do yourself a favour: read it!

Uh, hello, Netflix? Amazon Prime? Anyone? This needs to be adapted to the screen. With its distinct noir flair with paranormal elements plus a strong female lead, it'll make a good TV show/miniseries. The story's a bit too simple and some bits pretty predictable yet the superb artwork and the sharp dialogues kept me glued.

I'm genuinely sad that this isn't a longer series because these first few issues were totally up my alley. Watch me discuss this book in my September wrap up: https://youtu.be/NVZlVL9wuzw

First off, I applaud any effort to introduce more diversity into comics. It has been long overdue. So in that respect Abbott is a great accomplishment.In characterisation, dialogue and plot, less so, I'm afraid. I know the dialogue is supposed to be 70s hardboiled noir, but I found most of it to be clunky, heavy-handed and much too on-the-nose. Did you know Abbott has a strict routine? It's only mentioned in just about every conversation she has. Her male editor at the paper she works for, tells...

I found Abbott through some friends who noticed that I liked Saladin Ahmed's Black Bolt, and it didn't disappoint. Set in the 1970s, Evelyn Abbott is a newspaper reporter in Detroit who is always poking her nose into stories that the people in charge would rather she not. Reporting on police brutality hasn't earned her many friends in high places, but her editor, ex-husband, and the people in her community appreciate what she does and stand by her. <--and while that's cool, it's not the good pa...

Damn, I have to say I was really impressed with this. It's about a black female reporter in Detroit 1972. Not only does she have to deal with racism and sexism but she gets involved unwittingly with the supernatural as well. The dialogue and settings can be rough. I'm not disparaging the author here. It's just that I'd like to punch a few of the misogynistic and racist jerks in the book. I really liked the supernatural element to the book and since Elena Abbott is new to it as well, the reader f...

This was a truly strange read. A mixture of mystery and supernatural, this comic had a generic plot, a weak mystery, and many unexplained supernatural elements.This was either incompetently written or crafted with the intention of having sequels. Regardless, the comic doesn’t stand well on its own; neither the plot nor the protagonist, whose sole personality trait was raging alcoholism, could have made this messy mystery enjoyable.The best part was the accurate portrayal of the racial injustices...

A newspaper reporter who takes their own photos while reluctantly and ineptly fighting supernatural beings in the 1970s? I could not get Kolchak: The Night Stalker out of my head the whole time I was reading this. Kolchak is now a tough as nails African American female named Abbott in order to get a little of 1970s blaxploitation films into the mix too, but still enjoyable as ever.There was a little awkwardness in the writing as all the characters and their situations are introduced, but the cli...

Don't ask me why it took me so long to start Abbott because it is absolutely everything that I look for in comic book series especially those that are published by companies outside of the big twoAbbott focuses on a Black woman in Detroit in the 1970s as she works for a newspaper. When Abbott decides to cover a story related to the death of a Black boy in the city many of the newspapers board members want her removed from her position. As Abbott attempts to cover and navigate the issues related

Read this one (a little too late) for I Read Comic Books Group.Oh, my god. I really loved this. I need the second volume in my grubby hands right now. I really haven't been this interested in a non-superhero graphic novel since like Locke & Key or Saga. This did have some Locke & Key vibes, though. Anyone who loved that should definitely give this a shot.One of the biggest differences from L&K is that this takes place in 1970s Detroit, told from the perspective of a controversial Black female jo...

Part of this book I love and the other part...not so much. So Abbott is a news reporter. She's actually really badass in her approach, similar to characters like Jessica Jones, she takes no shit from anyone. So when she begins reporting things of police brutality she begins to make enemies. However, what is really chasing her? Demons? Half human half creature visions begin to haunt her. Can she escape? Will the demons kill her or will the people in her life try to hurt her more? It's a dark tale...

One of the best comic series I've read in a while. Beautiful artwork, a fantastic story about this badass female journalist who's battling evil forces. Set in the '70s. Written magnificently. Illustrations are amazing. Well worth the read. I read each installment at different points over the past two months, but this series on a whole is perfect. Get into it.

Abbott is a 2019 Hugo Awards finalist in the Best Graphic Story category. I’m not sure how to talk about this graphic novel without providing some information about the plot, so … Warning: potential spoilers ahead!This is Elena Abbott. She’s a reporter for the Detroit Daily and as a black woman in 1972, she’s practically surrounded by racist and misogynistic white men. The newspaper board members and most of the police force aren’t exactly thrilled about her reporting the truth, particular...

The main character, Elena Abbott, is a bi black woman journalist in 1972 Detroit who also fights the occult forces of evil. Was there a chance I'd skip reading this graphic novel? No. And while I thought the villain was maybe a tiny smidge too cheesy, overall I enjoyed this a lot and would order a sequel in a heartbeat.

What a well written and illustrated book. We are following a very strong and willful woman who's not afraid to write the truth. Abbott is basically Lois Lane but with style! I enjoyed everything about this book. If you're looking for a kick ass driven story with great art and a strong female role this is your book.

2018 has been an exceptional year for Saladin Ahmed, who has written one of the best limited series for Marvel Comics with Black Bolt, which you can now get in two volumes. Although he still writes for Marvel with Exiles, Ahmed finds room for creator-owned work with Boom! Studios, where the writer steps into the world of 1970s pulp journalism with Abbott.Please click here for my full review.

This comic has an enthralling premise: 1973 Detroit, where a black newswoman is caught up in the occult. This could have been a great period piece, and there's some good work on racism and sexism in the '70s, just when things were beginning to change. This could have been a good noir piece, but it really doesn't do much for the genre. In fact, overall, Abbott is a bit slow and a bit unoriginal. Oh, there's some good content here, but not necessarily enough to leave you begging for more.

actual rating: 3.5This was a really interesting read and definitely a new spin on the mystery + supernatural element genre smash up. Abbott is a black bisexual female reporter in 1970s Detroit and has to deal with sexism and racism in the city as well as a string of murders with a supernatural twist. Overall I would have liked it to be a little bit longer, but I think there were a lot of excellent things in here and it's definitely a time, place, and protagonist that is not often focused on in h...

4.5 rounded up.This is a fantastic graphic novel. Great story, top-notch dialogue, cool characters, excellent artwork.While I loved every minute of reading this, one thing that was missing for me was (view spoiler)[ a little bit more explanation on the whole supernatural wielder of light thing going on, as that was never fully fleshed out. (hide spoiler)] Regardless, still a graphic novel that is leagues above most!

A cool 70’s feel, a good main character- a strong african-american female- an interesting and not too heavy-handed statement on being black (and female) in Detroit back then...And a lousy villain. It seems like Ahmed was more interested in the context than the plot. So the context and the characters are good when the plot is sadly underdeveloped. Maybe to be expanded in future volumes but it kind of feels like it was a constraint he had to deal with but was not particularly interested in. Or tha...