Battlecats Vol.1 GN: The Hunt for the Dire Beast (1) (2024)

This wasn't for me.

Heavy DnD vibes, and I didn't mind that, with Thundercats, but with art that felt like it was lacking everything it needed to be fun and exciting. The fights are uninspiring, the story is so simple it makes it go fast, so there's that, but I just barely could get into a non-existent story. I appreciate the advance copy but this one is...hard to recommend.

It was described to me by a rep of the publisher as "Thundercats crossed with Game of Thrones." Not sure about the GoT part but it is high furry fantasy.

Premise is standard fantasy hook, but with animal people, and feels a lot like a DnD game setting. They don't try to front load lore, which is a relief, but frequent references to past events left me wondering if I missed something.

Art is better then I expected for a largely unknown publisher and I'm sure it will continue to improve with time. Biggest complaint, and its fairly minor overall, is all the male characters have the typical power fantasy bulging muscles while females are all sex appeal. Also there were a lot of brown settings with similar looking big muscled cat warrior characters, it got confusing figuring out if it was a scene with the bad guys, the good guys or a flashback.

I am not blown away but I am curious to see if the series improves with time. The publisher has a few other titles of various genres. I might try a couple more if I find them.

All things considered, this series starts off pretty slow. It's a generic D&D style campaign with a five man band full of stereotypes. The quest has a twist that the heroes get punished for bringing up too. On the one hand this brings up the state of a vast world and how flawed some things are past the surface; one that admittedly ends a little too quickly. On the other, we have villains who are beginning to look more interesting.

Lord of the Rings meets Thunder cats meets Plant of the Apes in this incredible release from Mad Cave Studios. I first heard about Battlecats through a couple of recommendations on twitter, I’m so glad I listened and read this first volume. It seamlessly blends adventure, war and history. Of course I mean history in terms of the background of the comic and how the course of its history developed into the story presented to us. Obviously earth was never ruled by felines (don’t tell them I said that).

I quickly became a fan of Mark London upon my discovery of Mad Cave Comics after reading the first volume of Honor and Curse. Mark continues his divine storytelling throughout this first Battlecats story. Mark’s ability to world build is absolutely incredible, just when I thought, “I need some background here”, Mark duly delivered. His thorough background developed the story setting and characters masterfully and allowed me to enjoy the fight scenes without worrying about why it was even happening. Move forward to the present day in the story and Mark creates a fascinating dynamic between the characters whilst honoring the historical heritage and abilities of each region. Each character has their own personality traits that are displayed throughout the continuation of the story. Whether it be Mekkar’s comedy or Kaleera’s tenacity. The characters develop together and individually throughout the comic as they face harsh battles, mysteries and the wrath of a king.

Andy King and Michael Camelo do a stunning job with the artwork with each and every issue. Each of the Battlecats and other felines are designed with supreme detail, each with their own memorable features. Alejandro Giraldo and Julian Gonzalez compliment Andy and Micahel’s art with stupendous use of vibrant colourisation and true to story palettes. The fight scenes have darker palettes to compliment the peril, whilst the brighter palettes are used to show the divine moments and the beautiful forest colours of the Greenspyre region.

I absolutely adore the planet of the apes style setting with the incredibly brilliant characters of the felines. Battlecats is a true adventure comic that is not out of place with the greatest of adventure stories. I’m excited to dive into more volumes soon and I'll definitely be reviewing them also.

“That beast has been a menace for many years. Why does our king want it disposed of now and with such urgency?” - Kaleera

I love the way this has someone walking through a field of grain and dying – much like the first seconds of Gladiator when you can tell he carks it by the end (tell me it wasn't just me who saw that coming from the first frames). This is nowhere near even that film's quality, being a hodge-podge of fantasy tropes of old. We get some wishy-washy back story fragments, of who and how the Battlecats were founded, and more about the place they're in, and then it's just hack and slash. For some reason this seems aimed at kids and has a heck of a lot of bloody decapitations; for some reason they employed an artist who really can't draw good and clear combat action. And the FX lettered over it are no better.

Other reasons we seek in vain – why these are even humanoid cats in the first place. It might be daring for one to pee up against a tree, but that's not what cats do in the way shown here, so what is the point of having these characters being half-moggy in the first place? There really is a lot that seems to rely on you having an affinity for this franchise, and no attempt is made to bring anyone else in. For a newbie, it's more Smelly Cat than Thundercat.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC for Battlecats Vol 1.

This is Thundercats meets D&D comic. You can tell from the beginning that the author/artist was inspired by Thundercats with the look of the characters while the world looked like a generic D&D world.

I would have liked to have a more world building and character development. The reader is just thrown into the world with not much knowledge of what is going on. Who are the Battlecats and why should the reader care about them? There are glimpses of how the different kings ruled but not much how they became king. Then there are also references to events that are not shown or explained so as reader I was confused about why I should care about this.

This has potential to be a good high fantasy novel once it is fleshed out more. I give this 3 out of 5 stars.

First, thanks NetGalley and publisher for the early release copy.

Battlecats is a very unique story about an elite group of cats trained to protect their kingdom and to serve their king. As you read you learn more of their world and its history. The felines are very human-like in appearance.

I really enjoyed getting to know the history of Valderia and the battlecat warriors. It took me a few chapters to fully engage the story, but once it clicked, it was great! There are many pieces left unanswered, setting up a second volume. The names weren’t too hard to pronounce and it was a pretty quick, easy read.

There’s a lot of fighting, so plenty of blood, but not too bad. Some of the writing could just use another read through; there were errors that seemed like easy fixes.

I recommend to new comic people like me and any who enjoy new worlds and histories!

Thank you is in order to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy of this book

First off let me state that this book has some great potential but was ultimately just a let down. It is a good quick read of good vs evil but is really just a generic dungeons and dragons campaign if everyone wanted to play as the ThunderCats with out actually playing as a ThunderCat. There is way too many shouts to inspire a battle call but all just seem mediocre at best. FOR THE KING!!!

The art is decent but lacking in the background department to truly immerse you in the scenes it contains a lot of plain colored backgrounds.

Would only recommend to someone who is looking for a quick read or can get it for free.

This is like Thundercats meets D&D. It collects the first five issues of Battlecats: Hunt for the Dire Beast. I was new to this series and was a bit confused about who all the characters in the main party are. I wish there had been some sort of guide because there is so much action throughout this volume that we don't get a clear picture of who these characters are. They also reference events/things like the Skeleton Maze that I had no clue what they were. I did really like the art and really liked the concept. I just found it a little confusing overall..

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Battlecats Vol. 1 (Legacy Edition): The Hunt for the Dire Beast
by Mark London
A world building edition of Battlecat series. Giving the origins and remarkable history that created he independence of the well known Battlecats. The art work is very interesting, with a lot of recognizable aspects to the characters from dress and portrayal. The story is dynamic and easy to follow. It may serve as a broader beginning to remaking the series in the modern era.
I was sad not to see recognizable characters for the 80's cartoons.

The plot structure of this was just odd. The first two issues are the hunt for the dire beast then the third issue is an overview of the world of the Battlecats and the royal lineage, which becomes important in the fourth and fifth issue. It's (almost) like the first two issues are just an introduction to the Battlecats and their names (which was very confusing to me trying to keep track of who was who). It's not bad and I suspect that following volumes will get better.

This is more of a 3.5 stars, I think it has potential to be a really fun story and world once it's further fleshed out. London is trying to build a fantasy world and it's tough to do so in just a handful of issues. It might be a bit to simplistic in terms of dialouge and given that it is fantasy it could have used more text to help build the world faster. Either way I'm enjoying the high level concept and am digging into vol 2 now.

A comic book about cats…yes please. But a graphic novel based on a group of warriors made up of ripped and skilled kick ass felines called the Battlecats is chef’s kiss. I cannot wait to read more in this series. This is a typical building point for future volumes with some nice world building. The artwork is spot on! If you are into fantasy check this out (especially if you like cats!)

I liked it but at the same time I didn't. The art looked great. This is volume 1 of this serries however there's no world building or maybe a brief catch up on wtf is going on. I was very confused at first. This definitely seemed like a DND campain.

I like the art ,usually, but the story is pretty weak in the first few chapters as it is nothing but fantasy combat. Not my cup of tea I guess.

Review posted to Twitter (@AdamReadsComics) for MadCave Studios.

Decent but a slow immersion start

This took me bit to get into, it wasn't until the history lesson midway through that I got involved in the story. Part of the issue was not knowing enough of the stakes, setting, or characters. Things like how different are the felines from humans? They live hundreds of years, have magic, are they all the same race/ethnicity, and are the glowing eyes real or artistic flourish? Some more character dialog would have also helped learn the personalities of the protagonists.

This is the 2nd graphic novel I read from Mad Cave Comics Studio based in Miami, Florida. I read Midnight Task Force first because I was most looking forward to that comic. Now, I finished the first volume of Battlecats. I really liked the graphic novel, but I felt this was more of a "hack and slash" comic versus a story driven comic. Most of the scenes are battle scenes between the five Battlecats which is entertaining to read about, but I didn't feel as connected with the planet or the back stories between the characters.

Battlecats are the five cats hand picked from the five regions in Valderia. The Lion God planted a seed which led to the growth of Valderia. Since then, the planet has been split into five regions: Stormholt, Greenspyre, Il-Shavaar, Blackstone and Arkhovia. There's also four different season: Mourneve, Remembrance, Middernsun and Rorinahl. There's also four different moons on Valderia connecting the regions. Are you confused yet?? I felt this was WAY too much information given in such a short time. It felt very confusing to keep track of all this. I wish there was a page towards the end of the graphic novel where it had all of this listed, so I could use it as a reference as I read the book.

One thing I personally wish / hope will be explained in the next volume is what makes the Battlecats unique. They are: Kaleera, Vaela, Mekkar, Kelthan and Zorien. I know that Vaela is a healer, but that's about it. Instead of knowing the geographical locations of all the moons, I would have liked to know more about each of the Battlecats. The more I know about a character, the more I can connect with them.

The battle sequences are really well done. They are brutal, violent and evoke chaos within each panel. I think that's the biggest strength this comic has to offer.

Overall: I liked this, but it wasn't my favorite. I wish I would have gotten more info about the Battlecats themselves, less about Valderia the planet. I do intend to continue with the series, but it wasn't my favorite entry for Mad Cave Comics.

not that it’s bad but…

I bought it Because it was on sale and I was curious.
There isn’t a single big issue that I had with the book… but a bunch of little nitpicking things all added up to take away my enjoyment. The characters don’t seem to have middle gears on their emotions, no subtitle grades. The layout became formulaic… especially in how it tried to break out of formula.
It feels like a promising artists first book, with almost telling notes between the chapters as they take feedback on board and overcorrect.
I am also mid 40’s and I think a teen would enjoy this work a bunch more. The themes wouldn’t be as familiar and the full throttle energy more to their mindset.

Thundercats in a generic D&D setting. The Battlecats are a group of peak warriors in service to their king on a quest to kill someone. Each issue is padded out with 5-10 pages of wordless, graphic violence. It's fine but not much there to hold your attention for more than a quick read.