The Avant-Guards is a new series to come from Boom! Studios, and it’s a fun and relaxing series full of character-driven plots. Oh, and there’s a decent amount of sports as well, so there’s that!
The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 introduces us to the Georgia O’Keeffe College of Arts and Subtle Dramatics (say that ten times fast) as well as the sports team (basketball, of course) and the characters drawn to it.
Charlie just transferred to this art school, and at first, she’s not so sure how she’s going to fit in. That is until she finds the group of misfits that is the school’s basketball team. They may not be the best out there (read: they’re not) but they sure do have a lot of fun on the court.

The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 was a really unique and fun read! It took no time at all to get invested in the characters, and even less time to start laughing and enjoying all of their antics and drama. This series is already proving to be the perfect escape for readers.
What I really love about The Avant-Guards is that it isn’t your typical comic book. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and instead is focused on capturing the lives of one very quirky basketball team. It’s fun and charming and is just a delight to read.
Carly Usdin (author) and Noah Hayes (artist) have done an excellent job of creating this world for us to enjoy. The characters are unique from one another, while easily falling into the realm of ‘real people’ status. So it’s easy to care about them and their adventures.
The artwork is brilliant, and is perhaps my favorite thing about the series (which is saying something). I love the colors used, as well as a lot of the throwback textural effects that were applied. It gives The Avant-Guards as cool and unique look about it.
I’m so happy that I found The Avant-Guards, as this is absolutely going to be a series I stick with. Though I might opt to read it by volume, instead of by issue. That just feels right in this case. But we’ll see how I feel as time goes by.

As a graphic novel, the art can be one of the most important aspects. And the art style here is great. It has a cohesive theme throughout, and was great to just stop and take in the beautiful artwork.

The Avant-Guards, Vol. 1 is a graphic novel about a newly formed women's college basketball team.

Charlie is a transfer student who sufferes from anxiety. She's hesitant to join the basketball team but is eventually convinced to join. The banter between Charlie and her teamates is top notch. Each character has a distinct personality. The groups dynamics are great and as Charlie gets to know them more, we get to see deeper to the complex aspects of their relationships.

Speaking of relationships, in this volume we get the beginnings of a flirtation between Charlie and Olivia. Liv is just so cute and I can't wait to get more of Liv and Charlie in The Avant-Guards, Vol. 2!

After Charlie is convinved to join the team, the plot follows them through a day of training and then into their very first game, [which they win by a landslide - Charlie's previous experience really shows here and Olivia and Nicole are excellent players too. (hide spoiler)] The volume then leaves off on a cliffhanger, which will no doubt be a key topic in the next volume.

The Avant-Guards is also full of divesity, with a multiracial cast of various different sexual preferences and gender identities.

I loooooveddd this!! The characters are all very interesting and diverse and I love a good sport-orientated story. Can't wait to read more of this!

Thank you Netgalley and BOOM! Studios for providing me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This first volume of Avant-Guards is a great introduction to the story and characters. It's fun and shows a lot of potential for future issues.

I honestly only wanted to pick up "The Avant-Guards" because it reminded me a lot of Giant Days, a fun comic series also published by BOOM! Studios. They are both set in college, the characters are on their twenties, the vibes are similar, but the story is quite different, which is good.

"The Avant-Guards" is set in an arts college and tells the story of a group of students who want to make and participate on a female basketball league, but they need one more player. That's where the main character of the comic comes in, and they will do everything to recruit her.

I think this first volume was a lot of fun, but it's still clearly an introduction to the story and characters. Nonetheless, it shows a lot of potential for future issues and I believe it will end up being a great comic series. The art is also pretty beautiful, and I love the colors used throghout the book. I will definitely pick up the next volume in the series!

From the very first page of this graphic novel, I was hooked. I could relate to the main character on a personal level since I have also just started at a new University and having anxieties about clubs and societies and meeting new people. Charlie is a very relatable character and when she is approached by Liv, a hyperactive and overwhelmingly extravagant drama student.

I love the fact that Liv is trying to recruit Charlie to join their diverse basketball team. The fact that an arts university wants to advocate for a sports club subverts from the norm where universities are trying to integrate arts more fully into their societies.

I loved the romance budding in this graphic novel and would recommend this comic to people who enjoyed Fence, Pumpkinheads or Heartstopper.

REP: transgender character, non-binary character, panic attacks, queer characters, people of colour, they/them

Read the rest of the review on my blog at:
https://mousethatreads.com/the-avant-guards-vol-1-a-review/

This was delightful! I was so absorbed that it was shocking to get to the end and realize I had to wait to find out what happens next. The horror!

Love the diverse cast and LGBTQ rep, especially how it was so clearly just a fact of the world these characters live in. There's no angst around it, just normal people with normal lives and normal relationship drama.

The story had good pacing as we get to see Charlie adapting to her new school and joining Liv's basketball team. But I really wanted to get to know Charlie, Liv, and the rest of the team better. I also desperately wanted to attend their first game vs The Cuddly Retrievers. Why have I not been to sporting events with that many dogs??

*Thank you to NetGalley and Boom! Studios for providing a digital copy.*

I love graphic novels. The Avant-Gaurds is so good! This is the perfect storyline for high school on up. It’s so sweet and the art is phenomenal! The art flowed perfectly with each turn of the page. I highly recommend this.

The first volume of the The Avant-Guards is a solid start for the series. Charlie transfers from a state college to an arts college, and she is immediately recruited for the basketball team by the somewhat-overbearing Olivia, who also has a crush on her. All of the teammates are enthusiastic in getting Charlie to join, even though she tries her hardest to be a loner. The characters are all distinctive and realistic, but I hope more of their backstories will be revealed as the series continues.

I loved this so much. I read it in one sitting and could not put it down. The characters are delightfully dynamic and queer as heck. I cannot wait to see what happens next.

I definitely have a preference for a clean but cute art style in graphic novels, and this one delivered! motions were captured so well - one of the best graphic novels I've read, and the art played a huge part in this.

The story felt like Pitch Perfect with basketball and a more diverse cast of characters. I loved everyone in this rag tag group of friends (a favourite trope of mine), and enjoyed getting to know them. Although the storyline was fairly predictable, it was ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE and FUN!

Liv is fantastic. I loved the flip on chapter two seeing the same scenes from her point of view. IT gave a new perspective on those same moments and gave Liv for depth that the bubbly girl trying to form a basketball team

The cliffhanger ending left me wanting more, so hopefully Volume 2 will be released soon!

The Avant-Guards is such an amazing read and I cannot deny how the pages flew by becacuse of how much I loved it. First off, I have to commend how beautiful the artwork was. The coloring and the drawing was high-class, and though I am not an artist myself, a few glances at the art is something that I’m sure lots of people will appreciate. The art is modern, fresh, and the colors are all absolutely eye-catching.

If I could be honest, I am not someone who would pick out a book about basketball (of all things) because I am such a mess at anything athletic related and I am the worst at all sports. I am as clumsy as can be, but I have to say that this was still such an enjoyable read.

A graphic novel about queer (!!) women who play ball is something that I never knew I needed. Though basketball was a little too much on the sidelines, these first 4 issues did a great thing in diving into the characters, with their perspectives alternating from Charlie (the lead) to Olivia, who is the creator of the Avant-Guards.

The characters are all interesting and I am very much interested to learn more about them. The LGBT+ characters and the non-binary character adds to an overall fun vibe to the story. There is one particular scene that I was pissed at a minor character, but I do hope that it will be addressed later on in the story.

I will absolutely get the next issues of this as I can’t wait to read the rest!

A really cute graphic novel filled with fantastic representation and a fun quirky cast of characters. I really enjoyed this wholesome story.

(3.5 stars)
What's the book about?

This story is primarily about Charlie and Olivia. Charlie is a transfer student to the Georgia O'Keeffe College for Arts and Subtle Dramatics. She used to be a basketball player in her previous college but in this new college, she is trying to find herself and get a hold on herself. But unexpectedly, the college is trying to form a basketball team, more specifically Olivia. The team begins to form ways in order to convince Charlie to join the team and from there the story progresses.

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I'll say that this is my first 'successful' attempt to finish a graphic novel (I guess because I certainly don't remember the last one I read).

I sure did enjoy reading it. There's a variety of characters presented to us who are definitely interesting. The whole concept of sports and being a part of the team was quite good. And the graphics were super amazing!
I might be biased while giving it the rating I gave because honestly a) I am not that much of a fan of graphic novels considering that I have just started reading them; and b) Because for me, the story was not all that happening.

I seriously need to read more comics and graphic novels to get a hang of them.
But to be honest, I seriously looved the graphics! They were super amazing!



I have actually never read a graphic novel that’s about a sport, but I have read a ton of manga with that theme (it’s actually one of my favourite genres). I was very exited when I found out that I had been approved for The Avant-Guards!

This graphic novel features a very diverse cast of characters. There are characters with different sexualities, a non-binary character, characters with diverse body types and skin colours. There was also a great discussion about anxiety. The characters were definitely my favourite part of this first volume of The Avant-Guards. I loved learning about them and seeing them interact with each other.

The problems that I had with this first volume were mostly with the story. I found the story not to be that interesting. Not actually a lot happened in this volume, it was mostly setting up the characters and the general plot. I just found it to be lacking in this aspect. I hope to have a chance to read future volumes of this series, as I would love to know where the story will go and how the characters will develop. I definitely recommend checking out The Avant-Guards Vol. 1!

What a great and promising start to an adorable series! It's a story of friendship and making a fresh start which also includes an incredibly diverse cast. Not only are the members of the Avant-Guards basketball team feature a wide range of ethnicities, they also represent a wide chunk of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, which is rare to see.
Definitely going to appeal to a large audience, not just teen girls, but anyone who likes humor, basketball and beautiful artwork.

**copy so kindly provided for review by the publisher/netgalley**

There isn't much to say about this; it was cute with an adorable art style and there was a ton of diversity. The cliff-hanger definitely sets up for more drama off and on the court. I'd most certainly be interested in picking up the next volume!

I did enjoy this, however I felt it was too short. Did enjoy the rep in here, especially anxiety. I will be carrying on with the series.

This was an enjoyable read. The art is fantastic, the relationships adorable, and the basketball aspect a pleasant side bonus. I can't wait for the next volume.

More please ! I devoured this graphic novel. The art was amazing as was the storyline. And yay for queer characters !

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I loved this and it was super cute. Live is adorable and her insistence that Charlie join the team was great because it’s clear that Charlie fits in amongst the Avant Guards. Tons of diversity here: queer rep of varying degrees, amazing illustrations, POC characters, witchy things, defying stereotypes and amazing non macho cast? Loved it and I can’t wait to read more.