I felt like I was reading a science book. I couldn’t finish it. I kept wanting to get to the story, but the plant/soil/matter facts kept droning. Maybe someone into science would like it more. Liked the beginning premise of Hades holding a contest, seemed like kids who enjoyed Squid Games would like that part of the book.

Well, this was thoroughly unique – just not in the best way. There's a whole horde of humans that think they're applying for the job that Hades is giving up. Yup, the happiest and richest god of the underworld (because, you know, job satisfaction and all those mines, and perhaps Cerberus too) wants someone to replace him. But our young heroine is wanting a one-to-one to him to have a go-around with someone she's lost. So what happens with the story, but to turn the whole drama into a Reithian Maze Runner, where education about our world's soils is just as important as making it a survival adventure.

Go figure.

Now, I might have appreciated this a bit better if there was more of a clue to be had from the start that this was done with edutainment as intent. It was certainly a shock when the contest begins and some robot thing keeps BAMFing in and out of existence to chunter on about soil contents and the critters in our fields and gardens. As it is, it is clearly not a major failure – just such an unexpected read. But the washed-out palette, that makes this all look like a fifth generation colour photocopy of some Fantastic Voyage knock-off, doesn't help, and neither does the hair-over-the-face, couldn't-care-less mien of the lead girl. Rife with poor decisions, this is a rum one, the likes of which you probably have to experience to believe.

Was not what I was expecting. This is a graphic novel that is more about taking care of our environment and geological information, with a dash of underworld. If it did not have the nudity it would be a great educational youth graphic novel. However this wasn't for me.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

On a quest to find her friend if she wins the successor challenges Hades, god of the underworld is hosting

Soon enough all participants become open to a world below the earth. This book takes you by the hand and shows you the dangers of environmental abuse of the soil

It shows you the uses, why it's important we protect our soil and earth, and how to protect it

The comic Underworld is about Hades looking for a successor - someone that knows and can navigate with Underworld, but with a twist.
I really enjoyed the twist on what the underworld is/can be. It gives the comic a nice educational side. The art is also neat, although not my favourite style.
I definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to learn about the world *below ours*, both young and old.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing me with an free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.*

After loving media like Squid Game and The Hunger Games, this sounded right up my alley. However, it fell a little short.

This was by no means a bad book, it was very middle of the road for me. My biggest issue was the sheer amount of information about soil life. It was too dense and took away from the action, in my opinion. It wasn’t produced in a context I feel was actually digestible a lot of the time. There were a few things I did learn, like a worm’s role which was cool and how humans beginning agriculture affected climate overall. Another reason this element was an issue for me is because I didn’t feel properly prepared for it. In rereading the synopsis it doesn’t accurately indicate that the competition aspect takes a back seat to the educational aspect, which I’d like to have known. For me, the facts were too convoluted and numbered too many.

I also found Thomas annoying. When our MC latched onto him in the beginning, I don’t understand why. She just picked anyone and was like, I’ll stick with you. There’s nothing particularly interesting or special about him nor is he enthusiastic about partnering up. Worse, he’s a hinderance almost the entire time. He does have a fee redeeming moments and I did like his arc, but his presence was forced and the romance I didn’t but at all.

The lens we see Hades through is interesting. Its certainly unique to emphasize the soil and it’s inhabitants as an important part of his Underworld rule. I did have a hard time seeing the relevance of the challenges though, and how the winning of those could illustrate a strong candidate for Hades’ successor. I’m not sure I got an answer on that in the end, especially when we have someone strong and kind and worthy like Ulysses dying in a random way and the ones everyone else saved the entire making it to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy!

3.5 stars.
Hades puts on a competition, saying anyone who makes it through can get at his horn of plenty. People from all over participate, and it very quickly becomes obvious Hades isn’t doing this for fun; he’s pretty pissed off at how humans are destroying the planet and everything that sustains us through pollution, inappropriate use of technology and poor practices.

There is a lot of interesting information conveyed about the components and role of the soil as the contestants go through one difficult and sometimes terrifying challenge after another, exploring the complex world beneath our feet. I learned some stuff, and enjoyed this, though I could have totally done without the kiss near the end— it was unnecessary, and came out of nowhere for the characters Suzanne and Tom.

Thank you to Netgalley and Europe Comics for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc copy, for an honest review.

A 16-year-old girl was walking through the woods and found a piece of paper that said “Hades, God of the underworld, seeking a successor In the land of the dead.” She wanted to talk to Hades and this was her chance but once she got to the underworld she realized that Hades was having a competition for someone to take his place. So she decided maybe if she can talk to Hades or whoever else wins she can talk to them about bringing her friend back to life.
This graphic novel was very scientific in biology. One can learn lots of things. Easy to understand.

A clever mix of satire about Greek mythology (the characters are deliberately drawn in a children's book style) and ecology infomercial that could seem preachy, but works because it highlights what even most Greek mythology students forget: if Hades is lord of the underworld and all the materials underneath the planet's surface, he is lord of the soil as well as materials like gold and jewels.

First of all, thank you NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this. Here is my honest review:

So first if all, the true rating is like 3.75 stars, but I rounded it up to 4.

"'Why're you trying out?'
'Well... it's not every day you find a position that requires no formal training.'"

"Underworld" was definitely a different sort of graphic novel. And maybe it's my fault for skimming the blurb/description (I always do -- it allows me to be surprised by what's coming), but this was not at all what I was expecting. But basically you have Hades who has sent out a request for people to compete to become the new lord of the underworld in his place, though you find out it's so, so much more than that.

This ended up being a read about the dangers humanity faces if we continue to destroy the planet the way we have. It was educational, it was informative, it was something I wish we read in high school biology because man did I learn a few things.

I think my issue with this came down to a character who I thought was going to be an adversary after the main character and him get into an altercation, but then he just... disappears? I have no idea what happened to him. He literally was on the page and gone from the story right after. But really, other than that, I guess I felt like it ended pretty abruptly. I wanted a happier ending, or at least an ending that tied everything up, but maybe that's the point since we're fighting every single day to better this world and, without change, it will never get better, making this more of a wake-up call to the reader.

It was funny, it was entertaining, it hurt my heart to see the truth about what's going on in this world, it made me feel powerless to change it and powerful to help bring about that change. I definitely recommend everyone read this at least once -- and I still think it could be used to teach children about what's going on with our planet... if one scene was just edited, that is.

I was expecting more Squid Games but got Mr. Wizard. My 11-year-old son loved it and without the nudity, it would be a great addition to middle school science classrooms! Honestly, an entire series that marries mythology and science would be fantastic! (Like the Hazardous Tales books but with science.) The drawings were amazing and the characters were great.

I really really enjoyed this read, and the amateur biologist in me loved the scientific aspects. I also appreciated the pun usage throughout. There were times where I felt like the science overwhelmed the plot and therefore some people may not be a fan of this, but as someone who enjoys science, I found that personally this didn’t detract from my experience as a reader. The illustration was excellent throughout and I personally adored the stylistic choices and felt that it was well suited the storyline and narrative. The plot was both funny and informative and made for an enjoyable read.

Graphic novels are really tricky unless you’re the sort of person who, at the book store, has no shame in reading a reasonable amount of it before you commit to buying it. Your enjoyment is of course super dependent on your taste, particularly when it comes to illustrations, and I really didn’t like the style of this one.

I could overlook that though for a cool story. In this one, Hades is looking for a replacement and says as much in an advertisement sent out to the general public. Flocks of people queue to join the list of people applying for the job, so Hades devises a competition to seek out which one of the applicants is really the one for the job.

It’s boring. That’s the bottom line. This isn’t the fantastical mythological adventure you’re expecting, but instead is a lesson on the damage to soil caused by humans through agriculture and ignorance. If you fancy a biology lesson, you may like it, but the cringe-worthy and stilted narrative and weird approach just missed the mark entirely for me. I think it’s very on the money - particularly with the influx of climate change novels at present - but it didn’t work at all for me.

ARC provided from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this graphic book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I remember that learning about soil was one of the most boring parts of lessons in Geography and Biology. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been that bad when I’d had something like this graphic novel to help pick my interest in the magic of soil.😆
The art was a bit iffy and the characters looked just creepy but it was good enough to build an interest in the conclusion of the story. The story itself wasn’t exactly what you would expect when referencing to Hades and Greek mythology but it made some weird way a lot of sense….😃
As to the main point of this graphic novel…Humans suck and destroy everything they get in contact with, in this case soil and natural ecosystems…This sad and infuriating truth made reading this story very bittersweet. It was on point but made me despise humans as a whole even more than I already do…🙄

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

To be completely honest, I feel like the description of this book is misleading. The point might be to trick children and teenagers into caring about the issues discussed in the book by luring them in with the popular premise of Greek mythology. If that’s the case, then it did its job. However, it can also leave the reader (like me) disappointed, since the content doesn’t deliver what was promised. This book is 95% biology/environmental science and maybe 5% Greek mythology. I might have been happier with this book if I had gone into it knowing what it was actually about.

This could have been way better if there had been a better balance of the two subjects and a little less preaching.

I also couldn’t really connect with the main characters. They were really bland and uninteresting. The romance also came out of no where and was them promptly forgotten.

I did really enjoy the art as it was the thing that kept me going when I started to get bored.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

…not at all what I thought this would be: Hades, underworld trials to determine a new successor? Sign me the fuck up. Turns out it’s a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque storyline (well, probably more Squid Game tbh, some contestants do die!) which focuses on teaching the reader about soil, and the damage we’re doing with our agricultural methods. And, surprisingly, I wasn’t annoyed about the biology lecture. I learned a hell of a lot in a really short space of time with very little effort on my part. It was fun.

The art was lovely and the script was easy to follow and understand, whilst still being very educational.

Would recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

…not at all what I thought this would be: Hades, underworld trials to determine a new successor? Sign me the fuck up. Turns out it’s a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory-esque storyline (well, probably more Squid Game tbh, some contestants do die!) which focuses on teaching the reader about soil, and the damage we’re doing with our agricultural methods. And, surprisingly, I wasn’t annoyed about the biology lecture. I learned a hell of a lot in a really short space of time with very little effort on my part. It was fun.

The art was lovely and the script was easy to follow and understand, whilst still being very educational.

Would recommend.

I wanted to read the book because of the main idea, and I still think it is a great idea but the execution had some problems.
It was surprising that it was not about mythology but actual soil, and it had way more gore than I expected or wanted. I know it is in the description that it will be a tour of the soil, I though it was a metaphor, like visiting the god of water, god of minerals, etc. The romance plot line also could have been left out.
I quite liked the ending and the message, but it is a bit undermined by the fact I was confused through the first half basically,

This arc was provided to me via net gallery for an honest review in return.

This was super short, and wasn't what i was expecting going in. It’s definitely more of a science based comic than a Greek lore/hades based story as I expected it to be, This was short and enjoyable and is definitely educational.

The art was what initially caught my eye with this one and i have to say it did not disappoint, the art was beautiful throughout, it was super expressive and clearly keeps the story moving- the art, for me, is definitely the highlight here,.

Overall, an enjoyable read even if it wasn't what i initially expected.

Thank you for NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this comic/graphic novel.

Wow, this was a wild ride! I expected a dark mythological story, and instead got a fun biology lecture. I have to say that this is a genius idea that Burniat had; he's tricking people into learning things about the importance of soil, and how we as humans are endangering it every day with our agricultural methods.

I was surprised, but I really enjoyed this short read. Underworld is an educational, funny adventure into the hidden layers of our soil, and the life that's hidden there.