Many thanks to netgalley and Europe Comics for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this graphic novel's art, just amazing, what a talent. The story was good I liked it a lot but the art stole the show for me.
I had a bit of a problem with reading the text on my phone, it was tiny and blurred but over all a very nice experience.

“Yo, ho a pirate’s life for me!” Pirate stories are a guilty pleasure for me so I grabbed this read with joy. Raven is a legendary fighter but has a ton of bad luck so when he goes off treasure hunting, things don’t quite go as he planned.

It is a typical pirate story. The characters are a bit stereotype but this is only the first volume where a lot of characters are introduced and the stage set, plus it is not that long. There is plenty of time for development. Also, this is based on a story of an Irish pirate who is set on revenge against the English oppressors. How closely this does and will follow that, I don’t know, but the answer to that answers how much this develops into something unique.

But as I said. It is fun. And I really liked the illustrations and color. It added to the story. If you like pirate stories give it a try.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

This is an archetypical pirate story. The main character is Raven, a great warrior that is more feared by his fellows pirates for being a jinx. After a shipwreck caused by his misfortune he arrives at Tortuga island were he hopes to find a new pirate ship to enroll in, but his bad reputation seems to be a problem. Anyway, he gets to know about some map that describes the whereabouts of the treasure of Chichen Itza and he would start a quest to find it, competing whith the pirate captain Lady Darksee.

This is not the most original and innovative pirate story, but is fun and the art is great, this is just the first volume so the story still has room to evolve.

For me, this book was hard to read an follow. The colors were exploding all around the place making it hard to focus on the story, and the story itself seemed to have a hard time deciding on what it wants to be and follow.

I liked the classic format of this comic, something that takes me back to my childhood and reading my Dad's childhood comics in the attic. It's hard to explain, but apart from that nostalgic feeling, I liked nothing about this piece.

My Rating: 2.5

I love pirates movies and pirate stories, always have since I was a kid. But this was not for me.

The plot focuses on Raven, an unlucky pirate that is know for causing trouble. We mainly follow him and I felt he was a very hollow character and there's no substance to him.
Raven goes on an adventure to try and find a secret treasure whilst trying to avoid the infamous pirate Darksee.

I felt the story itself was rushed and the scenes that were shown could have been better and more interesting.

The art style is of this comic is definitely not a style that I like and that made it even more uninteresting.

This adventurous tale takes place in 1666, it follows a young pirate known as Raven who is known to be bad luck and is therefore shunned by those around him. This doesn’t stop the young pirate from having big aspirations and a taste for dangerous adventures. A treasure, a dangerously wicked pirate known as Lady Darksee and an island filled with cannibals is bound to bring about a very exciting tale!

What really drew me to this book was the beautiful cover art, not only was the colors stunning but it was also very attention grabbing. I have always been a very huge fan of anything having to do with pirates, so I had to know what this story was all about! If you’re a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean and Black Sails, then I’m sure you will love this book as well!

This book was filled with interesting characters; Raven is reckless and charming, he appears to be very headstrong and refuses to let anything deter him from his goal. Then there is Lady Darksee, a dangerous and cunning pirate who is in search of a royal pardon, her character is fascinating and leaves me wanting to know more about her.

The pacing of the story was very well done, it got straight to the point and left me curious to know what is going to happen next. So, if you’re looking for an adventurous graphic novel with stunning artwork, then this is the book for you!

This was absolutely amazing. The art is beautiful, and it’s the perfect pirate adventure story. It seems to be well researched and be historically accurate. I would definitely want read more of the comics.

As a kid, The Pirates of the Caribbean was my favourite movie franchise. Even now, I tend to love reading about pirates and sea adventures when they’re present in stories. This is why it’s especially unfortunate that this graphic novel didn’t live up to my expectations.

Nemesis follows a pirate named Raven, who is known for his bad luck. He embarks on a journey to steal the governors treasure, and finds himself in a lot more trouble than he bargained for when he meets the prisoner Lady Darksee.

I expected this story to be at least partially inventive or unique, but sadly it was quite ordinary compared to other adventures I’ve read. The characters felt two dimensional; I could hardly distinguish any of their personalities aside from the protagonists Raven and Darksee. Several scenes felt unnecessary in terms of plot development, and I found myself ultimately bored with the whole thing. The art was decent, which is the reason for the extra star, but otherwise I was left feeling pretty disappointed by this graphic novel.

For: fans of POTC, pirates, adventure stories
TW for book: mentions of assault, mild violence and blood

This is a very splendid and enjoyable comic book with script and art by the French author and artist Mathieu Lauffray, published in France by Dargaud, in in Europe by Europe Comics.

The year is 1666 and the book features the young pirate Raven, who is the sole survivor of an explosion at a Spanish ship, when Captain Black Vane and his crew annex the ship.
When Raven arrives at the Isle of Tortuga, the other pirates are angry with him. They are convinced he brings bad luck, and do not want him on the island. But when he hears of Captain Lady Darksee’s plan to find The Treasure of Chichen Itza, he decides to make it to the island before her and discover the treasure for himself. But will time be with him, and what obstacles might come in the way?

What I especially enjoyed about this comic books, was firstly – of course – the pirates. I always love a good pirate story, but what I particularly enjoyed in this one, was the rough drawings. I would not call the drawings beautiful, however they had a roughness to them, which seemed so realistic, that it became enjoyable. Pirates are not pretty, pristine, or clean. They are pirates, brutes and bastards.
Secondly, I thoroughly enjoyed the female pirate, Lady Darksee. Again, because there was nothing ladylike about here at all, which is also realistic. To become a female pirate is no easy job, and like any other pirate she is not nice, or pretty. She is evil, mean, and brutal. Furthermore, I enjoyed how her hair was not sleek, or gathered into a hairdo. It is rather one big tangle, darkish, and big.
All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable book and I could definitely see myself continuing the series, once a sequel is published. Trigger warnings for mention of assault (and one scene where assault is implicated, but no graphics), and mild violence and blood, however nothing is very graphic and most is shown with milder red stripes.

If you enjoy pirates in general, or adventure stories, I would definitely recommend this comic to you.

Really liked the overall premise of the story, will be a super intriguing plot once all the volumes are available. As it was in this first volume, the story felt a little scattered. The main character Raven was quite underwhelming to me, but Lady Darksee has huge potential. Stunning art style, which really suited the story.

Raven, by Mathieu Lauffray is another excellent addition to the Europe Comics line. The artwork and storyline are interesting and well done. Buccaneer stories are always a favorite and this one has good characters and a great storyline. I can't wait for the next chapter in the story.

Get ready to set sail on a thrilling treasure hunt through the Caribbean.

A really fun adventure told alongside amazing artwork. Definitely reminds me of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, for the setting obviously, but also for the tale of a Pirate (Raven/Jack Sparrow) who lives the moment and gets himself into (and out of) tricky situations.

Loved the male protagonist Raven as much as the female antagonist Lady Darksee, and am curious to see how their stories intertwine in the next volumes of the series!

I really felt a french bande dessinée vibe reading through this, and only realized at the end that it was in fact originally published in french... I wished I had read the original, but at least the art remains the same regardless of language.

Special thanks go to the netgalley team and the publishers for providing this ARC. I appreciate the opportunity to read it in exchange for an honest review.

I rather enjoyed the beginnings of this pirate story. I thought the artwork was great and was glad that the pirates and even other characters actually look like normal people that have been through some stuff as opposed to everyone looking amazing. The story was rather fun, I like the addition of a lady pirate captain to break out of the usual, but now I want to know what happens!

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I'm not quite sure how to feel about this. It wasn't amazing and yet it wasn't bad. It was, for want of a better word, meh.

The art was alright, the colours were ok, the story was middling, the characters were not very memorable. The protagonist was like a pale imitation of Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow but without all the likeability. He was hardly even an anti-hero and I very much wasn't rooting for him.

The suggested ordering of rape of a captured girl by a female leader was very triggering and also, I felt, completely unnecessary. They'd already shown the female pirate leader to be a ruthless woman, now she's shown to be a despicable one too. So, if you can't root for her, and you can't root for the protagonist who's just looking to save his own skin, who can you root for here? And that is where the issue lies in this comic. The story can't benefit from characters who all seem to have the same selfish characteristics.

Of course, this was only the start of the story so maybe the story progresses in a better way. I'd say this wasn't so bad that I wouldn't be interested in reading more as there is potential for everything to turn around and improve greatly.

I LOVE the art! This graphic novel has amazing art work, and great characters! While I like the way they drew the main character, Raven, I LOVE the way they drew Darksee!

The story so far is intriguing and more than interesting enough to make me want to read more! I love a good pirate book! I

It’s an graphic novel about pirates

Raven is an badass pirate who gets in all kind of trouble.
And the bad villain is an lady pirate.

I really enjoyed reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

A new pirate adventure book that got me so captivated. I love pirates and this book was not a disappointement. It was fascinating and the art was good . The first adventure don't take many many pages to start with a lot of nonsense. The main character is an anti hero called Raven, who is a total daredevil completely reckless and you don't get bored with him. We don't know all Raven's story just that he was rescued by a pirate as a kid from a merchant ship . There is a treasure that everyone is looking for but mainly the dangerous Lady Darksee who is a merciless pirate captain of the Capricorn, she wants Raven's death because he stands between her and her chance for a royal pardon.
I really enjoyed reading this first chapter of Raven's adventures and I want to discover the next coming ones.

This graphic novel is quite good, I think. I really like the art style as I've been a fan of the 'sketchy' effect as I find it more fluid than clean cut drawings. I really liked the story. The build up of the background wasn't too much that it was a little unnecessary, but enough to frame the time the story was set in. I liked the grabbing scene at the beginning to keep me wondering if Raven actually survived being tied to an anchor to drown. The scary but cool Darksee was a good character, but if she was meant to represent feminine power, she is kind of cruel to Anne. I would like to read the rest of the story as I am keen to find out what happens to Raven and Anne, and if Arthur actually survives the tale since he is a danger magnet.

Raven is a fearless young pirate as capable of legendary exploits as he is of epic fails. In this inaugural volume, he finds himself on the high Caribbean seas on a search for a treasure meant for the Governor of Tortuga. Allied with the dreadful Lady Darksee, whose hope is to gain royal pardon, the terrible Governor must act quickly. But the impetuous and talented Raven has grand plans to beat them to it…

Hmmm... Pirate stories don't seem to have gained much since the days of, well, the pirates themselves. This latest, that feels exactly like all the other stories in the genre, has a pirate become persona non grata, having been the sole survivor of one act of boat-snatching. We aren't supposed to worry why this wondrously skilled loner actually needs a crew to be a part of, mind, for there's more swashbuckling to be had instead. A sexy woman pirate (who is seriously boring, one-note, and is definitely not written to her full intelligence) is told where some treasure is, and the two of them get a love/hate relationship, but end up pairing up for the capture of it from a nasty volcanic island of cannibals. Like I say, nothing new – and seeing as this is based on Robert E Howard, that too is no surprise.