My 12 year old son and I both enjoyed this book. Engaging story, great art and characters that we could relate to and sympathize with. Speaks to a much of the mystery, anxiety and discovery of those brief, but meaningful tween years. Highly recommended.

There are graphic novels that stroll in, hit their mark, and bring the GN lover what they're looking for. The recent "Amulet: The Stonekeeper" comes to mind. If you're into the genre, you'll be a fan - but it's not necessarily recruiting new believers. Then there are your 741.5's that have the ability to bring readers into the fold who have not considered said fold an option. "Jellaby" is one of those books. Honest emotional moments, humor, and mystery combine to make one of the best books of Aught 8.

Portia is an outsider, but not for the usual reasons. She's smart and thoughtful. Her intelligence draws ire from her classmates and leaves her bored in her studies. One night, after a strange dream, Portia discovers a scared monster behind her house. How the purple creature ended up in her yard is not clear, but Portia is determined to keep her new friend a secret while she figures things out. In her efforts to keep "Jellaby" hush hush, she inadvertently pulls classmate Jason into the mix. Now they're partners. A tip from Jellaby about her (his?) possible origins results in a secret trip to Toronto to find out the truth. The story ends just before the threesome reach the big city, with plans for a second book to wrap up the tale.

I can't help but think of one of my favorite movies, "The Iron Giant", when reading this book. There is something about an outsider finding friendship with a really outsider that draws you in. The illustrations are on point throughout, using just a few colors to get the job done. Overall, the effect is an artful and beautifully subtle story that leaves you eager for more.

Portia doesn't fit in at school - she reads above everyone else's level, she can't make friends, and she has trouble keeping her mind on class. Portia, more than anything, is lonely. And then she finds Jellaby, a purple dragon creature with a sense of humor and a brave streak. She has problems keeping Jellaby a secret - Jason, Portia's classmate and carrot-lover, quickly discovers him. Both Jason and Portia work to find out where Jellaby came from and how to get him home, all the while hinting that there may be a connection between Jellaby and Portia's missing father.

I thought this was a terrific book, but I wanted more more more! I've heard that Kean Soo has said one of the inspirations was Calvin and Hobbes, and I did think a lot of the strip while I was reading it, but I spent a lot of time thinking of Susie rather than Calvin. I can't wait until the next book comes out, because this felt a little short.

You ever been in love? I don't mean the passing fancy of a crush or the slight flutter you feel when you're fifteen and desperately trying NOT to make eye contact with the object of your affection. I'm talking gut-sucking, heart-churning, complete and utter abstraction, distraction, fractal, fantastic obsession, elation, and absolution. The love that sucks out your breath and leaves you a hollow shaking wreck until you see your beloved again. That kind of love. I don't get that kind of feeling very often. It takes a special somebody. Someone with big blue eyes, a cute smile, maybe a jagged set of lower canines complemented nicely by a red-striped tail. Someone just like Jellaby. Man, the moment I read a mere three panels of this graphic novel I was a goner. "In love" doesn't even begin to cover it. I save my adoration for works of children's fiction that go above and beyond the call of duty and "Jellaby" is one of those comics that can charm you with the merest sigh or shuffle of the feet. With great art and a story to match, Kean Soo knocks it out of the park with this amazing comic that has successfully made the leap from screen to page.

It wasn't long ago that Portia and her mother moved to a new town to start their lives over. Portia hasn't made many friends since then, and she's just going through the motions in her classes as well. What better time to discover a huge purple monster in the back yard then? Naming the strange mute creature Jellaby, Portia unwittingly enlists the help of fellow student Jason, as they two search for a way to find the their new friend's true home. Their search may connect to Portia's missing father, a series of odd dreams she's been having, and a door that's miles and miles away. The stakes, it seems, can be high even when you don't know the rules.

Kean Soo was born in England, raised in Hong Kong, and currently resides in Canada. At a loss to describe what exactly Soo's style of drawing is I searched through the Web to find some kind of list of his influences. I pretty much came up with nothing, so all I can do is call it like I see it. Soo utilizes clean lines and a color palette of four colors: purple (mostly), red, and orange, and the tiniest spots of green. His kids are all big heads with tiny bodies, much as you'd find in something by Bill Watterson. Actually, in an interview with Newsrama, Soo said that initially there was a definite Calvin and Hobbes influence to his work. "I'd like to think that the characters have since overcome that." I'd agree. The physical similarities (not to mention the whole possibly-make-believe-character aspect) are there, but "Jellaby" is its own beast. So to speak.

In the book Understanding Comics, graphic novelist Scott McCloud spends a lot of time talking about how artists working in the comic medium will indicate "invisible ideas", particularly emotions, by distorting the backgrounds of their characters. Japanese comics in particular are adept at inventing these "expressionistic effects", which American comics have for the most part ignored. One of the things I loved about "Jellaby", was that Soo can invent an expressionistic effect like it's nobody's business. The first few pages of this book are chock full of them. When Portia is nervous these beautiful but clearly nerve induced purple lines curl and spiral out from her. Not paying attention is indicated by words growing tiny or appearing behind her head where they remain partially obscured. And when Soo wants you to see a scene from Portia's point of view he keeps most of the scene faint, then brings into sharp focus certain elements or characters. The book is filled with little moments like these. Heck, you could probably design an entire graduate course over Soo's use of technique and the emotional interplay between image and reader response. Even his sound effects are one-of-a-kind and interesting! Call this man the Canadian