This one just didn't grab me. I know it's just the first volume, but I didn't feel enough connection to the characters to be interested in seeking out the second book. I enjoy superhero comics, but this one feels superficial and caricatured even by those standards.

I had never read anything quite like this! I really enjoyed the story and the cultural references. The representation was fantastic!

when this kind of story is told by two cishet white men i kind of want to scream.

the three main teenage characters are a white trans boy, a Black refugee cis girl, and a Mexican cis boy.

i liked these characters, but uh the trans rep was… it wasn’t bad? it didn’t feel intentionally transphobic, but—okay, first, Al has a supportive father who’s helping him transition but when he takes of his shirt he’s wearing bandages as a binder? that’s a MASSIVE no? DONT DO THAT? binders exist and his dad would buy him one so that was weird? also… we see his (censored) chest naked a handful of times, NONE of them necessary, and—i’m not sure how to put this delicately—Al has large breasts, that seem to magically disappear when he binds (UNSAFELY), and as someone who had large breasts before getting top surgery, that’s not fucking possible? it was fucking weird to show all that, and unnecessary, and it really took away from what i thought was otherwise very thoughtful trans rep (in the english translation… i cannot speak for the original french yet).

also, Siera, the Black refugee girl, has a backstory i feel REALLY uncomfortable about, mostly because it is written by two white french/belgian men (the french/belgian part is important to mention, because of france’s colonial history in africa, where Siera’s home country is). she escaped a genital mutilation ceremony where she was to become a priestess who performed genital mutilation ceremonies. she’s also on the run from immigration because she lied about her country of origin to get asylum—apparently escaping mutilation isn’t asylum worthy? (not surprised, she lives in france). that’s her backstory. written by two cis het french/belgian white men.

hector is a victim of the bad guys, and blackmailed into doing crime. i liked him, and i hope in the sequel (inevitable i think) he gets a less intense story arc cause he deserves it. a lot of the story takes place in his home town in mexico during day of the dead celebrations, but i am not mexican so i don’t know if that rep was well done—i can extrapolate from the rest and assume it was well intended but poorly executed.

there’s also a fat cis boy of questionable origin who i think is meant to be comedic relief but the joke seems to be that he’s fat and in love with a girl who doesn’t know he exists?

i knew this was a translation of a french/belgian graphic novel before going into it, so my expectations were VERY LOW. french language comics, ESPECIALLY when they’re written by cis het white men, have a long history of being racist as fuck and generally problematic. so because of my extremely low expectations i was pleasantly surprised to see it wasn’t spiteful, intentionally ignorant, trash.

but also it made me more uncomfortable than not the entire way through.

the concept was really cool, and the art is nice. but PLEASE can we let trans people tell trans stories and Black women and Latine people tell theirs? i appreciate the attempt at including diverse characters, but there’s a difference between including diversity and writing pov’s you have ZERO experience being.

First of all, I want to thank Netgalley and the publishing house for allowing me to discover this comic.

It must be said that the cover attracted me enormously, it made me think of the Mayans and the Incas, with the masks in the hands of both characters.

At the beginning of the book or would be believed in the film "Coco" of Disney, during the festival of the dead. I enjoyed being in this universe from the beginning.

Then we go through the daily life of the young people who make the Yamakasi.

I appreciated the cultural diversity of this book and I smiled when in a board, there was a banner with happy birthday written in my native language which is French, because yes, this book is in English:)

I find the work on the boards very well done, they make us pass many emotions and we are caught by the story, colorization is also for many.

As you can see, I had a great time with this book.

This was a highly surprising read and I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

The story follows Al, Sierra and Hector, each from different countries but an unlikely group brought together by masks! These masks have special magical abilities and they choose a individual to give access to those abilities. However, if they fall into the wrong hands well then chaos ensues.

The characters were diverse and so individual and I loved it. I do wish we got to know a bit more about their backgrounds though. I feel like it wasn't enough and I wished for the volume to have explored a bit more about them to add greater depth to their character. But this is only the first installment so I hope we do get that in the next volume.

The story was fast paced, engrossing and easy to read. It was hooking from the beginning, and the art style was so gorgeous.

I look forward to volume 2!

Thanks to Netgalley and Europe Comics for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley for providing an ARC.

Masks is a quick read and an interesting opener to what could be a compelling series. This first installment is action-packed, full of exciting mythology and interesting characters to root for.

I adored the art style, I thought the bold vibrant and beautiful graphics totally worked for the story being told.

I did find the writing lacked a little depth, and I think this installment would have benefitted from being just a little longer. If more time had been given to developing the intricacies of the plot and giving the characters more time to grow, then this would have been even better.

Not perfect but a solid start.

A quick an action packed graphic novel. It reminds me of power rangers but with masks. I really enjoyed my time reading this, I do wish I was longer though. I wish we had more time with the characters to get to know them. I will be looking forward for future publishings in this series. I am very intrigued and want more.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC.

I really enjoyed ‘Masks’ it was a great time.

The art style was beautiful with vibrant colours throughout and fitted the story well.

I loved the diversity in the cast of characters and can see several themes and areas of personal growth developing which will make for interesting character arcs throughout the series.

The ‘theory’ behind the masks was interesting and I’m looking forward to it being explored more.

A solid start to what is sure to be an interesting series of graphic novels - 4 stars!

Interesting story plot.
The illustrations are also great!
Hope to be able to read the sequence graphic novels soon!

I liked this graphic novel; it has a classic hero team-up and a bright colour palette. While I enjoyed it, I believe the text element could be improved. I felt as if I did not learn as much about the plot and characters as I would have liked. I understand, though, that this can be difficult to do in this format.

Magical masks that give you superpowers? It is a pretty great premise for a story. There was a lot of representation and diversity in this book that I appreciated and think is important. I enjoyed Siera and Al's as character and their stories., The author and illustrator did a good job building a unique story with a lot of action, that started relatively quickly and continued throughout.

Ultimately I did not connect with this book the way I thought it would. The transitions between the characters plot lines at the beginning were confusing and it made it hard to connect with the book for me. That being said, there are a lot of great things and I think it is wort the read.

Review to come early October to blog/Goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange of an honest review.

OK, this turned out to be not what I expected but I still greatly enjoyed it! Given the cover and the blurb I had expected something super duper scary involving masks. Horror. Something gruesome. Instead I got mysterious masks with all sorts of powers, a history behind them, and tons of supernatural action. It took me a bit to shift to that, but then I was just fully enjoying it.

The masks were pretty nifty! OK, I am not sure if I would have wanted Hector's mask given how terrifying that one is. And not because of looks, but because of what it can do. Most of the book is actually about our characters and a team of adults trying to free Hector and make sure the mask is in the right hands. Because, oh boy oh boy oh boy. You don't want this mask in the wrong hands. It would destroy the world. It would destroy everything. And why? Well, you have to read it! I wasn't such a fan of Hector, the beginning really soured him for me, but as the story went on I was a bit more sympathetic to him. Yes, he was a bad boy, but no one deserves this.

I absolutely loved Al. I guess since they want to be male I should use he/him, so here we go. He is struggling with his body. We learn that from early on he has the feeling he was a boy. Though it seems his family is not all up to it. Though also not down-right being against it. I don't know. Couldn't really get a grasp on it. Either way, we see him struggle. And that is why I loved his mask. His masked allowed him to be a strong male. A huge hulking form. Apparently it depends on the wearer how strong/big the character is, so given how big and strong we see him it is a clear indication that someone needs to help out Al and get him all the help. Make sure he can transition safely. Without having to wear those horrible painful binders.

We also meet other characters, like Siera. A girl on the run for her family and trying her hardest to find a home. In the beginning of the story things seem to be OK, but quickly escalate and I was just so sad for her. That she had to constantly run. Flee. Just because she didn't want to do what her family wanted her to do. Which I won't mention as a spoiler, but holy hell, I would have also ran away. Nope to that. Her mask fits with her perfectly. Just like the others. I really liked Siera and I hope that she is able to find a stable home and make her dreams come true.

I loved seeing the characters meet and see them work together and I am excited for the next book in the series. I am curious what other masks there are and what kind of powers they have. What is up next for these children. What adventures await them.

The illustrations were really good. The art style was nice. It fitted well with the book and the story.

All in all, despite not being what I thought this was going to be I did enjoy it a lot and I would recommend this supernatural action book to all.

3.5/5, rounded up
thanks to netgalley and europe comics for the arc!

the art in this graphic novel is very vibrant and i loved it! there is also a diverse cast of characters, but ultimately i wish it had been longer or focused more on other topics.

First volume of Masks is one of the most intriguing comic books I have read recently. I wish volume two has been released I like more detail on the background between each characters.

This author connecting three different countries together is a brilliant idea as brings lots of new interesting characters to the plot as new masks are discovered. I look forward to finding out new masks in the next volume from our new group of superheroes.

I highly recommend Masks to any comic book fan.

A team of unlikely heroes find magical masks that grant them their greatest dream, or their worst nightmare. It was fun how the masks' powers reflected the characters' wants and desires. I think it could have been a little longer, especially establishing setting, but the characters were strong. Lots of queer rep and characters of color.

The first volume of Masks is a dynamic start, with an engaging premise, vibrant artwork and a diverse and brilliant cast of characters. I'll be looking forward to the second volume!

Masks is a fun graphic novel about the unlikeliest people becoming superheroes. They get their powers from ancient masks derived from a dead god. The masks are drawn to people who are good, but also need them the most.

I enjoyed the way each of these characters had powers that derived from what they needed most at the time, it was really cool to see the way their "dreams" manifested into something that could help people. I also really enjoyed the artwork in this graphic novel.

The pacing of the graphic novel felt a bit off to me, there would be "transitions" in the storyline but I didn't realize they *were* transitions. It also felt like we were getting very little backstory behind the characters and their motivations. I'm still confused about the people that originally owned the masks/the adults in this story.

Overall, it was a fun and colorful first volume to a really cool group of superheroes!

trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of genital mutialtion, gun violence, mind control </spoiler>

The masks arrive on different waves, but they have one thing in common: They possess magical abilities and chose a person, usually a teenager, whom to trust and give access to said abilities. They should not fall into wrong hands.

Very fast-paced, beautifully illustrated. While this felt very short, I am invested in the plot and the characters now and can't wait for further installments.

I really like that the masks come from different traditions where the masks play a great role, and we have characters from different countries and with different issues.

Recommendations if you like slightly creepy, action-filled fantasy stories.
The arc was provided by the publisher.

This was such a fun book to read! Thank you Netgalley for giving me a copy of this.

I really enjoyed the way the story started by introducing the most crucial aspect- showing the power a ‘mask’ holds. It made following the backstories of all the characters, especially Siera and Al, a lot easier. I loved the diversity of their backgrounds and the way important social issues were addressed. Although, the transition between different scenes did get a bit confusing at times. I also found some aspects unnecessarily dark given Hector, Al, and Siera were all supposed to be fifteen years old, The overall pacing did make up for it and kept me hooked throughout. The illustrations are also done beautifully!

In all, it is a quick read and gives a nice introduction to Mexican mythology with a fantasy spin.

This Teen graphic novel hit so many buttons for me that it is on the top of my list to add to my collection as soon as possible. We have a Trans-teen, culture, friendship, romance, adoption, along with some adult manipulation and accidental deaths and you find yourself running up and down the narrative of Masks. This is an intriguing and spell-binding story that pulls you in from the beginning and has you waiting in excitement to see where the story is going to continue. With a quirky set of characters and some wild happenings, you are in for the experience of a lifetime!
Story: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Worldbuilding: 5/5
Thank you to NetGalley, Kid Toussaint, and Europe Comics for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.