This is a science fiction novel that tells us about life on a spaceship, all divided into social strata, divided between adults (leaders) and children (workers).

Our protagonist is a teenager about to reach the age of majority, which means graduating, that is, stopping working and becoming part of the adult group. But all is not so simple. She begins to suspect that something is not right when she finds a piece of human bone in the kitchens and realizes that she never saw anyone again after graduation, so she decides to investigate with the help of the friends of her

It is a somewhat disorganized novel. There are jumps between scenes where, I think, something is missing because it is assumed that we already have some information about what happened in that omitted due to small comments from the characters.

At first it was a bit slow for me and it was hard for me to follow the thread. Halfway through, it took flight and I loved it.

The basic concept that gives rise to the story is that the earth became uninhabitable and a few managed to survive by fleeing in this ship that, due to a malfunction during takeoff, forced one of its creators to stay behind and die to save the rest.

When I finished it, I noticed a few social criticisms that caught up with me, mostly the constant desire to have and have more and more, very typical of capitalist societies. It also deals with labor exploitation fostered by ignorance and deceit, which is something that also remains in our reality.

The illustrations took me over, loved them. I recommend it but taking into account that, although it starts chaotic, then it picks up a lot.

I liked the art style and the premise of this comic, but I felt a little lost in the story from time to time, because there was no verbal -or visual- indicative of changing the narrative timeline, so I had to come back to re-read it a lot to try and understand that there was a change in the first place. I also feel like it could be a little longer so there was a better build-up to the ending (which was very nice).

An intriguing premise within a well familiar genre - you can guess the general direction from the get-go but the particulars are picked up alongside the main heroine. In some ways, I felt like the mystery was kept on for too long and left the ending rushed, and I have a hard time recalling how everything unravelled exactly. There were certain aspects I felt were left unanswered, especially regarding the reveal at the very end.

 
I am not well versed in the particulars of artwork, but the style of Arca reminded me of a particular era of comic books, like the golden age, maybe, the 30s or the 50s. It added to the atmosphere of the writing, and put down some totalitarian feelings I cannot articulate more eloquently. A particular nod I will give to careful analogies, I felt like the dots of referencing throughout hit just the right balance. It is not heavy-handed, nor repetitive, when characters recall and compare their condition to literary pieces and more. The stakes of graduation was the right kind of eerie to keep me engaged, and I liked how brainwashing echoes in how characters’ language worked around it.

I have received ARC in exchange for an honest review, courtesy of Netgalley and IDW. Thank you!

An interesting sci-fi graphic novel read. At the time of reading the colouring is not finished yet, which I think will make the final product more digestible as it can be text heavy. The art has a fun style that is lovely to look at. The story was enjoyable to read, but a little long. Overall a solid graphic novel.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-graphic novel ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

4.5 ⭐

I enjoyed this immensely. At times, the plot twists and general story direction were a bit predictable, but I didn't find that tedious or boring in the slightest.

If you enjoy dystopian/speculative fiction stories set in a post-apocalyptic world (just like in The 100, for example), I recommend this wholeheartedly.

I adored the art! The style was very vintage and colorful, and it gave the story a whole new dimension that I loved. I do regret reading an ARC, though, because the copy wasn't finished. Only the first few pages were colored, after which the novel was in black and white. And while I don't mind B&W graphic novels in general, the specific art style made this one a bit confusing and hard to read at times. Still, I'm not going to deduct any stars for that, as it was just an ARC after all.

I enjoyed the main character a lot, especially her tenacity and stubbornness. She stopped at nothing to uncover the truth and expose the Citizens, and I admired her strength a lot. I also really loved her relationship with her young pupil.

However, I think what I loved the most are the themes that the novel explores, especially the importance of language and propaganda in a dystopian setting. I also appreciated the fact that the author didn't shy away from showing what would happen to women in a post-apocalyptic world. The breeding scenes were very much The Handmaid's Tale-esque, and they were, sadly, quite believable. In these regards, this novel reminded me of 1984 a lot, which another great plus.

All in all, I'm extremely happy I got to read an advanced copy of this novel, and I can't wait to get my hands on the published version.

I liked the action and how the author kept you I suspense by revealing bits of info at just the right time. The characters were interesting, and I really liked the artwork, which had a bit of a retro feel to it but still felt very modern.

Thank you so much for th eARC copy of Arca. I truly enjoyed the graphic novel. The artwork was so unique and fun! I enjoyed seeing the representation of many different races and genders. I love the twists and turns of the storyline. There were a lot of unanswered questions, but I LOVED the ending. What an unexpected turn! I do hope there will be more books to explain some of the information a bit more. I hope they are still on earth and never left, that would make what the leader did very dark.

I did not enjoy this at all. I guess the story was kind of okay, but the execution did nothing for me. Didn’t like the art, the storyline or the characters. Hard to get into, difficult to feel sympathy for the characters and I ended up not finishing it, so won’t rate it on Goodreads even if I rate it here.

/ Denise

the real lesson of this story was about the importance of reading !

this comic had my interest the whole way through but the story was quite basic and simple. graphic novels and comics dont always have the time to do a deep character dive or have many subplots and this was no different. there were secrets and suspense as to what arca actually was doing and what happened to graduates. but at the heart of the story its children being used and abused by adults in a dystopian setting and one girl rises up to discover the mystery and overthrow the leaders.

the artstyle was fine but because this was an arc only the first 40 or so pages had colour. and while black and white art can sometimes work, and even elevate a story, this was not such a case because it was often difficult to see what was going on and who was who. i would love to see the finished version of this story in full colour because the start was wonderful.

overall the story had merit to it and i enjoyed reading it for the most part but it wasnt the most original or unique.

This was a very interesting and twisting take on the generation ship. It was difficult to read through Adobe Digital Content but I think I got the idea from most of it. I would like to see the finished colored copies.

3 stars

My thoughts on Arca are complicated.
I read through the entire book in one sitting and wanted to know what would come next.
Unfortunately, it didn't really deliver on its promises.

The universe built in Arca is interesting, and the characters are varied and exist independently, but they aren't fleshed out enough for the reader to be fully invested in their lives.
Additionally, the story has many thought-provoking ideas, but as someone who has read scifi and dystopias before, none of it is new or unique. It isn't bad, but it also isn't particularly compelling, because it follows common tropes.

Arca has a lot of potential, but a better pacing (including more time with the characters existing in the universe before the big plot happens to get more acquainted and involved) as well as possibly more Arca-specific precisions on the plot would bring it up to a higher level.

All of that said, I really enjoyed the art style, particularly the opening of the book (in Effie's dream). I would hang a print of the plane sequence in my home.


Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This graphic novel follows Effie and the Settlers as they care for the Citizens aboard the spaceship Arca. The Arca left a dying Earth, in search of Eden and a new life. The Citizens are the founders of the Arca while the Settlers begin as children who work for the Citizens, eventually graduating at 18 to the status of Citizen. Effie is not like the other settlers. She is curious and unlike the other settlers, she can read. Effie's curiosity leads her to a mystery and trouble.
The story was interesting. While I was able to guess some of the mystery, I was not able to guess it all. My only problem was that the illustration went from full color to black and white. Because of the dense illustration, the lack of color did make it occasionally difficult to read.
This is a perfect story for anyone who likes science fiction and space stories.

The only true downside to this amazing graphic novel is that it didn't go as deeply into parts of it own story as I'd personally like it to. Nothing was missed, to be clear, but a deeper elaboration or more time spent on the characters finding out all the secret wrong things with their home/society would have been great. Otherwise an incredibly intriguing story, and a dystopian I don't think I've seen the concept of before.

In an appealing retro style Arca tells a story about generation ships and class struggle that feels familiar
We all have a god complex. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be here.

Effie is a worker on the Arca, a generation ship fleeing a ravaged earth. At 18, these settlers, who serve the citizens, retire, but cracks appear in this setup when Effie finds a bone shard. The story feels a lot like 1984, and the powers that be are a bit too conveniently lenient. The power of being able to read is nicely exemplified, and overall this was an enjoyable graphic novel to read.

Arca is an interesting exploration of power and greed; both the weight power holds over people and how people in positions of power are able to stay in power.

I love that there are continuous nods to great works of literature and that the main character uses her knowledge of these works to decipher good from bad but ultimately her characterisation fell a little short. She wasn’t as gripping or demanding as I expected her to be, she seems to clumsily stumble around before putting pieces of the lies together to form the truth.

I wish the world building had have been slightly more involved, I still don’t truely understand what happened to earth despite having reread that section multiple times.

Overall the concept of a great story is there, it just needs a little more pizzazz. The artwork, however, is stunning.

This sci-fi comic couldn't quite grab my attention—despite trying multiple times to find access to it. So I DNFed it after about 20 pages. Still, the interstellar theme of a generation-long travel to another world intrigues me, so o might try again sometime later.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this advanced copy. The dystopic premise sounded really good so I decided it could be my first read of 2023. I kinda discovered half of the mystery of the book super fast, but the story was still gripping and I felt on the edge of my seat for the entire reading experience. I enjoyed a lot how the book explores themes of citizenship, class privilege, politic propaganda, slavery, and even the power of questioning the system in place. My advanced copy still had a lot of colouring left to do, but the artwork is really good, and I am sure the final version will be amazing. I just wish this had more pages or hope it is the begginning of a new series because I think there is still a lot of questions that need to be answered.

This book was definitely different. I really like that the name of the ship "Arca" was based on the Ark in the Bible, meant to save the remnants of a society. The book was somewhat scattered but I really enjoyed the strength and tenacity of the young adults in the book. I would imagine this is a stand-alone book but I think it could also fit very well into a series. I wish the book had come in color as sometimes the drawings and text could be difficult to distinguish. Overall a very clever, space-age, post-apocalyptic tale.

I don't read a ton of graphic novels, but I really enjoyed this one. It involves lots of my buzzwords: generation ship, revolt, class consciousness, creating ideal society, etc. The story was a mix of both predictable and unexpected twists. The art was was great and I enjoyed the way the story was told. I was engaged!

Thanks to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for gifting me an advanced reader copy.

An interesting and intriguing read set in a dystopian era. But I wished I read a finished copy instead because the colouring was only through a quarter in. All in all, a pretty memorable read against leaders who are evil and manipulative and a girl's journey through taking back what is rightfully theirs. Would recommend you to read this one!