfortunately, this is a one time read sort of book (for me) but I can definitely see parents sitting down with young ones and going over some of these tales repeatedly. SO, what's the verdict? It's a mixed bag of nuts (for me) and that is why the rating reflects it. Is it worth the time? Yes! Would I recommend it to a friend? Maybe, it would depend entirely on the friend and their reading preferences BUT ultimately it's a fun way to spend some time!

*** I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ***

This is a fun collection of different myths and stories and different art styles as well. I enjoyed some and I didn't enjoy others, and althoughI really like asians myths and find them really interesting, overall it was average. This book just wasn't for me.

The Lucky Teapot (Japan): 4 stars. Cute story
#EndoftheWorld (India): 2 stars. Meh. Didn’t care for making it “modern day.”
The Great Flood (China): 3 stars. So there was no consequence to them picking up the man?
The Demon with the Matted Hair (India): 4 stars. Really liked this one. Lesson to be learned.
Frog Skin (Georgia): 5 stars. This one is like Rumpelstiltskin!
The Girl Who Married a Tiger (India): 2 stars. Well, that’s cruel.
Ghost Pepper (Laos): 3 stars. Funny.
Two Foxes (Japan): 1 star. I don’t get it? Because the guy tricked the tricksters? Respect?
After the Rain (Myanmar): 3 stars. No moral.
From the Journal of the Monkey King (China): 2 stars. Too short.
Urashima Taro (Japan): 4 stars. Very dark!
The Ballad of Mulan (China): 4 stars. Nice and simple. No need for romance!
The Tiger, the Brahmin, and the Jackal (India): 4 stars. Harsh but fair.
Tongue Cut Sparrow (Japan): 5 stars. Lesson learned! Terrifying! She deserved it.
The Legend of Asena (Turkey): 5 stars. Sweet.
The History of the Spectre Ship (Iraq): 5 stars. I love the illustrations in this one! It’s all hand-drawn pencil sketches. Very cool! The story was very peaceful.
Tamamo the Fox Maiden (Japan): 4 stars. Having recently read Wicked Fox, I’m a little more familiar with kitsune than I was before and so understood this story. The font was hard to read though.
The Three Rhymesters (China): 3 stars. Clever! But short and a little lackluster.
Gold Sister, Silver Sister, and Wood Sister (Tibet): 2 stars. Didn’t like this one. Nothing learned.
Hoichi the Earless (Japan): 3 stars. Dafuq?!
The Flying Ogre (China): 2 stars. Point?

I came in expecting something I have not seen before being knowledgable about Japanese folk tales. I did not leave disappointed. The one about the earless monk I had heard about once left me with genuine chills. This side of the world has some very intriguing viewpoints on how the world views conflict. I have even seen the work of a few of the artists on here and how their techniques bring light to these stories. Some of them have to cut an epic tale down to size though (it's the title tale). I'm certainly inspired by the art enough to continue some of my own plans.

A beautiful and fantastical set of stories and illustrations. These stories were fun and culturally interesting and short enough that reading a few at a time was a good amount and I could easily pick up at the next one soon after. I am not sure if these will be coloured illustrations in the final publication but with such rich stories these stories would have excelled even further through colour.

A cute collection of Asian myths, in graphic novel form. I think I learned a few things from these, and I really liked the different art styles for all of them. Gets 4 stars because some stories were significantly weaker than others, but that didn't take away from the overall great experience. I very much enjoyed reading this.

I was excited to read a story about Asian mythology/stories but unfortunately, some stories weren’t really clear and I wasn’t read a big fan of some of the drawings/artists

It was alright read, i really liked the Fox there :) so adorable. But i don't think it'll be a re-read for me. It was enough with one.

A set of fables reimagined. The artwork is stunning and the stories themselves leave you feeling a bit unsettled - as a good fable should. Most of these are not the 'happy ending' stories that many readers are familiar with. Definitely worth a read, even if just for the artwork.

An interesting collection of folktales from various Asian countries. A great showcase for new artists and fascinating to read. Lacked a certain flow or sense of central purpose but was entertaining.overall.

This was a really great collection of Asian folklore retold for modern day in the eyes of artists through their own lens.. I was really surprised by the quality of art and the writing but pleasantly so! The stories were funny and each had their own lesson which you are supposed to take something back with you, of course. A lot of them were adapted for the modern world as well which I thought was exceptionally well done. All in all, this is a riveting graphic novel and deserves plenty of praise.

I've always been a fan of folktales. Not only the stories interesting, but they reveal a lot about a culture in a certain place and time. And that's why I was so excited about this collection. But, while I loved the concept, and all the beautiful artwork, I feel that to some extent, it sort of missed the point of a folktale collection (or at least, some of the stories did). There is one in particular that takes place in ancient India, but the characters are using cellphones and social media. It just didn't fit, and the juxtaposition made it hard to get back into the book after that. Still, I think that it was a clever idea for a book, and in the hands of the right reader, it will be a delight to read.

3.75/5 stars *thank you Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced e-arc!*

I really enjoyed the concept of creating a graphic novel full of fables and fairy tales from different Asian cultures! The artwork was unique for each story which helped in making them stand out amongst the others. My favorites were "Frog Skin", "Urashima Taro", and "The History of the Spectre Ship" because their artwork and storylines stood out the most in my opinion! Most of the stories ended very abruptly which takes the reader out of the experience but it was an overall enjoyable and different reading experience!

This was such a lovely collection of stories, and I enjoyed seeing the different varieties of artists and art styles. This was such a great exploration into a culture I am mostly unfamiliar with. There were a few stories that were so ridiculously short, I honestly didn’t see the point in including them. But, overall, this was really a great graphic novel.

Blogger at momotips

Thanks to Netgalley and Iron Circus Comics for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.

I got particularly attracted by the cover. I love colors and the cover of this graphic novel is colorful. Just by looking at it, it gives happiness. I was sure it contained something marvelous! In fact, my feelings were correct. Tamamo the fox maiden is just one of the stories included in this graphic novel, which I particularly found hilarious! In total are twenty-one folklore stories from Asia. They took some legends and made them as comic. Loved it! The book internally is in black and white, and tells stories from all over Asia . You will travel across China, Japan, Laos, Georgia and many more. What I loved most were the drawings and how these stories have been interpreted into comics. Folklore stories are sometimes difficult to imagine, but the illustrators couldn’t do better. Each story is different and will take you on a trip around Asia. From Japan we run into India and afterwards to Turkey and many more amazing places. I enjoyed reading this graphic novel and couldn’t pick my favorite because all of them are good! Some of the stories end in an unexpected way, but that’s how stories are, not always there is a tangible end or a happy ending! I feel I was lucky to discover it in Netgalley, and I think I'll search for the other books in this series of graphic folk tales.

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*Received via NetGalley for review*

Definitely packed full of stories! Which means, of course, that the quality of them is a mixed bag. All of the art was well done (even if some of it wasn't my style -that's how it's going to be in a collection!), and the lettering serviceable (expect for a few where the lettering isn't quite dark enough - hopefully something that will be fixed in publication).

Two main issues: it should be made clearly on the title page for the story where the folktale originates from, rather than just in the table of contents; some of the stories don't really add anything or seem incomplete. Maybe this is a cultural difference, because Western audiences are used to fairy tales and myths having clear endings, usually with morals, and maybe this isn't the case in Asian folklore. But a few (like From the Journey of the Monkey King and The Three Ryhymsters) are only a few pages and are too short to really provide any punch.