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The Rise of Aurora West

(Battling Boy #1)

Paul Pope,

J.T. Petty

David Rubín (Illustrations)

3.53 · Rating details · 1,013 ratings · 165 reviews

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The extraordinary world introduced in Paul Pope's Battling Boy is rife with monsters and short on heroes... but in this action-driven extension of the Battling Boy universe, we see it through a new pair of eyes: Aurora West, daughter of Arcopolis's last great hero, Haggard West.

A prequel to Battling Boy, The Rise of Aurora West follows the young ...more

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Paperback, 160 pages

Published September 30th 2014 by First Second (first published July 15th 2014)

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3.53 ·

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· 1,013 ratings · 165 reviews

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Jul 19, 2014 Pamela rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, dads, family, graphic-novel, kick-butt-heroines, readin2014, series, superheroes

I read Battling Boy almost a year ago, so I admit that the world Pope created in that graphic novel is not as fresh in my mind as I'd like it to be. I do remember enjoying the comic, and now that I think really, really hard, yes, there were monsters in the first one. I think. The Rise of Aurora West is actually a prequel to Battling Boy.

I received an ARC of this from First Second, and it's not inked/colored, and I hope it will be. My main issue was that there was so much going on in each panel ( I read Battling Boy almost a year ago, so I admit that the world Pope created in that graphic novel is not as fresh in my mind as I'd like it to be. I do remember enjoying the comic, and now that I think really, really hard, yes, there were monsters in the first one. I think. The Rise of Aurora West is actually a prequel to Battling Boy.

I received an ARC of this from First Second, and it's not inked/colored, and I hope it will be. My main issue was that there was so much going on in each panel (my ARC was also a bit smaller than the full-size TP of Battling Boy) that it was sometimes difficult to follow the action. The monsters look a lot a like when rendered in black and white, but I think a jolt of color will resolve this nicely.

The best part of this book is the titular heroine. Aurora West is the daughter of Haggard West, Arcopolis' resident hero. He's actually a scientist superhero (think Tony Stark minus the playboy attitude plus Superman's jawline) who uses research and his own personal library to defeat monsters. Also a jetpack, but the emphasis is on brains and strategy. He's training his daughter Aurora to assist him in ridding Arcopolis of its monster menace, which just sort of showed up out of nowhere over a decade ago. The monsters aren't very smart. Actually, that's giving them too much credit--they're very dumb, which makes the complicated heists they've been pulling off quite puzzling. Someone else has to be pulling the strings.

This story arc weaves around Aurora's personal quest to find out who exactly killed her mother. The more questions she asks, the more she realizes the answers may be hidden in her own subconscious, and heaven knows I love a good twisty-mind-bender. The ending finds Haggard and Aurora a bit closer to the truth, but they'll have to really fight for it in the days to come.

Pope does not over-sexualize Aurora. He makes her smart and inquisitive and brave and also pretty kick-butt in the fighting department. However, she's not perfect, which saves this from having a totally inaccessible heroine. Even her dad, Haggard, isn't always on the superb end of superhero-dom.

I'm curious to see where this version of Earth (it's a version of Earth--maybe in a multiverse way?) and its superheroes and monsters goes next. ...more

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Oct 01, 2014 First Second Books marked it as first-second-publications

Girl heroes!

We love them.

(You could probably tell that by the books we publish -- Zita the Spacegirl, Giants Beware, anyone?)

We were delighted when we got the opportunity to tell the story of a girl hero in the universe of Paul Pope's #1 New York Times Best-Seller BATTLING BOY. It's such a good book, and it's reaching so many readers -- how awesome is it that we get to publish a story for them that shows just how cool girls are?

Yay that!

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Sep 21, 2014 David Schaafsma rated it liked it

Shelves: gn-superhero-scifi-fantasy, gn-ya

A prequel to Battling Boy that everyone but me loved this past year, a YA world of monster fighting and school work. This book is a prequel to Battling Boy and focuses on a girl who has homework and then battles monsters with her legendary Dad Haggard… and in the middle of it all, how did Mom die. Pope did not draw this, David Rubin did, and it feels a little rough, and the small size of this volume makes the big action seen cramped. It's YA. The monsters are kinda eh. Story was co-written by Po ...more

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Dec 05, 2017 Damon rated it really liked it

Shelves: comics

I want to see what happens

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Aug 18, 2014 Mario rated it liked it

This review originally appeared on my blog, Shared Universe Reviews.

Last year saw the release of Battling Boy by Paul Pope. His longest comics work in years. Perhaps unsurprisingly to many, it was a great read and one of my favourite comics of 2013. The Rise of Aurora West is co-written by J.T. Petty and Paul Pope and it is illustrated by David Rubin. I can’t help but to compare this comic to Pope’s Battling Boy. I apologize for that but only briefly because the comparison has help me to reali This review originally appeared on my blog, Shared Universe Reviews.

Last year saw the release of Battling Boy by Paul Pope. His longest comics work in years. Perhaps unsurprisingly to many, it was a great read and one of my favourite comics of 2013. The Rise of Aurora West is co-written by J.T. Petty and Paul Pope and it is illustrated by David Rubin. I can’t help but to compare this comic to Pope’s Battling Boy. I apologize for that but only briefly because the comparison has help me to realize just how much The Rise of Aurora West stands on its own, despite the obvious ties to Battling Boy.

This comic is a prequel to Battling Boy. It’s set in the same universe (an alternate Earth) as that story and most of the story takes place in the city of Arcopolis, a huge city that has a problem with monsters. Science hero Haggard West, a combination between Doc Savage, Indian Jones and Batman, has made it his personal mission to fight the monsters that wreak havoc in the city and spend their nights kidnapping children. Though he plays a big role in the comic, the focus is pretty clearly put on his daughter, Aurora West. She is training in the art of monster slaying under her father. Many comparisons can be made between the relationship Aurora has with her father and the one Battling Boy has with his father but I do not want to spoil anything by saying too much. I will say that Haggard, for all his faults, seems to be doing a better job of instilling values in Aurora and raison her to be a resourceful young woman. He is teaching his daughter how to be independent and work her way through any situation that could arise. He puts a lot of value into preparation. The thematic developments and character growths of Aurora West and Battling Boy are a delight in contrasts and similarities.

While Battling Boy lacked some of the more mature elements of Paul Pope’s previous comics, it wasn’t exclusively for children and young teens. It was a very good example of the wide appeal that great all-ages comics can have. At first I wasn’t sure I would be able to say the same for The Rise of Aurora West. I’m not sure how I developed this opinion but by the time I finished reading, it was clear to me that it’s a great companion piece to Battling Boy even though it has a different tone. Young readers will certainly enjoy all of the monster hunting action while adult readers will appreciate Aurora’s growth as a character. It’s a book that offers quite a lot to enjoy and it’s clearly the work of skilled creators.

Similarly to how I can’t help but compare the story of both works, I can’t avoid comparing the art by David Rubin to the art of Paul Pope. Much like the comic as a whole, Rubin’s art differentiated itself from Pope’s art and the final result is a style that is occasionally similar to Pope’s but ultimately something unique to Rubin. I wasn’t sure if Rubin was trying to ape Pope’s style and after looking at sample artwork on Tumbler and on Rubin’s blog, I came to the conclusion that he’s not intentionally trying to mimic Pope for Aurora West but Pope is clearly one of many influences on Rubin’s overall style. I also see the influence of Rafael Grampa, particularly in Haggard’s large chin and in some of the smaller details on clothing and hair. Funny enough, that’s also where I see a lot of Pope’s influence, in the clothing and the hair. A lot of the technology feel informed by Pope’s renderings in Battling Boy and that just makes sense considering the close ties this comic has to it. The facial expressions and the monster designs are entirely Rubin’s.

Initially, I felt bad that there was an artist who had to follow Pope’s act. Pope isn’t just a master illustrator, he’s also an excellent storyteller. He has what I would describe as a difficult style. You need to learn how to read it before you can truly appreciate it. He gives the illusion of an artist who is rushed and decided to publish sketches instead of finished art but under that high-energy line work is a mountain of details to be absorbed and cherished by the studious reader. He also uses a lot of heavy inking and in the hands of a lesser artist that could easily be disastrous and result in unreadable and muddy pages. Pope manages to make it all work without putting the storytelling elements out of focus. Pope’s art can seem unpolished and unaesthetic to readers who are unfamiliar with his work but I’ve come to really admire and enjoy it.

Rubin is a different kind of artist. He’s much more expressive than Pope and that works to his advantage in The Rise of Aurora West. He does try to capture the looseness and the frenetic feel of Pope’s art but he doesn’t always succeed. His line work is softer and rounder than Popes and there appears to be the influence of cartoonist, not just skilled illustrators. There are several examples of very good cartooning in this comic. I won’t be adding Rubin’s name to my list of favourite comics artist just yet but he shows promise and I’m looking forward to seeing more work by him. It’s commendable that Rubin took on the challenge of illustrating Aurora West and I hope that he receives the recognition for his efforts on this book. I also hope that his future projects are packaged in a larger format as the 5 x 7 ½ pages weren’t big enough to allow me to fully appreciate the artwork.

The writing was also quite good. Petty used more dialogue than I’m used to seeing in a comic by Pope but I think that worked to his advantage. One of my criticisms for Battling Boy is that it felt light. There wasn’t as much story going on in those 200 pages than what I wanted. Pope usually writes comics that are dense, both in story and in art. The small format of Battling Boy and the quick story made for a lighter than usual read. Contrary to that, The Rise of Aurora West packs significantly more story in its 160 pages than its predecessor did. The dialogue isn’t superfluous though. Petty uses this comic to tell the story of Aurora. That might seem like a strange thing to say but it’s not uncommon for the boy hero to overshadow his female counterpart. I was quite happy to discover that most all the other elements of Battling Boy’s story were found in this comic with the exception of him and any other gods. This statement might make me sound like a cynical comic book reader but female character often get the short end of the stick and I’m just happy to say it’s not the case with this comic.

As a prequel, it’s very effective because the focus is truly on Aurora West. She learns about her mother and her father’s past. Obviously, we’re also along for the ride. But we also learn a lot about Aurora herself and the life she had growing up as the daughter of the hero of Arcopolis. We also learn about her connection to Sadisto and his gang. I would not have been surprised to discover that Pope and Petty used this comic to further develop the world introduced in Battling Boy and that’s exactly what they did but they did it through characters and that made it feel more organic. There are a lot of things we do not know about this world. Where did the monsters come from? Why are they attacking Arcopolis? What are they doing with all of the children they’re kidnapping? We do not get comprehensive answers to any of these questions but we do get a better understanding of Aurora and Haggard’s relationship to both the monster and the city.

After finishing the first volume of Aurora West’s solo adventure, I realised that the comic developed its own identity, separate from Battling Boy. It’s a big compliment but the density of the story, compared to Battling Boy, made it feel substantial and that was rewarding to me as a reader. The character development, for Aurora and Haggard also contributes to making this comic feel like an important addition to the story begun in Battling Boy. It’s not just a cash grab comic. You also can’t argue with the cover price, $11.50 Canadian isn’t a bad price for 160 pages of comics. Pope has said that he has plans to continue to expand the Battling Boy series. It’s unclear if he has any specific plans beyond the sequel to Aurora’s first solo story or the sequel to Battling Boy but if he does, it looks to me like First Second has a hit series on their hands. I’m already looking forward to Battling Boy: The Fall of the House of West.

My advance review copy was provided by Tor.com. The Rise of Aurora West will be released on September 30, 2014. ...more

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Sep 27, 2014 Jessica S rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-real-book-challenge, arcs

3.5/5

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher. This did not affect my review in any way, nor am I being compensated for this post.

When Gina, First Second's publicist, emailed to ask me if I would be interested in taking part in this tour, I was thrilled. I love First Second's books, and I've enjoyed interacting with Gina (who is the kindest!). Of course I said yes!

This time around, I wasn't really sure what to expect in terms of the book. I also received a copy of Battling Boy (Aurora W 3.5/5

Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher. This did not affect my review in any way, nor am I being compensated for this post.

When Gina, First Second's publicist, emailed to ask me if I would be interested in taking part in this tour, I was thrilled. I love First Second's books, and I've enjoyed interacting with Gina (who is the kindest!). Of course I said yes!

This time around, I wasn't really sure what to expect in terms of the book. I also received a copy of Battling Boy (Aurora West is a companion novel/prequel book), but I had never really taken much interest in the book before. But I decided to give both a shot because I love reading books with awesome, kick-ass female characters, and that's what Aurora West seemed to encompass.

While I wasn't necessarily disappointed in the novel, there was a lot that detracted from my overall enjoyment of the book. Firstly, while overall the illustrations were okay (see below for some exclusive art from David Rubin), they're not what appeals to me the most. It's more of a personal preference, but it did take a bit away from my personal enjoyment of the book. Also, I feel conflicted on the black and white and on the size. Sometimes, it felt like there was almost too much going on and in too small of a space. I believe the final copy of the book is a bit bigger. Some of the black and white also bothered me a bit but only when there was a lot going on in a panel or on the page. It felt a bit overwhelming. Additionally, it was just a bit jarring at first to see the difference in illustrations between Battling Boy and Aurora West. While Sadisto's gang pretty much looks the same, some of the characters seem to look a bit different. One thing that especially stuck out to me was the way Aurora, and often her mother's, face was drawn when facing forward. It just looks so...awkward! But perhaps that's Rubin's drawing style. Overall, I enjoyed the illustrations, particularly after the first few pages once I got accustomed to them.

Haggard West also occasionally bothered me for some reason in this book. I enjoyed seeing him outside of the spotlight and to see him as something other than a hero, but sometimes the things he said stuck oddly with me.

But then, one of my favorite aspects of the story is Aurora herself. I love how she's not just kick-ass and awesome; we also see her flaws and her struggles and failures. I believe that makes her more real and more human, something we sometimes forget when we just see the "hero" aspect of someone. We don't see teen heroes and heroines also struggling through school. We don't often see them with their friends, family, and mentors. I love her confidence but also her lack of it at times. I love that she's portrayed as both vulnerable and tough. Because behind every superhero is this duality. You can't be the perfect hero all the time, and both Aurora and Haggard West really embody this idea. As much as Haggard bothered me a bit, I absolutely loved the exploration of the parent-child/daughter relationship. It's really nice because it lends itself to showing Aurora's weakness, but it also shows her determination and spirit. And there's this one scene on a bridge that I can't elaborate on, but that was my favorite scene. It perfectly captures the relationship between a parent and child, and it is SO heartwrenching. I do wish there had been more of a follow-up or a clearer transition or to see its effect more in the rest of the book, but it was amazing nevertheless.

The plot itself was really interesting. The beginning was a bit slow, and it took a lot more time to read the book and get into it than I've experienced with other books in the past. But once Aurora started to piece together the past, it picked up and go very exciting. So do I think Aurora's friend is merely used to lead to important information and discoveries and isn't otherwise needed (beyond the school scenes)? A bit. The connections, though, were cool to put together, and it all came together nicely in the end. Not to say there wasn't a cliffhanger ending that left me like "noooooooooo!" But really, it was the way that the past and present were tied together that made me love this book. It also sets up book 2, as well as explaining some of the monsters and storylines of Battling Boy. (By the way, I should've mentioned this earlier, but you don't need to read Battling Boy in order to read and enjoy The Rise if Aurora West.) Overall, The Rise of Aurora West is a great read! ...more

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Sep 05, 2014 Heidi rated it liked it

Shelves: high-art, monster-mash

Recipe for one kick-ass teenage supergirl:

1 part Hit Girl and Big Daddy
1 part mysterious seven fingered villain
1 part archaeology: Indiana Jones style
1 part Veronica Mars

Best shaken, not stirred.

I don’t mean to imply that The Rise of Auroroa West is derivative–I don’t feel it is–but it had notes of so many other things I love that it made diving in quite enjoyable. Aurora West has a curiosity that just won’t quit when it comes to piecing together the story of her mother’s murder. A symbol and an Recipe for one kick-ass teenage supergirl:

1 part Hit Girl and Big Daddy
1 part mysterious seven fingered villain
1 part archaeology: Indiana Jones style
1 part Veronica Mars

Best shaken, not stirred.

I don’t mean to imply that The Rise of Auroroa West is derivative–I don’t feel it is–but it had notes of so many other things I love that it made diving in quite enjoyable. Aurora West has a curiosity that just won’t quit when it comes to piecing together the story of her mother’s murder. A symbol and an imaginary friend pick at the back of her brain, slowly opening memories and driving her to a confused but determined vendetta.

The daughter of Acropolis’ wiliest detective, the indomitable Haggard West, Aurora spends her days in training and study and nights patrolling the city protecting innocents from the monsters would would steal them away. She’s got gadgets, she’s got a grudge, and she’s got backup. The one thing she lacks is a rocket pack.

I did suffer a bit from lack of understanding the world of Acropolis that Aurora West lives in and how it came about. I have a feeling this was better covered in Pope’s previous forays into this world, Battling Boy and The Death of Haggard West, which I have not yet read. I didn’t feel so completely lost, however, that I wasn’t able to follow the heart of the story and in the end that’s really what counts. Indeed, I like the accessibility to the story that Aurora gives as a teenage girl struggling with both normal and not-so-normal teenage issues. Aurora is given the monumental task of living up to her father’s heroics while the parent she truly wants to live up to–her mother–is no longer present. Folks, it is hard as a teenage girl to go through the world without your mother, regardless of the positive roll models you have around. I’m just betting doing so in a world where getting a child from birth to adulthood without losing them to the monsters is even more tricky. Her mother’s absence fuels Aurora’s anger in a way that she determines to put to good use.

“Do you want to be that angry?”

“I don’t think so. I mean, could I be a hero otherwise?”

“I think most of the time you’re angry, it just means you’re hurt. Anybody who lives is going to hurt, is going to suffer loss. How you deal with that loss is what makes you a hero.”

I’m not sure that Aurora West has quite reached hero status by the end of The Rise of Aurora West, but she’s well on her way. It’s definitely an opening piece to a greater story–one that’s sure to be filled with intrigue, fight scenes, sleuthing, and of course, monsters.

This review originally appeared at Bunbury in the Stacks. ...more

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Oct 16, 2014 All Things Urban Fantasy rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed-by-julia

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.

THE RISE OF AURORA WEST takes familiar superhero tropes and flips them to a new angle, like a Batman story told through Robin’s eyes. Though Aurora’s monster fighting skills are a credit to her training, she’s also the intellectually curious lens through which readers question her world. Where did this war against monsters begin? Where do they come from? And what really happened all those years ago on the night when Aurora’s mother died…

Despite THE RIS ...more

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Jul 19, 2014 Katy rated it liked it

Shelves: graphic-novel-comics, 2015, ya-urban-fantasy

I felt a disconnect with this book between the story and the art. In terms of graphics, every page had so much going on, that I had to stop my reading to decipher the panels. It didn't help that everything was rendered in black and white, whereas I believe color could have made deciphering easier, especially since this was a small volume and the action was cramped. Also, the graphics were a bit cartoony, which is fine if you are illustrating a story that matches, but while I felt the artwork to ...more

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Jul 15, 2015 Ketandu rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-reads

For numerous reasons, this graphic novel reminds me immensely of my all time favorite anime: Kill la Kill.
There was action, an awesome smart heroine, a cool cast of characters, interesting and gruesomely ugly antagonists. Overall, a good read.
:D

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Oct 02, 2014 Derek Royal rated it really liked it

Reread in prep for the next installment in the series.

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Feb 02, 2018 Matthew J. rated it really liked it

This spin-off of 'Battling Boy' is a lot of fun. Aurora West is sort of like a Batgirl type character to the world's monster killing Batman, Haggard West. In this first volume, she begins to mature into her own hero as she looks in to her own possible connection to her mother's death. The world Paul Pope has created is pretty darned odd. Similar to our own, but bent to the arrival of monsters, which infect things like a Gothic plague. I'm definitely going to have to pick up the next part of the ...more

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Oct 07, 2018 David Schwan rated it liked it

The main character is a bit of a super hero in training. The story takes place in a dystopian world where there are monsters that have to be kept under control. Aurora's father is one of the hero's who keeps the situation in check. He takes her on training missions. The monsters seem to have a way to get the upper hand and Aurora and her father must fix the situation. OK graphics, not great, not bad.

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Aug 07, 2017 Ran rated it it was ok

Shelves: comics

Hmm, what did I just read? Also, art was not to my tastes. Very loosey-goosey in the lines. I usually like First-Second publications, too. Shame!

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Jul 14, 2015 Aaron rated it it was ok

Shelves: comics-western, coming-of-age, fantasy, science-fiction, superhero-adventure

There were so many things this book could have been but never was. So many accidental pursuits of virtue and so many predilections of self-doubt. THE RISE OF AURORA WEST is a fun and entertaining graphic novel, but it's nowhere close to being as fun or as entertaining as it could have been.

Aurora West, the only child of the eponymous city-hero Haggard West, is coming into her own at age fourteen: she's learning to drive, her schedule is full of school work and martial arts instruction, and her f ...more

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Jan 07, 2015 Dani Shuping rated it liked it

Shelves: graphic-novel

The Rise of Aurora West, Battling Boy
Written by Paul Pope, JT Petty, Illustrated by David Rubín
First Second
September 2014

Acropolis has a nightly curfew, in the attempt to keep kids safe from the monsters who prowl the streets and the dark alleys. They have one hero. Haggard West, a rich scientist, avenging the death of his wife at the hands of one of these foul creatures. Joining him is his teenage daughter, Aurora West. By day she is trained by Ms. Grately in martial arts and by night she prowl The Rise of Aurora West, Battling Boy
Written by Paul Pope, JT Petty, Illustrated by David Rubín
First Second
September 2014

Acropolis has a nightly curfew, in the attempt to keep kids safe from the monsters who prowl the streets and the dark alleys. They have one hero. Haggard West, a rich scientist, avenging the death of his wife at the hands of one of these foul creatures. Joining him is his teenage daughter, Aurora West. By day she is trained by Ms. Grately in martial arts and by night she prowls the city with her father, hunting down the creatures of the night and stopping their mischief. But Aurora remembers and learns that her imaginary friend from when she was younger...may have had a hand in her mother’s death and may not be so imaginary. As she seeks to balance school, the night hunts, and finding out the truth to the past Aurora may find that she has taken on more than she can handle. And may need all the help she can just not to fall.

This is one of those books that’s difficult for me review, because it’s a spinoff/prequel of one of my favorite books from last year, Battling Boy. Because the book isn’t a direct continuation of Battling Boy, but instead focuses on one of its more interesting side characters, Aurora West, the art, layout, and writing style is different. And that isn’t a bad thing, it just makes it harder for me to review, as I try to keep in mind that this is a completely different book.

With regards to the art I actually like David Rubin’s style a great deal. The figures are dynamic and expressive, and his style really captures the feel of the battles and villains well. The problem for me though is that it isn’t the Aurora West that we met in Battling Boy. And maybe that’s part of a strategic decision since this telling her story before we meet her. But I feel in love with Pope’s version of Aurora and it’s hard to look at someone else drawing her. I know that’s a common thing among superhero comics and we all have our favorite artists that work on a particular character, but for me it feels too soon to have someone else draw her right now. And that’s not really Rubin’s fault, it just pulls me out of book a little bit.

Where I do have some issues though, is that the art and writing in some places at the beginning of the book didn’t quite jive well, particularly with some of the panel transitions. On some of the pages where the grid is broken or tilted at an angle towards the beginning of the book I fall out of the story, because I veer to the wrong panel or just something jars me out. And while I can stand back and look at the page and follow the logic, when I’m reading the story I get drawn out for a couple of seconds trying to figure out what’s really happening, and that’s not a good thing in an action/adventure/hero story. And maybe its because this is the first time this group has worked together and they were finding their footing. By the end of the story I didn’t see as much of this and did get swept into the last quarter of the book and it’s action.

When it comes down to it though, I had trouble with aspects of the story and the art. It just didn’t capture my attention the way Battling Boy did. And although this one didn’t work for me in places, I still love Battling Boy and Aurora West though, so I’ll definitely give the sequel a read because I want to know what happens next. I want to know who this mysterious figure is and what really happened to Aurora’s mother. I give it three out of five stars.

ARC provided by Gina at First Second
...more

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Mar 30, 2015 D.M. rated it really liked it

This book appeared in our house as part of a care package to our daughter from a friend of ours. She'd ended up with an extra copy of the book and thought our kid might like it. This is the first part of the second segment of Pope's Battling Boy series, but stands alone perfectly well outside of that storyline.
The creators have stated elsewhere that this book (and the Battling Boy series as a whole) was an attempt to make a monster-filled adventure suitable to young readers as well as old. They' ...more

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Mar 20, 2016 Doc rated it really liked it

Shelves: comics, first-second-comics

This comic deals with monsters, kidnapping, murder, and an all around world where your life can be turned upside down if you are not careful. So be sure to read this comic before dropping this into a younger readers hand to make sure they can handle it.

Life is not always easy when you are the daughter of a famous hero and monster slayer but amid her academic studies and her physical training at home Aurora West is doing her best even as she goes on patrols with her father. However when interroga ...more

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Dec 30, 2014 Aurora rated it it was ok

"The Rise of Aurora West" is a superhero graphic novel set in a fantasy city called Acropolis. The city is overrun with monsters that steal people's children. The city's scientist Haggard West decides to use his technology to help the city, and he becomes a hero. When Haggard's wife, Rosetta West, dies, he dedicates his life to protecting others in the city. With the help of his daughter, Aurora West, Haggard defends the city from the monsters. All the while, Aurora tries to solve the mystery of ...more

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Nov 24, 2014 Diz rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels

The Rise of Aurora West is a prequel story to Paul Pope's Battling Boy. The focus of this story is Aurora West, the daughter of a two-fisted, rocket pack hero. Aurora West works closely with her father as he trains her to be a monster fighting hero, but at the same time, he is emotionally distant. This story explores why Aurora and her father have dedicated their lives to fighting monsters.

I recommend reading this story if you are following the Battling Boy storyline. It provides a lot of motiva ...more

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Sep 22, 2014 Craig rated it really liked it

I won a copy of The Rise of Aurora West in a Goodreads giveaway. It's a very nice digest-sized black-and-white graphic novel. Sometimes they're almost unreadable in this format what with the illustrations and dialog-balloons fading into the center binding, but this one works well. My initial impression was that the story suffered because it could not seem to decide if it wanted to be an adult narrative or more of a kiddie-book, but after reflection I decided that duality actually worked pretty w ...more

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Apr 24, 2015 Elevetha rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015, adventure, decent-enough, fantasy-sci-fi, graphic-novels-and-manga, middle-grade, craptastic-review

A father and his daughter, battling monsters and on their way to avenging the death of Aurora's mother. The story was enjoyable, if not terribly original by any means, but I liked the relationship between Aurora and Haggard.

The art is definitely not the worst I've seen. It's mostly not so bad, though there are a fair amount of of cringe-worthy panels. Most notably, the proportions for Aurora as a child were awful and somewhat grotesque. Additionally, Ms. Grately's design is very odd: she's a big ...more

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Nov 24, 2014 Ignacio rated it did not like it · review of another edition

La lectura de este tebeo está demasiado condicionada por su publicación en un formato tomo manga. Un tamaño que no hace justicia al trabajo de David Rubín y en el cual resulta del todo imposible disfrutar de los detalles de las imágenes. Después hay aspectos ajenos al formato y que tienen que ver con la propia narrativa, pero que para mi es lo de menos cuando se publica una obra cuyo disfrute está tan mediatizado por una pésima decisión editorial.

Si se repite con la siguiente entrega, conmigo qu ...more

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Oct 05, 2014 Phoebe rated it it was ok

Shelves: graphicnovels

I found this graphic novel incomprehensible, which perhaps is my usual experience with Paul Pope. Despite this, I keep reading him. His brand of strange, ghoulish, action-y uniqueness is compelling.

However, there's only so much ugly things = bad, pretty things = good that I can stomach without casting my eyes around for something with a little more grey-space.

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Jul 24, 2014 P. rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, comics, yyay, speculative, superhero, series

excited to get this for review! wonder if the finished copy will be full color? upon first read through was satisfied by balance of adventure, new story, and possible connections w/ battling boy story.

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Dec 13, 2016 Shaleh rated it really liked it

Shelves: graphic-novels, future, dystopian, pg, sci-fi, teen

I liked it. Didn't exactly love it or anything. Hence the 4 stars. Interesting art, a little off-putting at times.

Yup. That's it.

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Jan 02, 2015 Nick Kives rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed this, and much more than Battling Boy. This one seems to tell much more of a story than Battling Boy did. I still look forward to reading the rest of both series though.

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Nov 18, 2014 Amanda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-book-group

needs to be printed on larger paper size

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Nov 11, 2014 Sarah Sammis rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2014

http://www.pussreboots.pair.com/blog/...

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Jul 30, 2014 Vi rated it really liked it

fun.

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About Paul Pope

Paul Pope

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PAUL POPE is an American cartoonist living and working in New York City. Pope has made a name for himself internationally as an artist and designer. He has been working primarily in comics since the early '90s, but has also done a number of projects with Italian fashion label Diesel Industries and, in the US, with DKNY. His media clients include LucasArts, Paramount Pictures, Cartoon Network, Marv ...more