This started off quite slow for me. I felt there wasn't much to the story and what was happening was pointless. The conversations seemed pointless as there was no character building. The story seemed to try to pick up towards the end but by that point I wasn't really interested in it.

There’s something deadly lurking deep in the bayou, but nobody is willing to tell Otis and Red just what it is. All the grownups ever do is chastise Otis for hanging out with that white boy, saying no good will ever come of it. When a new family moves into the derelict manor at the edge of town, how are Otis and Red supposed to resist learning about the family there? Especially once they learn there’s a girl about their age who is just as eager to play.

Johann G. Louis brings the Southern Gothic to life in Swamp: A Summer in the Bayou (Europe Comics, 2023). A lifelong fan of the genre, Louis masterfully evokes the atmosphere of Louisiana. The town of Sunny Point has water moccasins and gators in the water, but the true danger is more often all too human - a lesson all our characters are bound to learn sooner rather than later as they continue to fraternize after being warned not to.

By showing the story through the eyes of Otis, Red, and Shelley, Louis is better able to evoke the simmering tensions under the hot, summer sun. This indirect way of addressing racism and inequality is every bit as evocative in Swamp as it is in Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird or the work of Carson McCullers. The children often don’t understand the complexities of the tension wrought by the class and racial divides, but a few offhand comments from the adults and the dead bodies in the swamp are more than enough to bring the lesson home for readers.

The graphic novel is superbly illustrated. The artwork is reminiscent of watercolors, and the rich greens bring to life the strange nature of the backwater. Settings such as the haunted riverboat and the derelict mansion immerse the reader in the setting of the Deep South, their presence evoked powerfully enough that you can nearly smell the rotting wood.

Swamp is a quick, moving read. Although it is the tale of a single lost summer in a town long absent, it is still a timely graphic novel. If you can find a copy of it, be sure to give it a read with a cool drink beside you - that Louisiana sun is a killer.

I like this book. The illustration of the bayou is amazing. Very detailed and stunning.

I'm a little bit confused though. This book tagged as general fiction (adult), Why??

For me, this book more like coming of age story. I don't mind if my tween daughter want to read this. Yes, this book covered heavy topics like racism, poverty, violence, and chronic illness. But nothing too graphic. And i love how diverse the characters are. I think this book can be used as something to start a discussion about those heavy topics i stated earlier.

I’ve been getting more and more into graphic novels recently so like many of them, I really enjoyed this fast iced and visual form of storytelling!

I liked the art style, and could sense the emotions of the characters so well.

I found the topic of choice to be an important one and I enjoyed the mystery elements of it and the setting

I didn’t realise this was part 1 (or if it’s standalone, I’m shocked that the ending is so abrupt and unsolved)

I wish the ending tied loose ends up.

Overall I’m glad this exists and could be a useful learning method for kids who aren’t a fan of reading to learn about history.

I would recommend this graphic novel

A whimsical tale of two boys and a summer in the bayou. Swimming and fishing in the creek are offset with a backstory of racial tension, and an epidemic of missing black men in the community.

This is a story of innocence meeting reality, and it really brings to life the feeling of Louisiana in the 1930’s. Otis and Red’s story is a story of friendship, boyhood and equality. I loved their friendship and faith in one another.

Although it was a very simple plot – this graphic novel is like a snapshot into a time of history with its dialogue and wonderful illustrations.

Summer in the Bayou of the 1930s with unlikely friends.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The watercolor-like art style was different than most graphic novels I've read, but I really liked it. I found myself lingering on the pages to take it all in.

This was a short read, about an hour for me. I wish it were longer! I wanted to know more about what happened with the <spoiler>murders and Klan</spoiler>.

A beautiful book telling the story of Otis and Red in the 1930s, two young boys who socially shouldn't be friends due to the awful racism of the time. Their friendship goes beyond this racism and this books tells the story of them meeting a young girl at the manor, exploring and stumbling upon something they shouldn't. A great book, the artwork was perfect for the style and overall an enjoyable and quick read!;

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

A story about two boys' summer in the 1930s living in the deep South. The plot itself seemed to meander and didn't really have a concrete point to it. I kept waiting for the overarching plot to establish itself, but it never did. Sometimes scenes seemed to abruptly end with no warning, making the plot feel a bit jerky. It alludes to or briefly mentions some of the serious dangers of living in the South as a black person in the 1930s, but it does nothing more than that. Also, the way the plot blurb was written paired with the genres this graphic novel was tagged with, I thought this was a story about adults. I also thought that the singer would feature more prominently, based on how the plot blurb was written, but she's barely in it. (Side note, why is this graphic novel tagged as "General Fiction [Adult]"? This is a middle-grade level story, both in dialogue and writing.) The ending itself is honestly kind of terrible. It just ends out of nowhere, and I thought I had accidentally skipped a page. But nope, it just abruptly ends. The art itself is fine at some points. I dislike how people are drawn, but all of the illustrations of nature are beautifully done.

I really liked the illustrations in this book, but the story fell flat for me. I think people who are more into Southern Gothic genre would enjoy this.

Thank you, NetGalley and the author/publisher for an eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Sunny Point, La., 1930 is not an easy place for two 11-year-old boys — Caucasian Red and African-American Otis — to be friends. The racism is thick in bayou country, where the White sheriff is a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and African-Americans can be beaten, jailed or lynched for any reason — or none at all. When a famous Philadelphia singer and her delicate daughter spend the summer in the bayou, will life change for Red and Otis?

A wonderful graphic novel that brings that era to life for children and their adults alike. Highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Europe Comics in exchange for an honest review.

It was an interesting story. Not so sure about the art style that was used, I guess it was effective enough, I'd read other works from the creator, even though this didn't hold my attention that much.

This is an engaging graphic novel that is effective in immersing the reader in this time and place. I feel it would fit in wonderfully in a middle school classroom library. There were times where the narrative felt disjointed, when one scene would abruptly jump to the next, but overall this book was an enjoyable reading experience.

Thank you NetGalley for the review copy!

3.5 ⭐
Swamp is a wonderful graphic novel about racism and friendship in the early 1900s with a southern gothic vibe. Incredible artwork!

A wonderful story about boyhood, and life in the south of America in the early 1900s.
We follow Otis and Red, as they navigate growing up in a space where they aren't allowed to be friends due to the racism of the time and their area.
This is a beautifully drawn story, it could be carried by the art on its own! I was captivated by the art style, lingering on each page to take it all in.
Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for something with a southern gothic vibe.

Swamp is a wonderful graphic novel with beautiful ink drawings. In only 158 pages it packs in racism, friendship, summertime, loss, and murder. I greatly enjoyed it. Being from the American South myself I wasn’t sure how a European author/artist would represent the Deep South but it was great.

**thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc I received in exchange for my honest review.**

I haven't read a graphic novel like this before but it was super fun and entertaining. I loved the aspect of the bayou and the swamps, the illustrations were lovely.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Johann for this graphic novel for an honest review.

This is a stunner! The illustration is beyond beautiful. The storyline was solid. 5 stars!

Very impactful and a great exploration into the racial divides in the south of the USA. Touching on topics in subtle ways for readers to understand making the graphic novel even more powerful. The illustrations weren't my favourite but I did enjoy the text a lot.

This was such a beautifully drawn drama / coming of age story that reminded me so much of Huckleberry Finn (then I read at the end that the author was inspired by it!)
The illustrations make you feel like you’re in the actual swamp!

“We’re all going to die. Just not all at once. Each in turn… but for now, I’m right here, with you.”

Swamp is a gorgeously illustrated, lush, and atmospheric graphic novel about three children in the 1930’s south. The story follows the children as they face oppression and threats of violence due to racism, classism, and misogyny. In the first few pages, the threat of racial violence looms over our Black main character, Otis, represented by ominous, almost supernatural lights shining at him in the bayou. The art is detailed and delicate, and the use of colors adds an essential sense of place and atmosphere to this story.

Louis carefully builds suspense throughout the story, using both his haunting imagery and his child characters’ lack of worldly knowledge to pull the reader through the pages. While I wish that the Black characters, aside from Otis, had been more developed, the novel is able to veer away from white savior-ism by the end, leaving the child characters to rely on themselves. The reader, too, is left haunted by the cruelty and inattention of the adults in this world, and the persistence of the children’s friendship through it all.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.