Project Nought

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The art was gorgeous, some of the best I’ve seen in a graphic novel. Mars came to life in the drawings. His joy and emotions were so infectious. I felt a little grumpy energy from Ren. They had a wonderful romance, and it was interesting following Ren’s journey from being a closeted kid from the 90s to suddenly living in a queer-normative society. It was brilliant to also see a good mix of sapphic and non-binary characters. The characters are what makes this graphic novel thrive, and I have a soft spot for Mars. He was utterly adorable.

There is sci-fi fun, friendship and romance abound in Project Nought. An interesting story with lots of surprises and heart, I adored this. identities. Here it was really cool to see how this future showed how much the world had changed, and started to accept people with LGBTQ+ identities, which meant they were able to thrive and be openly themselves. Project Nought is a middle-grade to young YA graphic novel. As an adult who has read more dystopian comic books than is healthy, I struggled to suspend my disbelief. A lot of what happens doesn’t make sense – and not in the conspiracy way. Plotlines are jettisoned or resolved too fast. The teenagers of 2122 are using the exact same slang as the teens of 2021. Ren is suddenly transported from his mundane life in 1996 to the year 2122 as a subject in an elaborate student exchange program to study the past in Chelsey Furedi’s exciting and mind-bending Project Nought.It has been a high streak for queer graphic novels over the past year and this is another excellent edition, taking a fresh and fun approach to the time travel genre and delivering it through a large cast of endlessly endearing characters and eye-popping art full of bold colors and sci-fi goodness. Combining playful romantic friction with a narrative of the dark side that lurks under any society that presents itself as a utopia and the dangers of probing the mysteries keeping it hidden, Project Nought is a fast paced and blissfully nuanced tale with twists that keep you guessing and friendships that will melt your heart. Project Nought is a very fast-paced adventure that’s perfect if you’re currently in a reading slump and want to try something different. The romance element is incredibly sweet, and the plot is really original and fresh. I also appreciated how authentic the representation was throughout. Furedi has created a diverse and loveable cast of characters accompanied by some fantastic artwork and original ideas.

For fans of Kiss Number 8 and On a Sunbeam, this debut graphic novel is a fast-paced time-travel adventure with a hint of romance that has garnered 1.5 million views as a Tapas webcomic.

I am looking forward to reading more from the author, and I would love to revisit this world someday. I’d highly recommend this graphic novel to anyone who loves Heartstopper, Bloom, or Cosmoknights! Ren Mittal's last memory in the year 1996 is getting on a bus to visit his mystery pen pal Georgia. When he wakes up in 2122, he thinks he might be hallucinating...he's not!

The story was great. Mysterious and dangerous and interesting and twisty. I was confused about some things in the beginning, but it made sense eventually, so just hang in there. It was fairly calm for most of the book, the characters spending time together, doing things with the time travel project, trying to uncover secrets and whatnot, but it got a little more action-filled near the end. There were some heavier things, but they weren’t overly dwelled on, so the mood never got dark. When Kieren Mittal, who is cued as being of Asian Indian descent, learns that his mother plans to send him to stay with his aunt for the summer so he can work and not just sit around playing video games, he impulsively decides to go visit his pen pal. After tripping and hitting his head on the bus, however, he wakes up in the year 2122. Ren discovers that he’s among 50 subjects transported through time by Chronotech to assist University of Time Expansion students with their history projects. After five months, the subjects’ memories will be wiped, and they will be returned to the moments from which they were taken. Knowing he won’t remember their time together, Ren struggles with growing closer to Mars, the White boy who will be studying him. Meanwhile, fellow subject Phoebe, Ren’s roommate, receives dire warnings from former student Jia about the experiment’s risks and Chronotech’s cover-up of a death. Ren and Phoebe must investigate to find the truth. Ren and Mars’ developing relationship is both adorable and full of angst, while rising tension mounts into a stunning twist ending. The attractive artwork is reminiscent of classic comics and features interestingly varied panels and a charmingly expressive, queer, and racially diverse cast.

Ren sort of falls for his time travel program partner Mars, a really sweet guy who idolizes Chronotech. Mars has funky-colored hair, is enthusiastic about everything, and stans the head of Chronotech, Eliza Yu. There’s a little bit of kissing that goes on in the story, but it isn’t fully fleshed out why Ren is interested in Mars. It seems like they could be just friends who bond over laser video games and candy, but suddenly they’re into each other? It’s hard to swoon when you don’t see the push and pull between the characters getting to know each other and crush on each other. Thank you to Harper360YA for sending me an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange of an honest review. Furthermore, we got to see a great friend group, who were always ready to help and be there for each other. Another thing I really loved was the blossoming romance between Ren and Mars. Here I really liked seeing them getting to know each other, and slowly forming their bond.I bought this book since I thought a graphic novel would help me get out of my reading slump, which I think it may do that now. EDIT: Actually gonna just put this here, I think I was too soft on Mars. I’d genuinely say he drops the book to around 2.5 stars for me, not any lower because the art still carried the book for me, and I liked Jia and some of the humor. But genuinely I don’t think I liked Mars anywhere within the book. I don’t see how he has such fast chemistry with Ren when all I see is him treating Rem like some museum exhibit and not a person for a lot of the book early on. I don’t remember him ever apologize for that either. And him quite literally stanning a corporation and being concerned about “breaking the law” when they’re going to save the other subjects was hard to read. It’s not funny it was just frustrating. He is barely held accountable for any of this plus how he treated Jia about their ex-partner and thus congrats Mars, you’ve made me so pissed in retrospect at your character i dropped my review score by a full star.