Welcome to the Georgia O ‘Keeffe College of Arts and Subtle Dramatics, an historically all-female school whose population is decidedly more drama geek than jock.

Liv, aspiring actor and basketball enthusiast, doesn’t understand why she can ‘t be both, but she seems alone in that belief… until Charlie.

Charlie is a recent transfer, a star basketball player, and the answer to all of Liv ‘s problems. She ‘ll stop at nothing to get Charlie to join the ragtag group of misfits that make up their fledgling basketball team.

There’s been a wave of western takes on sports manga with BOOM! Studios, through their BOOM! Box imprint, leading the charge in releases. The Avant-Guards is the latest entry into that genre following a basketball team for a very small school. Like those other series, this one knows that while the sport itself will deliver action, it’s the characters that will really bring us back. And, it delivers that and then some.

The first issue revolves around Charlie and what makes it work is delivering a story so many of us can relate to and empathize with. Writer Carly Usdin keeps it simple, so far, by focusing on a new student trying to figure out where they fit in. It’s something we go through, especially when it comes to school. Usdin also gives us a nice mix of characters with each being unique in their own way. And yet, it still makes sense this group would get together.

Noah Hayes‘ art with color by Rebecca Nalty and lettering by Ed Dukeshire is solid. The style is a bit on the cartoonish end of things but that style does well to compliment the tone of the comic which can switch between serious and humor. A different style, the story as presented might not work but there’s a nice balance between needs here. There character design is fun as well giving each a bit more personality and allowing us the reader to find out more about each without having to be told.

The Avant-Guards #1 is a fun debut that continues BOOM!’s successful steak of bringing the manga sports genre to western audiences. This is another fun one that delivers a solid set up with a nice mix of humor and emotion. Definitely one to check out this week.

Story: Carly Usdin Art: Noah Hayes
Color: Rebecca Nalty Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review