Abbott:1973 stars a queer, black superhero lead against a gritty 1970s Detroit setting. The art style feels old school 70s/80s Marvel, which is fitting for the setting of the comic. And it even feels like Spider-man with the main character being a journalist/news paper reporter. I didn't realize this wasn't a standalone, and while it was easy to get into and understand, I think it would be better to read all of the parts together as intended.

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

Featuring a black, queer, woman protagonist/superhero, this action packed story set in 1973 Detroit features gorgeous color art & a heartwarming plot.

[What I liked:]

•Having worked in Detroit & lived in the metro area, I enjoyed the setting—featuring local landmarks like the DIA. The historical details were also well done, & I enjoyed the fashion depictions.

•Abbott, the protagonist, is a legit bad-A woman! A reporter for a local black newspaper, she’s also out & proud, committed to social justice, & “the light bearer”—a superhero fighting an evil force called Umbra. She is pretty cool & easy to like & root for.

•The art is absolutely gorgeous! Vibrant, smooth, striking. The panels & action guide your gaze fluidly across the page. I love how colorful it is, especially the covers for each volume.

•I appreciate how the story highlights the need for intersectionality in the fight for civil rights. As Abbott is working for racial justice, she faces constant sexism from her fellow black colleagues & boss at the newspaper. The Equal Rights Amendment is also discussed in light of this.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•The ending is a bit open ended—which I guess is fine if there’s going to be a sequel. Still, I wasn’t crazy about how things ended between Abbott & her partner. It was pretty abrupt.

•The character development for the characters besides Abbott was a bit shallow. The relationship between Abbott & her partner could have used more development too.

CW: murder, spirit possession, sexism, racism, substance abuse, violence (fights)

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I really wanted to like this comic book, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. I feel like the story itself had a lot of potential and the art is beautiful, but the writing was pretty predictable and basic. I just couldn't look past that.

I still think many will like this way more than I did.

I really enjoyed this. I didn't realize there was another volume set before this so I'm going to be reading that too and the fact that I hadn't read it didn't take away from this at all. I'm actually really curious to see what's going to happen next. I love the art and the story kept me interested the whole time too.

I've blown through the first Abbott and this upcoming sequel today and wish there were more.

This edition brought along a few new characters - including a douche bag publisher - and more darkness to Elena's life. I enjoyed the volume but, man, they just go by so quickly making me want so much more. Hopefully, I won't have to wait too long before the next volume is ready.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read Abbott: 1973 early!

I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC. All opinions are my own.

TW: misogyny, sexism, racism

This is a sapphic graphic novel. I wanted to like this so much! But unfortunately it didn’t. I just felt like something was missing. It took me so long to commit myself to finally finish it.

This story follows journalist Elena Abbott, a queer black woman who has a super power and lives in 1973 Detroit. She is called “The Lightbringer” and she has the power to defeat evil shadow demons that try to possess people. This story takes place as an election nears where Detroit may have its first black mayor, and Elena sees an uptick in evil influence because her enemies do not want a black mayor.

I didn’t like this, it took me forever to read and I think the story could have been told better, if that makes sense.

I’m aware that I will be in the minority, so read other reviews if you’re thinking about reading this.

A great follow up to Abbott that let us explore new characters and cute domestic moments between Elena and Amelia. That ending was not expected and I need the next series to come up ASAP!

With Abbot: 1973, Saladin Ahmed proves once again why he is one of the most talked-about names in comics today. Abbott continues to be one of the best titles in comics publishing and Abbott: 1973 is no exception.

A great follow up to the first volume. I think Abbot is such a great main character and I liked that we got to see more of the relationship between her and Amelia as well as introducing a few new characters to the mix. Overall just a really solid and well-paced story, would definitely recommend to people who like horror or mystery but want more diverse characters [something that is still fairly hard to find in mystery/thriller stuff in particular].

This collection of 5 comics drops us into the middle of a fierce election between a corrupt white mayor and potentially Detroit's first black mayor. Elena Abbott, a local journalist, is working hard to ensure that those trying to meddle with the election are revealed. We quickly learn that hatred-fueled supernatural beings are interfering with the town's residents, and Elena is the Lightbringer with powers against them. Will Elena stop them before they sabotage the election and destroy the people that she loves?

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Genre: Comic book/Graphic Novel; Supernatural, Historical Fiction
Location: Detroit
Reminds me of: Alyssa Cole's When No One is Watching

This gave me serious Alyssa Cole "When No One is Watching" vibes - where racist neighborhood meddling has supernatural undercurrents. I liked how it pairs light vs. dark and that the journalist main character can shine light on the darkness with her work. It was exciting as she fought to uncover who / what was threatening her loved ones and the neutrality of the upcoming election.

This was a sequel to a previous series of comics, and I suspect if I'd read these, I'd be more familiar with the backstory and be more emotionally invested in the characters. Because I hadn't, some of the character and story just fell a little flat.

I definitely related to her battles to be a badass journalist pushing against a boss who just wanted to feminize her and relinquish her to domestic spaces. His efforts to make her dress more conventionally and show her off as a prize felt equal to the evil faced with the supernatural spirits.

I saw so much potential in this comic and am eager to read the preceding comics to see if it provides that deeper context I wanted here.

Thanks to @boom_studios and #netgalley for this eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was not aware that Abbott: 1973 was part of a larger series until after I started reading this. But since that was my fault, I tried not to let that influence my enjoyment and overall rating as much as possible. With that said, there were definitely some pieces of the story that I missed and felt lost on, so I do recommend reading the earlier works before this one. This was still pretty easy to follow, and I was able to pick up on the missing pieces relatively easily, but it definitely would have been easier if I had the context.

Overall though, this was objectively a pretty solid read! I enjoyed the setting and atmosphere the most, and especially the art style. I did find the plot the be a little predictable and basic, but still enjoyable. The dialogue was good for the most part and I liked the character relationships, but I found it to occasionally be just a bit overdramatic. The plot also felt rushed at times; I would have liked to spend more time with certain characters and have some scenes be more drawn out.

I’m not sure if I’ll want to continue with this series, but I’m glad I had the opportunity to read the first volume!

dnf @43%.

i really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. i didn't like the storyline and plot - i found nothing about it captivating. the characters were flat and boring. and i didn't like the art style.

i understand that other people will probably like this book more than me.

Author Saladin Ahmed's latest work 'Abbott: 1973', traces the life of reporter Elena Abbott's journey as she covers the city election and trying to protect the city from evil powers. I absolutely loved the way author has infused in the story the issues of racial discrimination, woman's rights and the rights of African American people through the mastery of writing style and narration. Overall, it was a great experience going through the work. I give it 5 stars and highly recommend it.

Abbott 1973-Review

Author: @saladin-ahmed
Genre: Comics & Graphic novels/Horror/LGBTQIA+
Page Count:132 pages
Publication Date: 12th of October (12/10/21)

OMFG I LOVED THIS COMIC SO FREAKING MUCH!

Thank you to @netgalley / @boom-studios for providing me with this e ARC before publication in return for a honest review

Blurb;
Detroit’s hardest hitting journalist, Elena Abbott, is trying to make a fresh start at a newspaper….but her deadly past isn’t ready to go. The city is days away from the historic election of a black candidate as their new mayor, but a vicious new group has emerged to destroy him, targeting anyone who supports his campaign or the change he represents. That means Abbott, who discovers the group is connection to a dangerous dark magic, has been targeted for certain death-unless she embraces her true power as the Lightbringer to save the city.

Review:

This comic is so good within this 132 page comic it covers so many important themes

Okay so first up I’m so happy Abbott is back I remember reading the older comics so I was excited for this one.

This comic is a great introduction to this sequel series

This issues takes place in 1973, at the time where social injustices of sexism, sexuality and race are at its highest point

If you haven’t read the originals than I would say to check them out however you don’t need to have read them to read this copy.

SUPERNATURAL MYSTERIES AND BADASS WOMEN YES PLZ

WLW relationship do I need to say more

And the ARTWORK IN THIS COMIC YOU ARE NOT READY FOR ITS SO AMAZING!

Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ stars

Publisher: @boom-studios
Artist: @samikivela
Colourist: @mattiaiacono-colors-
Cover: @tajfrancis
Letterer: @jimcampbell

#wlwrelationship #boomstudios #abbott1973 #abbott #supernatural #blm #socialinjustice

Thank you so much to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing me with a DRC of this graphic novel for an honest review.

I should admit that I made the mistake of thinking this was the first volume of the series and read it as such, only to quickly realize it was a sequel. That's fine though, even when you read it with no prior knowledge of what happened before, it still manages to hold up well. There were a few things that I got confused with but the world building was solid enough for me to catch up soon after. This read like a superhero comic (my favorite!) and reminded me of Gotham Central.

Elena is a black queer reporter in the 70s, battling sexism, racism, homophobia AND dark powers that are trying to take her down ALL at the same time. I don't know what your definition of a superhero is but she definitely is one! This was an engaging and interesting read and I can't wait to read more - especially about how Elena and Amelia's relationship progressed over time since I enjoyed the flashbacks a lot and thought I should definitely read the previous volume. My enjoyment of it ultimately suffers from the fact that I thought it was a standalone, even though this isn't the author's fault, so hopefully I will enjoy the other volumes as much as I did this one - with more context on the story.

This was a good read. It is the second volume in the Abbott series. I haven't read the first volume but that didn't hinder the enjoyment of reading this volume. It simply means that I have the first volume and an exciting catch up waiting for me.

This book sees the journalist Elena Abbott fighting battles on several fronts. The Umbra (evil entities) have returned and they are doing their best to destroy Elena by picking off her friends and family. Elena's girlfriend has been kidnapped by the mafia and the Umbra are involved in the shadows. A new misogynistic and sexist man now runs the newspaper that Elena works for and he is subtly obnoxious and undermining, determined to relegate Elena to the margins.

Unfortunately for him Elena doesn't care about his petty behaviour. There are more crucial battles to be fought. When her girlfriend is kidnapped she knows she has to raise her game and fight the Umbra a second time in order to save her girlfriend but the battle is to be fought on different fronts. Someone or something is trying to scare the city's white community so that they vote against the new black mayoral candidate. Elena knows the mafia are involved but she also recognises the hand of the Umbra in this. Elena knows that she cannot fight these battles on her own so she seeks the help of her brother who is somewhat distanced and recovering from his military service in Vietnam. Both visible and invisible enemies make this a series of battles that may take Elena down.

I thought this was really engaging and also gritty and hard hitting in a good way. The storytelling is rich and engaging. It has an enjoyable supernatural aspect and it also manages to tackle so many other issues - race, discrimination, politics, gender equality, political corruption, sexism in the workplace and so on.

Set in 1973, Eleanor is a tough and fearless journalist and also a tough and steely supernatural practitioner. The artwork is good the story is very engaging and you can follow it even without having with the first volume.

Now that I've read this one I definitely want more I will be following this series closely as well as reading the first volume.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was solid, though I wish I'd read the original 2018 run of Abbott before diving into this. The plot still made total sense, but the emotional stakes probably would've been higher, since some of the characters would've been more familiar. I particularly liked the relationship between Elena Abbott and her girlfriend Amelia, and I am curious to read further issues, given the cliffhanger this ended on.

In this graphic novel we follow Elena Albott, a queer Black woman, as she tries to start fresh working at for the newspaper. Obviously that isn't quite what happens.

The interesting story + the great pacing kept me invested all throughout it.

This was overall a very solid start of a series!

Thank you so much to netgalley for providing me with a copy for this book to review.

As someone who enjoyed the first bindup of Abbott (published in 2018) very much I was excited to dig into this next installment - and I'll have to say that it didn't disappoint at all! The art style is cool, stunning, and visually inventive, and just really nice to look at. The characters are compelling and the plot upholds a tense atmosphere throughout every single issue.
My only criticism of this book is that it felt very much like a sequel, succumbing to what I would otherwise call "second book syndrome". Nevertheless, it was still very enjoyable.

I enjoyed this comic so much--I mean, queer black woman journalist at the forefront of a supernatural battle?? The whole thing was so good! Elena Abbott is a great character and I loved her relationship with Amelia and the reflection of the era on their interactions. This is great for fans of a traditional or vintage comic who want to experience that format from a nuanced perspective. I'm looking forward to reading more of Abbott in the future.