Booknote: Young Terrorists, Volume 1

Matt Pizzolo, Young Terrorists, Volume 1: Pierce the Veil. Los Angeles, CA: Black Mask Studios, 2015.  ISBN: 9781628751161. 

Genre: comics and graphic novels
Subgenre: mystery, conspiracies, thrillers
Format: e-book galley
Source: NetGalley


From the book's description:

"What if 'The Smoking Man' from X-Files was a real person, and his daughter found out what he did for a living? The daughter of an assassinated globalist kingpin breaks out of an internment camp and leads her fellow escaped prisoners in a battle against an elitist conspiracy of shadow governments, megabanks, and military juntas in this edgy and subversive thriller that channels Fight Club by way of Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."

A young woman gets kidnapped and tossed into a prison in the middle of nowhere. There she has to learn to fight for her life, gets tortured, and in the process becomes a fighter against the shadowy conspiracies and organizations. Out of jail, she joins up with an underground organization seeking to bring those elitist conspiracies, while they themselves (at least for now) remain in shadows as well. So starts this mystery and conspiracy thriller. The volume is the first in a series, and it hooks you right in. The action begins right from the start, and the narrative keeps you hooked as you wonder just how deep things go. By the end of the volume, you will be wondering what may happen next. Add to it some solid and gritty art, and this is one to follow. 

This is a good selection for libraries that collect graphic novels. However, keep in mind it does deal with adult situations in terms of violence and sexuality, so this is not a title for kids. I would say adults and maybe upper teens. I will certainly be looking for the next volume in the series given there are still many unanswered questions at the end of this one.

4 out of 5 stars.

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Book qualifies for the following 2015 Reading Challenges: