Wonderful artwork and thought process on what makes you 'you'. The flashback style made things difficult to understand, and I had some unanswered questions. Almost like a more intimate modern day Frankenstein.

This was definitely different from anything I normally read in terms of format. But the themes and even plot points felt very familiar. I think reading this between Geek Love and Parasite has leeched some of the creativity out of it for me. But the illustrations were beautiful and unsettling. Overall I’m really happy I stepped outside my comfort zone for this one!

“Upgrade soul” is magnificent and enthralling. It is like nothing else I have ever read and I am going to want to read it over and over again. It strikes the perfect balance of realism and other-worldliness common place in works like The Twilight zone. The book follows Hank and Molly, a sci fi writer and his wife, a doctor, when they decide to invest in and be the firs subjects for an underground cloning experiment that promises new and improved bodies with their consciousness. What comes out of the experiment is like nothing I have ever seen or they (or their doctors) ever expected. This books drawings are anatomically extreme and clean and the coloring is straight out of sci-fi horror. I would recommend this book to anyone but especially those who want to really get lost in a story and have a million questions after and can’t stop thinking about it. This book has exactly the right amount of characters and moves around on the timeline before and after Hank and Molly’s transformation/operation procedure with ease and grace (its PERFECTLY scripted and edited). Read this book. Also the cover doesn’t look anything at all like the art in the book, spoiler alert.

Fantastic sci-fi story, fantastic art. An employee at a comic book store suggested this to me and I'm so glad they did because no one I know had read it. Now I suggest it to anyone who loves graphic novels!

When I finished Upgrade Soul my first thought was, "Well, that was creepy AF." I love Ezra Claytan Daniels' work, from [b:BTTM FDRS|42123830|BTTM FDRS|Ezra Claytan Daniels|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564557266l/42123830._SX50_.jpg|65720878] to his writing on Doom Patrol and this book embodied the same creative, political weirdness.

The story revolves around an elderly couple who decide to take part in an experimental "upgrade cell" procedure to de-age and improve their bodies to live longer. The experiment goes horribly wrong, and the couple and a cast of interesting supporting characters have to navigate the social, ethical and emotional implications. It's creepy and tense, a sci-fi horror-adjacent melodrama. I read the app edition on iPad and recommend it. It includes an immersive soundtrack and animations that give a bit of depth and movement to the art while still preserving the comic book style. It's possible that reading this version helped me to follow the story, including its flashbacks, given the changes in soundtrack.

Equally fascinating, thought-provoking, and moving. This tells a disturbing tale of science gone wrong, grounded in very commonplace moments and the complex emotions enmeshed with identity and love. Highly recommended.

This one has a lot to think about. The art style is somewhat choppy, but I'm not really sure I'd want to see Henry and Manuela in a more realistic style as it might be harder to identify them as sentient beings and I think Daniels definitely wants us to consider them as such for the sake of argument.

Anyway, I love Frankenstein "We can, but should we?" type art, and this is good existential and ethical brain fuel.