Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi

It's odd. I like graphic novels but I don't pursue them the way I do conventional fiction. Instead I have a handful of people who's opinions I highly value. They tell me to read it and I probably will. In this way I find interesting graphic novels without having to sift through the substantial portion of juvenile stuff floating around.

Indirectly, that's how I came across the Explorer series. Kibuishi is better known for the Amulet series which I haven't read yet, but it's on my stack. The Explorer series is interesting in that it's more like a collection of short stories. There are seven distinct stories written and drawn by different people in each volume. All the stories share one element. In this one, the shared element is a 'mystery box'. So, in each story there's some sort of mysterious box at the center of the action.

Each of the seven stories is a good solid read. Some of them are a little strangely moralistic such as "The Soldier's Daughter." While it was a touching story it was also a somewhat heavy handed statement about the nature of revenge. "The Keeper's Treasure" was an interesting thought on what we confer value to.

I was very impressed with "The Butter Thief" which was an adaptation of Japanese fables and an inadvertent commentary about preserving traditional folk ways. I particularly liked the sparse art style of this one.

"Whatzit" had a classic Saturday morning cartoon feel. It's about the cosmic warehouse workers who ship out components for new universes. The story is cute but I particularly liked the artwork which reminded me of "Johnny the Homicidal Manic."

All in all, this is a good introduction to what graphic Novels can be.