Matt Lowder Reviews KODI Graphic Novel

Guest review by Matt Lowder . . . . .

KODI written and illustrated by Jared Cullum (Top Shelf Publishing, 2020)180 pages, graphic novel, age 8-12,. Matt's Rating 4.5 Stars out of a possible 5 Stars.

KODI is light on text and heavy on visual story telling. It's full of skillfully captured character expression, emotion, and personality as well as stylistically rendered city and landscapes. It's surprisingly coherent and textured for a graphic novel. I give it 4.5 stars for overall delivery and exection, though the middle of the story introduced a character I didn't expect and would have preferred a different plot beat to connect the end with the beginning. It was a bit contrived. But this the the greatest bear and watercolor book you'll ever read.

First and foremost, the illustrations are beautiful. Jared Cullum strikes again with wonderful watercolors where light and textures create a soft and descriptive world. I’m particularly impressed by how effectively he renders light and shadows. It’s mesmerizing, and watercolor is tough to master. This guy is king of kings in my opinion for watercolor. Magnificently reserved and super clean with touches of outline-ink in swooping and swelling line weights.

Another thing that I really enjoyed was the rhythm of the story. Some pages are almost cinematographic, and you find yourself racing along with the characters. With often little words, Cullum creates whole scenes and emotions, touching and sometimes comical.

I also really enjoyed his character design. His bear is everything a child would love: big and strong, yet also vulnerable and gentle. The little girl is strong and willful and so relatable. The grandmother is also quite extraordinary with her tiny hands and big body that seems to me made for hugging. I also loved how the townspeople are depicted. Amazing character designs like Pixar that I want to steal and draw myself. Great shirts, squinty eyes and moustaches. Frankly, all the characters have something unique and special.

Finally, if nothing else will do it for you, the story of friendship between a bear and a little girl will warm the coldest of hearts. Filled with unlikely companions, this story is soft and beautiful, while still appealing to children and adults alike. Themes of friendship, trust and loyalty are explored in a story where camaraderie and love conquer all. With some tweaks to the narrative in the middle - and I'm splitting hairs - this could be a classic film like Homeward Bound meets Stuart Little meets Iron Giant.

It's music through color.

FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jared Cullum was born in 1985 in Johnson City, TN. He is a cartoonist-writer and painter of things now living in Pittsburgh, PA with a deep passion for connecting with people through visual story-telling. Between developing stories he teaches traditional painting and anatomy and spends his days exploring the lessons that can be learned from 19th century painting and how they can be used to innovate in story-telling. He has also written and painted stories for Boom!-Archaia and Jim Henson Productions working on titles such as: Planet of the Apes, Labyrinth, Fraggle Rock, and Storyteller.