Back of Book: 

An accident brought Rex's career as an interplanetary bodyguard to an abrupt end. Now, he spends his time tending fruit trees and dreaming of his exciting past. One day, he gets an unexpected opportunity to pick up a ray gun again, but things aren't how he remembered them... 

Book Number: One 

Genre: Middle Grade | Graphic Novel | Science Fiction 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A middle grade graphic novelette that explores what it's like when your dreams finally come true but things aren't quite as you remembered them.

After an accident that caused Rex to lose one of his legs, his career as a bodyguard comes abruptly to an end. Now, he's stuck picking fruit on a distant planet where things are the same every single day. That is, until the planet gets a visitor who gives him the opportunity to pick up his old ray gun again. However, things don't feel the same and Rex begins to reconsider what he truly wants in life.

For a fifty page novelette, I really enjoyed the story of this one. I think many people can relate to Rex. He's stuck in a mundane lifestyle feeling like he has a bigger purpose to fulfill. But when he is given a chance to return to the lifestyle he once lived, he begins to reconsider his quiet life that he has come to appreciate immensely. I think the themes presented in this story are quite realistic, and people of many ages can relate to them.

This is the second short graphic novel that I have read by this author, and I can see immense improvements in the pacing, the art style, and the character development compared to the first one I read.

Overall, "Free" is a short and sweet graphic novelette that explores some great themes in a cute, easy to palate way. I enjoyed watching Rex grapple with his feelings and I look forward to seeing how Rex deals with their problems in the second installment of this series.