The latest Explorer anthology explores the concept of doors and what’s behind them in a series of shorts that are by turns humorous, fantastical, sad, and inspiring.
Kazu Kibuishi opens the anthology with “Asteria Crane,” a mysterious story about a brave doctor tracking a boy through a strange landscape and, despite the warnings of her colleague, following him through a door that leads…where? Although some answers are given at the end of the story, it remains open-ended, allowing readers to think about the mysterious doors that lie within their own minds and memories. Kibuishi’s well-known style is cinematic and smooth, with expressive faces and deep landscapes that stretch away into the distance, hinting at more hidden secrets. The characters are intermittently outlined in softly glowing white or blue lines, increasing the story’s otherworldly feel. Fans of the Amulet series will be pleased to see another offering from Kibuishi, even though they might want more closure or exposition of the plot.
The second story, “The Giant’s Kitchen,” is written by Jason Caffoe, a frequent collaborator with Kibuishi. His style is different, though, with fuzzier lines and more cartoon-like faces and expressions. The story features two magic-users with very different approaches to magic who get lost on a wild adventure. Briar, the main character, encounters a magical world where she learns a different perspective on spells and life. Many of the strange characters and dialogue are reminiscent of Miyazaki’s film Spirited Away, and fans will definitely connect to this short story.
After these two fantastical adventures, the book moves into a more realistic vein with Jen Wang’s short, “Lius 2.0.” Luis is an ordinary boy who, after a particularly miserable day at school, makes an extraordinary discovery that allows him to reinvent himself. But is that really what he wants? The art has a sketchy, doodled style with lots of pencil-strokes and crosshatching. The “be yourself” message isn’t unique, but it’s a different perspective on it and will definitely resonate with kids who don’t feel like they fit in anywhere.
There’s no explicit fantasy in Faith Erin Hicks’ “Two-Person Door,” but the possibility of a fantastical adventure is right around the corner…or is it? In a rural, loosely Asian village, a young boy dreams of exciting adventures and fighting monsters. When he finds a mysterious door he thinks his dreams are about to come true, until the Guardian of the Door tells him he can’t pass through without a companion. And not just any companion—he has to have a girl. Where will Shiro find a girl willing to go on a dangerous adventure? If he does find one, will they have the adventure he’s always dreamed of, or will he get a different perspective on life? Hicks’ wide-eyed characters display strong emotions, and their status as children on the brink of an adventure is emphasized by the looming trees of the mysterious forest. There is a sharp contrast between the dark greens and blues of the forest and warm earth-tones of Shiro’s home, a contrast that reinforces the story’s struggle between adventure and family.
Steve Hamaker brings back his characters “Fish n Chips” in the short “Spring Cleaning.” Jaxer, a super-intelligent fish in a robot suit, and Clave, his anthropomorphic cat assistant, are doing a little spring cleaning in the lab when they discover some old experiments behind a hidden door. But the experiments aren’t the kind of thing you want on the loose, and their close friendship will soon be tested on a dangerous adventure. There are lots of explosions, deadpan humor, and a slick, digital animation style to the artwork, but the story somehow still falls flat, with not enough humor to sustain the bland plot and characters. Fans of the Explorer anthologies will probably be pleased to see these recurring characters, but those new to the books will be confused by the lack of plot or character development.
I was personally thrilled to see a story by Johane Matte included, one in which the cat Horus plays a significant role. “Mastaba” is set in an Egyptian tomb, as a grumpy spirit laments his descendents’ lack of proper respect and his boring and lonely days. But things get a lot more exciting when visitors show up; unfortunately, they’re not the people he’d hoped to see! Will his unwelcome visitors discover the secret door hiding his mummy, or will an unexpected friend save the day? Matte’s humorous cartoons are richly colored and skillfully drawn, with every panel advancing the action from the quiet beginning in the tomb to the wild chaos of the city streets. Although some of the more thoughtful parts of the story may fly over the heads of kids, the humor and antics of the various characters are sure to tickle their funny bones.
The final story, “When is a door not a door?” by Jen Breach and Douglas Holgate, returns to the fantasy adventure genre, with a door reference that caps the anthology neatly. Lato, an adventurous girl, is off on a wild journey through a Scandinavian fantasy world, dodging the many strange and dangerous creatures she encounters with skill and confidence. But when she encounters a mysterious door and gets into trouble, will her knowledge of the forest and its inhabitants be enough to save the day? The art in this story has a more rustic, earthy feel with lots of leafy detail, squirming worms, and grotesque creatures. Lato is a spindly, determined character with lots of enthusiasm and stubbornness, even if she hasn’t quite grown into her feet or herself yet.
The book ends with a brief listing of the contributors and a few sentences about each one. The theme of hidden doors, whether they’re real, magical, or in your own mind, permeates each of these stories, binding them together into a solid roster of shorts that cover a wide range of interests and styles in graphic art and stories. Although anthologies can be a hard sell, the outstanding artistic ability and intriguing subjects of these shorts make this a worthy addition to a must-have series of anthologies.
Explorer: Hidden Doors, vol. 3 by Kazu Kibuishi, Jason Caffoe, Jen Wang, Faith Erin Hicks, Steve Hamaker, Johane Matte, Jen Breach, Douglas Holgate ISBN: 9781419708824 Amulet, 2014 Publisher Age Rating: 9 and up
Kazu Kibuishi returns to the complex world of Amulet in the fifth book in the series, Prince of the Elves. While this book continues the story of several main characters, it focuses mainly on Emily’s journey to discover why she was chosen as a stonekeeper and her role in the fate of the alternate fantasy world. The story opens with a flashback to the childhood of the renegade stonekeeper, Max Griffin. In a desperate attempt to save his elf friend and himself, he defied his father and the king and became an outcast fugitive. Back in the present, Emily and her friends are scrambling to keep up with events after Max’s betrayal and the discovery of deep-rooted corruption and dark secrets in the previous volume. Under the guidance of Vigo, Emily discovers more unsettling truths about the stones and continues her uneasy alliance with the elf prince Trellis. More of Trellis’ history is revealed through a dangerous trip back through time. Meanwhile, Emily’s younger brother Navin and their human, animal, and mechanical friends are experiencing their first battle. In a final sequence, Emily accepts the stone’s challenge to play its mysterious game.
The galley provided for review had color only for the first 28 pages, Max’s flashback. However, Kibuishi’s gorgeous art shows through even the gray shades. Mysterious caverns and islands, the strange dream world of the stone, explosive air battles, and more spread out through the story in Kibuishi’s trademark cinematic style. There’s nothing lost in the smaller details either; there’s a simple poignancy expressed in just the shape of Navin’s eyes as he watches a friend and her father, Trellis becomes a more relatable character as the reader follows his facial expressions during his interactions in the past, and Emily’s calm resignation and the haunting atmosphere of the mysterious cavern and statues she passes through to accept the game in the tense final moments of the story, are all drawn with imaginative detail and perception.
The Amulet series has a powerful theme of choices running through it and this latest title continues that theme, facing the characters with decisions that will impact everyone. Emily and Navin continue to struggle with the responsibilities thrust upon them: Navin in the army where he has his first experience with war, and Emily on the metaphysical and physical planes, as she fights to control her stone and understand the deadly secrets that surround her. The story takes a darker turn as the reader begins to see the darkness behind the stones and the grim consequences of choices made decades before.
It’s necessary to read the previous four volumes to figure out what’s going on and who the characters are in this latest installment. There have been major changes in loyalties and alliances and without the backstory the many different plotlines can get confusing fast. However, this won’t be a problem for the many enthusiastic Amulet fans waiting for the next story. The price for the library bound edition is a bit painful, but well worth the investment. Hand volume one to fans of Bone and Missile Mouse, as well as middle grade kids who like fantasy adventures with plenty of plot twists and cliffhangers, and stock extra volumes of this latest installment for dedicated fans who can’t wait to see what happens next in the world of Amulet.
Amulet, vol. 5: Prince of the elves by Kazu Kibuishi ISBN: 9780545208895 Scholastic Graphix, 2012
Nearly a decade ago, my wife and I attended the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco and happened across the booth of a polite, unassuming young man named Jason Shiga. We purchased a couple of intriguing books from him, one of which was called Meanwhile — an amazingly complex graphic novel reminiscent of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure book series. With black and white photocopied pages and jutting tabs neatly cut by hand, the amount of physical labor that clearly went into creating each copy of Meanwhile was dwarfed only by the mental effort it must have taken to plan out the numerous narrative paths readers can follow. It was no surprise to learn that Shiga holds a mathematics degree and utilized a specialized computer algorithm to plan the story flow. Mindboggling, to say the least!
Thankfully, someone at Amulet Books recognized Shiga’s brilliance and the general public can now enjoy the brain-bending experience that is Meanwhile. Completely remade with redrawn, colorized artwork and sturdy plastic pages, the new iteration of Meanwhile is a delight. Though the intended audience may be juveniles, adults will also find themselves drawn in by the book’s unique approach to visual layout and storytelling, not to mention its cerebral subject matter.
The story focuses on Jimmy, a young boy who doesn’t realize making a choice between chocolate and vanilla ice cream will lead him on wildly different adventures involving such heady topics as time travel, mind reading, and the annihilation of every living create. As the storylines progress, readers can make choices that affect how the narrative unfolds. According to Shiga’s calculations (and given his mathematical chops, I’m not going to doubt him), there is a whopping total of 3,856 story possibilities. The plot progresses from panel-to-panel in an atypical manner, going in just about every possible direction across the pages. However, as daunting as this sounds, following along isn’t necessarily difficult thanks to color-coded lines that lead between panels and across page tabs so as to guide readers where to turn next.
One thought that struck me as I was reading Meanwhile is that it is one of the best examples of a physical book that would not work as well in an electronic format. While I’m sure some clever programmer (or maybe even Shiga himself) could whip up an ingenious touch screen-based version of Meanwhile, the visceral joy of sliding your finger along the colored lines and turning the pages to see where the path leads next would be difficult to replicate via software. The book is as much a physical plaything as it is a comic.
Unfortunately, as super-powered as Shiga’s brain may be, his artistic ability is not quite up to the same standard as his planning and layout skills. Shiga’s drawings are certainly cute and have their appeal, but when considering the ridiculously intricate flow chart that comprises the story possibilities, it’s more than a little disappointing that the visuals aren’t anywhere near as robust as the structure they reside in. If Shiga had focused solely on the flow of Meanwhile and left the visuals to the likes of John Pham or Chris Ware, the book could have been an absolute masterpiece. As it is, it’s still a fantastic effort and one whose originality is not going to be replicated any time soon.
Meanwhile: Pick Any Path — 3,856 Story Possibilities by Jason Shiga ISBN: 9780810984233 Amulet Books, 2010 Publisher Age Rating: 8+
Renting a place can be a pain, but when you live in a city like New York, it’s probably your only option. You can’t change the paint scheme, you’re surrounded on all sides by neighbors, and your security deposit never gets returned. Particularly when some Godzilla wannabe tears open your bedroom wall and kidnaps your girlfriend.
This is the opening chapter of Fred Chao’s Johnny Hiro, a charming slice-of-life story that also has its fair share of celebrity cameos, ninja sushi chefs, IT samurai, and the cast of Night Court. It’s a wonderful mix of silly and serious, examining the real-life problems of Johnny and Mayumi, a couple struggling to keep their apartment, their jobs, and their relationship intact.
Johnny is a busboy aspiring to become a sushi chef. He just wants to make enough money to get by without worrying about crippling debt, an issue to which many of us can certainly relate. The trouble is, bizarre things keep happening to him. Like a prehistoric monster tearing down his bedroom wall, bent on revenge against his girlfriend’s family. Try explaining that to your landlord. Or murderous ronin-businessmen trying to take out an old friend while attending a $20 matinee at the Metropolitan Opera. Life just keeps throwing Johnny curveballs and he knows he can’t avoid them forever.
I first picked up Johnny Hiro on the recommendation of my local comic book gal (shout out to Fantasium Comics in Federal Way, WA — The store owner, Paula, has been exceptional when it comes to recommending books for my library’s collection.) and really enjoyed it. I had fallen hard for Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim and this comic is done in a similar vein, though less over-the-top. While being chock full of surreal action, Johnny also struggles with very real debt, and Fred Chao uses that to explore issues of self-worth as well as finding (and keeping) happiness. The end of the story doesn’t take place with an epic fight for Mayumi’s love, but rather in a courtroom, dealing with the repercussions of the busted wall. There’s no solid resolution, which does make the book feel a bit incomplete, but isn’t that life?
Chao’s drawing style is sketchy and loose, conveying the fast-paced action as Johnny is chased around the city. His characters are a little generic-looking, which poses a problem for a book that has so many celebrity cameos — I often relied on the dialogue to tell me who was whom. That being said, Alton Brown’s numerous appearances are hilarious and a great send-up of Good Eats. Chao knows his dialogue and is spot-on with the chef, as well as with the cast of Night Court. What Chao manages to strongly capture with his art is New York City. The city itself is such a strong presence that it becomes a character. It makes and breaks people, presenting dead-end alleys, crowded buildings, and sprawling streets.
Readers looking for an ethnically diverse main character will find that, while Johnny is “Half Asian, All Hero” (great subtitle!), his ethnicity is not the focus of the story. We see some cultural bias with Mayumi and I would have liked to see her featured more prominently. However, both characters are compelling and fans of surreal slice-of-life stories sprinkled with pop-culture references will enjoy Johnny Hiro.
Johnny Hiro by Fred Chao ISBN: 9781935233022 AdHouse Books, 2009
Don’t let my pithy commentary and safe comments about the art let you forget this fact: Ichiro is an impressive accomplishment.
To a point, I understood the craze that American Born Chinese got. It was a neat blend of myth and a great portrait of the balancing act an American citizen with cultural ties needs to heckle with. Not that there’s anything wrong with American Born Chinese, but I think I really wanted that book to be Ichiro.
Ichiro explores a very similar idea, but I love Ryan Inzana’s interpretation of it. From page one you know that you’re in for a luscious visual treat. A tale of a tanuki is retold with brilliant colors and a heavy-handed inking brush. The style isn’t a line for line playback of a Japanese brush painting, but enough of it is suggested that that influence is felt. This choice is especially strong because when the story shifts to the present day, the styles don’t clash at all.
When the tanuki’s story closes, the curtain rises on the eponymous Ichiro. A young New York native, Ichiro and his mother are all set to go visit her father in Japan. This is where you’re first introduced to Ichiro’s problem. He’s half Japanese and half American, and feels out of place in both. Having lost his father at a young age, Ichiro wants to address his confusion, but is lacking half of a crucial equation. His mother has no worries, but Ichiro is searching for answers. He’s not sure how to handle the prospect of visiting a home country that is so alien to him. (In the first few pages, Ichiro’s treated to his first taste of natto.) He might be technically from there, but it will take a lot more to make him appreciate Japan.
That is where the introduction to Grandpa Sato is quite handy for Ichiro. Reuniting with a grandfather he can’t remember promises to be a very educational experience. His grandpa can not wait to take him to all of the sites and temples and everything Japan has to offer. Most tantalizing about this sequence is that the reader gets to take the journey with Ichiro. The grandfather doesn’t glorify Japan, he relates its history, both wondrous and atrocious. And, as with any good retelling, as many myths as can be included are.
The greatest part about how engaging the whole story has been thus far: what I’ve summarized only comprises half of the book.
The seemingly random tanuki tale at the start of the book comes back in a huge way in it’s middle. And while such a mythical distraction may seem to take away from what was a nice slice-of-life yarn, that’s not the case with Ichiro. Somehow by taking Ichrio out of this world, Inzana is able to find resolution to so many of Ichiro’s internal conflicts. While it may be odd that for the rest of the book the line between reality and fantasy is shaken, the trade off in adventure and a sense of wonder more than make up for it.
The art in Ichiro is just as praiseworthy as the story. One of my favorite choices is in Inzana’s use of colors. Specifically, that the human portions of the tale don’t have any. It’s as if the only items with enough life are myths. The few items that do get a dash of color in mostly grayscale pages can all be related to myths: the sun, persimmons, festival masks.
When the story changes, much more of the artwork is in color. It immediately establishes the tone of a different plane, despite how weird the circumstances are. Somehow Inzana makes it easy to follow Ichiro through his offbeat journey.
Overall, Ichiro is a story Americans empathize with. It is such a detached feeling to know you’re American but you’re also __________. That there are lands and cultures and dynasties that are a part of you. Somehow. It’s a turbulent role, but one that by the close of the book, Ichiro is ready to embrace.
Ichiro by Ryan Inzana ISBN: 978-054725269 Houghton Mifflin , 2012 Publisher Age Rating: 12 and Up
Through a portal to another world lies the realm of the Stonekeepers. Emily, a young Stonekeeper, has been traveling through this world, first to find her mother then to discover why she was chosen to become a Stonekeeper and all that that means.
As book four opens, Emily, along with her mother, brother and traveling companions, are on their way to Cielis to talk with the Guardian Council to get advice and warn them of the Elf King’s imminent attack. But when she arrives she is separated from her friends (who get to have a few adventures of their own) and not allowed to talk with the Council until she passes tests to prove her worthiness. Nothing is as it seems and everything is grimmer that it should be. The city is almost deserted and the few remaining people are afraid. What trickery is afoot in Cielis? Emily must figure it out quickly for she is by herself and must try to make new allies and use what knowledge of Stonekeeping she has learned so far to stay alive.
Even though this is book four and there is no Summary of What’s Happened So Far, it is not that hard to follow the story if you want to start out here. It’s clear enough for the most part who is a friend and who may not be a friend. Kibuishi manages to make the action both complicated enough to keep the reader guessing about what will happen next and yet simple enough that someone could pick up this volume and not be too lost as to what is happening.
I love Kibuishi’s artwork. He inks clear dark lines with no sketchiness so the drawings are easy to read. The color adds depth and clarity. It makes it easier to immerse yourself in the world of Amulet. I love the fantastical shapes of the landscape – tall spires of rocks, tucked away coves sheltered by a lone tree, strange underwater caves – Kibuishi’s imagination knows no bounds. The world of Amulet just keeps getting better.
Amulet is a good series for ages nine and up: no blood, no sex, mild fighting, some suspense and betrayal.
Amulet, vol. 4: The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi Art by Kazu Kibuishi ISBN: 978-054520887 Graphix, 2011 Publisher Age Rating: 8 and up
Emily and her brother Navin have moved into their Great-Grandfather Silas’ house after their father dies. They and their mother are looking for a new start, but they don’t expect it to come in the way that it does. Their mother is kidnapped by a tentacled beast and dragged into another world. When Emily and Navin follow her, they discover a destiny that links them to their ancestors. Together they will meet strange new friends, face deadly enemies, and brave the darkest secrets of their own hearts.
The Amulet series is an ambitious undertaking. In the first three books, Kibuishi begins crafting a layered fantasy adventure that features a legion of characters, a wide variety of locales, and many elements that will be familiar to fans of hero’s quest style fantasy and science fiction. The question is whether or not he will be able to tie all of those elements together at some point in order to end his series coherently. Even three volumes in, it’s hard to tell exactly where he is headed with his story. Kibuishi has offered a lot to his readers and expects them to keep up with him. That’s not a bad thing for a creator to do, but with about a year between each volume, that does mean that libraries should expect a good amount of re-reading of previous volumes.
The elements that tie all three books together so far are Emily and her brother. Emily discovers that she is a Stonekeeper, a person chosen to wield a magical stone. The problem is that the stone’s motives are not as benign as they might first seem…
Amulet, vol. 1-3 Kazu Kibuishi Volume 1: The Stonekeeper: ISBN 978-0-439-84681-3 Volume 2: The Stonekeeper’s Curse: ISBN 978-0-439-84683-7 Volume 3: The Cloud Searchers: ISBN 978-0-545-20885-7 Scholastic/GRAPHIX, 2008-2010
Only the Ringer Finger Knows, based on a prose novel, is one of the best titles for introducing the romantic subgenre of shonen-ai/yaoi (boy’s love) in any library. The story follows Wataru Fujii, an ordinary junior struggling through high school and passing the time tracking the trend of students using rings as cues: couples wear matched rings on their left ring finger, singles wear rings on their right middle finger. Senior Yuichi Kazuki, admired throughout the school as handsome, kind and popular, is the object of every girl’s affection. Every time a girl screws up the courage to ask him out, however, he politely declines. Wataru can’t care less until he runs into Kazuki and the two boys discover they wear matching rings. Wataru is flabbergasted but relatively unfazed until Kazuki snipes contemptuously at him and rushes out of the room. Irritated but curious as to how someone so universally acknowledged as kind could be so rude, Wataru attempts to figure out where he took a wrong step. To complicate things, Wataru’s sister appears to succumb to Kazuki’s charms and sends Wataru on a romantic errand to Kazuki, starting a sequence of more confusing confrontations. In many ways this romance falls into the traditional pattern of two characters who can’t do anything but provoke each other until they realize the reason they’re so prickly is not repulsion, but attraction. These characters act like teenagers, full of awkwardness and confused by their own hormones, and the rocky road to love is understandable once all of the pieces fall into place and confessions are made. In terms of content, some steamy sexual tension and a few good kisses are all you get, but it’s just the right amount for the story. The art here is above par and the focus on slender hands and fingers both set off the rings as key plot points and gestures, ratcheting up the tension in a single touch. You understand why Wataru shivers.
Only the Ring Finger Knows ISBN: 9781569709801 by Satoru Kannagi and Hotaru Odagiri Digital Manga 2004
Nearly a decade ago, my wife and I attended the Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco and happened across the booth of a polite, unassuming young man named Jason Shiga. We purchased a couple of intriguing books from him, one of which was called Meanwhile — an amazingly complex graphic novel reminiscent of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure book series. With black and white photocopied pages and jutting tabs neatly cut by hand, the amount of physical labor that clearly went into creating each copy of Meanwhile was dwarfed only by the mental effort it must have taken to plan out the numerous narrative paths readers can follow. It was no surprise to learn that Shiga holds a mathematics degree and utilized a specialized computer algorithm to plan the story flow. Mindboggling, to say the least!
Renting a place can be a pain, but when you live in a city like New York, it’s probably your only option. You can’t change the paint scheme, you’re surrounded on all sides by neighbors, and your security deposit never gets returned. Particularly when some Godzilla wannabe tears open your bedroom wall and kidnaps your girlfriend.
