This is a good graphic novel with hits and misses. Thanks to the authors, to NetGalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read it in ARC

What I liked:
The illustrations are well done. The drawings are clear to read, the panels flow well, the coloring is perfect. A lot of care and passion went into the graphical aspect of this comic, and as a reader one can really feel it.
The attention to details is unpeccable, and can be especially appreciated in the space vessels.

The premise of the story is intriguing, and I liked that it is mostly narrated by a the POV of Lieutenent Barrymore, instead than by Captain Bowman, the man who actually has the power to change reality.
I liked to think about how we do not know of the Universe.

What I didn't like:
The characters fell flat for me. I didn't connect or emphatize with any of them. Their re-actions did not feel natural, and there wasn't enough space in a graphic novel of this size to connect with them.

I also found the way certain things were narrated a bit boring. There were a lot of expositions.

I found boring the yellow boxes of text representing what Lieutenent Barrymore would be thinking at a given time.
I am typically fine with narration off screen, I loved the one in Saga and I don't mind the one in Monstress. In those cases, we get to read reflections from the characters that pair well with what's happening in the panels, but it is never a 1:1 account if what's going on. Here instead we read Barrymore's thoughts as the scenes are unfolding. This is in part redundant, and in part it makes it even more difficult to connect with the characters: instead of being given the time to see and feel how the characters feel, we are literally told.

Finally, the story overall didn't elicit a strong response from me. I feel the premise is fantastic and that possibly it would have resonated more with me if it was given maybe twice as many pages so as to have more space to connect with the characters and to narrate the story with fewer expositions.

Overall, the graphic novel is a well crafted product -- just it wasn't the one for me.

(Automatically posting this review to goodreads failed. I am assuming the authors/publishers would prefer not to be posted there. I would be happy to manually add it there only if the authors/publishers will explicitly request it)

General Impressions

I picked this up without knowing the slightest thing about it other than it is sci-fi and I was getting some Aurora Rising vibes from it so that was enough for me.

I was a few pages in when I realized that I was going to have a lot of reasons to like this book: the art looked great, the plot was interesting and I had no idea where it was headed and I desperately wanted to know.

Then everything went wrong.

We follow two characters in the military: a woman who has a desk job and a man who piloted space ships, who meet at the end of their missions for some downtime.

This is a story set in the future where androids exist to do all sorts of menial or boring jobs and yet, all those androids are PoC.

Soon after that, the female character has to be given a medical exam by a middle-aged, overweight doctor, who looks like the definition of a predator and of course, she has to be drawn completely naked. On two separate occasions. How would the readers get any excitement in this story otherwise?

The plot is good, but not good enough for me to let go of that or how we are supposed to root for a romantic hero that tells the woman several times that she looks like a man and should try not to.

Seriously, what the hell?!

Thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for gifting me this DRC

Rating: 2/5

I loved this, space opera is at it's heart vast and all encompassing, but at it's core, all about the personal element, the lives lived and lost over the incomprehensible backdrop of the universe.

This story very much has not forgotten that truth, a soldier, a 'navigator' returns to earth after dangerous missions, only to find that things have changed, not just for him, but for the world. Into this is introduced another soldier also returning from weary service, and together they explore the depths of the heart and soul.

This could easily have been another "Enders Game", but ended more with the feeling of "Contact" and all the emotions that went with that. All the way through the story, the character has powers they cannot explain, powers that others want them to use for their purpose, and it's only at the end, when someone shows them that power is not only in the use of it, but in the relinquishing of it, that they may be free to choose for themselves, something that they truly want.

Loved every second, devoured it within an hour, Would highly recommend.

So there's a meet-cute in an artificial resort run for military leaders and suchlike, people engaged with the current intergalactic war at the fringes of the solar system. He is a navigator with nasty nightmares of being absorbed by a Venom-like splurge of dark matter, while she has just amassed enough time to stop there. Despite the drone spies, and the creepy GP, and her grassing on both him and the doctor to the other, they connect – and suddenly go on the lam. However, even down dark and dingy New York alleyways there are still people watching them – and hoping one of them is not exactly as they seem...

One thing evident from this was that it was a pleasure to read a sci-fi comic that was a stand-alone. There were times I wondered if we would get through it all, but there is no 'part one' attached to this as far as I can see. Another thing evident was that the gaze was very much male, and it's not only the creepy doctor who likes goggling at her while she's naked. But more importantly, I found this really quite enjoyable – not completely taxing, nowhere near a hundred per cent convincing, but good fun, with a premise the creators get quite a lot out of, come the conclusion. It's a space opera with no battle action, it's a character study with singular characters, it's a future-scape where we don't care what year we're in... It's a pleasant genre piece that ultimately shouldn't be exclusive only to sci-fi readers. I can't pretend it would win any awards anywhere, but it was certainly well worth the short spell of time taken with it. A strong four stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Man Who Invented the World by Rodolphe and Bertrand Marchal is an adult science fiction thriller that will appeal to fans of Valerian or Saga: the graphic novel series. The story revolves around a man named John and a woman named Charlene. John is suffering from PTSD nightmares after encountering a horror in the depths of space. One day, he meets his new neighbor, Lieutenant Charlene Barrymore, a programmer for the Army Intervention Mission. She's blond and pretty, and she's intrigued by the man living next door. Why are they suspicious of each other? Is their country club planet a paradise or a prison? And what happens when they leave together?

Overall, The Man Who Invented the World is an action-packed blend of science fiction and thriller is a dash of romance. It will appeal to readers who enjoy tragic heroes and superhero comics. One highlight of this book is the art. The characters are drawn well and the colors are bright enough to draw the eye without being corny. I took off 1 star because the ending felt rather anticlimactic. Although it was a nice culmination of John's journey, I felt as though the climax was not very visually interesting. In addition, some would say that this graphic novel is rather short. It's 86 pages instead of the standard 120. To be honest, though, I actually didn't notice. The story felt complete as is. If there is a sequel, I would be interested in reading it. If you're intrigued by the synopsis, or if you're a fan of graphic novels in general, you can check out this book, which is available now!