I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

**I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

I liked it, but it didn’t really jump out at me.

** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley

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Villainous (Villainous, Issues 1-5)
by Stonie Williams, Jef Sadzinski, Giovanna T Orozco, and Chris Fernandez

★★★☆☆
112 Pages


Villainous was an intriguing story of a young girl entering into the Hero Program at the most prestigious Coalition of Heroes (sometimes referred to a COH) only to discover corruption runs deep.

The artwork was about 90% gorgeous and lovely to look at, but there were times when it drifted into the cartoonish-grotesque, especially when people were supposed to look angry, displaying over-the-top psychotic features.
The characters were really diverse in style, race, belief, and how far they were willing to push the boundaries, which was great to see. There were all kinds of personalities and varying degrees of good/bad, as well as motivations for what they did.

I liked that the world of superheroes seemed quite open, in this world. The police knew they existed, knew their superhero identities and trusted them to keep the streets clean. However, there wasn't much worldbuilding beyond that. What made these people superheroes? How did they come by their powers? There was a hint that Tilly's parents were both “normal” white people, but somehow she was born reptilian, and that was never explained, which felt like a huge world-building gap.

There was a lot of exploration of corruption, justice, and good vs bad, as well as whether or not heroes should have the power/capacity to kill within their remit. However, as the old saying goes – one person's freedom fighter is another's terrorist – and that's definitely a strong theme here.

Sadly, I feel the title is misleading, as the “villains” of the story aren't the true villains, but they embrace the title instead of fighting to clear their names. There were back stories to the villains, that explains they've been separate from the COH for about 10 years, but no one has ever bothered to fight against the status quo until Tilly comes along. Which doesn't really makes sense, to me, as a main plot point. Surely the old, but cliché, concept of recording the bad guy admitting to their crimes – of which they bragged a lot, here – and leaking that, would have solved their problem 10 years ago.

The name of the organization, Coalition of Heroes is also known as COH, which was really hard to decipher, in the chosen text font, and sometimes looked more like an awkwardly slanted 'con' or 'can'.

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Overall, I liked the main story, and how it was executed, but there were a few niggled for me that just limited my enjoyment. The cartoonish faces, the somewhat inept bad guys, and the lack of effort put in by the good guys, just didn't feel realistic to the situation. I also had a problem with the final page, where two people who had supposedly died (and one was a bad guy) are standing behind Tilly, ready to take the next step in taking down the Big Bad. Yet, this is never explained in the story. How are two people, who were dead pages ago, suddenly alive? Why is the villain part of their crew?
Because of these unanswered questions, I had to lower my rating, because it feels like I've either missed something, or the story is incomplete.

I’m a sucker for a good anti-hero and Villainous seemed like a fun spin on the genre. It was a little slow in the beginning but definitely did not disappoint! The plot was interesting and the illustrations were great, and gave off the right sort of sci-fi vibe! If you like superhero graphic novels, Villainous will be a good, short read for you!

Villainous reads like a PG-13 version of The Boys, where the supposed good heroes are actually the baddies, and vice versa.

A new intern joins the world's superhero team only to find out things are not what they seem. Now framed for her own murder, she joins the "villains" to take down the heroes. There are some good concepts here but it's not fleshed out enough.
The book's premise was good but this was not the book for me. While the art was good, the cartoonish reactions did not work. The story tropey and tried to do too much in too little space, leading to plot holes.

2.5 rounded up to 3 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This comic is not for those who have consumed many superheroes comics, it is a PG-13 take on "What if superheroes are actually the baddies?" Our main character, Tilly was framed for murder by the superhero group, the Coalition of Heroes, and was forced to end up with the seemingly baddies. It does nothing new that veteran comic readers have seen before. The writing is decent, Stonie Williams have a lot of potential, but they need more polishing. You can tell Jef Sadzinski tries to be original with his artstyle, which I can appreicate, however some panels looked awkward.

I loved the premise of this book and how it plays around with heroes and villains and the ideas of both. I loved the graphic novel format and it was a fast read for me.
I really liked this story and I would love to read more.

We are following a young girl that wants to join a group of heroes but is used as a scapegoat for something that is going on behind the scenes. I really like the idea of how the team vilifies our main character to make her look like the bad guy - at the same time I am a little confused as to how exactly that was supposed to work but I still enjoyed the idea.
Our main character then joins the band of villains who - surprise, surprise - do not turn out to be as villainous as society makes them out to be.

It is a theme that lately has been used a lot and I can see reviewers already claiming that this trope was copied from something else - but it simply is a trope that has been much more prominent lately. It does not seem copied to me. And while other readers might not like this trope as much - it is one of my favorite ones - when we look at the obvious heroes and are prompted to question if those figures are truly "perfect" heroes and the villains simply evil - or if there are more layers to the people around us.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Amazing art with an interesting story that was well written and fantastic. I really enjoyed the characters and the author’s way of making them relatable to young readers.

Beautiful art, stunning story development, and great characters! It was a great read. Thank-you for sharing it with me!

Unfortunately this book was archived before I could read it in the pocketbook app. and i have to make this stupid thing the appropriate length.

What if superheroes sucked?

Villainous is Stonie William’s first graphic novel and is also the first in the Villainous series. Published in May 2021, it has received mixed reviews leaning towards negativity, despite the popularity of the following comics in the series.

Despite being aimed at the teenage/young adult audience, this comic is better suited for younger children. It deals with many clichés and stereotypes that make it dull and difficult for older readers to get through.

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Summary
The story follows Tilly, a lizard-human hybrid who is one of many interns at the Coalition of Heroes. She’s spent her entire life working towards this moment, so it should be a dream come true. But when Tilly overhears crucial information, she suddenly realizes that the good guys aren’t always that good. Torn between doing what’s right and doing what’s expected of her, she struggles to navigate this complicated world of heroism and villainy.

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Commentary
Villainous is one of the worst graphic novels that I’ve read to date. It monopolizes already-overused clichés in the superhero genre and as a result, the comic creates a wholly unimaginative story that leaves no lasting impression whatsoever.

Praise
- One of the very few highlights of this comic is the art style. Illustrator Jef Sadzinski did an incredible job designing each of the heroes and villains. Although some of the outfits are clichéd, others are a great example of imagination. The protagonist isn’t always perfect looking, and the nuance of her emotions are captured in amusing ways throughout the comic.
- The supposed “villains” are far more interesting than the heroes. They have greater depth and don’t tick as many TV Trope boxes. The main character resembles a lizard rather than a model, the super tough machoman makes fan videos in his spare time, and their costumes are an interesting mix of modern and classic movie villain design.
- It breaks down what it means to be a hero and a villain. Tilly is forced to question what actually makes someone good or bad, as well as the role society plays in that. The comic makes the reader wonder just how many ‘good’ people in positions of power are only there because no one has thought to question them yet.

Critique
- Clichés, stereotypes, and tropes galore! Not a single line of this comic came as a surprise because it was so predictable. Good cop versus bad cop, “my entire life’s been a lie!”, the badguy has a heart of gold, dramatic reveal ending, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”, friends to enemies, holograms, “so you lied to me!”, reluctant-to-kill-hero, colourful costumes with a chest insignia, etc.
- Everything is very convenient. Tilly overhears a villainous plot just at the right moment. The police never show up too early or too late. Something even delays the hero by pure chance which of course prevents them from exploding along with their car. It’s painful to read.
- The characters have no depth. Tilly’s parents gave up everything for her to attend the Superhero Academy TM. However, we never actually see this happening, which makes it difficult to care about it. Likewise, when the good guy suddenly turns evil, it’s neither shocking nor interesting because we haven’t seen them do anything good yet. Everything is one dimensional and flat which makes it impossible to care about any of it.

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Recommendations
Overall, I’d give Stonie Williams and Jef Sadzinski’s Villainous a one out of five. It’s a painful rehashing of superhero stereotypes and misunderstood villains that includes clichés on every second line.

I’d recommend this novel to younger children, purely because of their lack of exposure to these stereotypes before now. So older readers beware; the only surprise this comic offers is how completely unsurprising the storyline is.

I would like to see more of this story. I had a good start to it, and I think it will only progress as the story goes on.

I love some superhero action. I’m a sucker for all things heroic – DC or Marvel, I don’t mind, I’ll still gobble it up.

But there’s one thing I like even more than heroes – anti-heroes, or villain origin stories. I just find it so satisfying, seeing the creation of a villain or an anti-hero, what made them the way they are now, what makes them tick, their morals, their reasons, everything. It makes for an even more intriguing tale than a hero’s journey could be – or maybe that’s just me.

Villainous was that kind of story. The tale of a young, impressionable Matilda ‘Rep-Tilly’ Anderson, who only wanted to be a hero and help people. Instead, she sees the darker side of the Coalition she so admired, and is forced to make a choice – go with the flow that Pillar and those around her have set, or forge her own path, one more in-sync with her morals. Soon, she becomes a liability for the Coalition – and liabilities need to be dealt with.

Honestly, I loved this graphic novel. It was right up my alley, and Tilly was such a relatable character that you can’t help but root for her and her newfound family of anti-heroes. The girl had to see her dreams crushed, and then framed for her own murder – that was messed up! In my opinion, she was better off with the Shadow Order – she looked like a real badass in the end!

The story was a bit fast and didn’t drag for long. Not a ton of details, but this was a comic of sorts, so they weren’t needed. It had the appropriate amount of action, and the dialogues were smooth and rich. The design was also lit!

I recommend this to any comic-loving superhero fan. It was a delight and easy to read through, and it offers a small break to relax your brain and have fun through Tilly and her adventure towards vigilantism.

***I was given an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinion stated in this review is solely mine, and no compensation was given or taken to alter it.***

I wish it were longer! And I enjoyed the action and the art of this graphic novel. It reminded me of “We the Boys” TV show, but characters and and story line made it stand on its own. This has potential to be an amazing graphic novel series.

I absolutely loved the artwork in this graphic novel. The storyline itself was ok, but I think the concept behind it had a lot of merit. I would definitely give this creator another read in the future.

I’m a sucker for a good anti-hero and Villainous seemed like a fun spin on the genre. It was a little slow in the beginning but definitely did not disappoint! The plot was interesting and the illustrations were great, and gave off the right sort of sci-fi vibe! If you like superhero graphic novels, Villainous will be a good, short read for you!

If 'The Boys' was a YA graphic novel... then this would be it!!

The artwork, typography, colouring and overall design of this book is * chefs kiss *

This was a fun read. I was refreshed by a new character and interesting topic. Can wait to see it come out and share it with others.

A unique take on a superhero comic book, Villainous is an exciting and very interesting story to read. Following a girl who looks like a reptile, tail, scales, claws and all, she finds her way through the world as she works toward her goal, being a superhero. But she really doesn't know what she's in for, and honestly neither did I. A beautifully done book, I really enjoyed reading it from start to finish.

Matilda is a girl who's excited to start her apprenticeship with the local superhero troop, The Coalition. But it's not exactly what she expected. Mostly doing gopher errands, she feels like her new identity as Rep-Tilly is hidden in the shadows. But things turn around quickly for her when she finds out that they don't just save people, they also kill the people that they deem bad enough to kill. And she's not sure how she feels about that. She just wants to be a hero, and heroes don't kill people, right? That's until they set her up as a terrorist to the world for finding out their big secret.

This book was an exciting story of how things can go wrong at the worst time, and people aren't always who you think they are. I really enjoyed getting to know the characters, and I feel like things wrapped up pretty well at the end of the book. I'd love to know more about them and their world, but you know, it's just one graphic novel, and there's only so much story that you can pack into it. I feel like the art really fit the storytelling as well. Definitely check it out if you get the chance, and if you like superheroes.

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