Graphic Novel Review – Wayward: String Theory Vol 1 by Jim Zubkavich, Steven Cummings, John Rauch (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Graphic Novel/Urban Fantasy
Length: 144 pages
Publisher: Image Comics
Release Date: April 7, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1632151735
Stand Alone or Series: 1st volume in the Wayward series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

I got a copy of this graphic novel to review through NetGalley. I was drawn to the cover and then when I read the synopsis I was hooked. This ended up being a well done urban fantasy graphic novel of sorts with beautiful full color illustration.

Rori Lane wants to start a new life with her mother in Japan. She leaves her dad in Ireland and makes her way to Tokyo. When Rori arrives she finds out her mother, who is a seamstress, works a ton and has very odd working hours. So, Rori starts to roam the streets of Tokyo on her own. There she finds out that she can see glowing paths and that dark evil things haunt the streets of Tokyo after dark. She ends up meeting a couple other kids that have strange abilities like her own and they set out to confront the evil on Tokyo’s streets.

I really enjoyed the artwork throughout, the illustration are beautiful and engaging.

Rori goes into Tokyo completely unprepared for the issues her mixed heritage will cause her. She struggles to keep up in school and is pulled aside and told to “do something” about her crazy natural red hair (red hair is frowned upon in school). Rori also has some other issues with loneliness and coping that are just brushed upon in this novel. In one scene she is shown cutting herself in private to feel more real.

While wandering the streets at night she meets a variety of scary monsters that all seem to be based in Japanese mythology. I really enjoyed that Japanese mythology was tied into the story; all these monsters are supposedly the harbingers of something even more evil that it on it’s way.

Rori also meets some other kids who have strange powers like her. There is a cat girl who can communicate with cats and is very acrobatic and a boy who can eat evil spirits and use the energy he obtains from that to fight.

The ending was left pretty open and was a bit confusing. It seems like Rori’s mom is not who Rori thought she was, but all that was left pretty open-ended…so I am assuming we will gain better understanding of that in the next volume.

Overall there was a lot I loved here. I loved the characters and their cool powers and also the creepy monsters based in Japanese mythology. The illustration was top notch and the story was well done (if a bit confusing at the end). I would recommend to young adult and older readers who enjoy creepy urban fantasy type graphic novels.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– Graphic Novel Reading Challenge
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Mythology Reading Challenge