Flowersteel (May)

Review from May 2026
Flowersteel was undoubtedly the most anticipated release this month. Being 8 months in the making it was perhaps the most anticipated release in the history of mechsplo as a whole. The first two parts have been put up and I think my top line thoughts on it are that I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.

So far we have got the first 10 pages. My favourite without doubt it 1-3 page 1 which I think is just a really well composed page. The art style is great and I think it really deftly meshes together the two opposing styles of the mechs and their pilots. K28 in particular is drawn really expressively which is great given her reactions to Hana are non-verbal and are all communicated through facial expressions are panel composition.

There is a bit of an odd feeling about it all though in that for the past several months we have been seeing concept images, descriptions of the characters and WIPs of the comic itself. And it isn't just the fact that I already know a lot more about the story than what we've been given in the first release but also that it feels like that very first drawing of the two of them communicated a whole lot more than the total of the first two missions. I will admit that my initial gut reaction was disappointment.

I quickly decided that this gut reaction is rather unfair though. Of course what we would see in the first release would not surpass 8 months of drawings and discussion. We've only seen the first 10 pages of something that Punkitt has mentioned as having planned schedule of fortnightly releases, there's more to come and I am excited to see it. I have to wonder if the read is different for someone who hasn't been following Punkitt on social media, who doesn't have that baggage of expectation that I brought to it.