Thank you Netgalley and IDW for the readers copy. I unfortunately don’t think I am the demographic for this. Which is sad because the premise sounds so fun and the art on the cover really captured my interest.
Basically where this fell short in my opinion is it couldn’t decide what it ultimately wanted to be.
I’m not talking about the blend of sci-fi and fantasy, that was great, I’m more referring to the big swings this was taking narratively and tone. Was it a satirical comedy? Was it a jaded, cynical insight into unhealthy relationships? (no but really who hurt the author?)
Was this a murder mystery? Who knows. It could be all those things.
I’m also struggling to remember if this passed the bechdel test, or really even the villarreal test. Regardless after completing it, it’s clear I’m not the intended audience.

I really loved the artwork in this; overall, I enjoyed the non-linear storytelling and the story overall, although I felt that there could have been a bit more character development. Overall, recommended!

Maybe 3.5. I was really into this at first. The art is a cool blend between medieval fantasy and futuristic. I liked the plot of a knight being chased by a demon, the use of modern/future tech in an ancient world, and the unfolding mystery. As things went on, I started to feel a little less interested, not because it was boring but because I wanted the backstory to be woven in more and the continuing plot to have a better flow. Instead, the first chapter had great pacing and a story that felt complete, if open-ended. Each chapter after that dragged a bit and didn't always provide more substance. Still a cool book and idea though.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this graphic novel. It was boring and stereotypical to me. I only finished it to give this arc review. I hope there are some changes made in the final version.


It lacked any themes. It felt like “spaceships, robots, damsels in distress how cool!!”. The humor wasn’t very funny. At all. It all felt so empty and I just felt so confused. I didn’t like the art style and the repeated use of drawings with only text changed was painfully obvious. The formats for the pages were always the same two layouts.


I don’t even know what I would’ve wanted instead for this because it feels so far from something good. I understand that I’m probably not the intended audience but I think its flaws are still very clear. It needed more depth. It could’ve been an enjoyable read. It needed fleshed-out characters and themes, to be less confusing. Billy felt like a typical hero and Ellie felt like a typical princess. It is something you’ve probably read before.

It had plenty of potential. I love nonlinear storytelling and robots. Not this time though, Unfortunate.

Ionheart was a stunning book! The authors use of various color pallets to evoke different moods and differentiate between different settings was excellent and I enjoyed the art style. The story itself felt mostly well paced and I think the author did a great job moving through time periods in the story in a way that told a compelling story and kept my attention throughout.

Ionheart by Lucas Kummer was not exactly the novel for me, but if you love Sci-Fi, steampunk, a dark story, and a hero on the run then you will enjoy this. I struggled with the switching timelines and the dryness of characters. However, I loved the simplistic art with the complexities of the story to balance it. And I found the medieval and futuristic elements mixed together enjoyable albeit sometimes humorous with how they described items that we find to be commonplace now. The colors chosen work beautifully together in the graphic novel as well! The story kept me going enough to finish it even though it may not be my cup of tea, but the pacing and the timeline jumps were a bit confusing.

The colors in this were an absolute treat every page! In this techno-fantasy, we follow our main character through different points in his life as he tries to save the world. I found the strengths were in the artistic choices, and again I’ll mention the color work, specifically for how it was used to distinguish between different eras. As a big fan of non-linear storytelling, I thought this was a very effective method in helping readers keep track of the story across sections. The technology in this was also very fun! However, it was hard for me to get attached to the characters because development fell flat for those aside from the protagonist and relationships were rather shallow. I also felt the lack of diversity became rather glaring towards the end, most notably when the main female character finally got a name about 90% of the way through. Overall, I enjoyed aspects of the art and story, but it wasn’t the book for me. [2.5/5]

Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Ionheart is such a strange mix of fantasy and technology. The art style gives me the same vibes as the art in the card game “Epic Spell Wars of the Battle Wizards”.

The art style is simplistic but I really loved the author’s use of color. This is a story of a medieval fantasy type world with castles, knights, and a princess but there’s a rift between their world and a world full of modern tech. This technology keeps leaking through until the “cursed seed of a tree of fire” destroys their world.

My biggest issue with this is that the story jumps around the timeline frequently, with little indication other than a shift in the color scheme of the art. It was a little difficult to keep up with these shifts at times and so it muddled the plot.

Thank you net galley for this graphic novel one thing i liked about this one was it was long and had a lot of cute art but i will also say that its hard for me to get into this genre and i struggle with it so i definitely feel this book will be a lot better and more enjoyable for people who read this genre. I did enjoy the start of the book with the storyline i thought it was going to be more based like that so when it started becoming more sci fi and stuff it was a little harder for me to follow and confused me a bit but overall i think people will enjoy this one just because it had 300+ pages and a lot of story it just wasn’t really for me.

Thank you to NetGalley a and IDW Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First off, the art and the colors were quite beautiful. Each page was nice to look at, quite cohesive. The color coding helped separate the when, as well, which I think is important in a graphic novel that jumps around like this one does.

It did nearly lose me in the beginning --everything kind of felt, at first, like it was simply for shock value... But I decided to keep going, since graphic novels tend to go quickly anyway. I'm very glad I did. Once I was able to fall into the rhythm of it, the recurring characters very much grew on me.

There were a couple of beats that, despite my overall enjoyment, did not land for me. While spoiling as little as possible: the death of the couple that had owned the main character felt like it was set up to be an emotional beat, but did not land for me. From everything else that had been set up I hadn't expected the "What am I doing" grief, even if that's the beat that would normally come in a spot like that. The second was the killer's reveal towards the end; I wish the character it was revealed to be was established a little earlier. The panel with their face came up and I went. "Oh. Huh. Alright, I guess."

Those nitpicks aside, I did like it enough to finish it, and I may give future volumes a read. Four stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an advance copy of a graphic novel that mixes together many different genres, to a tell a story that is unique, sad, funny and beautifully illustrated, with a lot of heart, and a lot of skill

I have been reading comics since I was old enough to understand that pictures tell stories. Over the years I have seen a lot, read a lot, been disappointed a lot. And been taken by surprise. Usually by an author I didn't know anything about. Sometimes by my own assumtions of how a story should go. I must say not only was I surprised by this story, but I honestly had no idea where it was going, nor did I know how much I was going to care to find out. And how much I want more about these characters, and more by this author. Ionheart is the English language debut of a German-Austrian creator, Lukas Kummer, and is a love story, fantasy story, science fiction story, dystopian police procedural filled with magic, action, repentance, and hope.

A man awakens to a world that has been ravaged by an unstoppable creature. The man was once a night, a companion to a princess, and a warrior to the oppressed, with his sword and armor. Now the princess he loved is gone, his companions wounded and weakened. And a demon, cruel and unstoppable is after him. The knight gathers his equipment, a flashlight, a shock stick, and his trusty steed a flying car, and sets off to make things right. Meanwhile right behind is a creature full of fire, and anger, answering only to a cosmic force called Bob.

I don't want to get to much into the plot, as it might ruin things. I really enjoyed this story. The art and setting is almost like a YA graphic novel. Honestly my first thought was Smile from the brightness of the art, and the panel sizes. I was so wrong. This is a dark story, a violent story about choosing life, choosing who to be, fighting for what is right, and losing. Sometimes love, sometimes everything. The story barrels along well, even the jumps make sense. The dialogue elevates the story. I'm not sure how the book was translated, or even if it was, but text gels really well with what is going on. In addition to action there ae passages about relationships, and friendships and trying to do right, that lifts the story from a simple quest to something much more.

A graphic novel that blew all my expectations out of the water. What I thought looked like a Teen dystopian was a meditation on what we are, can we change, can we fix the past, and make better future. I really am looking forward to more stories by Lukas Kummer.

Ionheart is a sci-fi graphic novel that uses time/dimension travel to create a gritty, sometimes gory, saga about revenge, regrets, and love. A knight who uses technology as magic in a medieval world comes back from the brink of destruction to try and fix a series of past mistakes.

The art is dark and saturated, making the post-apocalyptic world come to life. This story focuses on toxic relationships in a variety of forms and how their impact can reverberate out to everyone in the community. Dark stories aren’t my usual style, especially when none of the main characters are particularly likable, but the story and characters are compelling. Plus, some of the reveals did take me by surprise. If you’re into post-apocalyptic sci-fi, give this a try.

Trigger warning for depictions of violence/gore.

I enjoyed this but i didn't love it and that's mostly due to it simply not being my cup of tea. I thought the art style and use of color was lovely but I may not be a sci-fi kind of person. This story blends fantasy and sci-fi together fairly well with a dash of gore that is fairly safe for the squeamish.

A beautiful blend of fantasy and science fiction, Kummer blew me away with his American debut. A knight wakes up from a thirty year nap, and we travel back and forth through his timeline, as he tries to save his princess and the kingdom. The art style is wonderful, and really enhances the experience, as the drawings really lend itself to the world created. The blended sci-fi and fantasy really immerses you in this odd world, and I especially enjoy the idea of technology being "magical". I was genuinely so surprised at how quickly I was hooked, and I can't wait to see what Kummer does next!

Ionheart is an action, gore, and profanity-filled sci-fi and fantasy mashup that explores themes of artificial life, love, and the dark side of human nature, despite its simplistic cartoony art style.

Ionheart is set in a medieval world where objects and technology from the future, referred to as magic by the locals, randomly fall from the sky through temporal breaches. It follows a decorated medieval knight adept in the use of this “magic” who awakens 30 years after an apocalypse involving a demon (murderous advanced robot) decimated his kingdom, poisoned his friends/people, and turned the terrain into a desert wasteland.

With the demon now back and hunting him, we are left to wonder, who is this knight, why is technology from the future showing up in the past, why can he understand and use this futuristic tech, why hasn’t he aged at all in the 30 years since the apocalypse, and what history is there between him and this demon

Ionheart has such a uniquely gripping plot and story. The concept feels so refreshing and original, plus the book is very well-written, especially the first chapter. Its characters are complex and relatable, and the growth and development of the lead in the series is very compelling, but after the first chapter, the pacing becomes awkward, and the story going back and forth between timelines just confused this reader, making it feel like it's all over the place.

I initially wasn’t going to read this because of the art, but I’m so glad I did. The minimalist design is complemented by very detailed illustrations/imagery, and the use of contrasty neon colors to portray the synthetic aspects of the world was masterfully executed. The book is beautiful and its pages glow and stand out to the reader, I wasn’t at all expecting to enjoy the art so much that I would change a thing about it, it just perfectly suits the feel of the book and adds to its originality. There’s also lots of sexual imagery and language, this book is not at all for kids

Great book, 3.6 out of 5 stars, and strongly recommend for any Sci-Fi/Fantasy fan, or anyone looking for a well-written unique and refreshing story.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Top Shelf Productions for providing me with a free eARC

3.5 rounded up!

This was a very interesting read and the concept kept me captivated! The art style is fantastic, especially with the use of colours to distinguish between worlds. Unfortunately, I started to get a little lost during chapter two as the time line started to wobble and the narrative left a clear structure. The ending arrived so suddenly but I'm hoping that could mean a volume two is in the future!

Thank you to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for this eARC.
I'm afraid this just wasn't for me. Looking at the cover I thought I would check it out but the art is just not my thing at all. The use of colors is lovely but the overall style isn't to my taste. Taste in style is subjective though, and this is only my personal opinion. However, due to my feelings I have chosen to DNF this title. Since I didn't make it very far I will not post a review to my socials.

This was a gutpunch from beginning to end. We follow Billy in what seems to be a steampunk fantasy world that he tries to save from total annihilation. Only nothing is what it seems as time is very wibbly wobbly. I enjoyed the mind-bending trip this graphic novel takes its readers. I appreciated the juxtaposition between muted and bright colours that bordered on neon throughout the story, depending on the setting of the scene.

Loved the art style on show here - it reminded me a little of Tom Gauld's comics. Fantastic use of colour palette. Really enjoyed the story and its contrasts between futuristic and medieval times, and magic versus technology. Fans of Disenchantment and Adventure Time will have a blast with Ionheart!

*3.5 stars rounded up*

I was thoroughly surprised reading Ionheart because of how gripping the storytelling was! I found it extremely interesting how magic and technology were integrated throughout the novel, and I thought it was a truly original approach to showcasing the differences between the time periods. It was a perfect blend of sci-fi and fantasy, combining the two to create a unique story that unfolds as readers learn more about Billy, the protagonist.

I thought the tougher topics were touched on very well, and I liked how the author was able to blend those topics in the medieval and futuristic periods. It also allowed readers to see some character development from Billy as they see how his actions change, but then how he reflects on his behavior later on. That being said, there are some TWs that readers should check out first before picking up this book, like toxic relationships, gore, and mentions of sex.

While I was enjoying the plot a lot when I first started, I was starting to get lost toward the middle in Chapter 2. The use of color to signify what point in time Billy is in is incredibly well done, but it did at times get confusing since the story was never truly told chronologically. Jumping back and forth constantly while trying to understand the complexities of these worlds meant I had to reread a couple of pages every once in a while to make sure I wasn't missing a key detail. However, that didn’t necessarily ruin my experience reading, since I did feel satisfied at the end when everything started to come together.

Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!