Customer Reviews

Copper

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Almost immediately, Copper draws to mind the great '80s comic-strip series Calvin and Hobbes. Only this is the story of a boy and his talking dog. Beyond that, it's also more esoteric in many ways. Just as he did with his highly enjoyable Amulet series, Kazu Kibuishi shows here that he is masterful at paying homage to his childhood influences while building on them and expanding them into new territory.

First published as a series of webcomics, Copper expands on the collection with new stories. All are wild and full of adventure, both of which give Kibuishi ample room to display his artistic talents. Kibuishi has a wonderful eye for movement and his perspectives--switching from wide shots to closeups, broad angles to narrow--are impeccable. A personal favorite are the water scenes in the book--and there are several: deep-see diving, waterfalls, tidal waves...they all are marvelously rendered by Kibuishi here.

Included within the many one-page stories here are some larger tales, including the brilliant "Maiden Voyage" and the finale, "Lunch Pack." The stories always have a sweetness and an innocence to them without crossing over into saccharine fare.

Capping off Copper is a "Behind the Scenes" section offering a peek into Kibuishi's studio and his artistic process. This alone makes the book indispensible for aspiring artists and storytellers. Kibuishi's take on his own art is as charming as the rest of the book.

Once again, Kibuishi solidifies his position as not only an exciting, vibrant storyteller but also one who writes with a wide-eyed optimism that's simply infectious.

-- John Hogan

This is the definitive collection of the webcomic Cooper by Kazu Kibuishi, creator of the amazing Amulet series of Graphic novels. This volume enclosed the archive of the webcomic, a few new comics, a special introduction by the artist on how the series came about, and a step by step guide to how Kazu creates a cooper comic.

Cooper is the story of a dog and his boy, just trying to make their way in the world and find their place. Cooper is curious, creative and adventurous, and Fred his dog is fearful and disillusioned. The stories grew out of some of the darkest days in Kazu's life, and yet the comics always seem to end on a note of hope and expectation.

The artwork is amazing. To me it reads like Calvin and Hobbs - a little older, more mature and more productive and helpful. The variety of layouts and designs is stunning. From single-page story lines to multipage pieces it is visually stunning, with a wide variety of pallets and feel, yet always remaining true to a form and style. This will be a book I go back to again and again, sometimes just for fun, sometimes, when life gets difficult, to remind me to hope and try again. It is inspiring, and I am terribly glad I read it.

Copper is a series of comics strips from Kazu Kinbushi, an American writer and illustrator. His comics are a series of funny strips about a boy and his dog who go on a series of adventures or get themselves into different situations. The humor is sweet and charming. I read about this book on the Amazon Daily blog and knew I had to buy it. The book is wonderful and the strips are terrific. The comics also appear on the web. I will be using my comics in the classroom. Highly recommended.

Copper is one of my favorite comics of all time and I am so SO happy to finally have all of my favorites in book form.

Great art. Good stories. Maybe a little bit too grim for youngest children? Nicely printed.

I have been a big fan of Copper since Kazu started putting it on-line as a web-comic, and I am glad to be able to hold the book today.
I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a "boy-and-his-talking-dog" style of story. Think Calvin and Hobbs.

The most recent stories can be found at his website ([...]).

Copper can also be found in many of the Flight Anthologies (Flight, Volume One).

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.

Copper's good cheer always smoothes the way---and Fred can usually be won over if there's food involved.

A beautifully drawn collection of previously published web-comics that follow Copper and his dog Fred through a series of adventures in a somewhat quirky-mystical world. For the most part each page is a comic that is its own little narrative, although its easy to see the complete story/theme throughout the book.

I really enjoyed Kibuishi's artistry and the mini-parables of each story. The overall meaning of some of the comics may go over the head of your average middle grade reader but the simplistic dialogue will keep them reading and enjoying this wonderful collection.

Another fun note to this book is that the last few pages are dedicated to author/illustrator Kazu Kibuishi's method of creating his comics which is fun for anyone to discover especially the budding artist!

A collection of the author/illustrator's first published works which first appeared online as web comics. This collection also includes some new comics and stories plus a special step-by-step section on how the author created the Copper comics. While the majority of comics are one page in length there are a handful which are "story" length covering six or so pages. These are the strange adventures of a little boy, Copper, and his dog, Fred. They venture to strange lands full of mushrooms, fly planes, go underwater, travel by boat, hike, surf and appear in surreal lands full of strange beings. Copper is full of energy, ready to try and do anything on a moment's notice completely carefree. Fred on the other hand, would rather stay home ...safe...but he most go where Copper goes so he is the voice of what could go wrong, he gets scared, he wants to leave, wants to go home, tells Copper the downfalls of his plans, but in the end he's usually won over and sometimes even proven right. They are wonderful characters who contrast each other delightfully. The illustrations are gorgeous, cute, whimsical with drawings I've come to expect form Kibuishi from his Amulet series.

My problem with these comics is that I suppose they are meant to be funny. Someone correct me if I'm wrong but that is still the purpose of a comic? Humour, satire, wit? Something to make you chuckle? Well, I simply didn't "get" these comics. I understood what was happening but why it was humorous or witty I haven't a clue. I'll admit there were a couple that made me smile further into the book but seriously on the whole I just seemed to be out of the loop on what was funny here. I really can't see kids appreciating the humour thus I recommend the book for ages 12 and up but even then I wonder. I can only say the humour is extremely esoteric and I am not a member of the club.

Beautiful artwork, but the story goes nowhere. The characters are just stick-figures for artist Kazu Kibuishi to work out his mild neuroses about the big world outside, and that's about it. There's no actual narrative as far as I can tell, so the charm may quickly wear off. But if you just want something that looks pretty, this might be enough. (Axton)