Chris' Fish Place

ARC: Via Netgalley

This is actually quite a charming little picture graphic novel. There is no text, just pictures, but the action is easy to follow. The story concerns a creature that reminds one of Bone and his or her quest to find gems. These gems will restore color.

The hero (and I am using this as a gender neutral term) eventually gains a partner, a character who reminds one of those ink blot characters that pop up in animation every so often. The quest takes them into the deep and dark caverns. Buno uses both bright color and darkness to his best advantage. Before anyone objects or tries to say that the story is anti-black, Buno shows that absolutely whiteness is just as blinding. IT is a variety of colors (of all shades) that is needed. In part this is through the use of the jewels, but also though the characters that inhabit the story. Both the hero and buddy are absolutes – white and black. The other creatures come across as frightening at first, but then variations start to appear.

And there is a whole host of creepy crawlies in the underground caverns. In fact, you can almost see the book as a movie playing out before your eyes. It is a joy to read because of the use of color, humor, and style.