A great read for YA and graphic novel lovers. The animals are cool and if I liked graphic novels more this would be wonderful.

Free copy received in exchange for an honest review.

In Animal Farm we follow the animal state as it slowly goes from “all animals are equal” to “some are more equal than others”. Here we are already at that stage. We have animals ruled by bull and his dog guards and worked down to the bones like slaves.

This story instead focuses on revolution and finding the best way to fight back. I don't think I should reveal more than that about the story.

I was a bit lukewarm about it at the start. I felt like it wasn’t bringing anything new. But slowly it got more and more interesting and I started to get more emotionally involved, too. And then the end was just perfect.

We get some interesting characters with different personalities and ideas. With their own personal stories. We also get quite strong POVs from the leadership position. I especially enjoyed the character of one of the guard dogs.

I really liked the art. It can be a bit difficult to show detailed emotions on animal faces, but the drawing of the whole scene helped to convey the right atmosphere and feelings.

This was marked as volume 1, so I suppose more is to come, but it also works as a standalone, so I can only recommend it to everyone.

I originally read this in Dutch, and this a fine translation. Yes, the art is fantastically good, but the story is disappointingly underwhelming and, sadly, predictable. It's another case of the artist deserving a better writer.

(The worldbuilding also does something weird to my head, because beside the animals, humans do still exist and even do trade with the animals and how and what and why.)

Dark themes that I didn’t expect from a graphic novel purely about animals. Themes on corrupt government, greed, poverty. The death of certain animals and the situations everyone faced was heartbreaking. They were all essentially in a prison. Such a great graphic novel I’ll definitely be continuing the series!

The graphics for this book are phenomenal!!! But it was brutal and depressing, which gave me nixed feelings about this. It does give you hope for the animals...but I don't think I can continue the series to see what happens

Fantastic continuation of Orwell's Animal Farm. The political commentary is pretty on the nose, but I really enjoyed the pacing and overall story arc. I just wish the panels were a little bigger since there's was a lot of text!

I voluntarily obtained an ebook version of this graphic novel free from Netgalley, Diamond Book Distributors and Ablaze in exchange for an honest review!

Ok, that was not only entertaining but also well-thought-out and with great art. Don't miss on this one, folks.

'Animal Castle Vol. 1' by Xavier Dorison with art by Felix Delep is a graphic novel about a group of oppressed animals figuring out how to fight back.

On a farm run by a bull named Silvio and his heartless dogs, the other animals are forced to work to meet quotas and earn their meager keep. Any variance is met with violence and the animals lead a bleak existence. That is until a new animal arrives and shows them the ways of civil disobedience.

I really liked this parable of oppressive regimes and those powerless to fight back in conventional ways. The story doesn't conclude here, and I'm curious what the animals will do next to peacefully protest.

The art is fabulous and I felt the motion in the art.

As many other reviewers have noted, the art in this collection is stunning. Delep's work was absolutely stunning. The visuals are what pulled me in to the story at first, grounding me in a world that would otherwise seem quite fantastical. I especially loved all the clever uses of human objects and the little harnesses the animals used to complete their tasks!

I enjoyed the story as well. Despite my love for reading, I have not read the work which clearly inspired this graphic novel. Other reviewers seem split on whether this piece works as an extension of Orwell's Animal Farm. So, if you are interested in Animal Castle simply for the reference, proceed with caution.

As someone reading Animal Castle without any pre-conceived notions left by the source material, I felt pleased yet underwhelmed. It is a classic tale of oppression and the promotion of non-violent uprising. It's an interesting trope to dig back in to in the age of BLM and other social justice movements. The story is clearly not over, with issue five ending on a cliffhanger (at least I hope that was a cliffhanger), but I would be surprised if the non-violent, law-abiding approach is rebuked at all. This was the one point of the story that chaffed more me, though I'd like to think it is simply a common refrain that has not yet been unpacked and reassembled in light of more modern resistance. In future issues, it would be interesting to see the animals engage in more active demonstrations or even to grapple with the concept of looting to bring the story into the contemporary conversation.

The art is beautiful, violent and bloody, but pretty. The story is very intense. The creative team based this book on Animal Farm, but wanted to show that heroes were ready to die for their cause, but not kill. They used Mandela, Welsa, and others for inspiration. I really enjoyed the story, but it was a bit wordy from time to time. I can't wait to see the physical copy.

The art work in this re-telling of Animal Farm is excellent. This time round the story is set in an abandoned castle. The story doesn’t provide much background, but it conveys the oppression that the animals live under and the beginnings of the resistance. This is the first volume and it will be exciting to see how the story concludes in the next volume.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

First of all, the art is gorgeous. It left me so impressed that I feel obliged to give it first billing. It's as beautiful as the cover suggests and impressively expressive. Artist Felix Delep is now an artist I'm going to keep an eye on because he manages to tell you everything about how an animal feels just from the set of their shoulders or the angle of an ear. Every single panel in this book is gorgeously detailed and a step forward in the story with no extraneous or show-off bits, just gorgeous panels that move the story forward.
The story is interesting, with definite Animal Farm vibes but original enough that I kept getting surprised by how things developed. There's one big plot point that left me scratching my head about how it happened, but specifying what and asking for help explaining it would spoil the biggest and most unexpected surprise. Other than that big question mark, I enjoyed everything about this story.
It ends in a very tense moment that will surely change everything about the dynamics between the animals of Animal Castle and I can't wait to see what comes next.

Happy thanks to NetGalley and Ablaze for the very exciting read!

"A 2022 Junior Library Guild Selection.

On the Farm all animals were equal. In the Castle some are more equal than others.

For fans of the bestselling Stray Dogs and the Eisner Award winning Beasts of Burden comes an animal fable at once familiar and surprising You may think you know the story but set aside your assumptions, this animal uprising is unlike any you have read.

Nestled in the heart of a farm forgotten by men, the Animal Castle is ruled with an iron hoof by President Silvio. The bull and its dog militia savor their power, while the other animals are exhausted by work, until the arrival of the mysterious Azelard, a traveling rat who will teach them the secrets of civil disobedience.

Collecting issues 1-5 of the bestselling comic series into a handsome hardcover volume, with complete cover gallery and bonus material, including behind the scenes info and illustrations."

I have been curious about this comic for quite some time, thank the powers that be, AKA Ablaze, for arcs!

No primeiro volume de animal castle iremos encontrar uma história que envolve poder, sobrevivência, a luta por um ideal e tudo isso regado a uma muita violência. Miss B é uma gatinha que perdeu seu macho e atualmente ela trabalha incansavelmente para alimentar seus filhotes, mas o local é comandado por um animal muito forte e seu grupo de cachorros violentos.

A HQ já começa com um dos animais sendo dilacerado por um grupo de cães, os outros animais estão acuados e trabalham cada vez mais para manter tudo funcionando, contudo as condições não são favoráveis e quem desobedece costuma ser executado.
Um dia a situação acaba saindo do controle e um enorme banho de sangue acontece, os animais estão cansados de serem explorados e por causa disso uma revolução começa surgir em meio ao completo caos.

Os animais tentam fazer protestos pacíficos e não violentos depois de serem inspirados com histórias sobre Ghandi, mas a violência do lado opressor está cada vez maior.
Com uma arte muito bonita, cores vibrantes e uma história envolvente, Animal Castle evoca muito a essência de A Revolução dos Bichos de George Orwell. A violência está muito presente no quadrinho e os animais não pensam duas vezes em eliminar os mais fracos, mas a medida que a revolução começa o presidente está disposta a fazer qualquer coisa para colocar todos na linha e isso inclui trair os animais que o ajudam a manter o poder.

Foi uma leitura bem envolvente e concluí em um único dia; a história é boa, mas não tem tanta novidade assim na trama. Apesar de ter gostado desse primeiro volume eu não leria uma continuação, não me despertou tanto interesse a ponto de acompanhar os próximos lançamentos.
No mais o trabalho está impecável e espero que faça muito sucesso.

Animal Farm was one of those books that shaped my worldview and one I still use as a literary touchstone. This graphic novel breathes new life into that timeless story. The artwork is wonderful, and I plan to search for more of Felix Delep's work.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

TW: Graphic killing of farm animals by dogs , prostitution of a rabbit! This is a graphic novel not for kids.

It's inspired by G.Orwell's Animal Farm book but with way more gore elements and it's so more intense. I don't think that this is for everyone.
I loved this kind of art style and it suits the story with animals. I might have liked it more than Animal Farm. I want to read the next volume and see what will happen to all the animals.

Oh, they BETTER keep publishing this comic, because I've GOT to know what happens!

This is sort of a post-Animal Farm story. In fact, while we never hear the names of any of the Animal Farm characters, we learn that this castle "commune" also overthrew their humans and were then revictimized by pigs. But then came Silvio. Great Silvio. The strongest of all animals! A bull from the outside, who deposed the pigs and rose as the castles President!

No term limits, of course.

The focus of the book is Miss B, a widowed mother cat who is now the sole provider for her two kittens. And so she must perform backbreaking work to "deserve" her "share" of the commune's food. A little help is provided by a goose babysitter (who is swiftly killed by the dog guards), and then by Caesar, not a pig in this iteration, but a gigolo bunny. Got to love Caesar! Miss B isn't even really getting by, growing weaker and poorer as winter approaches. Then a travelling storyteller, a rat, comes to visit, and tells the story of Ghandi, and how his nonviolent protests and passive resistance helped push the British from India.

"Animal Farm" is about the slow, inexorable rise of fascism. And "Animal Castle" is about the slower revolutions achieved through nonviolence. I'm not so sure it's the message WE NEED in this time, with out own Silvios and dog guards in power, but just for an evening's read, it's amazing. I keep finding myself googling if a second "season" is being printed, but so far no luck. Please don't break my heart, Ablaze!

I really enjoyed this spin on a common trope of the small/weak fighting back against a repressive power. There are some graphic depictions of death but they are meant to be a shocking catalyst for the main characters to be called to action so, while upsetting, they do help the progression of the story. Beyond just the compelling storytelling this would be a great addition to high school curriculums to show parallels to past historic events.

Many of us would have heard of this outstanding quote from George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” This graphic novel spinoff of Animal Farm begins with a variant of the same: “On the Farm all animals were equal. In the Castle, some are more equal than others.”

Marketed as an animal fable, this story resembles Animal Farm but only to some extent. The humans have been written out of the picture, and the slow descent into dictatorship is relegated to a small note. The story begins with the animals’ government already bossing over the rest of the citizens. Ruled by a bull named President Silvio and his dog militia, the castle allows no leeway to the rest of the starving and overworked animals. All this changes with the arrival of a wandering rat. But change isn’t necessarily a good thing, and all change doesn’t lead to improvements.

Animal Farm is a classic for a reason, and I was looking forward to reading this graphic novel reinterpretation of the same. However, this turned out to be not to my liking at all, mainly because:
1. There is too much of gore and carnage, which is okay for me when I am prepared for it. In this book, it came out of nowhere. The victims being animals worsened the situation.

2. The deep-dive at the start led to zero background detailing of the characters. I’d have preferred a slower and more detailed introduction to the status quo so that I could connect better with the characters.

3. It takes a lot of inspiration from ‘Animal Farm’ but doesn’t do any justice to it. Borrowing motifs from a classic isn’t enough; the story has to make the theme work. This one didn’t.

4. The prime character in the ruled animals is a cat. It was tough for me to accept a cat living a life of servitude; it just didn’t ring true as cats are so independent and capable of handling themselves.

5. There is no closure to the main track. I dislike cliffhangers, especially in stories that leave me claustrophobic.

The illustrations are magnificent and depict the doom and gloom of the situation excellently. But mere illustrations cannot rescue a graphic novel. I wish the plot had been crafted better.

This wasn’t my cup of tea, but I know it will work well for a niche group. If you are in that segment of readers, please do try this. As for me, I’d rather read ‘Animal Farm’ again.

2 stars.

My thanks to Diamond Book Distributors, Ablaze, and NetGalley for the DRC of “Animal Castle Volume 1”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Thank you so much to Diamond Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

As someone who has not read Animal Farm before, I was absolutely blown away by this graphic novel. I also want to pick up Animal Farm immediately !

The art is incredibly detailed, and the color palette really supports the story being told. I would honestly just read this for the art even. The animals are really brought to life, and you can see the hardships and emotions on their faces and body language.

The story itself isn't new, but I'm enjoying the format it's being told in. It's very easy to sympathize with the animals of the lower court, and there is a clear divide on good and evil. The most interesting part for me is the female cat, Miss B, that is trying to organize a revolution. The difficulties in organizing people, staying away from mob mentality, and sticking to your morals are all explored.

Be prepared going into this though; it is a brutal book. The first scene is an execution, and it ends similarly. Violence as a means of control is a major theme here. However, there is a meaning to all of it, and each scene is important to what the animals are going through. The ending is bittersweet, shows how you can play into the wrong hands, and makes me want to pick up the next volume immediately.