This is the book I thought I was getting when The Wicked + The Divine came out. Pop music is magic and the people who can master it are gods, even if they don't know the spells. Like dropping the needle onto a record from your childhood, the Phonogram song still sounds as good as it did in 2009 when the band went on hiatus. They're back, and they're better than ever. Read Full Review

The Verdict: Fans of smart music commentary and criticism (which IS actually a pretty serious thing to some) and great supernatural thrillers will love Phonogram, but that's rather un-ironically obvious...don't you think? Read Full Review

Music has always been magic to me. This book goes to show that comics can be too. Read Full Review

Its a world Id like to spend more time in. Ill have an essay taking a deeper look at the series coming out soon. Read Full Review

If youre a music lover, this is an absolute must read. In terms of comics, Gillen and McKelvie have done it again, and you do not want to miss it. Read Full Review

The critical final sequence is as preordained as the title allows and launches The Immaterial Girl head-first into this new era of Phonogram that promises a different take on the idea of individuals who wield music like magic and affect people like songs. Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie are already industry heavyweights and The Immaterial Girl #1 is proof that they haven't lost their touch one bit. Read Full Review

There's a lot to praise in “The Immaterial Girl” (especially Clayton Cowles and his closed-captioning lettering for characters stuck in the TV world). Compared to the other entries in the “Phonogram” canon, it's the one with the most immediate sense of stakes. Moreover, it's the entry that really follows up on the series's major theme of people defining themselves with media. Kohl, Bingo, and even that Dexys Midnight Rider guy have all tried to define themselves through other's music with varying degrees of success. Now, it's Emily's turn. And this isn't the type of problem that can be solved by listening to Los Campesinos! for the first time. Read Full Review

I really enjoyed the previous 2 volumes of Phonogram, but it's been over 5 years since I read the last issue of “The Singles Club” in early 2010, so there are finer details of the series that I just don't recall that puts me almost, but not quite, in the same boat as people coming in fresh. I missed some of the nuances involved in back-references to previous issues. This is a case where it would be nice to have the TPBs that could be easily pulled off the shelf and re-read as opposed to 13 separate single issues that would need to be pulled out of (in my case) 13 different long boxes. BUT, the beauty of this issue was that I thoroughly enjoyed it even without that full command of all the references and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series. Give this a try if you're a fan of the creators, of music, or both. Read Full Review

I’m a new reader when it comes to Phonogram, so I was a little afraid that I might have missed out on something in the last decade or so. However, it was pretty easy to jump right in to. If you find yourself getting confused, Gillen has been kind enough to give us a glossary of key terms to know while reading, in the back of the issue. I’m liking this series, especially since it has rather cryptic undertones to it. I would definitely recommend this to a friend—and I’ll be keeping up with the series, too! Read Full Review

After devoting quite a bit of time to The Wicked + The Divine, Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie have finally returned to their other creator owned for a third (and apparently final) volume. This issue is as good a place as any to dive into the franchise. There are obvious connections to previous stories, but the focus shifts to a new character named both Emily and Claire (it's complicated). Read Full Review

It's great to see "Phonogram" return and, with "The Wicked + The Divine" being such a hit for Gillen and McKelvie, hopefully some of those readers will give "Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl" #1 a whirl. It's worth their time, and yours, too. Read Full Review

I think if I'm going to continue with this book, I'm going to have to go back and read at least “The Singles Club”, as Gillen suggested. While he was right, and I'm getting enough to enjoy this book on the surface, I think you have to have the backstory of these characters and the intro to the world to really get the full experience. I have a month, so I better get reading. Read Full Review

Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #1 is a welcome return for Gillen and McKelvie's high-concept baby, fleshing out an already compelling world with a haunting back-story for one of its most intriguing characters, Emily Aster. For new readers, it's more than a little overwhelming, and even moreso for the less musically inclined. Challenging and alienating it may be, but Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #1 is an impressively distinctive comic book all the same. Read Full Review

On the whole then, if you enjoyed books like The Wicked & The Divine and Young Avengers, then you dont need me to tell you that youll enjoy Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl. Its a high concept, original urban fantasy comic that should be really fun to follow in the months ahead, and with Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie and Matthew Wilson at the helm, you know youre going to be in for a wild ride. Even if youve not read any of their work before (and if you havent, where have you been? Their work is amazing), Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl is a must read. Read Full Review

As a reader new to Phonogram, I had concerns that this debut would be inaccessible. Thanks to the series having a strong protagonist in Emily, the story itself is quite easy to get into, but there are places where Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl is a little more cryptic. This is largely due to my own taste in music not overlapping with the many references in the story. Fortunately, Gillen has anticipated this need and created an entertaining glossary in the back of the issue. Other than that, most readers should be able to find something to enjoy Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl #1, and those looking for a more in depth understanding of the characters can retroactively visit the previous two collections of Phonogram. Read Full Review

I now want to go back and fill in my knowledge of Kohl and Emily and their strange little world, so this #1 has done its job… Read Full Review

It's a comic for a very specific audience and I'm afraid that's not me. Read Full Review