Least We Can Do Volume 1

by Iolanda Zanfardino, Elisa Romboli (Artist)

Mysterious magical power arises from a world nearly destroyed by war. A young woman fights for her ideas of revolution and to build a new society from the debris. Realizing that she can’t do it alone, she must prove her worth to the Eclipse Rebels to join them against the dreadful Eden Army.   A story of discovering what is right and what love means in a militarily occupied and socially oppressed United Kingdom. Collects THE LEAST WE CAN DO #1-6

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

152 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2023

Reviews

[Emily Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE SAPPHICS ARE EVERYTHING IN THIS✨

Was this story perfect? No. I think a lot of exploration and clarification will be needed in volume two. Saying that I really bloody enjoyed this as a starting point.

Dystopian fantasy with a White sapphic MC and a Black butch sapphic love interest??? YES. Also her muscles?? Floored. Death by bicep.

Finding sapphic dystopian books is a nightmare so I was extremely happy to stumble across this. Mix in magic to that dystopian world and some slightly mad max vibes.

The art was also really nicely done. I’ve picked up so many comics lately where the panels feel so sloppy and rushed so I was glad this was detailed and consistent.

Rep// White WLW MC, Black WLW butch MC, many sapphic SC’s.

Set in// dystopian England.


TW’s listed below, please skip if you don’t want vague spoilers.





Tw//CW// violence (prominent), parental abuse (brief), brief mention of homophobia, class divide / oppression, murder, military dictatorship.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tried this; I read what would have been the first issue on initial release and was just annoyed - the most ridiculous thing being that the main character stole a 'Justice Light, Golden Medium' and it's not supposed to be used by anybody but a member of the Eden Army and yet she has it on prominent public display hanging round her neck. I think her search for the resistance at Camden Lock market is supposed to be quirky and funny, but I found it very irksome. Also the 'medium' just look like Infinity Stones.
It's a shame as it's pretty rare to find a mainstream release comic set in the UK, but this just felt generic...

[Ebilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buenisima historia, quiero ya saber cómo sigue porque quedé con toda la intriga.

Pd: vivan las lesbianas

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a United Kingdom that has already been ravaged by war, soldiers have magical Medium Stones that augment their deadly fighting skills. Uriel is dissatisfied with the powerful Eden Army, which uses their Medium to oppress and exploit others. She steals a Justice Light, a powerful type of medium, and absconds to join the Eclipse Rebels in the fight to bring Eden down. Uriel also has a mind for inventions and hopes her inside knowledge and creativity can bring more solutions to the Eclipse as they face a foe much larger and much more powerful than they. Along the way, Uriel has to prove herself to the rebels by not only providing them with valuable information but attuning with a stone that already has a master.

The first chapter of this book really grabbed me and sucked me into this steampunk, adventure world. After that, there was a lot of time spent on training Uriel, particularly in fighting, where she was constantly being destroyed by folks who were supposedly her teammates. There were some little romances along the way, which was kind of a nice distraction from the fighting. The ending was horrendously rushed and had quite the narrative jump going into the final chapter, so I wish that part of the story had more room to breathe. The fight isn't over, but everyone is at a decent stopping point at the end of this volume, so given the lukewarm reception to this book, I'm not entirely sure it will continue even though there is more to explore.

My favorite thing about this comic is the art style, so it actually disappoints me that they didn't use any of the covers from Romboli. Her style is more cinematic and reminiscent of the classic Disney films like Treasure Planet. Every page has lots of color and is full of movement. As the story sort of meandered in the fourth chapter, I continued reading for Romboli's beautiful art.

There is some mild cussing and lots of pages where characters bleed on the page. There is also quite a bit of violence and battling where folks are most likely dying in the background.

Sara's Rating: 7/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Read more graphic novel reviews at The Graphic Library.