It’s hard to not copy other reviewers, but this really does read like Conan the Barbarian story, only with a teenage boy fighting his way through armies of insects and mytes — humanoid insects. Spyders, wasps, the ant empire, beetle riders, butterflies, honeybees, maggots, and so much more. It’s lush and beautifully drawn with some of the most unique character ideas and world building I’ve seen in a long time. The pace is lightning fast and the action is nonstop, and I can’t wait for the next omnibus to come out. It’s just … so much fun. I think this is the best graphic novel I’ve read all year.

There’s also good character development as Slade has to go from being a nervous, shy and awkward young man to being the champion of humanity in an effort to keep the bugs of the yard from killing his brother, like they killed his father. And yet, he’s still just a kid underneath it all, wanting his mother to make him feel safe and loved.

There’s a lot of violence and a fair amount of gore with graphic deaths, decapitations and bugs killing people left right and center. If you’re squeamish about bugs, you’ll want to skip this one, but if you give it a try it’s just a joy to read. Thank you so very much to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This comic is nuts. For real. It's not just bugs fighting, it's like a full-on, gruesome fantasy war with beetles and ants and spiders. The violence is just insane, and the art by Mahmud Asrar is so detailed and raw, it's almost gross, but in the most awesome way. You can see every little bit of carnage.

Beyond the bugs, there's this whole other story about Slade and his family moving into an old house where something messed up happened to their dad. And then Slade ends up getting pulled into the bug world. The way they connect that family drama with the epic insect battles is what makes it so good. It’s got a lot of heart and some really dark stuff happening at the same time.

Honestly, if you’re into a lot of action and don't mind something a little bloody and intense, you have to read this. It’s like a mix of Game of Thrones and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, but on steroids. It's a trip.

One slight critique is that I wish the dialogue was better, at times Slade sounded like an adult pretending to be a kid rather than a kid, it's a common issue but I found it particularly noticeable in this series.

Thanks to Netgalley and Image Comics for providing this ARC!

"Honey, I Shrunk The Kids meets Game Of Thrones" is the summary at the back of the opening issue, but Aaron and Asrar previously collaborated on Conan, whose swords & sorcery vibe, not to mention sole protagonist, are a much closer match than GRRM. For me, there's a far better encapsulation at the opening of #2: "Holy fuckin' cricket shit! The kid punched Grimgum's whole dern face the fuck off!" Let's be honest, if there's one thing comics do better than any other medium, it's one character punching another character's whole dern face the fuck off, and Bug Wars is not shy about taking advantage of that. And variants, obviously – plenty of limbs get removed too, there's one lovely bit of design where a speech bubble gets sliced in half along with the speaker's head, and I'm not even spoiling any of the more ingenious insect-specific demises. This is, if you hadn't gathered, Jason Aaron in the unfettered, gory mode he always seems to pull out for his Alabama stories. The lead this time is Slade Slaymaker, an overdone name for a withdrawn kid who mainly finds companionship in bugs, an interest he inherited from his entomologist dad. Whereas disturbed big brother Syd bloody hates them, because of how said dad died. Which could have been the basis for a boring psychodrama, but handily there's a Macguffin lurking, which throws Slade into the miniature world of the family house's yard, where tiny humanoid Mytes align and apparently interbreed wíth the copious invertebrate life, resulting in savage wasp-riding raiders, imperialist ants, sexy naked butterfly people, and so forth. It's absolutely high on its own fascination with the weird and frequently vile variety of arthropod life, and deservedly so, though as such also a terrible idea for anyone not keen on creepy-crawlies (I struggled myself with the visit to Wyrdweb, home of the Spyder Wytches of the Krimson Skein, AKA the ferns in hanging baskets at the side of the house).

(Netgalley ARC)

Bug Wars Book One brings together Conan the Barbarian, A Song of Ice and Fire, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids to introduce readers to Slade Slaymaker - a young bug enthusiast whose brother hates what he loves. The two boys are thrust back into their late father’s world as their mother encounters financial problems and eventually we fall into the Yard… honestly, I was thrilled. I love all things creepy crawlies and as a D&D/World of War Craft nerd, this was right up my alley. The art is phenomenal. It brings be back to old school graphic novels and comics with the full color and just enough detail to keep me on each page for several minutes. As an artist, it was inspiring. The panels and gutters are clean, too. One thing I love about this book is that each volume bleeds into the next seamlessly, like chapters. You’re not getting whiplash. While I want to say this is a coming of age, it’s not geared for kids, older teens at the youngest. There are adult themes, gore, and vulgar language. Overall, I highly recommend this one if you love graphic novels and action-packed, quest style storylines.

Bug Wars is a wild ride. The story follows Slade Slaymaker, an insect-loving kid who is magically transformed into the size of one thanks to an amulet. It's a badass gory mix of Honey! I Shrunk the Kids!, Mad Max, Conan the Barbarian and more. And, for all the violence and chaos, the story has a hefty amount of heart. Jason Aaron again proves to be a force in comics, and Mahmud Asrar's excellent art is the perfect vessel for the Yard.

What a read!! This is such an exciting concept! I absolutely love the premise of this. I think just about every boy growing has imagined something like this at one point or another. To adapt that childlike imagery into something for adults to read is spectacular.

The art that helps drive this story is just as incredible. The color schemes of the panels keep you drawn in and excited for what comes next.

While I did love the story and art, the only thing I didn't care for was at the very beginning where the adult language was a bit frequent. I get that its a teenage character and boys will be boys but thats about it. My only complaint. Will be reading more of this series for sure.

This comic was wild in the best way. I'm a big Dungeons and Dragon fan, and this had a lot of the elements that I like about that were reflected in this story. I'm also into bugs, so there really was no better comic for me to read. I thought the worldbuilding for this comic was really interesting and creative, I loved getting to the end of an issue and seeing the pages describing the different types of bug colonies. I also thought the story was really interesting, and enjoyed the art. It was grotesque but not in a way that made me not want to read it. I'll for sure be recommending this to people.

A thrilling adventure through the yard, I was flipping through this and I could not get enough. The classic comic art style always captivates me, and I was rooting for Slade from the first page. His character arc is incredible, seeing him grow into his confidence as he travels and fights. Slade moving into his family's abandoned house that makes my skin crawl, but the Bug War blows it that feeling out of the water. The art details bloody battles (yes these bugs bleed- A LOT). This creates a more mature feel in the comic, rather than a YA rating that may better fit Slade's story.

4.75 stars

Yeah. This is amazing.
I usually start my reviews with a little summary of what the book is about, but I can't right now. Let me just say, whatever you are reading right now, put it down. I need you to pick this title instead. You won't regret it.

So! Insects, huh. Bugs, and spiders. I'm not a fan of them. This series creeped me out so bad, yet I loved every page. I haven't felt like this since I started reading Saga almost a decade ago.

Bug Wars Book One is the story about a boy who loves insects. And about a young man who hates them.
The Slaymaker family is grieving. The father, an entomologist, died a few years ago in his study, in the basement of his childhood home. His oldest kid, at the time a young child, was the one who found his body. Eaten and mutilated by insects of all kinds. He has since then feared and despised bugs. Now, the money is tight, so the mother and the two sons are forced to move to the house with awful memories. The one that has a big yard full of insects and spiders. One day, the oldest son, Syd, can't handle the feeling of bugs everywhere so he takes poison to kill them all, including his brother's beloved collection. Slade tries to save his little friends, but they all die except for his favorite. A rhinoceros beetle called Pac. This little bug flees and enters the father's study where no one has dared to go since the day of his gruesome death. Slade chases after him and while trying to grab Pac happens to touch an amulet and everything changes.
He is now tiny. Think of it as Honey, I shrunk the Kids. And he's outside, surrounded by other humanoid creatures that resemble and ride different bugs. Slade Slaymaker is about to discover the Yard.

Oh man, the worldbuiling is so good. The yard has a variety of insects and arachnids, and most importantly, there live the mytes. The maggot monks, the ant imperium, the spyder wytches. There's a whole world of empires, clans and sects. It's unbelievably cool. It's disturbing too. Humanoids that mate with insects, cities in decadence, a little of magic weaved by ancient spiders.There are butterflies titties, butterfly dongs, there is an ant orgy. Things get weird and creepy, and it's a blast.
In between issues, we get a few pages of the journal of Slade's father, the entomologist. He details the different mytes, the different insects that live in the yard and how their society is structured. These pages are so entertaining and are actually really educational about real life insects.

This is a story of adventure, war, revenge, and mystery. It's the story of a broken family that love each other regardless of trauma. It's a coming of age story of a boy with a magical amulet that rides a beetle and it's forced to kill and fight to defend his life and protect his family. It's also a story with a lot of humour. I don't want to spoil much, but the big bad villain? It's actually hilarious.

If you haven't noticed yet, I absolutely loved this graphic novel. I love how twisted it is, yet how it never loses sight of the heart of it all, Slade wanting to protect his family. I love him as the hero of the story. I can't wait for his next adventure and how the worldbuilding will keep expanding.

If you are petrified of bugs, this is NOT the book for you, but if you’re able to stand the paranoia of creepy crawling things all over your house, backyard, and possibly on you, then give this book a chance. It was definitely giving me strong “Arthur and the Minimoys” vibes at first, a movie I watched way too many times as a kid, and I was already very devoted to the premise, even more so when getting into the thick of the world building. The Yard is a landscape of exotic bugs all densely packed into one area where instead of coexisting, they’re constantly at war with one another. An ant empire based off imperial Rome, or holy orders like the Spyders and the Fly Citadels, or the Barbarian beetles. All of these sects have very different relationships, but for once they think to unite, all because a human family has moved back into the house at the edge of the Yard. Slade, our main character is a young teen part of the family who gets launched into the midst of the Bug Wars when he’s shrunken down and becomes the target of practically all the sects for one reason or another.

I won’t say more to avoid spoiling it, but Slade was a very compelling main character, and Wysta is my absolute favourite, an outcast with a rebellious side in her own way. With Augustfall I think there’s more story to tell, and judging by the way this ended, there’s definitely going to be more story for all of the characters, and I’m so down for more. I am a massive fan of the art and colouring which brought the story to life and had me studying each page. I will warn for mature content, both visually and with the sheer amount of death and detail in how bugs kill their prey (nasty!! I learned so many things though!) but with strong world building, characters, relationships, art, story, and even queer representation, this series has found an audience with me, and I am definitely going to keep my eyes peeled for more. 10/10 Read