Comic Artist Kazu Kibuishi

Posted by: Allison Helps Cats on: April 16, 2013

• In: Adventure | Current (After 1999) | Fantasy | Grades 3-5 | Grades 6-8 | Sci-Fi | Suspense | Teasers
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Kazu Kibuishi creates a world of terrible, man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a talking fox, a giant robot—and two ordinary children on a mission.

This is the description on Amazon for the Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi.  This week, I’ll review three of the five already released graphic novels.

AUTHOR

Born in Japan, Kazu Kibuishi moved to the United States with his mother and brother at an early age. According to him, some of his earliest drawings were inspired by memories of Japan and its culture.While pursuing a degree in film studies at the University of California, he drew a comic strip  for the student newspaper. After graduation, a Los Angeles-based commercials and video game studio hired him to work as an animator, but he eventually decided to leave animation to focus on comics which would allow him to write too.

Kibuishi started producing a monthly comic  at his website. As part of showcasing their best work, he and some his friends created the Flight volumes which they pitched at the Alternative Press Expo and caught the attention of Image Comics. Next, Kibuishi created the four-volume graphic novel The Last Train, which was selected by the American Library Association as one of the best books for young adults in 2006. Now, he’s working on the children’s graphic novel series Amulet.

Needless to say, Kibuishi has established himself as a full-time comic artist. He provides these instructions about how to draw a comic:

1. Come up with some ideas.
2. Prepare your comic.
3. Create a story.
4. Draw clearly.
5. Share your story.

The visual can be found at Scholastic.

SERIES

Book 1: After the tragic death of their father, Emily and Navin move with their mother to the home of her deceased great-grandfather, but the strange house proves to be dangerous. Before long, a sinister creature lures the kids’ mom through a door in the basement. Em and Navin, desperate not to lose her, follow her into an underground world inhabited by demons, robots, and talking animals. Eventually, they enlist the help of a small mechanical rabbit named Miskit. Together with Miskit, they face the most terrifying monster of all.

Book 2: Emily and Navin’s mother is still in a coma from the arachnopod’s poison, and there’s only one place to find help: Kanalis, the bustling, beautiful city of waterfalls. But when Em, her brother, and Miskit and the rest of the robotic crew aboard the walking house reach the city, they quickly realize that seeking help is looking for trouble.

Book 3: Emily, Navin, and their crew of resistance fighters charter an airship and set off in search of the lost city of Cielis. There they hope to find help from the Guardian Council’s powerful Stonekeepers. It’s a mission that Alledia’s survival depends on, but time is running out. Emily needs to find Cielis before the Elf King finds her.

Book 4: Emily and her friends think that they’ll find the help they need in Cielis, but something isn’t right. Emily is soon escorted to the Academy, where she’s expected to compete for a spot on the Guardian Council, a group of the most powerful Stonekeepers. But, as the number of competitors grows smaller, an awful secret is revealed.

Book 5: Emily survived the chaos of the Guardian Council, but Max Griffin has stolen the Mother Stone. With it, the Elf King forges new Amulets that will give him the power to invade and destroy other nations. Emily and her friends must lead the soldiers of the Cielis Guard in a fight stop him. When she seeks information from the Voice of her amulet, she discovers the Voice is much more sinister than she ever imagined.

If the Amulet series intrigues you, keep watch for the movie due to be released later this year. The rights were obtained by Warner Brothers, will be co-produced by Will Smith, and taps the screenwriting skills of Rob Edwards (The Princess and the Frog) to adapt the series.

Related Posts

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• Review of the Amulet series
  

Tags: Allison's Book Bag, Amulet series, Kazu Kibuishi, reviews of books for young people