Thanks to Idw Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of this ARC

Can we just take a moment to talk about the art in this book? So simple but so impactful with a color scheme to die for this would be a trade id want to buy twice. One as a reader copy and one as a trophy.

The story is deceptively complex with a non linear timeline that is rewarding to wade through to its conclusion.

Perfect for fans of Kyle Starks and for fans of Declan Shalvey’s run on Moonknight

Ionheart sets out with the really interesting premise of a medievel-ish world where technology that mysteriously appears out of thin air is viewed as "magic." I could've explored that idea for much longer before the twist was revealed, but a strong start nonetheless. My interest waned a good bit after that.

Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel. This was a bit confusing for me in my personal opinion because of the time skipping and paths that the characters take. In addition, I did not understand the motivation behind the plot. the artstyle though is beautiful (reminded me of Nimona). Because of these points, I have to give this a 3 out of 5 stars.

A knight and demon engage in a conflict that is far more complicated than it originally appears. While a post-apocalyptic medieval/futuristic setting serves as a backdrop, the comic also dives into different dimensions and is a lot of fun to read. Of all the books, I enjoyed book one the best and could very easily recommend that to comics fans.

I have tried on so many nights to pick this up and read it, but it is not my cup of tea. It is slow and kind of boring. The only good thing about it has been the colors. I love a beautiful brightly colored cover and graphic novel, so it has that going for it. I am DNF’ing at page 30+. I just can’t do it.

This wasn’t for me and that’s ok.
A knight being followed by a demon, seemingly across dimensions? (Might have got a bit confused). The great thing about NetGalley is that I can try new things ☺️

3.5
The story it had some really strong points, but also a few things that didn’t totally work for me. First of all, the concept was super creative. The way fantasy and sci-fi elements were mixed together felt very cool, and I liked how the story didn’t shy away from darker or emotional topics. Billy as a character had depth, and I could see his growth through the story. I appreciated how the themes were handled. The illustrations were also really cool, at first I wasn’t sure about the style, but it actually fit well with the tone of the story. The part that was harder for me was the structure. The timeline wasn’t always easy to follow, and I had to go back a few times because I got a bit lost. It didn’t ruin the story, but it made the reading experience less smooth. I also felt like some scenes could’ve used more explanation. Still, I was glad I read it. Not perfect, but definitely worth checking out. Thank you so much to the author, IDW Publishing and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read the book in advance, I received this for free and I'm leaving a honest review

a weird terminator/ memento/ butterfly effect of a sci fi fantasy world where magic and technology have entwined in love, destruction and a race to save humanity
first knight and wizard of the court, billy, travels across radioactive ruins running from an enemy with secrets of billys past, present and future
as magic leaks into the kingdom citizens believe they are gifts from gods
using spy gear like weapon, billy sets out on a quest to save the princess' kingdom
but not everything is what it seems when billys enemy catches up with him

This one is not for kids. I don't know if there was a whoospie when I was browsing and it was marked youth, or if I mixed it up with some other title. Over all this was... a thing. I liked book one. I thought book one was solid. But books two and three took us from a classic story with a twist ending to... confusing and weird for no real reason.

But the art, specifically the colors?! 10/10.

The storytelling was a bit non-linear which made things confusing at time. With that said, I did find the overall story entertaining and unique. The art wasn't my favorite but it was well done and did a great job at depicting what was happening. The juxtaposition between the far future and medieval times was amusing, though I had to really suspend my disbelief that anyone during the medieval period would embrace "magic" in any capacity. All in all, a solid story.

This graphic novel started out super interesting but ultimately struggled. Chapter 1 felt like a complete story by itself, chapters 2 and 3 didn't add much and sometimes felt like the story was being too drawn out. That being said, I loved the art. The drawings themselves are simple but effective, and the colouring is absolutely stunning.

Gorgeous drawings, sometimes a bit hard to follow, but still very entertaining in the end. I would definitely read more books from this author in the future.

Reading Ionheart felt like stepping into a fever dream made of rust, radiation, and broken memory. Lukas Kummer has crafted a dystopia that’s not just visually arresting—it’s emotionally devastating. The world is scorched and metallic, stripped of sentiment, but somehow it pulses with a fragile kind of hope, buried deep beneath the wreckage.

I was drawn in by the stark beauty of it all—this blend of sci-fi decay and almost spiritual yearning. The protagonist’s journey feels less like a hero’s arc and more like a desperate excavation of identity, morality, and what it means to be alive when everything around you is mechanized, monitored, or dead. Every interaction feels laced with paranoia and melancholy, and I found myself constantly second-guessing what was real and what was manipulation.

There’s a lot of silence in this book—not in the writing, but in the space it gives you to think, to breathe, to feel the weight of the world Kummer built. It’s minimalist in the best way—like every line has been cut to the bone, and what remains is sharp enough to leave a mark.

If you’re into speculative fiction that leans literary and isn’t afraid to get existential, Ionheart is an experience worth diving into. It left me chilled, reflective, and strangely moved.

3.5
This was not at all what I thought it was going to be. It goes back and forth from futuristic and medieval times. From past to present. It was a bit confusing because of it, but it was a really good and intriguing story. Also loved the illustration in this, which is very colorful and simplistic.

Thank you to IDW Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a really interesting premise. I liked how it was science fiction mixed with fantasy as I had thought it would just be fantasy. The story was compelling, but a bit confusing at times. The art was really beautiful.

Ionheart is definitely a wild ride. The art is cool - weird, bright, and it really brings the mash-up of medieval fantasy and sci-fi to life. I liked the strange world with knights, castles, and random bits of future tech showing up and being treated like magic. It’s a super creative idea.

But the story is pretty hard to follow. It jumps all over the place - different timelines, different dimensions, different genres - and I often felt lost trying to keep up. Some parts were really cool, like the brutal chase scenes or the world-building, but the plot felt too messy, and I didn’t feel much for the characters. I liked the ideas more than the execution.

If you enjoy trippy, experimental stories and don’t mind working to piece things together, this might be for you. For me, it had great potential but needed a clearer way to tell the story.

A much needed escape, the narrative moved slowly as points but I'm glad I took the time for this one.

2.5⭐️

Did I sometimes have no idea what was happening? Yes. Did I still enjoy myself? Also yes. But, at the same time, no...

The constant shifts in the timeline throughout each chapter really threw me off.

This book is a blend of sci-fi and fantasy, combining futuristic technology with medieval elements. At times, it can be quite gory and action-packed, and the neon-colored artwork is fun and stunning to look at.

It’s an interesting story, but I found it difficult to engage with, and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Honestly, I felt like I didn’t really like any of them (sorry).

It might be one of those books that resonates with some readers while others simply don’t connect with it. I definitely fall into the latter category—I didn’t get it. However, I’m sure there are many who do understand and will appreciate this graphic novel.

Thank you Netgalley, IDW Publishing | Top Shelf Productions, and Lukas Kummer for an eARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

Ionheart has niche appeal, and I am not part of that niche.

First, the artwork is lovely, with some attempt at distinguishing storylines/time jumps with color palette. The generally warm, cheerful colors are an interesting contrast to most of the story.

The actual story will appeal most to those who prefer their main characters unlikeable and their storylines complicated. The narrative interweaves a high-tech future world with a vaguely medieval one. The two are connected via the manipulation of a few of the characters from the high-tech world. There are numerous time jumps, unreliable narrators, and shifts in perspective. The characters themselves are, at best, complicated, and mostly right bastards that aren't even well-realized enough to be interesting.

I finished this, but probably wouldn't have if I wasn't reviewing it.

If there was one suggestion I would make that would resolve the vast majority of my issues with Lukas Kummer’s Ionheart, it would be to add some sort of label to indicate what time of the story we are in. Though a fun and intriguing tale, the lack of coherency in the “when” of the moment was often jarring and, at times, took several moments to reorient to which piece of the timeline I was now reading about. And even then, I’m not certain I can say that the story should have jumped around as much as it did.

In the end, there simply was far too much piecing together for the reader to do for this book to exist as a true service to the story Kummer was trying to tell. And here’s the thing: the story and plot he put together? Pure brilliance. The world building? Excellent. There’s so much to love about the manner in which Kummer blends futuristic technology with interdimensional travel posited against a world whose advancement has not moved past what appears to be comparable to the middle ages.

Enter a world where technology is considered magic and the destruction of nuclear fallout was the only way to stop a power hungry tech bro from conquering other worlds. The survival of this realm something achieved through the well-meaning mistakes of a person with both great knowledge and great secrets. As a story, the plot and the twists were phenomenal. It’s more so in the execution where I think Kummer loses his readers—the difficulty of following the changing timelines, the manner in which he reveals the twists (unfortunately not as dramatic as it should have been due to the convolution of the story), and the condensing of everything into a single graphic novel (there’s an irony here, since I often have found it frustrating when a full story is not told, but there is a happy medium to find and I really think Kummer should have gone for it).

The tale also feels as though it ends rather abruptly, something that I think hits even harder given that so much of the graphic novel seems to be the main character summarizing all the events that brought him to his current state. I think this could have worked, too, had it not jumped around so much as he told the tale and been more of a reveal later on—perhaps even at the end of the first episode?

I suppose, at the end of the day, I think there were a lot of great thoughts and ideas thrown behind this tale. The artwork is fun and dark, though not exactly my personal style it still has a certain charm to it that really supports the reader in engaging in the story. Unfortunately, those thoughts and ideas could not make up for the haphazard presentation and so many of the exceptional story beats that should have elicited intense emotions feel rather flat instead. It’s a shame given the high level of potential I think the story has, overall.