This is such a beautiful little graphic novel! The art is spectacular and the story is touching and lovely!

Canto is a slave robot who has his heart removed. He goes on an epic adventure to rescue his friend by trying to get her heart back.

It is a true epic adventure. Which I absolutely loved. The art is phenomenal. I love how everything looks. It is truly perfect for the epic story. The color pallets is jewel tones which gives the book a rich feel.

I will be adding the singles to my pull list and be collecting the trades when they come out.

Creative team:
Writer David M Booher
Art Drew Zucker
Colors Vittorio Astone
Letters Deron Bennett
Published by IDW

A modern fairy tale about how the journey not the destination is the most important thing. Just look at Netflix's Witcher series where most of its beginning episodes are cut down to make more room for runtime, leaving the audience confused. It's certainly a series that ranks among Labyrinth as well as the Dark Crystal in terms of fantasy. Heck, the characters are perfect fodder to be puppets (muppets even). Especially when they all tell the power of storytelling. Legends are always around to inspire hope, sometimes that hope is another cage if it means denying what's right in front of you. But what's the point of having a purpose if all that means is just being a slave? Why bother doing anything at all or diverting from it if it means the results are all the same. Because regardless of the results, the important thing comes choosing to live in fear or braving for a new chance.

Thank you to Netglley for the opportunity to read and review this book. Illustrated or graphic novel can be a crap shoot when it comes to quality. Canto has a very good story line but the graphics are simply too confusing. I would have liked to see a more complete description of how the characters came about and where they came from. The graphic panels became too dense and swirly to keep track of what was actually happening. My advice, as always, to illustrators is to keep it simple. Colorful, bold, and complicated is not always better.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW for the eARC of this work in exchange for my honest review.


If you like fairy tales, good vs. evil, hope in the face of despair and loss, then this graphic novel is one you should certainly read.

David Booher's Canto, Vol. 1 is exactly as it is described. It is a book full of darkness and hope. Canto's journey to save the one he loves forces the little tin man to realize that hope is the greatest strength one can have. For Canto and many others he encounters on his journey, hope leads to courage and courage leads to freedom. The shrouded man is the perfect villain for the story because he highlights just how far a man can fall without hope, which is central to Canto's success in the face of failure. This book is sad, joyous, and thought-provoking all at once. As much as I really enjoyed this story, the artwork and coloring should not be discounted. It is full of just as much light and darkness as Canto encounters on his journey. The crisp lines and bright colors mixed with chaotic slashes of pen strokes and darkness are perfect compliments to showcase Canto's trek to regain the heart his love needs to survive. This entire work will be staying with me for a while, and I look forward to the additional adventures of Canto and his friends.

This graphic novel was super cute and well drawn. My only issue was some of the text was hard to read when it was written over a dark background.

Canto and his people have been enslaved for as long as anyone can remember. To keep the slaves in control their hearts are removed and replaced with a clock so their time is limited. Even though his people are forbidden to love he falls for a girl who gets damaged by one of the slavers. He vows to find her heart and bring it back to her. This leads him on a journey he wasn't quite prepared for but does all the same.

Canto was a really cool book that reminded me a lot of the Wizard of Oz and a few other fantasies that I've read. The art style really reminded me of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's mask concept art, which I appreciated, but for some of the more complicated or action filled scenes, it can become a little hard to see what's going on (but I was also reading the e-book on my tiny phone screen, once I switched to my tablet this wasn't as much of an issue). The world is full of interesting and terrifying creatures, and the characters have such tragic backstories, making their purpose for winning all the more necessary. I definitely recommend for readers 12 and up :)