When she was just a girl, Abbie discovered a portal to a fantasy world and for the last couple of years has been having great adventures there: defeating horrible monsters, power-mad scientists, and evil nobles. She was a celebrated action hero! But when she turned twenty-one it all came apart and she decided to return home. Her sister, Mae, has had no idea what happened to Abbie all this time. Her tales are too hard to believe; that is, until the monsters and other terrible creatures start to cross over to our world . . .
This is Gene Ha's first time writing (aside from an Iron Fist story years ago) and it's surprising how good it is. Generally, when a creator specializes in a faction of the comics community, other aspects have their growth stunted. The story flows from this guy and I can tell he's been sitting on it for a while. He openly references places like Oz and Neverland to create a template image for the audience to base the portal world on. Some creators would shy away from that, but if this is to be believed as our world, the real world, then of course you'd use any pop culture you could to relay your point. The characters and races are unique to Mae and it reads like true conversation. Look forward to seeing where this is headed in months to come. Read Full Review
Mae manages to make you fall in love with a fantasy world you don't even see in the issue. The bond, or lack thereof, between sisters is intriguing and will make you want more. Above all else though, the art is jaw droppingly good from the colors to the layouts. Get this to be astounded in more ways than one. Read Full Review
The world Gene Ha created is a beautiful balance. The world as Mae has seen it is our world, Doctor Who reference awesomely included. The fantasy world, of which Abbie becomes the embodiment, has a definite style that is quite different than our own. We don't get the fantasy world just yet, but the hints and glimpses made me eager and excited for it. Ha's art beautifully depicts it all. Read Full Review
Mae#1 turned out to be an awesome read. I highly recommend it. This could very well be today's comic book form of The Wizard of Oz. It's a good break from the usual action packed superhero books, and a fun trip on a fantasy adventure. I look forward to the next issue and see where this adventure of two sisters reunited takes us. Read Full Review
Read this immediately if you can. It is a beautifully drawn, and expertly crafted story. I cannot wait to read more of this, and really am looking forward to learning more about where Abbie has been and what she had been doing. Read Full Review
Mae#1 tickles your sense of adventure for a fast-paced ride into the unknown. Gene Ha has written and illustrated a story that I can't wait to get more of.Mae satisfies my need for exploration while also digging into the unconditional love siblings bare for each other. Don't pass this one upif you're a fan of donning your expedition cap and trekking headfirst into strange exploits. Read Full Review
The issue itself manages to achieve a certain darkness without losing its optimism, teasing us with inevitable dramatic complications without letting anything overly-serious spill over and overwhelm the narrative completely. Mae is a tale over a decade in the telling, and Ha's exuberance for the material is barely contained in these beautiful pages. This glorious positivity makes for a comic that wears its heart on its sleeve, which, fittingly enough, makes it Midwestern as heck. Warm-hearted and immersive,Mae already feels like a comic series I've been reading, voraciously, for years and years. Read Full Review
A clash of characters in the first issue seems to suggest further conflict will erupt in the future. It leaves the reader wondering, what happens if Mae disappears and goes off with Abbie? There're a lot of unanswered questions in the first issue, but I'm confident they'll be answered in the future. Gene Ha truly delivers with this imaginatively dark comic, leaving a lot open to interpretation and leaving readers wanting more. This one teems with mystery and intrigue at what exactly Abbie's been doing and how Mae is going to fit into this whole scheme. Read Full Review
The past couple of years have seen a lot of creator owned books launch and some very strong works that have captured a lot of attention. Gene Ha's Mae is a book that damn well better join that list of elite titles that fans get excited over. I can see in six months of issues that this will be something that will generate some pretty intense interest if folks are willing to try something new. Ha's been one of those solidly strong working artists for decades and deserves and has earned fans taking a chance on something original from him, to take all that he poured into the world of comics and bringing something new to life. This is a strong debut across the board and has me excited to add to my already crowded and demanding pull list as a top-tier title. Read Full Review
Mae I can tell is going to be a book you want to keep an eye out. It has so much potential in story development, and just as much if not more in what can be created through Abbie's adventures in the other world that is crossing over into ours. Read Full Review
This first issue does have a few pacing quirks that stem from the fact that Mae was originally published as a graphic novel, but it's well worth a read for anyone who enjoys seeing fantasy and reality clash. Read Full Review
Mae is definitely a comic that depends on the reader to pick up the next book to see if these questions will be answered. As I said before, it has the chance of being something great, but only time will tell.There is a pinup section. Amanda Conner's name does not hurt one bit. Fans of her work will probably check the book out just for her. Read Full Review
Smooth and satisfying, Ha's solo effort is something for all fans of subverted fantasy. Read Full Review
The art is a blend of digital sleek and hand drawn sketchiness, with a muted color palette that switches to all blue/grey at every right moment. So far, the cast is all-white and all-female, but the hints of the plot allow for that to change. This a good start to a comic that has plenty of room to grow. I feel like I've just opened a door and am peeking around the edge to see what's on the other side. I'm walking through. If you're looking for a new fantasy title, you may want to also. Read Full Review
Perhaps its an unfortunate drawback of splitting a story into an episodic format that wasnt originally intended as such, but for me, this first issue didnt quite pop like I hoped it would. The characters are solid enough, but theres nothing in the premise yet that we havent seen a dozen times before. Yes, the artwork is as spectacular as you might expect, but Im going to reserve judgment on Mae until I get a chance to see where Ha is planning on taking his story. Read Full Review
Portal fiction is a great type of story to read if you’re interested in seeing new worlds, new creatures, new problems, solutions, and just to escape reality. I must commend Ha on taking on the huge task of starting a portal fiction piece, accepting the opportunity to create an entirely new world/dimension. This fantasy genre is a really interesting one, with new and unique concepts in terms of design and plot. I can’t wait to see more of the place that Abbie came back from! Read Full Review
Mae is a great idea for a comic, but it never quite feels like it makes the transition from graphic novel to ongoing series all that smoothly. The main characters look great, but some of the fantasy creatures look kind of generic and the supporting cast don't feel all that well developed. Not a bad first issue by any stretch, but it just didn't stand out as a must read comic. Read Full Review
It's been done a hundred times before and Mae shamelessly makes it 101. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with taking old tropes and using them to write your own story. The problem with Mae is that it does nothing original with these tropes, you've seen everything in this book before and you've seen it done better. Read Full Review
"Mae" #1 is nicely illustrated and populated with likeable characters, but the momentum of Ha's story is greatly slowed before it's even built up. Read Full Review
First, the art, including the character design, coloring and page layout, is amazing -- It's bold, stylized, sleek, and cold/dark all at the same time. The art also really complements the tone of the writing. The story is intriguing and generally well paced as it spends time establishing and developing characters and the relationships between them as well as hinting at en epic fantastical world that currently seems to lay just out of reach. There was even a bit of action, but it's brief and not as exciting as I would like. I think this is a great first issue and is seems to be skillfully setting up a wonderful series to come. If a bit more happened in this issue or if there was more action, I would have given this a higher score -- tho more
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