Cover Image: The Nightmare Brigade #1

The Nightmare Brigade #1

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

Its an interesting story with great illustrations! I love how there is a disabled kid represented! And the plot seems amazing. Who doesn't love a group of kids taking down nightmares?! It also seems spooky and slightly creepy which I liked as well. Excited to read more of this one!

Was this review helpful?

I have to thank NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of the first 48 pages of this book for an honest review. The final version will have over 100 pages and is scheduled to be published on February 1, 2022.

The story follows the adventures of the “nightmare brigade”, a dream team led by Professor Angus. With his two young sidekicks, 14-year-olds Esteban and Tristan, they have one goal: to help people get rid of their worst nightmares.

I liked the illustrations, even though the definition of the image wasn’t great. The storyline was mysterious and, as it progressed, it got me hooked. It’s definitely a page-turner, and the ending was nerve-racking. I really want to know more! On another hand, it’s also so fast-paced that there’s very little build hope for the action. Still fun though!

Although 48 pages aren’t really enough to fall completely in love with the characters, I appreciated that there’s one of the main characters is a disabled person, who’s also really brave, kind and honest. I’m just sorry that the author used the term ‘handicapped’, since it’s offensive, and I hope that is revised and corrected before it is published.

Was this review helpful?

This title was very short and left a lot of loose ends. Estaban and Tristan are two young boys who work with a professor at a local facility to go into people's nightmares to help them overcome their fear. One of the boys is in a wheelchair and his father is the professor when he goes into the dreams he can walk again. The other boy was essentially adopted by the other boy and his father and he has amnesia. When they go into the new client's nightmare they have to figure out what the client's fear is. They figure it out and along the way make friends with the girl and the boy with amnesia senses that they know each other. The police come to the facility and say the father didn't consent to the procedure and have to take the girl back. The police go in to wake the girl up but it skips to the boys in her dream and they are able to continue investigating and she doesn't seem to wake up. This was confusing. When the boys get out of her dream they sneak to their room to say hi which they aren't supposed to do. After she leaves the professor introduces them to what seems to be a prisoner of the facility and says it's the amnesia boys mother and it ends there. It was a confusing story and the art was fuzzy which might just be a problem with the eARC.

Was this review helpful?

4 stars! Loved it and thank you for the ARC. Very unique story line and I cannot wait to read the rest.

Was this review helpful?

This is a comic about a pair of children who can go into other children's nightmares to help them overcome their fears.

I appreciate that it discussed heavy topics, such as anxiety, loneliness, fear of abandonment, divorce, etc.

The main characters are relatable and normal children, which was nice.

There is also disability representation in this comic.

This is good for children who are OK with scarier topics, as it does have a sci-fi element to it.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed the sample I received of this book. It's a unique story with people being able to infiltrate dreams. This is a graphic novel and a quick read. Can't wait ti read the rest of the story.

Was this review helpful?

This was a very interesting book! It’s fast paced and instantly grabs your attention. The quality of the graphics were quite blurry on my ipad, but I can tell that the illustrations were very intricate and cool. The style of the illustrations were particularly unique, and the story reminded me a little of The Umbrella Academy. I’m definitely interested to read more of this book and am looking forward to its release!

Was this review helpful?

I am a french fan of Franck Thilliez's thriller and didn't really know what to expect of this but it was so good. I loved the setting and all the childen. The plot was so original and the world-building great. You can"t stop turning the pages and once you're done you just need to know what happens next.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to NetGally for this preview. This was such an interesting graphic novel! I liked the art style, a bit creepy but perfect for the weird story. It gave me a bit Tim Burton vibes. The story really sucked me in. I liked the mystery around the technology and how the dream world works. The character back story was interesting to find out and I am really interested in what will happen further. I will definitely read the full story when it will come out.

Was this review helpful?

The Nightmare Brigade is a graphic novel following two teenagers, Esteban and Tristan, and their scientist father Professor Angus, as they strive to help young people who are struggling with nightmares. The set-up is really cool; Esteban and Tristan enter the dreams to pinpoint the dreamer’s source of fear, while Professor Angus monitors the situation outside of the dream. Once Esteban and Tristan have helped the dreamer conquer their fear, they can safely exit.

I haven’t read many graphic novels, but this story makes me want to start reading more of this style of book. The illustrations were gorgeous, and the concept was extremely intriguing. The suspense and horror elements of this novel made it impossible for me to put down. Although only the first 48 pages were provided to me, I can’t wait to read the rest when this is officially released.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC, which was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

To enter people's nightmares and change the scenario.. wow! What a page turner graphic novel.. so fun with a touch of creepiness.

Uh... and that ending?
I need the sequel like RIGHT NOW..

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

I really liked the premise of the story and the artwork was fenomenal. I believe I can't give a fair review because I was only given a small part of the book, but from what I read it was interesting and mad me want to read the rest. I would recommend changing the way the text is because it didn't feel right, at least to me. I'm really looking forward to read more of this author and artist.

Was this review helpful?

The Nightmare Brigade is a graphic novel about a team of people that help you with your nightmares. Each member of the team has a unique skill that helps them rid people of their worst nightmare and together they help people. This story is so much fun and easy to read. I flew through it. I really enjoyed the dream aspect of it; it made the story really unique. The art was also great. It's a little slow at first but once your into the story it's great.

Was this review helpful?

The Nightmare Brigade #1 has an interesting premise with numerous possibilities further down the series which will excite readers and leave them on their toes waiting for the next instalment. I throughly enjoyed the 48 page sampler in all aspects, especially its art style which is unique. I look forward to reading the full volume. 4 stars for now, but only because the sample was a third of its total length. Anticipated 5 star! Thank you to NetGalley for providing a sample ebook.

Was this review helpful?

First, thank you to NetGalley and the publish for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. It is scheduled to be published on February 22, 2022 I received a sample of the first 48 pages of this graphic novel and will be reviewing only the sample.

This graphic novel follows two teens, Tristan and Esteban, as they go into kid's nightmares to understand the reason behind them. I found the concept to be interesting and somewhat unique, especially for a young adult graphic novel. It has mystery with a bit of horror elements and the art style plays into that. The story is incredibly fast-paced which allows you to be invested in the story but unfortunately there is very little build-up to the action as it moves so quickly. Sometimes the dialogue comes across as stiff and on-the-nose but I cannot fault this entirely because I believe it's due to translation issues.

Overall, the story was intriguing and I am interested in reading the final publication and future volumes of the series.

Was this review helpful?

Since I only read a portion of the Nightmare Brigade #1, I can't comment on the story as a whole. However, what I did read was interesting. Two kids work with a scientist to enter people's dreams and cure their nightmares. There's a lot there to that type of premise (and a premise that has been done in books and movies before) but the book portion I read never explained the hows, whys, and connected any of the dots--however, it did spread those dots out along the floor so readers could see where they were going. The graphics are interesting and help tell the story, but I wish there was more on developing the story in this first half of the story. It felt like I had walked in on the middle of a series and didn't need to know who everyone was.

Thank you NetGalley and Papercutz for the opportunity to read an advance reading sample.

Was this review helpful?

This comic read and moved very quickly. It has a unique concept and likeable kids. Not much plot or character background was detailed in this comic, but the story was interesting enough for that not to bother me too much (being that it is only an excerpt of part one). My fault was with the overall quality of the comic: the scans were quite blurry, which made it difficult to read and understand, and the lettering did not flow with the rest of the comic. But, because this is an advanced and excerpted copy of the comic, I feel like these are aspects that can be resolved in the finalized version. Overall, I would be happy to continue the story and find out what other adventures the Nightmare Brigade get into.

Was this review helpful?

An interesting concept but a questionable execution. Jumps right in without really setting the scene, explaining the world and the characters, which doesn't make for the best introduction to a series. I'd hope to see those things expounded upon in future volumes. I'm also not sure the disability rep is the best, and could have done without the fat joke.

Was this review helpful?

(Rounding this up from 2.7 stars)

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free excerpt of this book (48 pages out of the +100) in exchange for an honest review. The comic centers around the “nightmare brigade,” which consists of two high school boys and their scientist father. The children can go inside young people’s nightmares in order to be able to pinpoint what fears are triggering them. Once they are armed with that knowledge, they can reassure the dreamer and make the nightmares stop. That premise alone already sounds incredible, when you add that one of the boys has amnesia and doesn’t remember anything except the last three years, you get a graphic novel that has a lot of potential.

I love the art style, everyone is drawn in an elongated manner which made it so much creepier for me, the colors and the premise reminded me of Gravity Falls, however, the definition of the images wasn’t great, and I don’t recommend purchasing the e-book version. Another thing that made this graphic novel look promising was the representation of a kid in a wheelchair, but the author wasn’t able to execute it well in my opinion. Tristan can walk when he’s inside people’s nightmares and that defeats part of the point for me, it would’ve been so much better if the reader got to see him be a hero in the dreams whilst in his wheelchair. That should be the point of representation in books/movies/graphic novels, to show that disabled people are just as courageous and capable as able-bodied people. I believe the author decided to have Tristan walking in the nightmares so that the action scenes would be easier to execute and that, again, was another miss on his part. Yes, it would be harder because everyday tasks are harder for disabled people, especially because most places don’t have accessibility, and what better place to show and criticize that but a graphic novel that is set in nightmares?! Another thing that bothered me was that Tristan and Sarah refer to him as “handicap,” an extremely offensive word that the author should’ve known better than to use. Overall, Tristan’s disability isn’t portrayed well, at least, not in the 50 pages that were available to me.

As I’ve said, the concept is incredible, but the execution felt too rushed, and the story move too fast. I didn’t feel like I got to know the characters at all during these first fifty pages and, because of that, I have no desire to read the full novel. The story would’ve benefited from a slower build-up, when they enter Sarah’s nightmare the pace is so fast that the plot gets confusing and the conflict is resolved too quickly, so there’s no emotional payoff for the reader. In order to really explore the full potential of the subplots, all of which I thought were interesting and wanted to know more about, I think that it would’ve been better to have the first volume be only about Sarah’s nightmare. That way the characters could be better developed, the lore of the story could be better explained, and the author would’ve been able to hold the tension long enough for it to be emotionally satisfying when the nightmare is resolved.

The Nightmare Brigade has an incredible concept, and its art style is beautiful, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired and, because of it, I don’t recommend this. If you decide to read it anyway, go with low expectations.

Was this review helpful?

I really love the art style. I found the story to be quite cute. the premise of helping people get over their nightmares and finding the root cause is a interesting idea. I did think it was weird how fast Sarah liked one of the main characters & that the symbology was a little bit cheesy. Since this was just a sample, I would like to continue to see what happens next and why Tristan doesn't remember anything 3 years prior. I shall give this 4 stars since this is a sample. Thank you Netgalley.

Was this review helpful?