When Don Jones has to fight Sam Steadman in competition, he gets knocked out. Literally and figuratively - Sam wins the fight and Don becomes completely smitten. Their love story is told in three parts: prom, prom after party, and graduation. And during each part, readers will see all that makes their relationship special. Including their fighting skills.

This book is a fun, goofy read. Full of dynamic, action-packed fighting scenes, wacky characters full of personality, and a believable romance, this is a graphic novel anyone can enjoy.

Karate Prom follows Don Jones and Sam Steadman, a pair of karate kids that meet at a tournament and decide to go to prom together. Despite being excited for the big night and getting to know each other more, they have to battle a mixture of exes, bullies, and ninja cronies. This book reminded me of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World with the novel following a budding romance that is being challenged with exes and enemies wanting to break them up. The story was fun and adventurous appealing to a younger audience through its action sequences, setting, humor, and semi-relatable (mostly exaggerated) drama. While I do think the story is fun and will do well with its target audience, I am rating this book 3 stars simply because I do not think that I am the target audience and wasn't feeling spectacularly about the story. I tend to fly through graphic novels but I found myself struggling to finish, feeling like the story was longer than necessary. For those familiar with the author, they may enjoy the story and understand the writing style and humor better.


Content Warnings: violence, attempted murder, and light sexual jokes

Don Jones was knocked-out when he first met Sam Steadman at a karate match. But that did not stop him from pursuing her until they ended up at her prom together. But along that pursuit, Don had really annoyed Luke, Sam's ex-boyfriend, who vowed revenge at the prom. Surviving that fight, Don and Sam went to the after party where Astor, Don's ex-girlfriend, who belongs to a crime family makes an appearance. Of course there will be a fight! The question is who will survive it? Will Don and Sam actually make it to graduation or will they be tossed out in a heap before Pomp and Circumstances can be played! Read and find out!

Thanks Netgalley and First Second Books for the pleasure of reading this title!

This was fun! I'm not a bit graphic novel reader, but I can definitely see this being perfect for middle schoolers. It's got tons of action sequences, some humor, and a bit of an outlandish plot that did make it a fun and quick read!

Karate at prom? Yes, please! This book is such a fun book, there really isn’t any other way to explain it. It is like Karate Kid or Cobra Kai met a high school prom 80s movie!

This is fun! Very much a romp that will be appealing to fans of One Punch Man, martial arts, or what it's like to have a crush on someone as a teenager. The art will not be for everyone, but it is fairly easy to follow the dialogue and action. Also, a great choice for a book with a charatcter of color, which does not directly deal with racism.

Talk about AN ADVENTURE! This was such a wild ride. Every time you'd think it was over, BOOM. (Literally!) ANOTHER SNEAK ATTACK.

And the end! I love that we find out what happened to everyone over the years. That's so much fun. It's like a yearbook in that way.

Overall, super fun and full of excitement.

I wasn't expecting much from "Karate Prom," but it is genuinely hilarious. Reminiscent of "Scott Pilgrim," two teens have to team up and fight villians and exes while attending the prom. FIghting and hijinks ensue!

KARATE PROM is the story of a pair of teens who meet at a martial arts tournament and decide to go to prom together, only to be targeted by a vengeful ex-boyfriend and his cronies.

Silly in the best way! I love Kyle Starks writing and Karate Prom is no exception.

Karate Prom was cute but strange. Which is the right equation for some readers but doesn't happen to be my jam.

The art on the cover is what made me want to read it and it was okay. It was a little confusing and mixed a lot of elements and felt like it didn't complete most of them.

Thank you Netgalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'm unsure about this one. The premise sounded so fun but I don't think it fully delivered. I couldn't figure out who the demographic was. It fluctuated between young to teens with the dialogue and the themes. It was confusing.
The art and the action sequence were great though.

3 stars

Everything readers need to know about this one is in the title: karate and prom = Karate Prom.

The illustrations and action scenes - and there are many of these - are the highlights of this short and hilarious graphic novel. The epilogue is also a nice touch. I would have loved more of a plot and/or some kind of character development to go along with the other fun parts.

Fans of Starks's very well-known work will enjoy some of the familiarity, but those who are new to this realm may wish for a bit more.

The title says it all! This was very funny and outrageous. The art style was fun and goofy and the whole plot was over-the-top crazy. I really wanted to recommend this book to middle schoolers, but it does have a few lines that make it more teen-targeted. It was a bit like if Scott Pilgrim took place in high school.

The art style was not for me. I didn't know this was the same author as the Rick and Morty show--I probably wouldn't have requested it, as I didn't love the artwork on that show either.

Karate Prom is a silly, extremely fun action adventure set against the end-of-high school events of prom and graduation. As if prom, graduation, and starting a new era of life isn't stressful enough these students are also dealing with evil exes and ninja attacks. The graphics are engaging and set a fast-paced element to the story. I found myself invested in Don and Sam's relationship and was as confused by their breakup as Don was - I will admit that really wanted to find out what had happened between the two of them. I loved that Sam was a strong fighter by herself and this wasn't about Don having to run in and save the day. The supporting characters are super fun (and funny) as well. I loved the little epilogue about what happened to everybody!

2.5/5
Quality of writing: 3
Plot development: 2
Pace: 2
Characters: 3
Enjoyability: 2
Ease of reading: 3

I'm so not the demographic for this. But I'm also not sure for what demographic this has been written for. The art is really childish but the story and some of the dialogue just didn't work with it. It seems like this was written for older teens but the art just doesn't carry it unfortunately.
Not the best comic I've read but also not the worst.

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Don is just trying to survive high school when he meets the girl of his dreams, Sam. Unfortunately Evil is constantly lurking around the corner and makes high school even more difficult when Don and Sam have to fight off ninjas. This entire cast is so well thought out and a total blast, classic Kyle Starks dialogue making it a laugh out loud read. The three acts that make up this book were pieced nicely together with the most perfect ending it could have. Easily one of my favorite reads this year! I am looking forward to getting a physical copy.

this was such a fun read! i've never interested in physical fighting stuffs but the few first pages were immediately hooked me. Don first met Sam in a tournament when they were supposed to compete against each other but Don was completely smitten over Sam at the first glance. later Don asked Sam to hung out together that lead to a series of body-breaking events. their relationship was so sweet, and even though there's a lot of violence happening, the found friendship was the one that leaves the most impression for me.

The author includes some kind of epilogue about what become of the characters years later, which I think is a nice finishing touch. Enjoyed it so much.

This graphic novel was really fun and hilarious. The characters were exciting and the fight scenes were funny and adventurous. This is a quick read that will appeal to a wide variety of young readers. Recommended.