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.

The art was good but there is room for improving. The story itself was boring.  The attempt to make pirates popular again did not work so well.  Many unnecessary scenes.  Unfortunately, this was not for me.

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.