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Youth Season One #1-4
Youth Season One
Bold, genre-defying and heartfelt, Youth hits a reader like the meteor in its own pages; an angry, wondrous and transformative book -- Scott Snyder (Battman, Justice League)
Named one of 10 Comic Books to Celebrate Pride, by The New York Times, June 2020
Youth is Larry Clark's Kids meets Chronicle . X-Men by way of Frank Ocean. It smashes together the violence of coming of age with the violence of the superhero narrative--as well as the beauty.
Youth is a coming of age story of two queer teenagers as they run away from their lives in a bigoted small town, and attempt to make their way to California. Along the way their car breaks down and they join up with a group of fellow misfits on the road. Embarking together in a van travelling the country they party and attempt to find themselves. And then something happens . . .
Collects the original digital series YOUTH #1-#4.
Named one of 10 Comic Books to Celebrate Pride, by The New York Times, June 2020
Youth is Larry Clark's Kids meets Chronicle . X-Men by way of Frank Ocean. It smashes together the violence of coming of age with the violence of the superhero narrative--as well as the beauty.
Youth is a coming of age story of two queer teenagers as they run away from their lives in a bigoted small town, and attempt to make their way to California. Along the way their car breaks down and they join up with a group of fellow misfits on the road. Embarking together in a van travelling the country they party and attempt to find themselves. And then something happens . . .
Collects the original digital series YOUTH #1-#4.
136 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2021
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93 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
April 26, 2021
Good lord, the art is terrible in this. Not only is it rudimentary, the artist must not have been able to pencil a full monthly comic because each issue has multiple pages that are only text on a black background and pages of the same panel pasted and reused over and over.
The story's not any better. It's Rising Stars in high school with lots of forced angst. Punk kids get super powers and misuse them. That's the entirety of the plot. The art's bad enough that I couldn't tell who was who half the time. This just sucks.
The story's not any better. It's Rising Stars in high school with lots of forced angst. Punk kids get super powers and misuse them. That's the entirety of the plot. The art's bad enough that I couldn't tell who was who half the time. This just sucks.
September 30, 2020
Curt Pires has gone all Ales Kot on us.
Teenagers in a car. Car gets hit with a meteor. Teenagers now have superpowers.
The teenagers don't behave much like actual humans, they behave like kids only do in an indie flick (you know, like Kids), which is too-cool-for-school and no warmth.
There's a government agent, who wears an eye patch and is literally called a "bootleg Nick Fury". His team detects (?) the meteor, and they instantly find the burning car and thus, the teenagers.
People die. This is all very terrible. At least, I think it's supposed to be, as the kids keep bringing up the people they've killed, in the most hamfisted way possible.
There's relationship trouble. This is also very terrible. At least, I think it is, but the art is quite crude, and expressions are hard to decode.
There are Clerks-like discussions, which never are interesting or funny. There are suggestions for tracks to play while reading, I'm guessing. They're not very interesting choices. There's a misspelling of 'redacted', I think, it says 'redecated'? It's even in bold, for extra emphasis, so it really pops out at you.
I'm not a fan.
(Kindly received an ARC from Dark Horse Books through Edelweiss)
Teenagers in a car. Car gets hit with a meteor. Teenagers now have superpowers.
The teenagers don't behave much like actual humans, they behave like kids only do in an indie flick (you know, like Kids), which is too-cool-for-school and no warmth.
There's a government agent, who wears an eye patch and is literally called a "bootleg Nick Fury". His team detects (?) the meteor, and they instantly find the burning car and thus, the teenagers.
People die. This is all very terrible. At least, I think it's supposed to be, as the kids keep bringing up the people they've killed, in the most hamfisted way possible.
There's relationship trouble. This is also very terrible. At least, I think it is, but the art is quite crude, and expressions are hard to decode.
There are Clerks-like discussions, which never are interesting or funny. There are suggestions for tracks to play while reading, I'm guessing. They're not very interesting choices. There's a misspelling of 'redacted', I think, it says 'redecated'? It's even in bold, for extra emphasis, so it really pops out at you.
I'm not a fan.
(Kindly received an ARC from Dark Horse Books through Edelweiss)
June 24, 2021
Well, when I saw at a glance everyone trashing this comic, I was sort of nudged to defend it a little. I'm like that sometimes, argumentative, contrary. I am reading a lot of glbtq comics this summer in part for a class, and there are a lot of sweet ones: Taproot, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, any of Tillie Walden's adorable works, Heartstopper. They are inviting and have generous doses of sweetness and awww all over them in common. But this one is not like those comments at all, whihc these creators would say are fine but just not the way they are seeing the world, which is a little seedier, street level, edgy, with mucho violence, and crudeness, and then add the special sauce, when stuff happens and: Tada, superpowers!
Since one character is actually named Nick Fury, with the eye patch, too, we see that this may very well hope to be considered for an episode of Agents of Shield.
I also (in addition to almost everyone out there) am not a particular fan of the crude art, which may have something to do with the intended rougher (vs sweeter) tone, but it is still just to me often unclear, muddy. . . with very thick line work, though I'll admit here that someone in my house likes the art style, just sayin,' so I am listening to her, but she hasn't convinced me. Let her write her own review, right?!
A queer coming-of-age story but it is a rocky journey at times. And then an actual asteroid hits. There's also a character named River (for River Phoenix, going for that vibe). And instead of attaching a playlist to listen to in an appendix, different places in the book suggest you listen to their soundtrack. The first song is Motley Crue, but it's really a wide range of songs.
Frank and River run away from their bigoted town so they can be together, they meet some other vagrants and then things kinda go downhill in a big way, though there is plenty in it that is confusing, I thought. (Cue argument with other person in this house who says, Dad! What's not to get? It's fine!)
Not quite fine, I say.
Since one character is actually named Nick Fury, with the eye patch, too, we see that this may very well hope to be considered for an episode of Agents of Shield.
I also (in addition to almost everyone out there) am not a particular fan of the crude art, which may have something to do with the intended rougher (vs sweeter) tone, but it is still just to me often unclear, muddy. . . with very thick line work, though I'll admit here that someone in my house likes the art style, just sayin,' so I am listening to her, but she hasn't convinced me. Let her write her own review, right?!
A queer coming-of-age story but it is a rocky journey at times. And then an actual asteroid hits. There's also a character named River (for River Phoenix, going for that vibe). And instead of attaching a playlist to listen to in an appendix, different places in the book suggest you listen to their soundtrack. The first song is Motley Crue, but it's really a wide range of songs.
Frank and River run away from their bigoted town so they can be together, they meet some other vagrants and then things kinda go downhill in a big way, though there is plenty in it that is confusing, I thought. (Cue argument with other person in this house who says, Dad! What's not to get? It's fine!)
Not quite fine, I say.
June 7, 2022
I will give it *** for the concept but it coulda/shoulda been so much better
November 16, 2020
I really enjoy the premise but the execution could've been better. I liked the characters a lot but some of the characters and their relationships felt really underdeveloped. Still not clear on some of their powers, but neither are they so I guess that's alright.
Wish the bisexual character was treated as more than a promiscuous cheater and that he didn't cheat...twice...back to back. Also wish this didn't go with the "bury your gays" trope in the end, I thought it was going to go there but was really hopeful that it wouldn't. Alas I was let down
Looking forward to more comics and the Amazon series on this, hope they are executed a little better and flesh out the characters more
Wish the bisexual character was treated as more than a promiscuous cheater and that he didn't cheat...twice...back to back. Also wish this didn't go with the "bury your gays" trope in the end, I thought it was going to go there but was really hopeful that it wouldn't. Alas I was let down
Looking forward to more comics and the Amazon series on this, hope they are executed a little better and flesh out the characters more
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 1, 2022
This series definitely borrows a lot from other works, but it is aware of that. It even makes some jokes at its own expense. For the most part, I enjoyed what I was reading. The artwork is stylized in a way that may be off putting for some. Personally, I enjoyed that aspect of it. I am curious what will happen to the characters and if we will learn more about the main event in this volume. Basically, I am intrigued enough to want to keep reading.
January 30, 2022
I thought I'd like it. I found the artstyle appealing, and was hooked on the promise of wider queer references. I expected 'Cavalcade of Boys'. I expected 'End of the World Club'.
But its narrative suffers from over referencing its own flaws, its characters sharing the same character voice, and its cultural references feeling more like borrowed body parts than inspiration.
There's a love interest, River, who looks and acts just like the actor he's named after. A Nick Fury knock-off who refers to himself as a Nick Fury knock-off. A Doctor Manhattan reskin who talks just like Doctor Manhattan.
It's at best a portfolio filler, and at worst the vanity project of creators with too much time and resources in their pockets. I cannot recommend.
But its narrative suffers from over referencing its own flaws, its characters sharing the same character voice, and its cultural references feeling more like borrowed body parts than inspiration.
There's a love interest, River, who looks and acts just like the actor he's named after. A Nick Fury knock-off who refers to himself as a Nick Fury knock-off. A Doctor Manhattan reskin who talks just like Doctor Manhattan.
It's at best a portfolio filler, and at worst the vanity project of creators with too much time and resources in their pockets. I cannot recommend.
December 1, 2020
I really wanted to love this, but the art is terrible and the story isn't much better.
March 24, 2021
Part of me is pleased that we're seeing more books published with queer protagonists, but most of me wishes there were better ones than what's on offer here. Representation is representation but the interviews with the creator made this seem more like pandering to an audience they're hoping to capture, rather than actually working for cool representation. I hope I'm wrong about that.
I'm not sure the creator is queer, and I think that's important. (If you're going to comment about it not mattering if a queer person wrote it, then you're probably a cis-White woman with an irrelevant opinion, and you can fuck off.)
While the representation is great, the story is a mediocre mash up of X-Men, Runaways, and the meta-coming of age narrator a la Christina Ricci in The Opposite Of Sex and a billion 90s films. There isn't an original thought in the story, and apart from an intriguing I Am Telling Two Similar Visual Stories At The Same Time And Cutting Between Them And Then They Both Have The Same Final Shot in the first issue, none of the storytelling tricks are pulled off.
And while the story is not very good, the star of the series is the art, which is terrible. The anatomy is garbage, the coloring can't hide that the artist doesn't know how to draw faces yet, and there's just no stylistic saving graces to hide the complete lack of skill. Sometimes I don't like the art because of a stylistic choice. Sometimes, like here, I don't like the art because it's just badly drawn.
There really is no reason to pick up this book. Somehow, someone thought it was a good idea to license this for a TV show. I can not fathom the possibilty of it being worth producing or watching.
I'm not sure the creator is queer, and I think that's important. (If you're going to comment about it not mattering if a queer person wrote it, then you're probably a cis-White woman with an irrelevant opinion, and you can fuck off.)
While the representation is great, the story is a mediocre mash up of X-Men, Runaways, and the meta-coming of age narrator a la Christina Ricci in The Opposite Of Sex and a billion 90s films. There isn't an original thought in the story, and apart from an intriguing I Am Telling Two Similar Visual Stories At The Same Time And Cutting Between Them And Then They Both Have The Same Final Shot in the first issue, none of the storytelling tricks are pulled off.
And while the story is not very good, the star of the series is the art, which is terrible. The anatomy is garbage, the coloring can't hide that the artist doesn't know how to draw faces yet, and there's just no stylistic saving graces to hide the complete lack of skill. Sometimes I don't like the art because of a stylistic choice. Sometimes, like here, I don't like the art because it's just badly drawn.
There really is no reason to pick up this book. Somehow, someone thought it was a good idea to license this for a TV show. I can not fathom the possibilty of it being worth producing or watching.
June 5, 2021
So, this book was wild. I was expecting a queer coming of age story… but it was way more than that. Probably too much. Frank and River run away from their bigoted town so they can be together. But they have no money and no plans. Then they meet up with some other misfits and their van gets hit by a freaking asteroid. There is a ton of vulgar language, violence, blood and gore, government involvement (because, you know, asteroid). It was like a total S.H.I.E.L.D. rip off and even had a fake Nick Fury! There was also a lot of substance use and Frank cheating on River. This was all just too much for me.
December 4, 2022
This was an enjoyable story with artwork that suited the story really well. It is a real shame that Goodreads does not allow the artist to appear next to the writer on these type of books.
Two teenage boys go on the run from a small American town where they grew up. While they are in love, the experiences on the road are challenging for their relationship. They fall in with a group of teenagers who are also drifting and are with this group when a strange thing from outer space hits them and gives them powers.
The characters are good, the artwork is really good and the story is fun. I am not quite running out, desperate for the next edition (this book brings the story arc to a pretty nice conclusion) but I would be pleased to come across the next one and would read it.
Two teenage boys go on the run from a small American town where they grew up. While they are in love, the experiences on the road are challenging for their relationship. They fall in with a group of teenagers who are also drifting and are with this group when a strange thing from outer space hits them and gives them powers.
The characters are good, the artwork is really good and the story is fun. I am not quite running out, desperate for the next edition (this book brings the story arc to a pretty nice conclusion) but I would be pleased to come across the next one and would read it.
April 5, 2023
Didn’t read the whole thing. Skipped through most of it.
Art is fine, I like sketchy pencil drawn stuff, but the plot is just uninteresting as hell.
Trying to be edgy so hard you can almost feel it trying to pop out of the pages.
Art is fine, I like sketchy pencil drawn stuff, but the plot is just uninteresting as hell.
Trying to be edgy so hard you can almost feel it trying to pop out of the pages.
May 12, 2021
burying your gays can suck a butt. 0 stars.
July 8, 2021
Youth does not lie in its title, which is good. Because what you get is a lot of young people who are perhaps not making the choices that are best for themselves (this sounds a bit agist; as if older people make good decisions all the time. Pshaw!) I won't say they learn from their mistakes, but maybe they will. The storyline has potential to get interesting in terms of the meteor/super-powers angle, but in this volume there isn't much movement. The aggressive government and the excessive violence seem stereotypical. The idea is to explore what would happen if young people who are just figuring out life got super powers they cannot control. There is some exploration of that, for sure, but beyond the violence, we see little of the range of powers. Perhaps the most interesting person is Jan, who gets very little attention in this volume. I liked that the queer kids are trying to figure things out and messing up and making mistakes they regret soon after; this all seems rather realistic. I also liked the ending where we learn there's more to this meteor stuff than these kids. I do hope the government approach will become smarter, which will be more challenging for our heroes.
March 22, 2025
A contemporary superhero story that tries to speak to a diverse group of people without feeling too forced. The drawing style is inspiring since it looks very sketchy but detailed at the same time. It's fun to read the story with it's assigned soundtrack too. For sure, there's something to say about the easy formula in the story telling but for me that's all part of this genre. I feel like all the bad reviews on this app are from butt-hurt comic book bro's who don't even realise their prescious genre was always kinda ... gay. I mean, did you really think the illustrators of your favourite muscular superheroes, dressed in tight spandex suits, were straight? Jokes on you. Looking forward to read into the next chapter!
August 10, 2025
Billed as Kids/Chronicle/X-Men mash-up and I guess the book has elements of all of those but its nowhere near the quality of any of those. The story about two you guys in a relationship who decide to run from their crappy lives and things get worse from there and then...superpowers. The book is generic for most its pages but has a few glimpses of teen angst that are the interesting parts. There is a Nick Fury knockoff (seriously, the writer mentions it) that is so unnecessary that it takes away from the story. There is also an anticlimactic ending but it leads to something worse for a second volume (that I won't be picking up). The art was fine but rushed. Overall, ambitious but underwhelming.
July 23, 2022
My first graphic novel in a while and from the synopsis I was expecting more than I got, there were some great additions such as accompanying music, and the way that the co-authors and illustrators all got their own little shout outs throughout the novel, but all in all it felt a little bit of an avengers rip off to me, with choppy scenes and illustrations that left a lot to be desired, not to mention there is a lot of profanity and violence throughout the book that really takes away the plot like, which could have been developed more
January 14, 2023
The art is definitely not my taste. The characters are all mean and rude and annoying, cheating, very violent people.
Superhero books look at violins in two ways:
1 - it's complicated and dark.
2 - it has no consequences.
In this one? They're trying to smash the two together, having dark and complicated violence but also not having any trouble committing it in very bad ways and getting out of it very easily, and it's just... bad.
Superhero books look at violins in two ways:
1 - it's complicated and dark.
2 - it has no consequences.
In this one? They're trying to smash the two together, having dark and complicated violence but also not having any trouble committing it in very bad ways and getting out of it very easily, and it's just... bad.
December 8, 2024
Discovered really by chance on comixology unlimited I borrowed it because it was advertised as a queer coming of age story but it evolves into the sci-fi aspect and it felt like a bunch of ideas together without a real thread. Some bits were confusing, all over the place.
Like others here, I didn’t like the use of the bisexual character who can’t help cheating on his boyfriend.🙄
I’m open to different art styles but some pages were confusing i couldn’t see who was who…
Like others here, I didn’t like the use of the bisexual character who can’t help cheating on his boyfriend.🙄
I’m open to different art styles but some pages were confusing i couldn’t see who was who…
October 27, 2022
I am not quite sure what to think about this one. On one hand I love the story, the idea, the concept. On the other when it was put into practice there left something to be desired. It was kind of a knock off of other superhero works. Then half of the story line was them saying how it was not a knock off. I mean I did enjoy it, just could have used a few fixes.
July 9, 2024
Imagine if river phoenix and frank ocean got together and then river phoenix died (not hard to imagine 💀)
Drawing style made me mad
Plot was not really there
I liked all the scenes at the club/coming of age but not the superheroes
For a free book from Ohio pretty good pretty woke very smutty like bro I am sitting in my living room put it away 💀
Drawing style made me mad
Plot was not really there
I liked all the scenes at the club/coming of age but not the superheroes
For a free book from Ohio pretty good pretty woke very smutty like bro I am sitting in my living room put it away 💀
March 13, 2021
This is pretty much endearing for what it is. I actually don't mind the way it's drawn or the randomness of it. This comic it's quite good if you want to read something a little funny, gore, sexual and queer. By any means this is not a must-read, but it ain't the worst thing you can read.
November 21, 2022
coolest comic I ever read
This is the first comic I have read on Kindle. What an awesome experience. Loved the cinematic experience and the story of the characters is engaging. There is nothing like this. Can't wait to find out what happens next.
This is the first comic I have read on Kindle. What an awesome experience. Loved the cinematic experience and the story of the characters is engaging. There is nothing like this. Can't wait to find out what happens next.
June 29, 2023
Just an absolute shotgun read! Couldn’t put it down! Wildly paced, boldly intimate, and incredible art from the very first page. Feels especially cinematic, and I could almost hear the characters. Can’t wait to read volume 2!
April 12, 2021
Trashy queer(ish) Chronicle. The dialogue is laughably on the nose. Hugely disappointing.
August 9, 2021
5 stars for the first issue and potential.
1 star for how it ended.
Settle on 3
1 star for how it ended.
Settle on 3
abandoned-and-samples
November 19, 2022I received an eSample courtesy of Dark Horse Books.
December 9, 2022
a whole lotta flash, not so much on the substance tho....
March 9, 2023
Really wanted to like it. Felt like a bunch of cliches mashed together. Bummer.
May 6, 2023
Apparently it’s still hard to be a teenager. They say “fuck” a lot. This is another example trying too hard to be hard. “Youth” is wasted on the mature.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews