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.

I really love Boom! with my whole entire heart. They're really publishing all the queer comics, written by queer people, and so much of it is sapphic.

This is such a feel-good time and it's a beautiful slice-of-life style story. Usdin (Heavy Vinyl) and Hayes (Goldie Vance) are able to effortlessly create such a diverse cast that are all unique. Most of the team are POC, the main relationship is sapphic, there's a very Esther-esk bi/pan side character, there's a character named Jay who uses they/them pronouns.

It's like a misfit, found-family basketball team of college students and I'm a little bit in love with it. Very excited to continue on with this series.

I received an advanced/review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content and honesty of my review.

I kept passing on this book because I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but finally, I decided to give it a chance.

The storyline, albeit obviously geared toward younger readers, was enjoyable and there were some super cute and funny lines that had me chuckling. I absolutely love the illustrations and the inclusion of so many diverse characters. All the drawings and colors are beautiful, which was a huge draw to the book for me. I love the setting and the main storyline and the huge theme of camaraderie throughout the book. Each character is unique and they don't really fit in any one social group, which is part of why the Avant-Guards is such a special team.

The romance seemed a bit rushed to me. It went from a budding friendship to one of the girls being sad about seeing her ex-girlfriend with someone else to boom, the other girl is making a move. Charlie even seemed kind of annoyed by Liv for the majority of the story, so to see them kind of go from "you annoy me" to "hey, I actually like you, maybe we should see if there's a relationship to develop here" seemed like a huge jump. I just felt like it was rushed and there wasn't a whole lot of build-up. But I'm a sucker for slow burn, so maybe it was just me. Also, I'm not a fan of the whole "I'm sad about my ex, so I'm going to take comfort in you" kind of arc. Again, could just be a preference thing for me.

As this is volume one in a series of graphic novels, it went by quick and there wasn't a whole lot of resolution to any of the story. This is to be expected for the first book in a series, especially with it being a graphic novel, so don't expect a finished story here.

In any event, I enjoyed this book. The illustration was definitely my favorite part and I would recommend it solely based on how stunning the images are. In the end, I'm happy I gave this book a shot and I think it's a great addition to the graphic novel world :)

Happy reading!

Super cute comic that gives sort of a Pitch perfect vibe, with a female cast joining a university group. The treatment of friendships and romantic relationships is great, I had never seen topics like jealousy and getting over an ex treated so truthfully. And the fact that it portrays basketball games males it a lot of fun!

I had such a great time reading this! I love when a group with different personalities and genders come together. I also liked the communication between the love interest. It was very clear and the characters felt like genuine people. And of course the dogs for adoption was the icing in the cake. I will definitely be continuing on with the series

Great storyline, art, colors, and characters. Everyone and everything feels true to life which makes for an enjoyable read.

I loved this! It was a great introduction to the characters, it’s a sweet friendship and a fun setting. It was very short for a first volume and I wish more had happened but I will pick up future volumes!

3.5 stars

This was really short and quick and adorable but I did enjoy it nonetheless. However, it didn't feel like it's set in college for me (and I've read A TON of college-based stories). It sounded more like high school, I'll be honest. Still, I love the diverse cast. I love the art style. I love the friendship and the representation.

I like the premise here. Too often fiction portrays the arts and sports as mutually exclusive, with only the occasional athlete who has a secret passion for music. We don't often get the other side, an artsy person who loves sports. And not a secret phenom. Just a genuine love for athletics. Usdin also gives us a mixed cast of characters with varied interests and motivations.

Honestly I adored this so much! It's as if Giant Days and Check Please had a baby. It's sweet and funny and I can't wait for the next volume!

What a lovely first bind up!

I've recently discovered I have a faible for sports story, told in comic or novel form, so I was very happy when I was approved for this arc. And it delivered!

The story flowed really well. The setup of the panels, the focus on our two main characters and the overarching plot are a great combination and balance each other out perfectly.
Especially Olivia is such a lively character with a strong personality that is quite uncommon. I love how we could immediately see her flaws as well as her strengths.

I love how colorful and fun and sweet these comics are, but it felt like not much happened in this volume. Like, the team was formed -- that took almost the entire time. They played one game and the relationship started. I just hope the pace picks up in the next volume, which I will definitely continue with! I love these characters, I love their friendships, I love how gay it is, and I love the duel perspective.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It's the first one I read that is about sports/college and it was really fun. The group of friends that is showcase here was a really cute and diverse one. The art style was totally up my alley and I will definitely continue on with this series.

✨ 4 / 5 ✨

GoodReads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2923702549

“This was extremely gay, even for you.”

I absolutely adored this first bind-up volume, the story was so much fun!

First of all, I love the art style so much, captures the vibe of the story and the characters so well, and the colour scheme is perfection.

I really enjoyed the characters, I think they all have pretty distinctive looks and personalities to match. I liked the interactions they all had and the dynamic between Liv and Charlie. I think that my favourite character so far has to be Olivia because she is so determined to succeed and just tries so hard all the time.

I think that overall this was cute, fun and very heart-warming, I can’t wait to read more!

I really enjoyed this book's diverse cast of characters, fresh color scheme, and unique spin on the "sports novel" genre. I only wish that there was more! I was just getting to know each character and their backstories when it was over :( Luckily there are future volumes to look forward to!

A diverse, girl-inspiring, girl-loving comic? Sign me up!

I loved the art style and I can't wait to get to know the characters more. I love the underdog kind of route they've taken. I'm excited for the next volume.

A few months ago I read the first volume of Heavy Vinyl, also by Carly Usdin, and I loved its casual style and how funny it was, so I was very excited to read The Avant-Guards - and I’m glad to say this new series lived up to my expectations.

Along the same lines as Heavy Vinyl, The Avant-Guards tells the story of a girl who arrives at a new place and makes a group of very varied friends. In this case, the main character is Charlie, a girl that’s just moved to another college and seems reluctant to make new friends… until she finds the Avant-Guards, who are desperate to find another player to complete their basketball team. With Liv -a ball of pure energy- as their leader, the girls from the team won’t stop until they win Charlie’s friendship and get her to join their team.

Something that worried me a little bit before I read the comic was that it would focus too much on the basketball, since sports and I don’t get along particularly well, but it isn’t the case. Although we do see a bit of the basketball practice and a match, the main focus of the story is the girls’ friendship and, above all, how Charlie slowly gets out of her shell and learns to trust people again in spite of her bad experiences in the past.

What stands out the most about this comic is how diverse its characters are and how it manages to clearly establish their personalities in a few pages. In the team you can find from singers to witches, and it has bisexual, trans, non-binary characters… They’re all very different from each other and they all contribute to the team in different ways. Plus, there are signs of a romance between two of the players and their scenes are absolutely adorable.

As for the art, it’s a juvenile, dynamic, expressive and colourful style that works perfectly with the story. A detail in particular that I really liked and that Karina already mentioned in her review is how the panels are distributed. For example, in the basketball practice scene, the panels are arranged in the form of a basketball, which I found not only original but also a good way of making the most of the space available.

If you’re looking for a new comic that’s similar to Lumberjanes, Heavy Vinyl or Giant Days, The Avant-Guards is a safe bet.

‘The Avant-Guards, Vol. 1’ by Carly Usdin with art by Noah Hayes is a sports comic about a somewhat diverse group of people who get together to form a basketball team.

Charlie is new to the Georgia O’Keeffe College for the Arts and Subtle Dramatics. During a student fair, she meets force of nature, Olivia, who is trying to form the school’s first basketball team. Charlie is reluctant, and really doesn’t seem to fit in to this group of outgoing drama students. We learn she is there to study film, and that she is a bit shy. We also learn that she doesn’t like team sports for some reason. During the team’s first game, the Avant-Guards crush the competition.

After 100+ pages of a comic, I feel like I barely found out anything about these characters, except for the diversity notes. Perhaps that will play out as the story goes, but Charlie is kind of a boring character, especially compared to Olivia. I liked the art well enough. As far as sports comics go, it was really just kind of mediocre.

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

This was a cute little graphic novel. I liked the cast of characters as they were all very different to each other and they were well designed. There was not a lot that happened in this and there could have been a bit more plot but the cliffhanger ending was nice.

This was FANTASTIC. I had such a great time with this graphic novel. And can we just talk about how beautiful the artwork was? It was a great story with wonderful representation, the word building was awesome, and the basketball element was so fun! I don't even play sports but I was still very invested in this book! The characters were so likable, and the adorable relationship kept me invested as well! :)

I highly recommend this graphic novel! :)