Copper

by Kazu Kibuishi, Kazu Kibuishi (Illustrator)

Overview

From Kazu Kibuishi, creator of AMULET, comes an irresistibly charming pair of characters!

Copper is curious, Fred is fearful. And together boy and dog are off on a series of adventures through marvelous worlds, powered by Copper's limitless enthusiasm and imagination. Each Copper and Fred story in this graphic novel collection is a complete vignette, filled with richly detailed settings and told with a wry sense of humor. These two enormously likable characters build ships and planes to travel to surprising destinations and have a knack for getting into all sorts of odd situations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545098939
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	01/01/2010
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	597,827
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 9.08(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	GN690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kazu Kibuishi is the creator of the #1 New York Times bestselling Amulet series, which is available in more than twenty languages. He is also the creator of Copper, a collection of his popular webcomic that features an adventuresome boy-and-dog pair. Kazu also illustrated the covers of the 15th anniversary paperback editions of the Harry Potter series written by J.K. Rowling. Visit Kazu online at boltcityproductions.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4 Up—This collection of comic shorts details the wildly imaginative adventures of a boy and his talking dog, Fred. Most of the stories take up a page or two; others are a bit longer. The variety of full-color cartoons makes the book interesting to go through. Readers never know what type of comic format to expect on the next page but will be assured that it is another fun adventure. In a 12-page concluding section, the artist shows how he creates a "Copper" comic. The stories are humorous, and sometimes deeply philosophical, making them appeal to a wide audience.—Nancy D. Tolson, Mitchell College, New London, CT

School Library Journal

Kibuishi (the Amulet series) collects his long-running Web comic about Copper, a human boy, and his talking dog, Fred, who go on a series of short adventures, traveling through a world that is sometimes fantastical and occasionally dystopian. In one memorable strip, Copper and Fred bounce precariously across the tops of giant mushrooms; in another they enjoy a nice meal at an urban restaurant. The art is wonderful, a pastel palette capturing imaginative landscapes, and the wide variety of vehicles Copper and Fred travel in are delightfully designed. As whimsical as it all is, the dialogue sometimes gets in the way of Kibuishi's playful world. Fred is so pessimistic and filled with self-doubt that some readers may wish he couldn't talk at all. In one strip, Fred's unjustified worrying is so great that he is unable to enjoy a fishing trip because he dreads a perfect moment coming to an end. Copper acts as Fred's constant optimistic foil, telling him that it will all turn out all right, even as the wings drop off their homemade helicopter (it does turn out all right). Kibuishi's introduction explaining that he was depressed when he began the strip may go over younger readers' heads. Ages 8–up. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

First introduced as a webcomic and then in the Flight anthologies, wide-eyed Copper and his fretful dog Fred smoothly transition into their own collection of tales. Told in short vignettes interspersed with a few longer interludes, this episodic volume is a compilation rather than a single story with an overarching narrative. Reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes, Copper and Fred have fantastic, imaginative adventures, where the quietly ordinary becomes extraordinary. Portrayed through a contemporary lens, Copper and Fred live in a post-9/11 world and have very real fears that manifest throughout; Fred is often apprehensive about the world at large, though he's nicely balanced by Copper, who radiates an innocent optimism. While fanciful, Copper and Fred's exploits never spill outside of their panels, which establish a fixed boundary to their otherwise fantastic world. Those seeking similar action and thrills of Kibuishi's fan-favorite Amulet series may be disappointed; this is a more muted work, with a subtle philosophical undercurrent. For thoughtful readers, this whimsical pastiche of imagination and dreams may be just the ticket. (Graphic fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews