Omni Vol. 1: The Doctor Is In

Omni #1-4

by Devin Grayson, Alitha E. Martinez (Illustrations)

What would you do if you could think faster than the speed of light?

Gifted doctor Cecelia Cobbina was once held in the highest regard by peers and patients alike. But that was before an incident in Africa changed her life forever. Now with the ability to process thoughts at the speed of light, she faces the unimaginable burden of literally having an answer for everything. As the truth of her origin slowly comes into focus, Cecelia must overcome her fears and tackle the one mystery she can’t seem to crack: the truth behind the Ignited.

Written by fan favorite author Devin Grayson (Nightwing, Black Widow), Doctor Cecelia Cobbina bursts on to the scene as the world’s newest favorite female hero. Just don’t call her that.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Adult, Graphic Novels Comics, Young Adult

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

Devin Grayson is an avid gamer, former acting student, and enthusiastic reader fortunate enough to have turned a lifelong obsession with fictional characters into a dynamic writing career. She has a B.A. from Bard College, where she studied creative writing with novelist Mona Simpson. Best known for her work on the Batman titles for DC Comics, Devin has been a regular writer on Catwoman, Nightwing, and The Titans, and contributed to the award-winning No Man’s Land story arc. With the publication of Batman: Gotham Knights in March of 2000, she became the first (and, sadly, only as of 2020) female to create, launch and write an ongoing Batman title.

Additional career highlights include the launch of the critically acclaimed series Omni for Humanoids, Doctor Strange: The Fate of Dreams, an original novel featuring Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme, and USER—a highly personal three-part, creator-owned miniseries about gender identity and online role-playing, originally published by Vertigo and newly available as a collected edition hardcover through Image. Devin is also the creator of Yelena Belova, a Marvel character staring in the upcoming MCU Black Widow movie (played by Florence Pugh), Damien Darhk, a DC character now appearing regularly in CW’s Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow (played by Neal McDonough), and Catalina Flores, a DC character recently featured as the super-villain Tarantula in The Lego Batman Movie.

Frequently cited for compelling character development and nuanced exploration of complex themes, Devin’s work has been showcased in mainstream media such as USA Today and Working Woman as well as in alternative press such as The Village Voice, The Advocate, and Curve magazine. Over the years, she has written in several different media and genres, from comic books and novels to video game scripts and short essays. She is currently working on an original graphic novel for Berger Books.

Devin lives in Northern California with her husband, step-son, devoted Early Alert Canines Diabetic Alert Dog, and somewhat less devoted cat. Openly bisexual, she is a passionate advocate for the GLBTQ community, as well as being a committed environmentalist, and a public speaker for T1 Diabetes awareness and Diabetic Alert Dogs. She is always happy to take on a new challenge, especially if it involves making some new fictional friends.

Reviews

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy hell, this was AMAZING! I'm so grateful that I grabbed this from NetGalley and I'm already dying to get my hands on the next volume because I NEED to know what happens next. I'm not usually into superhero stories, but the twist on this plotline makes it such a breath of fresh air that I couldn't help loving it.

Omni not only has a beautiful art style and some very lovable characters (seriously, is anyone else shipping Cece and Mae as hard as I am?!), but the storywriting here is brilliant. Cece and Mae are a self-recognized play on Sherlock and Watson, which I love enough all on its own, but when you add in the "is Earth trying to eradicate humanity" theme and the commentary on people from disenfranchised communities taking back the power? Brilliant. Brilliant.

Seriously, I rooted for every single Ignited character we've met so far, and I feel like this is one of those rare graphic novel series I'm going to be shoving at people for a long time to come. Please, do yourself a favor and check this one out — you won't regret it!

✨ Representation: Dr. Cecelia "Cece" Cobbina, Dr. Livi Cobbina, and Antony are all Black; Mae is plus-sized; all 'Ignited' side characters are Black, Latinx. or Asian.

✨ Content warnings for: violence, police brutality, racism, depiction of internment centers & separation of migrant families

Thank you so much to the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Rincey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I picked this one up on a whim after the cover caught my eye and was pleasantly surprised by this. A solid start, although some of the storylines/conflicts seem to get resolved quickly despite this volume only have 4 issues. I am definitely intrigued enough to pick up volume 2

Watch me discuss this more in my December wrap up: https://youtu.be/xQg8xt0Or3Q

[Rachel (Kalanadi) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Alex (HEABookNerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise of OMNI and the idea of average people suddenly gaining superpowers under high stress situations. Cecelia was an interesting lead and I loved the way the illustrator portrayed the different intelligence modalities with the different colored thought bubbles. There was definitely a lot of potential but the beginning was confusing since it kept jumping around the time line as it explained how Cecelia came to have her powers.

I didn't rate this higher because I felt like OMNI was trying to cover too much (racism, immigration, police brutality, climate change, etc.) and this resulted in all of these issues being downplayed and not treated with the very real respect they deserved. All these issues seemed to be quickly and easily addressed and that made them feel less significant which I don't think is what the writers were intending.

Content Warning: racism, systemic racism, police brutality, police profiling, immigration camps, attempted assault

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I grabbed this volume from the library purely based on the gorgeous cover art.

Omni: The Doctor Is In contains the first 4 comics following Doctor Cecilia Cobbina as she discovers her supernatural power and powers of others "igniting" around the country. I loved the detail in Cece's newfound ability. It was very Sherlock-ish, but with more organization and not intended to solve mysteries. The colored word bubbles based on her "thought-type" was my favorite part of this whole volume, though it appeared intimidating at first. I thought the artwork served her and the story as a whole very well.

I loved the very diverse cast. The story deals with a lot of current hot-topic issues (police brutality, immigration detention, sexism, and climate change) which was wholesome albeit a little preachy at points. It just seemed unnatural that we tried to hit so many hot-topics one after the other, but I really appreciate the representation of marginalized people developing these powers rather than white people with a few token people of color as side characters.

My biggest complaint, though, was that I felt like some of the execution of the story was very clunky, particularly towards the beginning. I was confused for basically the whole first comic. They try to do this comic within a comic thing told by Cecilia's friend/sidekick. But that coupled with some significant time/location jumps set me way behind in the beginning and struggling to grasp the story as we rapidly moved forward. It did normalize more as it went on, but it was not an easy process.

Overall, it was a good story executed a little rough. I'd definitely be interested in future installments as I felt it was really finding its groove towards the end of the volume.

TL;DR

5.0 —One of the best I've ever read. Will be burned into my brain. Couldn't care less about weaknesses (if any). Would recommend to everyone and their mother.
4.5 —Loved this read. Will remember it fondly. Few weaknesses. Would recommend to anyone.
4.0 —Enjoyed this read. Will remember it fondly. Minor weaknesses. Would recommend to fans of the genre.
▌3.5 —Somewhat enjoyed this read. Might be memorable. Notable weaknesses. Would recommend to fans of the genre.
3.0 —Somewhat enjoyed this read. Not very memorable. Notable weaknesses. Would recommend to people who like similar books.
2.5 —Neutral or Underwhelming read. Not very memorable. Significant weaknesses. Would recommend to people who like similar books.
2.0 —Underwhelming or unenjoyable read. Not very memorable or memorable for the wrong reasons. Significant weaknesses. Might recommend to people who like similar books.
1.5 —Unenjoyable read. Not very memorable or memorable for bad reasons. Major weaknesses. Probably wouldn't recommend.
1.0 —Awful read. Memorable for bad reasons. No significantly redeeming qualities. Would never recommend.
0.5 —I wish I never wasted minutes of my life on this trash. I would go out of my way to convince others not to read it.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shoutout to NetGalley and Humanoids for the digital review copy of this wonderful comic!

Cecelia Cobbina used to work with doctors without borders, until a traumatic event “ignited” her super human intelligence power. She’s not the only one, either. All over the country, random people are igniting and unleashing various super powers. Cobbina thinks it may be related to catastrophic environmental events we’ve been experience these last few years, and she doesn’t know if it’s another stage of evolution, or a sign to prepare us for much worse things to come. So she’s traveling around the country to try and find other ingnited people and to help however she can.

I loved this comic, and I can’t wait to keep going. It blends sci-fi with psychology and social justice issues in an intriguing way. It weaves immigration issues with the Black Lives Matter movement and I think the author does a good job of bringing these important issues into a compelling, entertaining sci-fi super powers story.

This volume collects issues 1-6, and it’s not just the story that’s on point. The art is stunning. I’d love to have a couple of prints of some of these covers on my walls. No idea when the next volume is out, but it seems like half of the next trade (issues 7-9) are out as singles now, so hopefully it won’t be too long of a wait.

Check out Humanoids’ website or your fav. local shop to grab your copy.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started this on a whim and continued. Not something I usually read but still enjoyed it

[Trigger Warning Database]

Trigger & Content Warnings

Racism
Police brutality
Immigration camps

[Martti · Rating 1 out of 5]

A woman gets special powers which each have a color attached: purple is musical-rhythmic, amethyst is existential, yellow is visual-spatial, orange is verbal-linguistic, blue is logical-mathematical, etc. It manages to turn a scientist into an extremely boring superhero. I think the reason is because the author also writes for the CW tv channel, which is notorious for boring DC superhero series like Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow, Supergirl, etc.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. Beautiful book and cool concept, but heavy handed with its political view and themes- albeit important ones.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would read volume 2 just for the color palette. The story is good, a lot like what I might expect out of an X-Men origin.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.

Doctor Cecilia is a gifted surgeon working for "Doctors Without Borders" when she discovers she may be the future of human evolution. It's a phenomenon she calls "Ignited." Humans placed under extreme stress or afraid for their lives manifest super-human abilities. For Dr. Cece, it so happens that she thinks and can project herself into the nine different learning modalities to solve any problem she's put in. But, she's not the only one. With Ignited sprouting up all across a volatile U.S and world landscape, how can they come together to put their powers to good use, and what does this mean for the evolution of the un-ignited humans?

This may be another in a long-line of superhero comics, but Grayson's approach to super-human powers is unique and intriguing. There are only a few ignited so far who have powers similar to other comic book characters, but definitely Cece's 9 modalities is new and different. Cece often talks amongst herselves, and the dialogue provides a fascinating look at the different way people can approach a solution. Grayson also makes use of real and stressful situations, like the detention facilities on the U.S./Mexico Border, instead of drumming up his own fictitious situations that may ring hollow in comparison to the real world today. There's a nice cliffhanger ending here to keep readers going as well. Martinez' illustrations make use of a bright color palette to denote each of Cece's modalities, but the world itself is shaded with natural colors and makes use of a typical, solid comicbook style.

Humanoids does not have age ratings for their material. There is some mild violence with a very small amount of blood, and that's about it. A knowledge of current events would help readers understand events of the book and connect with characters.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 7-12

This review was made possible with an advanced reader copy from the publisher through Net Galley. This graphic novel will be on sale September 1, 2020.

[Justina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should've expected this comic to be obviously about real world issues such as climate change and police brutality. Yet I somehow did not anticipate that and was perhaps not in the best mindset to read it just now. However, objectively, I think, it's a good comic, especially after Melody Cooper takes over as the writer in Issue #5. A lot of this volume is really set-up, but each issue is a story onto itself and I love the 'superpowers emerging in the world' type of narrative. I also especially like that so far the majority (if not all) people who gain superpowers are minorities or somehow disenfranchised (e.g. serving prison sentences). It's very satisfying to see them receive these powers, even if it's made clear that even with that, they won't be able to effect significant social/global change. But it's the small acts that matter too.

I'm enjoying the portrayal of the 'super smartness' of Dr Cobbina, especially once we get an explanation inside the narrative to the artistic choices. Speaking of which, the art is OK, nothing too extravagant, but it gets the point across and there are some cool panels, especially where Dr Cobbina's powers are shown, as well as some scenes with cool light effects, such as a scene at night during rain while surrounded by car lights, and a scene around a fire at night.

There was also a bit of a weird meta thing where for a few issues one of the characters was writing a comic about the events that happen in the book, but luckily it seems to have been dropped after a couple issues.

My hope for the future of this comic is that it'll develop a more consistent secondary cast, because so far we've met a lot of characters and some of them are quite fascinating but only one or two of them made an appearance in more than one issue (aside from the protagonist of course).

[April Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, first, go read the publisher synopsis, it'll make more sense than I will trying to explain the story. I'll start with what I liked: a diverse cast of characters, including an African American woman MC, who is smart, is a doctor, is solving problems using her brain rather than kicking posteriors, and isn't scantily clad or treated as eye candy. Supporting character friend is a plus-sized woman, and there's no mention of her weight. Other Ignited characters are POC. Tough issues are discussed, such as racial profiling, police brutality, detention centers and separation of immigrant families, misogyny, and human involvement in climate change. The art is gorgeous, with bold graphics and color that pops, and the color-coded personality types graphics and text for Cecelia is especially helpful in seeing how her mind is working. The story is good, and has a lot of promise, but my only complaint lies in the story: I expect a lot of set-up at first, but events, like Antony's arrest and the events at the detention center, get wrapped up too quickly and neatly, and I'm not feeling a sense of struggle or urgency. I feel like the stories need more fleshing out. Hopefully, we'll get more meat in future volumes, because I do like where the story is going!

#OmniVol1 #NetGalley

[Ben Zimmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh boy. This comic is really ambitious. The concept is really cool, and it's perfectly suited to comics as a medium. I love the idea of having multiple voices for the main character to represent different kinds of intelligence. The spreads in issue four where we see Cecelia thinking through an issue are great. It's also nice to see a superhero style story that values more traditionally feminine strengths.

The biggest problem with Omni is that it's trying to comment on too many issues in too little time. 4 issues is not enough space to provide satisfying resolution to these big world problems. There's something cool about that too though. This is topical in a way I can't imagine something from Marvel or DC being. For better and for worse, editors did not get in the way of writer's grand ambitions.

I also personally don't like the idea of super powered humans as some kind of defense mechanism for the earth. It just seems like it's over-personifying the planet. I'm not a fan of giving intentions to the uncaring processes of the world. It's like when people think evolution is a force for good instead of just a thing that happens.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"While working with Doctors Without Borders in Africa, gifted doctor Cecelia Cobbina is held hostage at gun-point. In that moment of stress, Dr. Cobbina is "ignited" - she gains super-human powers. Now, aided by her loyal nurse and biographer, Dr. Cobbina is searching for other Ignited individuals. Her theory is this could be a new evolutionary step set into motion by the stress planet itself. But for what purpose? Are the Ignited to help mankind and the planet or destroy mankind for the planet.

Dr. Cobbina is a strong black woman whose power is her intelligence and drive to help others - natural gifts only enhanced by her ignition. The art was clear and realist and the material very 'minority' supportive and inclusive." - Kasey Turner

The story is magnificent. The art is stunning. The reason why I have given this graphic novel four of five stars, due to the use of small hard to read text on different colors that correspond to each of the nine forms of intelligence.

[Cale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of the Ignited titles I've read, this was definitely my favorite. Devin Grayson uses a very different approach toward intelligence to highlight Cobbina's Ignited genius, and uses that approach to provide surprising and effective solutions to the conflicts without turning everything into action sequences. The art supports the plot very well, especially in the use of color to highlight the different styles of intelligence it uses. Cobbina deals with contemporary issues like minority-police relations and an immigration facility full of children, and Mae serves as a useful viewpoint character into Cecilia's adventures. The fourth issue's full-page panels investigating her situation through all the different intelligence categories is a great use of the medium and almost poster-worthy.
I'm curious to see where the series goes from here; this title shows a lot of promise.

[Devon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity for me to receive an e-arc and write a review.
First, I would like to address the AMAZING cover art.
The story itself is vibrant, tackling tough issues that involves racial profiling, family separation, gun-violence. But, it is woven into the futuristic science ficiton graphic novel series that brings diversity.
I appreciated the main character, Ceceilia Cobbina, not immediately accepting her new powers into grace and seeing it as a burden she literally would have the answers to everything.
I would include this in my classroom library, as I hope my future students can appreciate it as much as I did.
I like it so far, look forward to seeing how the series develop.

[Drew Austen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel/comic is intelligent, multi-layered, and fascinating! It incorporates present day issues with sci-fi in such an engaging manner. The artwork is stunning. I initially was in love with the cover. When I first started reading, I was a bit confused about what was going on, but as the narrative continued, a lot of aspects cleared up. Now that I know certain things that were brought up later, I want to go back an reread it multiple times to catch what I might have missed the first time! The main character, Cecelia, is intricate and analytical, which is shown through her various thoughts that she can utilize in at amazingly quick speed.

I plan on purchasing a physical copy of Omni, as well as hopefully continue with the series!

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Omni v. 1 follows Dr. Cecelia Cobbina as she comes to terms with being an Ignited, someone who has gained super powers, in her case super-intelligence. She's accompanied by a regular sidekick who thinks that the super-powers are fun and interesting but the Dr. believes that they're a response to the changes humanity has on their environment, that these powers are an adaptive response to the environmental changes or possibly something worse. At the end of the volume we find the Dr. and Mae give the charge of a company called Omni, to find and study more Ignited, potentially with a more nefarious purpose. This is an interesting concept for a graphic novel and I'm looking forward to seeing more of Omni. I received a free e-copy of this volume from NetGalley.

[Shannon McShortall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly genius take on superheroes and the concept of a superhero as a response to environmental and societal ills, penned by a seasoned writer in Devin Grayson. The book has a finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist and complicated sociological issues, but unfortunately when it comes to racial issues, the writing comes across as clunky and performative, being merely a dressing or flavour added by someone who is evidentially a white writer, with little nuance or research. I understand Grayson has developed a habit of this, but it doesn’t get too much in the way of what is truly a contemporary take on a superhero story, told with love of the genre. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here, because Grayson has truly set up something amazing to come in the second part to this story.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed in advance thanks to Netgalley.

Cecelia, a doctor, becomes super-powered with nine different types of intelligence. Other Ignited (aka people with powers) start appearing and a mysterious organization is tracking them. It definitely has an early X-Men feel to the plot (how will society react to people with super-powers? is it the next step in human evolution or caused by something else?), but with a heavy social justice framework to the plot. The plot can feel a little bogged down by the social justice lessons, but the artwork does a good job of portraying Cecelia's nine intelligence types. I'll stick around for one more volume to see where it goes.

[Kasey Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whileworking with Doctors Without Borders in Africa, gifted doctor Cecelia Cobbina is held hostage at gun-point. In that moment of stress, Dr. Cobbina is "ignited" - she gains super-human powers. Now, aided by her loyal nurse and biographer, Dr. Cobbina is searching for other Ignited individuals. Her theory is this could be a new evolutionary step set into motion by the stress planet itself. But for what purpose? Are the Ignited to help mankind and the planet or destroy mankind for the planet.

Dr. Cobbina is a strong black woman whose power is her intelligence and drive to help others - natural gifts only enhanced by her ignition. The art was clear and realist and the material very minoity supportive and inclusive. Even the "sidekick" character has a much more emotionally supportive role than usual, as Mae is often the one to keep Dr. Cobbina going.

[Chelsey Hostetler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doctor Cecelia Cobbina, already at the top of her field, finds her world a bit more complicated when she discovers she can now analyze thoughts faster than the speed of light. She's one of the "ignited" a group of humans who suddenly have powers they were not expecting. This first volume follows the good doctor on her initial trips to locate and help the other ignited, so they can figure out how this happens before it's too late.

An amazing graphic novel with smart art and design choices, the color pallet is perfect. The author works topical issues into the plot without seeming forced or blunt. I look forward to the next volume!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cool. Marginalized people across the world gaining super powers. How can you hate on that? Where the x-men used metaphor to expose their readers to issues of social injustice in the world, "Omni" is not as subtle. I would have loved to have opened a comic book as a kid and seen a group of migrant children taking on armor clad ICE agents. The art is nothing incredible and the pacing of the plot seemed sporadic throughout, but I really like this idea. I probably won't read any further volumes, but im glad this book exists.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this because the descriptions sounded exciting and the graphics looked amazing when I looked up the graphic novel. Overall, I really enjoyed the attention to detail in the artwork and how they changed the color palette based on what the characters mood. On the other side, I didn't really enjoy the content it just seems confusing and disjointed. I understand that we follow the Doctor in four different missions as she understands more about her powers. But, for me the information in this graphic novel just didn't flow the way I would've enjoyed it to.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up from a librarian-curated shelf at OPL, and I am glad the cover caught my eye! This is a smart twist in "super" powered humans. The main character is essentially super-powered with the ability to scan a place/people with hyper-developed 8 intelligences (Howard Gardner-style). Dr. Cobbina uses intellect and intuition to solve problems and encourages other Ignited people to do the same. The art is really cool, too. Some of the text gets lost in the mix at times, but overall I love the style.

[Elna · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Received via NetGalley for review*

Unabashedly political, Omni takes a little but to find its footing, but delivers when it does. Dr. Cecilia has become the first "Ignited", manifesting all 9 intelligences. She and her (honestly, incredibly annoying) sidekick Mae travel around finding other Ignited, until the Omni corporation finds them.

Lots more is left to be explored in future installments, and the hint of a reveal at the end definitely leaves me wanting more.

[Kayla Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. An interesting story that is supported by great illustrations. The storytelling was a bit disjointed and several of the characters lacked backstory, making it a bit hard to understand their roles and relationships. Omni does do a great job at tying in social issues like racial profiling and immigration into the plot, making it feel incredibly relevant. I am interested to see how to story progress in the next volume.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love that this features a Black woman discovering her superpowers, but that's really the only part of this that I liked. I don't understand why her experience is constantly filtered through her white woman friend, and the story is way more interested in bouncing Sherlock-esque mini-thoughts off of each other instead of developing a backstory. It has the potential to be a better comic, but instead it's caught up in gimmicks.