The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin

The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 (The Avant-Guards)

by Carly Usdin

As a transfer student to the Georgia O’Keeffe College for Arts and Subtle Dramatics, former sports star Charlie is struggling to find her classes, her dorm, and her place amongst a student body full of artists who seem to know exactly where they’re going. When the school’s barely-a-basketball-team unexpectedly attempts to recruit her, Charlie’s adamant that she’s left that life behind…until she’s won over by the charming team captain, Liv, and the ragtag crew she’s managed to assemble. And while Charlie may have left cut-throat competition in in the dust, sinking these hoops may be exactly what she needs to see the person she truly wants to be.

From Carly Usdin, the writer behind the hit series Heavy Vinyl, and artist Noah Hayes (Wet Hot American Summer) comes an ensemble comedy series that understands that it’s the person you are off the court that matters most.

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on

4 of 5 stars

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I received a copy of The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Avant-Guards is a new series to come from Boom! Studios, and it’s a fun and relaxing series full of character-driven plots. Oh, and there’s a decent amount of sports as well, so there’s that!
The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 introduces us to the Georgia O’Keeffe College of Arts and Subtle Dramatics (say that ten times fast) as well as the sports team (basketball, of course) and the characters drawn to it.
Charlie just transferred to this art school, and at first, she’s not so sure how she’s going to fit in. That is until she finds the group of misfits that is the school’s basketball team. They may not be the best out there (read: they’re not) but they sure do have a lot of fun on the court.

The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 was a really unique and fun read! It took no time at all to get invested in the characters, and even less time to start laughing and enjoying all of their antics and drama. This series is already proving to be the perfect escape for readers.
What I really love about The Avant-Guards is that it isn’t your typical comic book. It doesn’t take itself too seriously and instead is focused on capturing the lives of one very quirky basketball team. It’s fun and charming and is just a delight to read.
Carly Usdin (author) and Noah Hayes (artist) have done an excellent job of creating this world for us to enjoy. The characters are unique from one another, while easily falling into the realm of ‘real people’ status. So it’s easy to care about them and their adventures.
The artwork is brilliant, and is perhaps my favorite thing about the series (which is saying something). I love the colors used, as well as a lot of the throwback textural effects that were applied. It gives The Avant-Guards as cool and unique look about it.
I’m so happy that I found The Avant-Guards, as this is absolutely going to be a series I stick with. Though I might opt to read it by volume, instead of by issue. That just feels right in this case. But we’ll see how I feel as time goes by.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 7 December, 2019: Reviewed