Grades 9-12 Transfer student Charlie is content to not get too involved at her new college, but determined, aspiring actor Liv will stop at nothing to get her to join her start-up basketball team, the Avant -Guards , even if it means she has to recruit the rest of the team members to subtly—or not so subtly—persuade her. Despite her reservations, Charlie finally agrees, and the team is surprised to learn at their first game that, hey, they’re not that bad! Amid all the basketball action, Usdin drops in plenty of backstory for the other team members and cultivates warm personalities through their comical interactions. Hayes and Nalty’s dynamic artwork in bright colors matches the cheerful tone and does a fantastic job of depicting the teammates, who are refreshingly diverse in skin tone and body shape. The figure designs nicely play up the personalities of the characters as well, and the basketball scenes are drawn with clear-cut action. This lighthearted ensemble story with a glimmer of romance is ideal for fans of John Allison’s Giant Days comics or Ngozi Ukazu’s Check, Please! (2018). -- Sarah Hunter (Reviewed 7/1/2019) (Booklist, vol 115, number 21, p46)

I received this a copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I've been reading graphic novels from Boom Box for awhile now. I love Giant Days, The Backstagers, Lumberjanes and Goldie Vance. All of these books stand out to me because of their diverse representation, strong female characters, and interesting storylines.

The Avant-Guards is no exception! I enjoyed the story, the illustrations and the cast of characters. I can't wait for the next one to come out! ( )

*Received via NetGalley for review*

A serviceable graphic novel about a transfer student rediscovering her love of basketball and making friends. I had a slight issue with the characters looking too young for college, but they're well drawn and colored. ( )

Even though sports isn't my thing everything else in this comic was. ( )

The first collection of issues of the comic The Avant-Guards, which follows the members of a newly formed women's basketball team at an arts college. I immediately fell in love with all of the characters here (especially Charlie and Liv, who the comic seems to be focused on, at least for now), and I love the diverse representation of races, sexualities, and religions. This gives me a little bit of a Giant Days feel, and I'm really glad to have something to look forward to reading as that series finishes up. ( )