If you loved Saga and are looking for a new comic series to delve into with similar vibes, Dryad is the one for you.
We're following a family that is hiding from the rest of the world, much like Saga. But I would say this one is more magical, but still with a science-fiction vibe. 
I loved the art style and and the colors were so beautiful! As we discovered more about the world and the story, the colors changed from scene to scene to portray the emotions and it was really well done. Also I just liked the process of discovery here-you're not quite sure what you're getting into, and how it's written really leaves it to the reader's discovery and that was beautiful storytelling. 
I can highly recommend this!

Though I haven't read all of Rat Queens, I did enjoy what I have read of it - so I was eager to see this new series by the same writer. It would have been nice to get a little world set up, or backstory, but the world and story kind of unfolds as you read - so you're learning about it along with some of the characters.

The art is great and suits the world and characters really well, I especially liked the color palettes used, especially in the different settings. I will definitely be checking out further volumes to see what happens to the Glass family in the future.

Dryad Vol. 1 is an action-packed graphic novel with high stakes. It's one of the best graphic novels I've read in a while. The art is wicked, and each page seemed to flow without effort. Morgan's character has got be hands down the prettiest character I've seen.

Enough about the illustrations. I loved following the Glass family each character had had the right amount of depth to them. Their strong family bond was a nice touch. 

If you do decide to pick up Dryad Vol. 1 prepare yourself to be incredibly annoyed when you finish. As it ends with the biggest cliffhanger, I guess that's a good thing because I can't wait to read Vol. 2

Overall, if you're looking for a fast-paced graphic novel filled with non-stop action, and gorgeous graphics, this one is for you!

I received this arc on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is chock full of surprises. It was really a rollercoaster from beginning to end. The art is beautifully done and the characters relationships are full of depth and meaning.

The beginning was confusing for me though. We started off with the kids as babies but in the next couple of pages they are teenagers? I get holding out information for the audience to figure out, but it was a bit of a weird transition. 

The ending ended on a cliffhanger which again surprised me. I know it is a series, but still it just left so many questions open. I would have liked it to have some more blanks filled in, but other than that, it is an interesting twist.

Overall, I still recommend this book. It is a good book that still has some room for improvement, but I think the next book will iron out some the kinks I had with it. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

I loved the art style, and the story was really interesting. My only real issue with it was that there was a lot of information I felt like I was missing - like the twins in the story. Overall I really did enjoy it though, and look forward to reading more.

I had some mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I have to say that the artstyle for Dryad is absolutely fantastic, and was one of the first things that drew me to the book after seeing the cover. I also loved the blending of fantasy and sci-fi elements creating a rich and varied world and storyline, that takes the idea of a human and elf falling in love and turning into some new and exciting. However, it was the storytelling itself were I found myself losing track of what was happening, because a lot happened throughout this volume and very quickly, with a lot of information but not much explanation and more than once I found myself having to halt to try and untangle what was happening. However, this is the first volume, so it was laying a lot of groundwork for the next volume, so it is possible that those questions will be answered then, and I look forward to trying the second volume to see if it does provide those answers. However, Dryad very much has potential, with a fantastic art style, an interesting and varied cast of characters and a world that once it has explained further will probably become one that I love spending time in.

High quality drawing and crazy good bold colour,  the plot was a bit of a Taken by the forest and Mad Max.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a voluntary and honest review. 

When you first start reading, Dryad appears to be purely fantasy....but it's clear you're missing something as you're thrown right into the two main characters, Morgen and Yale as they flee from something or someone with two children. 

You quickly learn that Dryad is, in fact, part fantasy and part sci-fi, very reminiscent of Saga. The story is fast-paced and gripping from the start, as you first see Morgen take on the role of a sleepy forest town's guardswoman and Yale be a (very attractive) teacher to the town's kids. 

This idyllic life doesn't last very long, because 12 years into their retreat, the town is overtaken by what appears to be an enemy force. Morgen and Yale are forced into old roles to protect their children, which it is clear that they'll do no matter what the cost. 

This was such a good, quick read. I adored the banter, both between Morgen and Yale, and the siblings Rana and Griffon. The story was quick to unfold and draw you in and kept you hooked until that ENDING. I need Volume Two immediately. 

While I enjoyed this read immensely, I did have to drop it to four stars because even at the end of the first volume, I was thoroughly confused about some aspects of this world. It was almost as if some exposition was skipped (maybe on purpose?) because the kids were kept in the dark and the reader was supposed to learn as they did, but it left me mostly confused for 140-something pages. 

The art style, while beautiful, I felt could have clarified certain scenes a little better. There was quite a bit of action and fighting that I had to go back and examine closely in the hopes that I would better understand what had just happened. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this, however, and will be looking forward to the next volume. Trigger warnings for explicit content and violence throughout the story.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The art in this book is good and is definitely one of the highlights of the book. 

It has definite Saga-vibes. I found the story confusing though. There's a lot of things thrown out to raise the mystery of the characters former lives. But it felt choppy - the jump from the woods to the city and everyone acclimating and moving on so quickly.

The pacing of the story moves quickly but I couldn't help but feel I was missing things that would have helped me understand the story.

Overall it wasn't my cup of tea but would love to see more of the art.

This is fast paced and overflows with action and colour. It has a 'Saga' feel to it and it will be interesting to see where the series goes. It starts off really quietly with the Glass family living in the quiet village of Frostbrook but this all changes when enemies from the past discover them.

And suddenly we and they are thrust into a high tech world of magic, weapons, twists and turns and a struggle to stay alive.

 I thought this was a great start to the series with good world building and enjoyable artwork.

Copy provided by Oni Press via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

A cute little futuristic graphic novel about machines and magic.
I really enjoyed this graphic novel and definitely want to read more of it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions stated in the review are my own. 

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Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Dryad is a graphic novel in which we follow the Glass family, who find themselves being haunted by the past years later. It puts a lot of focus on family love and I have to say this novel had it all for me. 

First off, the art style is out of this world. The world and the characters were all so sutnning and I loved the colours. You could really tell a lot of care was put into each frame. It made the reading experience very enjoyable.

I really liked the world and the stark contrast between the village and the town. I was especially interested in the ruins and I really hope we get to learn more about it in the next volume. I really liked the design of the "demons" the twins stumble across. 

The plot was explosive, full of twists and turns. There wasn't a single moment where I found myself bored. 

The characters were stellar as well. I think Morgan would be my favourite so far. Her and Yale's love for the kids was really heart-warming. I thought all of the characters were potrayed well and I am so excited to read more about them in the future. I am also lookin forward to finding out more about the side characters.

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Summary:
I can't recommend this graphic novel enough!! The plot was fast-paced, the characters were remarkable and the world was complex. I would urge anyone who enjoys fantasy graphic novels to give this a try.

I was very kindly given an Earc by the publishers via netgalley in exchange for an honest review: Wow!! 

Fantasy! Science fiction! Elves! Ancient magic! Wizards! 

This graphic novel was absolutely spectacular! It has a feeling of saga with the interspecies couple (an elf and a human) who ran away from their home to live a normal life. When you think it’s one thing it becomes another. I love the relationship between the twins and between the parents. Each character was well fleshed out even in a short amount of time. Especially loving the family dynamic and the still obvious love between two parents fighting for their kids! 

I cannot WAIT to read more!

I was really looking forward to delving into this as it is completely out of my comfort zone. I loved the characters, I thought they were very unique, and also the drawing style and colour choices were so vibrant that I felt this was a highlight for me, I found it very visually pleasing. As we ended on a cliffhanger I would be very interested to see where we go from here in Vol..2. Many thanks for giving me the opportunity to read and review this!

An exciting mix of high fantasy and futuristic high-tech societies!! Gorgeously illustrated and with a gripping plot, I can only recommend this one to anyone looking for a new series to immerse yourself into!

Volume 1 reads as a solid introduction into the Dryad universe.

The chapters read like animated episodes. While this may seem action-packed or too fast-paced for a first volume, it does help the comic cover a lot of ground, especially considering the amount of world-building that needs to take place.

The Glass family presents themselves to us in almost an idyllic fashion. As a reader, we know they are running away from a past that doesn't seem to have a place in the future that they need for their family.

I love how this first volume is a story about family and the sacrifices made by families of blood and choice, in order to protect one another. There is also a huge emphasis on past vs the present and the flow of information within a family. Which while not themes that make sense initially are themes that I hope will unravel itself with each volume.

The illustrations by Justin Osterling like simply brilliant. The pictures, play a big role in contrasting the past with the present, whether it be through technology or art. The details of which were really interesting and I found myself on more than one occasion scrolling back to discover new details that I had missed previously. Sometimes I did find the colour palette too moody, especially in contrast to panels where much brighter colours were used.

I guess things that were detrimental to the reading experience was my unfamiliarity with the universe. Although this is only the first volume there were a few moments that I felt overwhelmed due to my lack of understanding of the universe. Sometimes sections read like info-dumps without telling the reader much at all. 

The weakest characters were the twins, Griffon and Rana, because while a huge plot points seemed to be centred around them, there was nothing memorable about them other than they were part of the Glass family. I do hope that the next volume will be able to clearly answer the question I had as to why they were so important. I was also getting "forbidden love" tones from this work, although that could just be unwarranted extrapolation.

Overall, this was a strong first volume and I'd definitely recommend this to any sci-fi and/or fantasy fan who is looking for something new to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for allowing me to read an arc of "Dryad, Vol. 1". All opinions expressed are my own.

Dryad is a wonderful sci-fi graphic novel and a great introduction and starting place to a series. It seemed quite slow paced in places but that can be expected for the first volume of a series. Fortunately, where it fell short in pacing it made up for in world building and character development. I look forward to volume 2, and seeing more from this world and these characters

This was such an interesting world to dive into. It was so unique and honestly reminded me of the technology vs the environment dilemma our world is facing now. I loved the unique world and I look forward to finding out more about the characters and especially the magic. This is something that fans of Saga will want to read.

I couldn't get into this rather tedious fantasy/sci-fi comic. It's trying to be the new Saga and it doesn't work. The characters weren't appealing, the story wasn't there for me - it's like a watered-down, lethargic Rat Queens. The art's fine but genre fiction isn't for me and I really hate when characters talk and behave like people do in our world but transposed to a fantasy setting - it's such lazy writing and so unimaginative. Dull dull dryad.

Part fantasy, part cyberpunk, Dryad Vol. 1 is the introduction to a fast-paced series about a family on the run.

Content warnings include: graphic violence and gore, child injury, non explicit sex on-page.

On first glance, Dryad seems like fantasy through and through. There's elves and orcs, basic clothing, no electricity, a small village, overgrown ruins of an ancient people and monstrous creatures.
But that's not what Dryad is.
The cyberpunk element comes as a surprise, and when I first noticed hints that things weren't as they seemed I thought I looked wrong - and I have to admit, I wasn't pleased. I usually dislike it when genres mix like that, especially when it happenes unexpectedly. If I go into a fantasy book, I want fantasy, not SciFi. But here it all slotted together in the end, and I was very intrigued by the direction the plot developed.

At the center of the story is the Glass family: Yale, a history enthusiast who is a little goofy; Morgan, a scarred soldier who doesn't quite know what to do with herself in the quiet village but loves her family nevertheless; and teen twins Griffon and Rana, one exuberant and one more reserved, but sharing a deep connection.

It's clear from the start that Yale and Morgan were fleeing from something, and hiding a lot, but Dryad Vol.1 doesn't exactly give answers. It sets the scene and introduces a lot of players, and I couldn't always follow who was who and what was what, because despite continued assurances of sitting down to explain soon... that doesn't happen. Not that I fault the characteres for that - they don't really get a break to breathe, either.

The art was great, vivid and lively, the fantasy and cyberpunk elements weaved together seamlessly and very aesthetically without shying away from graphic subject matter - without being too gore-y, which suits me perfectly.

Overall great start for a series, and I'm curious to see where the plot is headed.