Shobo Coker

Note: I received access to this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Broad strokes of the plot are good, characters are good, but spread too thin. There are info dumps about the world building at the end of each issue, but it'd be much more interesting if they told those stories within the context of the story itself.
Chaotic story flow, with utilitarian dialogue that tries to contextualize everything in the dense world lore but doesn't do a great job of connecting that to the A plot.

Amazing art! Dramatic light, interesting character designs, very specific facial expressions, filmic distortion like fisheye lens, and cool ways of conveying motion all add depth on top of a beautiful afrofuturist world without any panel gimmickry.

New Masters is worth reading for its artwork alone.… (mere)

I'm going to be real. This book is coasting purely off the aesthetic (beautiful artwork and fun, vibrant color direction).

I don't think the pacing's necessarily the issue because there's no need to drag out the reveal, but the characters aren't strong enough to hold it up. I don't know the group well enough before they become fast friends. Apparently, Josue and Toba had some history beforehand that's basically brushed over.

Buckhead does seem heavily action-oriented/plot-based, so I can acknowledge that may be the reason why. But it comes at the expense of having no emotional weight, dragging out the reveal that that Toba's dad's body is gone would've built tension.

The focus on Nigerian cultural and religious elements coupled with the VIBES is interesting enough. Also, not gonna lie Romy baring his soul was funny.

If you're looking for a story with notable characters, this falls a few notes flat, but if you're just here for fun and the VIBES, man., then it's not a bad quick read. The story would've benefited from being longer.

2 stars but let's say 4 because i had fun… (mere)