Beauty by Kibuishi

I am newly in love with the work of Kazu Kibuishi, author/illustrator of graphic novels and the cartoon series Copper. Simply amazing.

Kids at the library had been reading this series and asking for it by name, which always means that if I haven’t read something already, I need to get on it fast. I don’t read a lot of graphics, they are not something I’ve naturally gravitated to, but I am so glad I picked these up. They are amazing.

The story begins with a pair of children and their parents in a car accident, from which everyone but their father escapes. Trying to start over, their mother moves them to an old family home left to her by an eccentric uncle. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that things get weird fast, right? This is, after all, the kick-off to a fantasy series, so soon enough, the uncle’s office and library nets a book and necklace with some interesting powers, the uncle dies and leaves his robots to look after the house and family, and strange noises lead the family down to the basement…

The story is the struggle to save an alternate world, its fate quite possibly in the hands of Emily, who is now a Stonekeeper and is learning to control the powers of the amulet she wears. The robots help, as does a fox who guides and teaches her. Along the way, they are joined by the Elf King’s son, who is rebelling against his father, and go on the quest to find the ancient council and save the world. I’ve just finished book 3, and am now thinking I may need to buy book 4, which continues the saga and just came out.

Any discussion of a graphic novel, though, is useless without talking about the art and wow, is there a lot to say here. The marriage of art and text is imperative in graphics, and each advance the plot and tell us about character and setting equally. This is so seamless here that you don’t even notice how well it’s handled. The characters are drawn in a deceptively simple style that keeps them cartoonish and accessible, which I like. But the real standout part for me is the world around them, which is stunning. Landscapes are rendered with a feeling of sweeping spaciousness, while specific buildings and trees are made nearly realistic with details. The use of colour layers on distance and mood to create a world that you can be immersed in as you read. I’ll say it again – amazing. I can’t say all that without showing you an example – here is a panel from inside book 2 (click to enlarge – it’s worth it):

Copper
by Kazu Kibuishi
Graphix (Scholastic)
ISBN: 978 0 545 09893 9
Audience: grades 3 and up

This book is a collection of comic strips from Kibuishi’s web comic, Copper. They are the adventures – real or imagined – of a boy and his canine companion, who talks with him as they go. They remind me very strongly of the Calvin & Hobbes comics when they would get philosophical, and these often make strong, important points, though it never feels preachy or cloying.

Their surroundings, as you can imagine from the same artist who created the image above, are beautiful and imaginatively rendered. I was not finding many of the really breathtaking spreads online, where more of the smaller strips are posted, but I wanted to give you a taste of this, as well, for though it is not the sustained narrative of a graphic novel, it has much to say and will appeal strongly, I think, to a contemplative child as well as fans of Calvin & Hobbes. I was quite taken by this lovely collection, and it’s part of what made me really want to pick up Amulet, which I loved.