For new and longtime fans of graphic novels, if the cover of Dry Foot doesn’t draw you in, the plot should at least pique your interest enough to consider giving it a try.

In short, Dry Foot offers a plethora of entertainment: four teens, one vicious gang, a notorious drug kingpin, and lessons in loyalty, friendship, family, and morality.

Though of the adolescent age, the protagonists exhibit a maturity on the cusp of blooming as they navigate their way through choices between good and evil and the consequences of each one.

While it has been said never to judge a book by its cover, I will admit the popping illustrations of this novel caught my eye instantly. The artwork inside was equally skillful, and the dialogue was easy to follow from scene to scene.

I sincerely hope that the authors will expand this storyline into a series. With the way the ending left off, I am certain other readers will agree.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to enjoy this entertaining graphic novel.

I would've loved it if this was longer to give it a chance to be fleshed out more. The story was too fast-paced and a lot of the major plot points we're ridiculous (like I'm assuming these are childhood friends, yet they don't know about each other's families?)

This is a story about four teens who decide to rob a drug lord to have enough money to escape their crime-filled neighborhood in Miami. The characters each had a good core and a good potential to be something more and fleshed out more if this was a longer graphic novel or a series of comics.

I loved the art, but the story fell a bit flat for me.

I thank Netgalley and Mad Cave Studios for the digital ARC

* I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own*


To start off, I was very surprised by this book. I did not know what to expect going into the book. At first I was a little put off by the opening scene, however as I read on my opinions regarding the book changed. I felt as though the plot line flowed seamlessly and was easy to follow. Sometimes when I read graphic novels, I have a hard time following the plot. That was not the case with Dry Foot. From the beginning I had a good grasp on the plot of the story. I enjoyed how the friend group spoke about their plan and how they communicated to eachother via the radios. I did find that I was sometimes confused on who was speaking when conversing via the radios, but was able to figure out who was talking based on character styles.

Some things I liked: I really enjoyed the art style. The art was very clean and colorful. I felt that it immediately grabbed my attention and made me want to continue reading. I also found myself very invested in the plot. As previously stated, I did not have a hard time following the general story and found that it kept my interest the entire time. I enjoyed the character interactions. I felt as though the characters were flushed out and each had their own backstory, even though the graphic novel was only around 90 pages. I really commend the author for being able to provide details about the characters lives without being too info dumpy, and in providing the reader with some kind of backstory.

What I wish was included: To be completely honest I just wish this book was longer. I wish we spent more time going over the general plan of the robbery, and talked more about after plans before the incident. I think I would have been satisfied with maybe 20-45 more pages in the book to truly give it that one more star.

At the end of the day I really enjoyed this book. The story and the art style was gripping and I truly believe many people will enjoy this story regardless of their reading tastes. The plot kept me engaged and even shocked me at certain points. I wish I had more of this story to read, and I am hopeful for another installment.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Goodreads review link: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3809453906?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

3.75 stars

C/W: Gang violence, blood, gun-use, implied drug use and alcohol use, death

I really enjoyed "Dry Foot", The story follows four teens who attempt to rob a serial killer in order to move out of their gang-controlled neighbourhood in Miami.

I loved the story, although fast-paced was simple to follow. This was aided by the use of large panels and a consistent art-style that seemed to draw inspiration from the colours of red, blue, white and yellow in various combinations. Which could represent the colours of the Cuban flag.

Both the illustrator and colourist are the highlights of the story, for me. Because while I felt the comic needed a lot more than the 95 or so pages it had to make a reader invested in the storylines, the story it did tell was very efficient and I wasn't bored. I definitely think this is a good intro comic if someone is looking for a comic outside of superheroes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for allowing me access to an e-arc of this comic. All opinions are my own.

Excellent art throughout - evocative and immediately sets the tone and time period. Feels like Stand By Me meets Miami Vice. Fast paced and doesn’t give pause for ruminations.

Dry Foot by Jarred Lujan takes place in Miami set in the 80's. Four teenagers are living

Dry Foot by Jarred Lujan is set in 1980's Miami, the most dangerous decade to live in. This novel follows four desperate teens who want to escape the drugs, gangs and the violence that follow people around the city. These friends design a heist to steal loads of money from a very dangerous gang known as Los Marielitos.

I'm going to rate Dry Foot by Jarred Lujan, 3 stars. I loved the diversity of characters in this novel; it was infused with hispanic culture as well as other ethnicities. What I also love about Dry Foot is that it includes the value of friendship, family and how much each friend was willing to sacrifice to leave Miami.

I will be honest and say that a 3 star rating is not a normal rating for me since I usually rate graphic novels 5 stars. I rated Dry Foot lower because I felt as if this graphic novel was missing something. I wanted to know a little more about each character and their background. Even though we do receive a little bit of information of each character but I wanted more. While reading this novel, I wanted a better understanding of why this group of friends wanted to steal this money from Los Marielitos. It didn't make a lot of sense to me because if they wanted to escape the violence of Miami, they didn't believe that stealing this money, would cause them to be in that same violence. It just gave me a lot to think about and it just caused me to ask more questions than to gain some answers.

This graphic novel is about 4 teens who decide to rob a drug dealer. If you think that is a terrible idea and it's probably going to go horribly wrong. You would be correct. I would say the biggest issue I had with this is the reveal about a certain character. It just didn't make sense to me why they would go thru all this trouble. I mean surely there was an easier way. (Sorry to be vague but I don't' wanna spoil anyone) Anyway, I enjoyed the characters but wish I would have learned a little bit more about them. Also, the art style wasn't my favorite,.

Dry Foot is a thriller graphic novel that follows a group of friends as they try to take out a crime boss in 1980s Miami. What more could you want?

This graphic novel was so fun! The story was gripping, action packed, and exciting. The characters were unique, fun, and I kind of wanted to be their friend. The art style was stunning. I felt so immersed in their story, every twist and turn took me by surprise in the best way. The action sequences were thrilling and so stunningly drawn. My only complaint was that it wasn't long enough.

And that cover is stunning.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Set in Miami during its most dangerous and decadent decade, the 1980s, this coming-of-age tale follows four teens desperate to escape the drugs and violence of the city. Together, they plot a heist to steal large sums of cash from the most dangerous gang on Calle Ocho, Los Marielitos. Dry Foot is a fearless story infused with Hispanic culture that deals with friendship, family, and sacrifice.- Goodreads

I liked this. It definitely felt like the beginning of something big and I am really looking forward to seeing how the next volume plays out. However, with that being said, the story did feel rushed. As if the author didn't take the time to flesh things out. I would have liked to see more of the Hispanic culture infused in the story and I would have liked to see more insight on each of the teens. There wasn't enough there for me to say I knew them or even liked them. Also there wasn't enough backstory overall.

Loved the artwork and the bright bold colors.

Overall, this is a good start to what can be a thrilling and intense story.

3 Pickles

The cover and the description drew me in but unfortunately this story wasn't all I hoped for. This is a story that relies on the strength of its characters but it failed to develop them beyond hints at vague tragic back stories and an underdeveloped villain. This accumulated in a rushed ending and it could probably benefited from being a longer story.

Story set in the 80s where a group of teenagers fight to leave a gang controlled town through a heist.
Really enjoyed this one - the art style is gorgeous and the story purposeful. Each character’s motivations were clear and distinct. However, it would’ve been nice to have a little more time establishing the characters as that part felt slightly rushed. The cultural insertions helped create a more realistic atmosphere and taught me something new about Hispanic cultures. I did genuinely feel quite sad during one of the more tragic parts even though I had only known the characters for a short while.
Book was a little short, not sure if any further stories will be written about these characters but it feels there was a decent satisfying ending to this particular story. Would read again and any further stories by this author.

The first thing that caught my eye about this book was the vibrant and distinct art style. I really enjoyed the start of the book when the characters were being introduced, but the book doesn't give us much time to understand or connect with them before jumping right into the action, and so I found it really hard to care about what happened to the characters. The story was over before I really got into it, and I really wish that this was longer and more drawn out. However, if you're looking for a quick read, this is perfect if you have 30 minutes. Overall, the art and colours beautiful, but the story was way too fast-paced.

2 Stars

I received a free E-ARC of this book from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Dry Foot is set in Miami, in the 1980s. This young-adult graphic novel follows four teens, who have a plan to steal large sums of cash from the most dangerous gang on Calle Ocho, Los Marielitos.

I didn't know what to expect from this, but overall it was what I would call "just tolerable."

For the most part, the character's personalities were very flat, besides one. I really admired Mari, the female protagonist of Dry Foot. She was a brave and strong baseball enthusiast, and she fit well in the story. I also liked how the characters were diverse (Cuban-American) and all part of difficult backgrounds and situations.

However, the plot itself didn't interest me at all. It was quite confusing and overly-action-packed. I would flip a page and have absolutely no idea what was going on. By the end, my head sort of hurt. But, then again, I don't read a lot of action-filled books, so I guess I'm just not used to these.

The drawings were okay. I didn't like the way the characters were drawn, but I really liked everything else. The style was very colorful and unique.

So overall, I liked a few things, but for the most part, I wasn't a fan.

Ok - first the good stuff. The art is great. Super colorful and vibrant with good character design. Also, the story starts out strong, introducing us to some great diverse characters. Then, it jumps into the "action" part before we really get to know that much about the characters. More background would have been super helpful to develop the characters. Also, the ending is SUPER abrupt and tries to tie everything together WAY too neatly with way too many unanswered questions left.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The artwork is gorgeous. The graphic novel should have been a little longer to build the plot and develop the characters more. I thought the plot development was pretty sudden and way too quickly wrapped up, considering the story revolves around stealing from a drug lord. However, I loved the setting and Hispanic culture infused into the writing. The Hispanic background and 80s scene are believable. I loved Mariana; she is a well-rounded character and all-around badass. I also really enjoyed the Indiana Jones bit. I wanted to love the other characters, but it just felt a little short with showing the readers the history of their friendships. I expected the story to end on a cliffhanger to have room for more character and story development, so I was surprised that it didn't end that way. It seems like this could be a one-off type of story. I'm interested to see if this will turn into a series or not.

I enjoyed this one! It was a short and simple read. The artwork is beautiful, and the storyline is solid. I think I was expecting more though? Or something different, at least. I feel like the twist with Diego at the end isn’t really needed, but it doesn’t hurt the story. I wish we’d get to see what happens with Angel, but the ending was nice with Mari and Diego.

This is literally the perfect graphic novel for you to get out of a reading slump; it's fast-paced, short and quick to get invested in. I also really enjoyed the diversity in the characters. The art style is also my style and it's easy to see characteristics and to follow the story even better with the help of the colorful art style!

I posted this in GoodReads as well.

Set in 1984, the story follow 4 teenage friends, one of them Diego, wants to steal a large amount of money from notorious gang called Calle Ocho. Diego wants his friends to join in so that they can steal the money and run away to start a better life elsewhere.

Now, of course these teenagers are not some kind of mastermind thieves so you know something is about to happen for sure. I'm glad Mariana, the BADARSE chick and the only female in the group with any common sense and "balls" is such a standout character own her own. She maybe all tough and bitch but she is loyal for sure, you can always count on her watching out for you. I like Angel and Fabian too. I think they all had their own unique personality.

This is a very short comic but it comes packed with loads of drama, action and twist. I think it's kind of pointless to review the entire story here since it will literally give away spoilers, so I'm not going to do that. To be honest, I really didn't expect the story to turn out like that....or did it ? *stroke chin*

Alas, I liked it a lot, although if I must complain about something, it will be the no translation provided for some dialogue. I can't make out what they're saying in their native language, so part of the conversation between the characters is lost to me.....I wish it had some sort of small text translation for non Latin readers.

Love the artwork, coloring and character designs. I always appreciate a clean design artwork and story telling. I stopped reading a few times just to admire the artwork.

*I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley.

The artstyle reminds me of older comics, which isn't my personal favourite, but it suits story perfectly. The colourpalette is wonderful.

The story is set in Miami in the 1980's and follows a group of teenagers who are planning a heist to steal from the local gang. The book was a bit too short, which made the plot feel very rushed. It was actionpacked, but too fast-paced for my liking. I didn't get to know the characters enough to feel attached to them. I would have enjoyed it more if the characters were a bit more developed, and more time was spend on the plot.

Overall, an okay read. I would recommend this if you want a fast, actionpacked graphic novel.

I received this ARC from NetGalley but the opinions are still fully mine.

The art was really pretty and gave me that 80’s vibe that the illustrator was going for...still the book itself really didn’t do it for me.

I enjoyed the first part of the graphic novel where we got to know the four main characters a bit, but I feel like we got to know them too shallowly to really form any attachment to them/to start liking them.

The story was non-stop and very action packed which I enjoyed. But I wish that we’d gotten to know the characters more so we could’ve understood their motives for their actions better as I found some things that happened a bit confusing.

Perhaps if the graphic novel was a bit longer the reader could’ve gotten to know them more? Which might’ve made the book feel less rushed as a lot happened in quite few pages.

For a person that doesn’t speak Spanish it got a bit confusing when the characters spoke in their language every now and then, it made me feel like I missed out a bit.

⭐️ “Dry Foot” by Jarred Lujan, Orlando Caicedo & Warnia Sahadewa gets 2/5 stars from me!