Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of Smoove City in exchange for an honest review!
This graphic novel is marketed as Fresh Prince meets Archie and it's easy to see why. An ensemble piece with a lot of heart and an art style unique enough to be its own, but familiar enough to transport you back to that classic comics you grew up with, Smoove City is a fun look at a group of friends trying their best to become a boy band.
I'd say my main issue was that a disproportion amount of jokes fell flat for me. I wasn't sure why because it does have a very similar vibe to Archie but after pulling out a few old Archie's to see if it was just my taste in jokes evolving, I think Smoove city's main issue is that it drags out it's jokes. Part of the charm of Archie is the quick, snippy wit most of the jokes have. We get a page or two of build up then one or two panels of the punch line and move on. Smoove city does this in reverse, with a few panels of build up then a page of the punchline. All in all though, it was a fun read.