Tilly has just gotten the opportunity to start her hero career, except things take a turn for the worst on her first few days. The so called “hero” who was mentoring her mentions that he is off to kill an ambassador and when Tilly takes it up with the founder of the company, Tilly is told she either agrees to go along with it or leave completely....except later that night she finds out that the founder has framed Tilly for her own murder! Now she has to join forces with the unlikeliest people and take down the true evil.

A interesting hero story and the artwork is great! A fun read that I would recommend.

*Thanks Netgalley and Diamond Book DistributorsMad Cave Studios for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Villainous was an enjoyable enough tale, if highly predictable since its plot line is one we've all seen many times before. But the illustration was okay and reading it was a pleasant way to pass an entertaining half an hour. This is not a book I'd rush to return to again and again, but it has something to offer fans of the superhero genre, so if you like superhero stories and graphic novels, it is worth checking out. It gets 3.5 stars from me. Good, just nothing new or surprising.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this copy of Villainous in exchange for an honest review.

Villainous is a graphic novel that turns the classic hero and villain tropes on their heads. Our main character Tilly is a sidekick in training and thinks the best news she's ever received is when she's told she's been assigned to the Coalitions big hero Showdown. On her first day as his sidekick, however, Tilly learns of a sinister plot and discovers that maybe her heroes aren't exactly the saviors that the world thinks they are.

Making the choice to do what her heart was telling her was the right thing, Tilly joins up with the stories villains who call themselves The Shadow Order. Together, the story's so called 'Villains' must try to save the world even if that means being the bad guy in the eyes of the people that they're trying to save.

I found this to be such a refreshing twist on what one would usually expect when picking up a comic or graphic novel that centers around the stereotypical superhero. Villainous forces you to consider whether or not the people in power are the ones that should be in power and if everyone who is labeled a 'villain' is truly the bad guy.

Full of art that you could expect from any big name comic publisher, it's hard not to enjoy the atmosphere that you find yourself in while reading. From likable characters to ones you just can't stand, you'll find yourself utterly enthralled by this creative and refreshing take.

My only complaint is that things do happen quite quickly and it's sometimes a bit hard to follow along with all of the characters being introduced. With so many names and people and faces, it's quite difficult to get attached to many of the characters including the main protagonist, Tilly. With this being said, the plot was enjoyable enough that I almost didn't mind the lack of characterization.

Thank you to Netgalley and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read and review this trade paperback.
Naive sidekick realizes her academy wants to use her as a scapegoat joins the villains. The art is classic, the story is pretty straightforward, and more unique characters than usual. Other than that my only issue had to be that there wasn't much more backstory. 3.5 out of 5 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.

Spoilers

I'm sorry to say I did not enjoy this book. The premise that the hero organization is secretly corrupt is not a new one and this take on it was rushed at best. We were barely introduced to any of our characters before the "big reveal" so it wasn't as much of a shock as it should have been. Also for a graphic novel this book was very text heavy with most pages drenched in info dumps. It made this a bit tedious to read to the point where at times I'd just skim the text. All in all not my cup of tea.

Read enough comic books from different eras and you'll notice a certain amount of cultural or political commentary (or at least that the era affects how the writers portray certain ideas). The writers put the political commentary front and center in this book, with discussions about hypocritical institutions, media bias and accusations of "fake news." Whether it could have been more subtle is up for debate, and philosophically the idea of the villains turning out to be antiheroes and that being the final solution for what the world needs is a bit much to swallow.
However, the book takes its ideas and goes all-in, so readers who like this approach and its particular vision will be quite pleased.

Villainous the comic/graphic novel is a story of heroes & villains but lines can go either way and be crossed by the supposed good guys just as easy as a villian. Graphics were beautiful, length is just right and storyline was interesting. Contained a curse word or two & blood, gore, violence were also shown. Recommend for teens, YA, adults.
I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review and opinion from NetGalley.

Interesting take on when what you thought you wanted was something completely different. I liked seeing Tilly's optimism about becoming a superhero and her decendancy/ascendancy to "villainy".