A strangely esoteric but compelling narrative wrapped in a visual tour de force.
The champions of a vanquished city embark on a perilous adventure to locate the one magical being who just might be able to save the day in Kwong’s graphic novel.
Aye-Shan City has already been reduced to ashes, its few remaining survivors sent scattering in the opening pages of Hong Kong brothers Chi-Ho (the author) and Chi-Kit (the illustrator) Kwong’s sweeping and kinetic saga about the nature of war. Aye-Shan City may have been destroyed by the dastardly Zhehe people, but that just means that the stage is set for a City Builder—in this case the young Ocean Hacklin, heir to the great City Builder Yishan Hacklin—to rebuild Aye-Shan City all over again, using his superhuman Naoyang skills. Before that can happen, however, Ocean must team up with Shaman Ling Tiber; together, the duo, along with a comical company of other Aye-Shan City refugees, set out to locate the fabled Guardian Beast. Readers may see parallels between Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series and the story of the fallen city of Aye-Shan: Both set technology and the natural world at odds with each other. The Kwong brothers take the premise one step further in positing that war itself is just part of the natural cycle of things. There is a lyrical quality in both the writing (“The fighting song is loud and clear, the sound of nature changes the world”) and the illustrations. The latter seem to shift and morph into varying styles, some vibrant and colorful, others stark and black & white. At one point, speaking through imaginative speech balloons in prose that gives it an ethereal air of nobility, the mighty Guardian Beast laments how it was overcome after the Zhehe people “tempted Aye-Shan people to engage in lewd acts, which generated negative energy and weakened my power.” Will the Zhehe people and the inhabitants of Aye-Shan City ever break free of this cycle of destruction and creation? That depends on what the Kwong brothers next have in store for readers.
A strangely esoteric but compelling narrative wrapped in a visual tour de force.Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2025
ISBN: 9781545819029
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Nakama Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions.
A teenage girl refuses a medical procedure to remove her heart and her emotions.
June lives in a future in which a reclusive Scientist has pioneered a procedure to remove hearts, thus eliminating all “sadness, anxiety, and anger.” The downside is that it numbs pleasurable feelings, too. Most people around June have had the procedure done; for young people, in part because doing so helps them become more focused and successful. Before long, June is the only one among her peers who still has her heart. When her parents decide it’s time for her to have the procedure so she can become more focused in school, June hatches a plan to pretend to go through with it. She also investigates a way to restore her beloved sister’s heart, joining forces with Max, a classmate who’s also researching the Scientist because he has started to feel again despite having had his heart removed. The pair’s journey is somewhat rushed and improbable, as is the resolution they achieve. However, the story’s message feels relevant and relatable to teens, and the artwork effectively sets the scene, with bursts of color popping throughout an otherwise black-and-white landscape, reflecting the monochromatic, heartless reality of June’s world. There are no ethnic or cultural markers in the text; June has paper-white skin and dark hair, and Max has dark skin and curly black hair.
A fast-paced dip into the possibility of a world without human emotions. (Graphic speculative fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780063116214
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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