By the time I got to chapter two in Kloud 9: The Star Soldier by AJ O. Mason I decided it reminded me of a much lighter Covenant by Lysandra Vuong (and I mean much much much lighter) and later on it would remind me of Heartstopper by Alice Oseman and Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries (both on the lighter side). 
Or at least the dynamic between Kal and Cosmo and the protagonists of the other stories are similar. The big difference is that in this case Cosmo is a naive alien (like “outer space alien) and Kal is a down on his luck teen bouncing around foster homes human and Covenant is about a possible demon who will end the world and his exorcist priest slash guardian angel human; Heartstopper has no magic other than the sparks between our characters and Strange Bedfellows are humans (some supernatural) but in space. All these graphic novels have a strong LGBTQ theme going on from page one.
When the action started in Kloud 9 I got School for Extraterrestrial Girls by Jeremy Whitley vibes with their alien and human mixtures (mostly humanoid aliens, one Earthling but as Cosmo says, Kal as a human is an alien to him…) and the lighthearted presentation of serious themes. They are fighting “the good fight.” They are learning that things are not as they seem. It is Good vs. Evil; Bad Guys against Good Guys (though the Bad Guy is supposed to be a Good Guy but has some Machiavellian ideals). The ending battle gives you Teen Titans-Superhero action. Pretty typical fantasy-action tropes.
Things move slowly at first, but when the fighting happens it is wham bam goodbye bad guy. Everything happens within panels, not pages or a few chapters as a novel would. This fast pacing sometimes creates holes in the story and/or things happen too quickly to be fully believable. But in the end, everything is lighter, brighter, fun, not ha-ha funny but amusing (especially the colorful artwork, with its background role) and just a nice, fun read.
Due July 2026, read via an online reader copy.
