Cover Image: Lost in the Future

Lost in the Future

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Member Reviews

This was a very fun story, with a lot of interesting concepts and characters. The overall design was very different and cute. Sometimes it felt a little bit rushed and the characters couldn't have such a great development, except for Piero, who we were able to see a little bit of his normal life, therefore creating more depth.
That said I enjoyed the reading, it was really fast and I am curious to see the next chapters of this story.

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. Although the colors of the cover are gorgeous, don't be fooled, the illustrations are awful.

This graphic novel tells the story of five children, one is the bully and the other four are his victims. On a school excursion, while it starts to rain, they have an accident and go through a portal where they travel in time; it is not very well explained if it is the past, the future or an alternate universe (Although the title says that it is the future), but they have to survive the dangers of that new land.

The story isn't interesting enough, the characters are stereotyped, situations go by too fast for you to care what happens to the children, and I'll say it one more time, the illustrations are hideous.

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Time Travel is my favorite type of science fiction storytelling, so when I realized this story fell into that genre, I was excited. The synopsis of kids falling into a rift in time reminds me of stories such as Time Slip, something I reviewed on here many moons ago, and may need to revisit sometime. This isn’t quite as serious as that story, but I figured I’d give it a shot – thinking that this would be a kid’s story of some sort. boy, was I wrong! Yeah this can be read by kids with no issues, but it actually has the meat on the proverbial bone that non-children like when reading.

“A group of students is on a field trip to an ancient castle when a storm erupts. As they are about to leave, four friends are cornered by the class bully, who tries to pull one of his usual pranks. Instead, they all get the scare of their lives when they fall down a tunnel that takes them into the future: a future where mankind has nearly disappeared from the face of the earth, and where nature has taken control. The friends will have to face up to this hostile new world—as well as their nemesis—if they’re to have any chance of making it back home…”

Aside from it’s relative brutality (monsters getting stabbed and the like), the tone of this book reminded me of the sort of cartoons you would see on Cartoon Network like a decade ago – things like Adventure Time for example. I will say that one of the characters, Piero, is insanely unlikeable and I basically rooted for his death for most of the book. He does soften up a tad, but he needs an incredible change in attitude pretty fast or I’m not sure how far I will get. He’s your typical bully character with a rough upbringing that takes his insecurities out on others. He goes as far as attempted murder of a disabled girl just to get a rise from his uninterested friends. If the authors can make me like this guy by the end of the story, it will be a testament to their storytelling ability.

I wasn’t sure what to think of this book at first – the art style is to off-the-wall for what I’m used to, that it took me a bit to get into the story. Once I finally did, I really enjoyed it, and felt that the style worked really well for the tone and aesthetic of the book. The book is surprisingly dark for its appearance as a kid’s book, and rewards readers that hang in there with a fairly deep story involving crazy stuff like time-traveling Knights Templar or magical portals that warp folks into the far flung future.

While not my favorite book of the year, I enjoyed Lost in the Future – Part 1 The Storm, and would like to read more if I can. The story takes a bit to get going, and it has an odd art-style that many will nit likely be used to, but it rewards those that give it a chance. This volume is pretty much self-contained, but ends on a hell of a cliff-hanger, so it’s one of those that I definitely need to finish. You guys know I love my time travel books, so a novel take on it that avoids some of the obvious tropes from other media is always cool for me. Another solid offering from Europe Comics.

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This story was so fun to read and the characters are enjoyable.

The plot is pretty basic, but also fresh and entertaining.

I adored the artwork so pretty and colorful.

A very cute read.

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A story that felt a bit flat, just like the characters.

2.5 rounding up to 3

The story and characters:
I think if this was an animated show drawn out over a few episodes I would have liked it a bit more, but the story itself seemed a bit too fast-paced and you didn't get enough of the characters. This is important because...

The Art:
I didn't think the art was that spectacular either. Sure, it was cute, but I felt like the art style would have worked a bit better with it animated.

This book is for:
Kids who want a simple plot and characters that might be similar to a tv show. It personally didn't jive with me but I can see there being value in it for reluctant readers.

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The cover art drew me in but I was not a fan of the characters. While it was a fairly diverse cast, I found the characterizations to be pretty stereotypical. It's a fun idea, an entertaining adventure, and the book has vibrant art. But I didn't find myself connecting to the characters nor really caring about how things turned out for them.

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Often the illustration style of the cover is what draws me in to a graphic novel and the artwork on this one completely reflects the contents. Following a group of friends (and a school bully) on a field trip gone wrong, this graphic novel includes time travel and dealing with your emotions.

On paper this sounds great but I do think that the plot was a little confused. I liked the idea of this more than the execution but I did enjoy how it wrapped up.

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This was a short and fun graphic novel about a few students who accidentally fall into a portal to the future which is not. at all what the students had expected of the future. The art style was amazing and the story kept me intrigued. The characters were also very distinct. My overall impression of "Lost in the Future" is very positive and I'd recommend this to anyone wanting a quick and light read!

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What can I say about this?
I don't have an opinion. It was good. The story, interesting.
I didnt like the relation of the kids and the bully.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the Europe Comics for providing me with a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I found this a fun, fast paced, quick read. I read this in one sitting. The plot was enjoyable and I loved the vibrant colourful artwork.

Lost In The Future is about a group of school children on a trip to a castle who accidentally fall through a hole, ending up in a dangerous, apocalyptic and strange future. They have to embark on a journey to discover how to get back home.

I really liked the style of the illustrations and the bright colour palette. The style felt like an homage to older classic comics and cartoons.

I am keen to read more work in this series and see what new adventures the characters go on.

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Lost in the Future is the story of a group of students on a field trip that are magically transported to the future through a tunnel of water. The plot moves nicely along as the students try to find their way back home and run into some interesting characters along the way. However, while we get small glimpses of the main character's personalities, they are only developed at a surface level. The only character that we get a tiny deeper look at is Piero, the class bully, who is incredibly mean to the other members of the group and picks on them for their disabilities. I didn't feel like this character arc was fully developed since the book ends in a cliffhanger (leading in to book 2 in a series). But at the end I really didn't feel like he had become a part of the group as he was still very hesitant to be with them. Overall it was a fun story but I would have liked to see more character development.

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Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis: After a class group of five kids fall into a pit, they subsequently find themselves in the future and embark on a journey back home.

My Thoughts: Plot (5/5) – Most futuristic stories tend to take the following approaches to envisioning their setting:
1. A utopian future (think The Jetsons) where the state of affairs and life is perfect for the most part has just about anything one can fathom.
2. Its dystopian opposite rife with corruption, technology gone haywire, and a general sense of bleakness (most cyberpunk narratives).
3. Post-apocalypse where the remnants of civilization are thriving in a cruel survival game within a barren landscape (Mad Max)
4. A delicate balance between the former two (Futurama).

Not to say any of these aforementioned narrative options are objectively good or bad, but I loved how Lost in the Future said nuts to any of these and decided to paint a society that feels like a regression from what’s considered a modern society where the technological advancement hasn’t seemed to evolve past the medieval era. This ends up creating more mystery surrounding the formation of this civilization whose inhabitants are hinted at being aliens who settled on Earth after human societies were either abandoned or destroyed. After all, they would need to possess some form of technology (or magic if the series ever venture in the fantasy direction) to be able to find this planet.

Characters (3.8/5) – Due to the volume’s length, some of the main cast’s personalities are not fully developed, but they are given enough characterization to be distinctive, particularly Piero, the assertive bully who started the entire conflict, and Mei, the resourceful, sharp-witted one of the crew. Moreover, the villagers were pretty amusing including the mildly whimsical but helpful and caring knight-like character Antoine.

Art (5/5) – This is easily the most unique part of the book. The character designs came in a variety of shapes and sizes that, to an extent, reminded me of Cartoon Network shows such as Clarence and the 2d portions of The Amazing World of Gumball. The lineart followed a curvy, clean, and thin aesthetic that felt visually pleasant and a bit surreal with what I can best describe as zig-zagged arches during the scenic scenes. Furthermore, there were some nice examples of silhouettes, lighting, and shades which, in combination with the occasionally unconventional panel composition, heightened the various moods conveyed.

Pacing (4/5) – It was mostly fast-paced in a positive way that made the story progress smoothly, leaving me invested in what comes next. However, I thought the beginning could have been improved if opened a few pages before the end of the school field trip and gave the kids a little more background. Perhaps bits of their lives will be unraveled in coming installments though, so I wouldn’t consider this a major offender.


Final Thoughts: Lost in the Future: The Storm had me looking forward to this series’ future. I would recommend it to middle-graders and older who enjoy quick-paced sci-fi/fantasy with kid ensemble casts.


Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing me with my first advance ebook copy in exchange for an honest review.

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2 stars. One for the story line. One for the artwork.

I found the plot very 1 dimensional and flat. Other than the intense bullying there was nothing of note to happen throughout the story. There was supposed to be a change of character from the bully to see how the other kids are nice. But it happened way to fast to be believed. One page he hates them and the next they are friends.

Also the time travel element was just rushed and random.

And the artwork was reminding me of the ‘aghhh real monsters’ tv show from the 90s Cute but not great.

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Love the art style and the characters were very cute, funny, and lovable. Can’t wait to see the rest of the series unfold!

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I don't have much to say about this graphic novel except that I absolutely loved it! I loved the art, the characters, the adventure, and the overall plot of the story. I can't wait to find out what happens next and will be keeping an eye out for news of a second volume. Graphic novels and comics are so fun to read, and this one was no different.

Content warning for abuse (off-page) and bullying.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the ARC of Lost in the Future by Damián and Alex Fuentes!

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I'm relatively new to comic's and have only a few favourites. While this was a quick and interesting read, it's definitely not my favourite style. The art was very well done, however I felt the characters needed to be fleshed out a bit more. Most of the characters felt like a single stereotype, seen countless times before, dialled up to 12/10. While the plot was fun and different, I feel, unfortunately, that the characters detract from this.

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I was a bit bored the other day so headed over to Netgalley and requested some graphic novels. I was excited about lost in the Future (or, The Storm) because it’s about time travel and that’s one of my absolute favourite things.

Unfortunately, I full on hated this book. None of the characters were enjoyable to read about. Some of them were just bland, which is… fine, but the two that stood out to me were the bully (with a ~tragic backstory and abusive father, of course) and the overweight child who was mocked and fat shamed throughout the book by his friends and the bully.

My main issue with this book was the fat shaming. The overweight character was mocked throughout the book and was often the butt of the jokes. I didn’t find this humourous and it made me incredibly sad and uncomfortable.

I will not be continuing with the series.

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The class bully tries to push one of the class nerds down the tower of a Knights Templar castle on a field trip during a thunderstorm, causing himself and 4 friends to travel in time to a settlement of Knights Templar who were trying to escape an evil overlord that had destroyed their way of life. Unfortunately for the five, the settlement has strict rules of One in, One Out, and the settlement bully, Phillipe, shows up to enforce that rule...by ejecting the five!

A fun, fascinating graphic novel full of monsters, adventure, friendship, and even a little love! Great for middle school-early high school age fans of sci-fi/fantasy graphic novels. I can't wait to see how the group fares in their next adventure in time!

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A fantastic adventure for young readers, packed with mystery, danger, and a cast of delightful characters, told through colorful, immersive illustrations and easy to read text.

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This book left me feeling old. Not because of the topics covered or anything like that.
But because the feeling of nostalgia it brought for shows that I watched as a child.

But unlike the shows I watched as a child, I was left feeling hollow rather then finding comedy within them.

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