(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley/Edelweiss.)

-- 3.5 stars --

Sure, so working at a rag like YELLOW STRINGER might seem beneath an overachieving Columbia grad like Naomi - but ever since her beloved father was murdered by monsters when she was a kid, Naomi has craved revenge/justice. And you know what they say about sunlight being the best disinfectant. It's too bad that most New Yorkers don't think that her paper is fit to line a bird cage, let alone report the news.

Along with her new partner - ex-cop Tony, who's battling his own demons, both personal and literal - Noami investigates a series of mysterious happenings plaguing her city: a zombie infestation in a local museum. A headless ex-soldier hell-bent on reclaiming his pilfered loot. A demon that feeds on human guilt. And a foxy hot bartender who's more than she seems.

Overall, I enjoyed the vibe and style of YELLOW STRINGER, but it fell just short of my expectations. The stories are interesting, though the pacing felt a little off: the first tale, about a cursed Egyptian artifact, runs the longest, making some of its successors seem almost like afterthoughts. And between the storytelling and artwork (admittedly rough and pixelated in the early review copy I read), I sometimes lost the plot altogether.

Jo was a welcome introduction near the end of Volume 1 - along with Naomi/Tony, I appreciate how Jo/Naomi play off of each other - and I love the cliffhanger Jean-Louis and Jones set up. Assuming we see more of Jo in the future, Volume 2 looks promising indeed!

This was fun, if a bit trope-y and predictable. The Yellow Stringer is an over-the-top gossipy tabloid that reports on supernatural stories (think Weekly World News - I wouldn't be surprised if Bat Boy showed up in the future) as though they were real, which they must be, or why else would Naomi, a graduated-at-the-top-of-her-Columbia-University-class journalist be reporting on them? She gets partnered with ex-cop Tony, who left the force under mysterious circumstances but is obviously a good guy, who doesn't believe in monsters or supernatural stuff at all. Of course, we all know everything the Yellow Stringer prints is real, that Tony will quickly become a believer, and that against ridiculous odds, Naomi and Tony will not only manage to stay alive but will take down evil doers with relative ease (like I said, a bit trope-y and predictable). The art is nice, with a foot in both comics and manga styles, and the chapters are a good blend of story and action with some decent spookiness and character growth. A good, quick read!

#YellowStringerVolume1 #NetGalley

This was an enjoyable manga. I thought it was fun. It was part mystery part thriller. It was also good to see some backstory on both the characters and how they are a little bit cautious with each other and how are younger in an older generation can get together and solve mysteries together. I thought it was very good.

The artwork was interesting and engaging, and the colouring was used effectively to draw your attention to the key moment in each frame. Despite this, the overall plot was very disjointed and the short stories didn't match up. The characters have the potential to be interesting, but in this volume, they seemed flat and predictable. Overall I would not read this comic again, but I am still interested in seeing where future stories go.

This arc was not readable at all, all pixelized and in a Manga the art is one of the most important aspects of it. the plot also was not more potent and was a bit boring not the action or fun i was waiting for

I had to wait for the physical release of this to come in before reviewing as the digital copy sent to NetGalley was so blurry and pixilated it was unreadable. Luckily that wasn't the case for the kindle release.

This is a buddy-cop story that's big on action and not much else. Which is totally fine by me! It's fun. That's it, just fun. The art in this is great.

To start of with, the format for this e-arc was really hard to understand and the art was pixelated and blurry making it near impossible to see what was happening. In manga the art is one of the most important components to a successful series and it was really to its detriment that the arc was not up to a readable quality.

This is in no way a reflection on this title so I will be picking up a finished copy of this one as the premise really intrigued me and I want to give it a fair review.

First up a big big thank you to the publisher for allowing me to download this book. Sadly, this was a DNF for me. The quality of the illustrations... was terrible. I am sorry, It feels like it should all be x time smaller and was just blown up for the re-release in a new form. No matter what I tried, zooming out or for the sake of it zooming in, it just stayed blurry. I even had my husband look at it and he just shook his head.
The story itself looks good though and I am quite curious about the mysteries and such, so maybe I will see if I can get my hands on a finished copy and see if the quality is better in there.
3 stars for the story.

Yeah I really couldn’t get into this “buddy cop” type graphic novel, the font was too small and plot is just a meh from me dude. Thanks anyways Netgalley and publisher, the art is the only one that’s good here!

First want to thank Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this in exchange for an honest review. Yellow Stringer was a pretty decent read, but if it is on the phone maybe not so much. I am picky with my graphic novels since they hurt my eyes but the story was pretty decent and a bit humorous at times.

God, I wanted to love this. I can feel the love that the creators have for the medium and I would love to have more western manga-type stories. And there are great things about this. I think the premise is solid and I think the characters have been well thought out.

Unfortunately, I don't think enough time was taken to create bonds within the characters that the reader can attach to. I do feel in a story like this (essentially a buddy sleuth story) you desperately need to feel the connection between the leads. I also felt that the pacing of the story was off. In places, it rushed and in others it dragged, but it never felt quite right.

The action is great, however, and there is plot that is good enough to have you turn the page. I just know that with some experience this could turn out to be a great series or at least a great publisher.

The illustrations are adorable but the story doesn't have that much of a strong hold to me. I felt very lukewarm towards this warm. I expected fun and action, but I don't feel the action part that much.

A solid and thoroughly enjoyable first volume, with expressive artwork and excellent action and characters.