5 Star Graphic Novel Review: Birthright- Homecoming (Vol. #1)

Author| Joshua Williamson

Artist| Andrei Bressan
Edition| eARC courtesy of Netgalley
Publisher| Image Comics
Genre| Fantasy/Urban Fantasy
Rating| 5 Stars
Release Date| March 4th

I received this as an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first five star review I've given to a graphic novel all year.  I could go on and on about this one because I absolutely loved it.  I'd describe it as Narnia meets Mistborn, for concept and character development.

Basically, when Mikey is a little boy he goes missing.  The police suspect the father of killing him and it drives the family apart.  About a year later the police think they've found a lead- a man carrying an ungodly amount of weapons and traipsing through the forest.  When the family convenes, they discover this man is their son, Mikey.  It turns out their son was sent to another world, one where he's the destined hero, and it was there that he grew up.  Now, he's returned to close the portals into the other world and see his family again.

Birthright has two stories going at once.  One where Mikey recounts his time in the other world (which could be a series on its own) and another that covers what is happening in real time.  Both are full of interesting and complex characters, surprising twists, and neither depends upon the other to be a good story.  I loved everything about the concept, too.  It twists old tropes on their head, asking what happens when a chosen hero comes from our world and doesn't return right away.

I absolutely cannot wait for more in this series.  It ends on one heck of a cliffhanger, for sure.  But beyond that, it was enticing.  It had me going back to it constantly, waiting to see what happened next.  It's also a story that I think would translate well onto the small screen, and if it never makes it there I'll be pretty upset.

I plan to buy myself a finished copy of this one, in addition to checking out some other work by the creators.  I definitely think you should pick this one up, because it grabs you and doesn't let go.