Copper
By Kazu Kibuishi
Graphix

At the close of Amulet: Book One, there’s a clear sense that the reader is standing on the cusp of something huge—author Kazu Kibuishi has offered up mere hints of the world he plans to explore over the course of his story. The sheer possibility of scope is reason enough to be compelled to pick up further volumes of the story, and—along with Kibishi’s stunningly rendered fantasy artwork—has led artist like Jeff Smith to declare themselves big fans of his work.

The expectation of such scope is also something a detriment upon picking up Copper. Where much of Amulet’s appeal lies largely in Kibuishi’s slow but steady reveal, Copper’s stories subscribe to a form of storytelling akin to that of the syndicated strip. Each story in the book presents a new universe for the titular boy explorer and his worried but obedient talking dog, Fred. And then, after a page or two, that window is closed and our protagonists are back at square one in a new world.

For this reason, those who hoped for more of Amulet in Scholastic’s new collection of Kibuishi’s Web strips, may find Copper’s storytelling a bit jarring at first. It’s a book built on a vastly different rhythm than the artist’s other work. When one takes into account comparisons by critics to strips like Calvin and Hobbes, however, Kibuishi’s intentions become much more clear. Copper is not an overarching epic tale, but rather a collection of epic vignettes, if one can forgive the seemingly self-contradictory phrase.

There are adventures, no doubt, beyond the final panel of each strip. Kibuishi could, likely, construct an entire volume from nearly ever micro-adventure contained herein, but opts to leave that work for his young readers, instead closing each with a joke or sentiment—or, from time to time, forgoing such punctuation to embrace the stories’ own open-endedness.

It’s a testament, of course, to Kibuishi’s own gifts as an artist and storyteller that he’s capable of crafting an absorbing world in a few short pages. In that respect, Copper feels like something of an exercise for the artist—a change to step away from the inevitable monotony of working on a multi-volume book. Kibuishi embraces the opportunity, crafting with aplomb a broad swath of landscapes, from space stations to desert islands to graffiti-covered subway trains.

The book’s plucky duo are merely visitors in Kibuishi’s sketchbook, but thankful the artist has imbued both with enough character to hold their own in amongst their elaborate settings. Whether flying hand built planes, manning submarines, or just fishing leisurely in a pond, the dynamic between Copper and Fred is the common thread between the geographically diverse strips.

In fact, the combination of strong characters and restless settings may prove perfect for young readers who don’t yet possess the comprehension or patience to make their way through full-length graphic novels. Kibuishi also sweetens the pot with a “behind the scenes” exploration of his creative process—inspiration, no doubt, to a generation of budding cartoonists.

–Brian Heater