Alpha

by Little Chmura (Illustrator)

They told her she was perfect. They never told her why. In a world where humans are weapons, she’s about to learn her place. A new graphic novel featuring an original story by Olivie Blake and art by Little Chmura.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Manga, Graphic Novels Comics

53 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 11, 2017

Reviews

[Ayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

badassery at its finest

[Maditales · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in here was amazing and I loved the entire mystery behind the mission but I sometimes got a bit confused with the large time jumps. I wish there was a bit more to work with.

Also the kind of “romance” that started to form was cute

[Aaliyah Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wtf……this was
EXCELLENT.….like i am
flubgusted... it only took 30
mins to get through (if that)
but omg - the storyline…the
VIBES...i was going to cry
but also high five the main
character...but at the same
time I hate her but I love
her as well. This is such an intriguing
idea. I’m so glad i have the
second one on hand cause
DAMN

5/5⭐️

[ash | · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in a dystopian future, Alpha struggled with its lack of plot and ineffective time jumps. The characters were not fully realized. I'm left confused with some of the decision making and really just the overall story concept.

The illustrations throughout the graphic novel were generally great overall however there were inconsistencies with the way emotion was illustrated.

Overall, Alpha had ideas that were not explained well or fully explored (e.g. the magic). I'll definitely continue reading the next in the series because I will read anything by Olivie Blake. This is my third work by her, having finished The Atlas Six and La Petite Mort, and it's the only one that missed. I loved the other two.

[Emilie in the Ether · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alpha, written by Olivie Blake, is a graphic novel and is set in what I think is a dystopian society. The book being really short, you can easily read it in one go.
While the art is beautiful, I didn't connect with the story as much as I wanted to. This first volume is promising though because it makes me want to read the next one, which I fortunately already own

[heather. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars 🌟

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

No plot just breeding??

[Becs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe I waited so long....

I love this! I'm kicking myself for not reading this sooner. Knowing all of the entertaining fics she has written, this should of been a no brainer to read forever ago. Olivie has such a talent for writing and storytelling. Adding in Little Chmura's artwork this is a masterpiece.

[Bells · Rating 3 out of 5]

finally the woman gathered herself and spoke: "what the fuck?"

[Nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars for this brilliant indie graphic novel! I have only read one other indie graphic novel in my life, and I really loved it... so when I saw that the author of The Atlas Six (a book I have not yet read) had a graphic novel, I knew I had to get my hands on it.
1) THE COLOUR PALETTE! My goodness, someone revive me. The pages are all black/white, except for traces of a neon blue that run through the entire book. It was so beautiful. I was breathless flipping through this.
2) The story, so cool and hardcore sci-fi-y. I find that many sci-fi graphic novels don't do an amazing job of being sci-fi, but this one was really good. It gave me Bladerunner vibes in some of the settings. I had so much fun with it.
Overall a stunning graphic novel. I am looking forward to reading the second one.

[Lynzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept, but not for me. I am loathe to criticize anyone else’s art because it’s so subjective and takes so long to hone as a skill. But I just couldn’t with this. The stills themselves were good, the faces were beautiful, but reusing the same picture within the same page? Throughout the whole book? There was no change in expression for any character either.
Maybe as a book this would’ve gone down easier?

[Gabbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg this is so good. The graphics are great and it was truly more than I thought it would be. I got a bit confused at times but when I reread the previous page it made more sense. I recommend. It’s quick and very entertaining!

[analu]

não entendi muita coisa mas te amo olivie

[BookBoundKay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short, fun, graphic novel. Intrigued by the story but felt like I wanted slightly more details. Keen to read the next one.

[Sara]

I love Olivie Blake but umm... what was that??😂

[dovesnook · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel disturbed but not in a good mind blown way

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

⭐️
(This was a rare intellectual read there is no spice)

Storytelling: It’s giving….nothing. It didn’t give. I think it could’ve been great if it was longer, or we spent more time on like…idk…a plot? The idea is…dystopian? Not really unique. At all actually. SPOILER: they are breeding super humans. That’s it. That’s the plot. There is attempted SA and she’s naked a lot? And just accepts she is a brood mare? IDK. It didn’t give “badass women” like it was supposed to. I spent $6 on this. I’m mad.

“They’d hardly acknowledged her beyond sizing her up. She would learn later that that wasn’t because she was a girl. It was because even then, she was little more than a commodity” (kill me)

Illustration: the art style is beautiful, actually really well done….well, until they need to express emotion. There is a total of 3 facial expressions in this comic. And the art style of the faces isn’t consistent. At all. Sometimes it’s SO good and realistic and others (in the same frame) look like the sims 2. The no-emotion-women isn’t done in a cool “I’m broken” way either, because she doesn’t show…ANY emotions. At all. She had one facial expression and it’s…(your not gonna be able to guess this one)….pretty. It keeps her looking pretty. Always. I want a ugly rage face at least ONCE.

“Ah, so he’d loved her. So he was a fool, then”
(This was her response to him denying to f her after his last brood mare dies, I cannot make this up)

Also, please fact check me here but: that was sus as hell. There is a casual “all the alphas have dark skin cause they don’t burn in the sun, their tougher” dropped in. And that was IT. Can we explore this deeper? I wanted to read more about this, not just have a SINGLE side comment about it when all the main characters have dark skin and this SEEMS IMPORTANT? idk, it just…was….sus as hell when it was never explored beyond surface level. All of this is surface level.

I’m never trusting any of you again. I cannot believe I spent 2 coffees worth of money on this. I think I’m depressed. I’m never gonna financially recover.

[Andrea]

tba/5 stars

Can I just say that this went a lot darker than I thought it would be? Not sure if this counts as spoilers, but better say than sorry.

So, it takes place in this "lab" setting where I am assuming the military and a select few scientists are secretly trying to create an army of supernatural humans. However, the military is not listening to the scientists about the psychological aspect of the beings they are creating.

They are taking 18-24? (the eldest mentioned was 23) year olds and putting them through tests, killing off the ones who don't succeed and sparing the ones who do. However, the top contenders are forced to breed with each other to make the army.

And our lead happens to get herself all the way up to the Alpha position via the female/feminine slot and is last seen making a deal w/ the male/masculine Alpha to eliminate everyone else.

This book makes me uncomfortable (and if that was the author's goal- they did their job). However, I can also see how a society like this survives. I mean the higher ups manipulate the poor/lower working class into their bidding while the rich stay comfy. It slightly reminds me of Squid Games.

And this is just a personal preference, however, the art has this mix of realism, but blurred effect to it that threw me off during my read. I don't hate the art, but it isn't my favorite. However, it does match the atmosphere I guess.

[Lucia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read about this graphic novel on tumblr as I follo Olivie. It immediately caught my attention as I like both her stories and LittleChmura's art and this graphic novel definitely didn't disappoint.
While we don't get to see too much of the world the two of them created in this first part, we get a general idea about a setting and the conflict. It's a dystopy where the goal is to create super soldiers - sounds clichee? Don't worry, it isn't.
Why? We are dealing with a lot of PoC characters, the female lead is an asian woman, and more importantly, they are morally gray!
I have to say this is something I always love as exploring such characters is truly fascinating. But I don't want to say too much.
The art style is georgeous too and I can only recommend this piece to everybody who wants to read a story that keeps you on your toes.

[Maia Matson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will read everything Little Chmura and Olivie Blake make together. Chmuras' illustrations add to Blake writing so beautifully.

The story was intriguing even if the idea was disturbing. The beauty of the art style was definitely the best part of this graphic novel.

Art: 5 stars
Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 2 stars I couldn't feel attached
World building: 2 stars I want more
Readability: easy
Time it took to read: 20 minutes

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the idea of this book. Would love if this was a full length, written novel. The idea is super good, so the addition of details and feelings would be perfect.

On kindle unlimited, took me under 20 minutes to read. probably won't read the second edition unless it goes on KU since it cost 4 dollars and i'd finish it in less than 20 minutes.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intriguing start to a graphic novel series, the art style & partnership between Olivie Blake and Little Chmura is a winning pair. Read this for free on Kindle unlimited, would continue the series if the next book becomes available.

[Sreepurna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a huge fan of Little Chmura's art and Olivie Blake's writing style, but I felt like that latter could have been sliiiightly better here. It was also a bit of a predictable plot - like a mix of Divergent and Shadow and Bone vibes.

[Erin Clements · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's giving fake deep, no-plots-just-vibes-and-the-vibes-are-questionable. Characters that aren't fleshed out, the plot doesn't exist, and almost all of the character choices that exist are questionable both on behalf of the character and of the author. Still gonna keep reading tho.

[Mimona Masarwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a super fast read, it was interesting and had the potential for an actual book.
I dived in knowing nothing. it had a lot of interesting elements. I would love to see a continuation, it does end in an almost open ending.

Highly recommended 👌

[s · Rating 3 out of 5]

oh this was intriguing! loved the art by little chmura. olivie writes so well, she knows how to use words. this plot was just okay though.

[Mylène Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the concept but there’s no character development. I’m not invested in their lives.

[laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

LITERALLY WHAT THE FUCK

I got so attached to tau and he FUCKING DIED

[freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

this was a really fun concept for a short graphic novel i had a lot of fun reading it im ready for the second now

[Sam C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Too short! I (im)patiently await the next one!