MOONIE AND JUNIE

Sometimes the distance between friends can’t be measured in physical units.

Pale-skinned, dark-haired, spacesuit-wearing Moonette (Moonie for short) lives alone on the moon, with just her rocks collection for company. The astronauts who once explored the moon are no longer there; Moonie uses the junk they left behind to build her fort. Desperate for visitors, she writes a letter to “the Universe” requesting “a friend and snacks,” puts it in a bottle, and flings it into space. It finds its way to green-skinned Juniper Lee Holmes, a “Junior Space Explorer and Field Scientist” on a vacation to Mars with her parents. Junie, who has social anxiety, dislikes interacting with others. Still, she tosses the bottle back with a missive of her own, and friendship blooms. Science-minded but awkward Junie, who’s eager to gather data about the moon, wants to communicate at a distance; lonely Moonie wants to have fun in person. As a result, each looks past the real individual with whom she is talking. Moonie’s elaborate subterfuge gets Junie and her family to the moon, but the scheme nearly backfires until the two must work together to save a moon egg hatchling. Following wildly different space denizens, this series opener charts the give and take of burgeoning friendship with gentle humor and sensitivity. Matching the text, Kordesh’s bright, easy-to-follow cartoon art is laid out in straightforward panels.

Amusing and quirky.