Project Nought

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Ren, running away to meet his pen pal, falls over in 1996 and wakes up in 2122. Along with his host Mars, fellow time traveller Phoebe and ex-member of the time travel education programme Jira, Ren finds himself at the centre of a mission to uncover the truth. It seems like time travel might be too good to be true. This was set in a future society that was queernormative and accepting, and there was lots of queer rep. Multiple characters were nonbinary. There was a m/m romance in the story. There were more characters of different sexualities. Project Nought is about a boy from the 1990s being brought to the future to participate in a time travel exchange program... Except is it really an exchange program when the kids from the past are just going to get their minds wiped at the end of the ordeal? 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.

There is sci-fi fun, friendship and romance abound in Project Nought. An interesting story with lots of surprises and heart, I adored this. And the author REALLY doesn't pull her punches when it comes to putting these characters in Situations and defying her own status quo. And everything that happens makes you question everything that ALREADY happened while exposing the secrets of this world in the best possible way. Thank you to the author, El and Harper Insider, and Harper 360YA, for sending me a proof in exchange for an honest review! 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. Project Nought is excellent at building up a the story and giving each plot beat its due. I feel like its a recurring issue (albeit an understandable one, given the time it takes to make them) with graphic novels that they often move way too fast and don't give you a chance to get invested in what's going on and the people it's happening to. Here, we have a clear understanding of all four of our leads and their wants and desires, as well as their relationship with the world they exist within.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.

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!This was great! Sci-fi, action, mystery, twists, humor, romance, friendship, lovable characters—a bit of everything, with beautiful art, to boot! Now to get into something I’m more neutral about, the characters. I don’t hate them, but I also don’t love them. I think Phoebe, Jia, and Tané were my favorites to see. Ren was alright, nothing special. I liked the little message at the end with him but eh, not an amazing MC imo. As for Mars, while I found him to get better later on, I think there should’ve been more consequences for him just…straight up not believing Jia. I wish they had stayed a bit mad at him still, or that he at least had not been fully forgiven. Something like “You’re my friend and I still love you, but just know that you trusting a company over me for 2 years stings.” Overall just didn’t feel like any of these characters got the full time to shine. They were likeable enough and drove the story forward, but I wouldn’t say I’m super attached to any of them. The art is great and the subtle shifts in style from perspective to perspective and character to character is both well-done and interesting. Mars, who is easily the most anime-esque character, gets given the full manga treatment occasionally. Ren, more cautious and guarded, is drawn in a way that’s more muted – even when they share the same panel. Thank you to Harper360YA for sending me an ARC of this graphic novel in exchange of an honest review. read it all in one sitting over the course of like 4? 5? hours (ignoring the three other books without pictures that i’m ostensibly reading right now) needed this so bad … like it hit! i needed to see a cute gay couple get together and have an adventure and it delivered. more than delivered. a lot of queer and trans characters which always heals me a little and was especially nice rn because i’ve been pissed off at cis people treating me badly this week. it got darker than i expected which wasn’t a bad thing at all like it was really good and i teared up multiple times (although never quite enough to let tears fall). i got the fluttering feeling in my chest that i am literally always chasing from stories and in life so that made me feel like a person again. i also laughed out loud a couple times which is impressive i don’t often laugh from books!! and beautiful beautiful art like it transmitted the action so well. facial expressions felt very real and during the emotional scenes they were honestly kind of brutal in a good way. loved the plot twist too 😼 i’m excited for the next book (there’s gotta be one … )

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. Ren and Mars are gay, Phoebe is bisexual, Jira is non-binary. Even the baddies are lesbians. It’s a wonderful contrast to hypermasculine superhero comics. My tweenage test reader found the storyline and especially the characters, “extremely relatable, other than the time travel bits.”

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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!

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 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!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. And when he crosses paths with the absolute last person he expected to see in the future, he has a bigger problem on his hands: What if Chronotech isn't the benevolent organization they claim to be, and he and his fellow subjects are in great danger? 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. An exemplary teen graphic novel that will cross interests of sci-fi, queer romance, adventure, and anti–big tech readers, gorgeously accessible." — School Library Journal (starred review) 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.