lattes_lipstick_literature's review against another edition
5.0
The Graphics/Artwork
I love the illustrations for Lady Mechanika Benitez did an amazing job of giving the characters life and color. Since the story takes place in 1800s in a steampunkish society Benitez allows his imagination to roar to life with inventions and gadgets that impressive and functional. His details are amazing yet they don't distract from the story which I like. Using the artwork can be a bit of a hit or miss for me, but Lady Mechanika was a total hit for me. While I am not sure how historically accurate the dressing is I can say I love them, Especially Lady Mechanika's wardrobe. They give her respectability while also making her look cool, and yes while they are tight clothing and there is even one image that draws attention to her boobs (they were talking about her necklace) they did not overly sexualize the character in my opinion. In fact I found a lot of her outfits pretty badass. Lady Mechanika is beautiful I will say and I can hardly fault Benitez in that sense. I have yet to see him throw her in a non-sensible outfit.
The Story
This is the beginning of comic series and we can see a boom in mechanics taking off yet, Lady Mechanika is already well know, she is a great fighter (and shooter) and her gadgets are to die for, while Benitez could have gone the origin route he didn't, this is because our Heroine is searching for her origins, we are learning with her why she was picked to become half Mechanics and half women. She is currently searching for who made her and why. While throughout the story we are fed bits and pieces of her life pre-series, I enjoy this as it doesn't take away from what's going on in 'present day', I'm not trying to process what happened to her while learning more information, Benitez poses the story like a puzzle a mystery we are tying to solve with the heroine to feel more connected to her. This makes you want to keep reading but like Lady Mechanika you start to feel a need to know what happened to her. Of course that's not the only thing going on especially with our heroine discovering other mechanical people like herself, oh ucky….
Our Heroine (Lady Mechanika)
Lady Mechanika is pretty badass, she has amazing gadgets, she's beautiful with Red eyes, Long dark black hair and creamy white skin with a complexion to die for. There is a overwhelming huge cloud of loneliness that I can see in her. She doesn't know why she was made, or who made her and since she is not quite human it's hard to bond with others because she will always be different. There's also a line which gives a clue to the fact that she may not be able to reproduce which gives a huge sadness as she will never have a family (I'm not saying that’s what makes a woman of anything like that, it's just with no siblings or parents around and not being able to have children it's just sad…) of her own. There's also a great compassion that she seems to keep hidden with her tough exterior, while Benitez allows us glimpses of, this tells us that or Heroine is a good person. Yes she does kill, and while I won't debate the merits of this, I can tell you in my opinion it's not she does off hand.
Overall
I really enjoyed Volume 1 of Lady Mechanika so much so that I immediately moved on to Volume 2, I know I will have to continue buying the comics as I know how more space (must buy all the books!). Lady Mechanika is a kickass female with a great story and gorgeous artwork, if that is something you are interested in you really need to read this.
I love the illustrations for Lady Mechanika Benitez did an amazing job of giving the characters life and color. Since the story takes place in 1800s in a steampunkish society Benitez allows his imagination to roar to life with inventions and gadgets that impressive and functional. His details are amazing yet they don't distract from the story which I like. Using the artwork can be a bit of a hit or miss for me, but Lady Mechanika was a total hit for me. While I am not sure how historically accurate the dressing is I can say I love them, Especially Lady Mechanika's wardrobe. They give her respectability while also making her look cool, and yes while they are tight clothing and there is even one image that draws attention to her boobs (they were talking about her necklace) they did not overly sexualize the character in my opinion. In fact I found a lot of her outfits pretty badass. Lady Mechanika is beautiful I will say and I can hardly fault Benitez in that sense. I have yet to see him throw her in a non-sensible outfit.
The Story
This is the beginning of comic series and we can see a boom in mechanics taking off yet, Lady Mechanika is already well know, she is a great fighter (and shooter) and her gadgets are to die for, while Benitez could have gone the origin route he didn't, this is because our Heroine is searching for her origins, we are learning with her why she was picked to become half Mechanics and half women. She is currently searching for who made her and why. While throughout the story we are fed bits and pieces of her life pre-series, I enjoy this as it doesn't take away from what's going on in 'present day', I'm not trying to process what happened to her while learning more information, Benitez poses the story like a puzzle a mystery we are tying to solve with the heroine to feel more connected to her. This makes you want to keep reading but like Lady Mechanika you start to feel a need to know what happened to her. Of course that's not the only thing going on especially with our heroine discovering other mechanical people like herself, oh ucky….
Our Heroine (Lady Mechanika)
Lady Mechanika is pretty badass, she has amazing gadgets, she's beautiful with Red eyes, Long dark black hair and creamy white skin with a complexion to die for. There is a overwhelming huge cloud of loneliness that I can see in her. She doesn't know why she was made, or who made her and since she is not quite human it's hard to bond with others because she will always be different. There's also a line which gives a clue to the fact that she may not be able to reproduce which gives a huge sadness as she will never have a family (I'm not saying that’s what makes a woman of anything like that, it's just with no siblings or parents around and not being able to have children it's just sad…) of her own. There's also a great compassion that she seems to keep hidden with her tough exterior, while Benitez allows us glimpses of, this tells us that or Heroine is a good person. Yes she does kill, and while I won't debate the merits of this, I can tell you in my opinion it's not she does off hand.
Overall
I really enjoyed Volume 1 of Lady Mechanika so much so that I immediately moved on to Volume 2, I know I will have to continue buying the comics as I know how more space (must buy all the books!). Lady Mechanika is a kickass female with a great story and gorgeous artwork, if that is something you are interested in you really need to read this.
ntbdrewit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sfletcher26's review against another edition
4.0
Picked this up on a whim at Blackwells in Oxford. I needed something as a bit of an antidote to a lot of non fiction reading I'd been doing. This hit the mark nicely.
The story is great fun and is a nice take on some old tropes. The visuals, while are lush are just a little too stereotyped, particularly the disproportioned woman. I'd hoped by now we'd be beyond this but clearly not.
The story is great fun and is a nice take on some old tropes. The visuals, while are lush are just a little too stereotyped, particularly the disproportioned woman. I'd hoped by now we'd be beyond this but clearly not.
kimcallahan's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
221sketches's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
squirrelz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
atris_lauraborealis's review against another edition
2.0
It was overall just okay. The art and steampunk style are all on point, but it was overly dialogue heavy for a comic, much of it repetitive. The story is just getting started but I would've expected more of a conclusive story arc from a volume. Too many story lines were introduced, too many potential bad guys and too much was left unresolved.
joshgauthier's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this one up knowing basically nothing about it - dramatic cover, cool steampunk vibe, plus I heard someone say it was good. I didn't know much more going in.
Turns out, it really was good. With vibrant and engaging art as well as a rich and well-developed storyline, "Lady Mechanika" offers a very strong read and (to me) seemed notably developed for a comic. It's funny. It's got adventure. It takes place on a large scale, but doesn't forget the struggles and successes of the characters on a more personal level.
My one main complaint - as there often is one - is that (for me) the visuals for the female characters make it clear that there is a male team behind the stylized artwork. But the artwork is otherwise great to look at, and it is backed up by consistently solid writing, so it was a lingering complaint, but really the only problem I had with this volume.
So, all in all, it's a well-developed world with an engaging and multi-leveled story and fun characters. Steampunk adventure really does make for an enjoyable read.
Turns out, it really was good. With vibrant and engaging art as well as a rich and well-developed storyline, "Lady Mechanika" offers a very strong read and (to me) seemed notably developed for a comic. It's funny. It's got adventure. It takes place on a large scale, but doesn't forget the struggles and successes of the characters on a more personal level.
My one main complaint - as there often is one - is that (for me) the visuals for the female characters make it clear that there is a male team behind the stylized artwork. But the artwork is otherwise great to look at, and it is backed up by consistently solid writing, so it was a lingering complaint, but really the only problem I had with this volume.
So, all in all, it's a well-developed world with an engaging and multi-leveled story and fun characters. Steampunk adventure really does make for an enjoyable read.