Normally, I read a comic partway through, do something else and come back and read some more. Rinse and repeat and at some point in my browsing, I start writing my impressions. But not this time.

Kukuburi is different. I read the whole thing (about ninety six pages so far) in one sitting. As soon as I finished, I wanted to read it again. Why?

Part of it is the art. I love the sketchy, spontaneous feel of the linework. It even has a great deal of (what I call) shorthand detail. That’s where the artist draws just enough detail that your mind fills in the rest. Just a few lines give you the shape, texture and perceived weight of the subject of the drawing. For a specific example: just one little line tells you that the record player works, even if you’ve never used a record player in your life.

I really dig the character designs, special effects and colors too. I’m not talking about just the bright foregrounds and the muted backgrounds. You can see where the shadows and colors don’t always match the contours of the objects they are showing. That’s a style that lends itself to the medium but also strengthens the story of the comic, as well.

As usual, no spoilers from me on how the story is panning out. There is this young woman has a job that she can barely get to. She’s a pawn, sent here and there to accomplish menial tasks like package delivery. You don’t even know her name because her boss simply snarls at her. But all that changes. What she can do and what she chooses to do takes on more meaning. Even what she ignorantly causes to happen gets increasingly more important. Well, one thing doesn’t change - even in her wildest dreams she’s still a pawn.

As an aside, I can’t help thinking that this is where the Doctor or El Santo will have some smart comment about the story progress in Kukuburi. They’re better at embellishing than I am, but I can imagine them saying “Just when you think you’ve got one more chance to set things right, your last whiskey shot kicks in and you wake up suddenly, damp and disheveled on a city street corner outside a bar you don’t recognize.”

I’d say it another way. The story in Kukuburi lets you follow along but then you realize you aren’t going to the destination that you thought you were. At times, it drags just a little but there’s always another surprising turn waiting and so you keep reading. I found the story very engaging. It has some light fluff in the dialog and yet some fun, deeper things to ponder. It reminds me of the storytelling style that I recall seeing long ago in Fafrhd and the Grey Mouser.

It’s at this point where I can mention a few other things. I really, really liked how it was never obviously pointed out who was doing the narrating at the start of the comic. Also, the way those black and red mantas go after their victim is very cool and I want to know more about their commander. He’s got a great costume and look. His expressions are masterfully done, especially once you realize he has no eyes or face to emote to the reader with. That’s a nice trick, done consistently well. There’s more that I liked but to talk about it would require me to do more of my patented spoiler-avoid dance, which no one wants to see. Read Kukuburi for yourself and then we’ll talk. (I’d actually enjoy hearing what moments you enjoyed in the comments, so please share them there.

I don’t think it’ll surprise you that I gave Kukuburi five stars. Rating: It normally updates two pages a week on Tuesdays. I like it when there are three page update weeks, but that’s just me. I’m going to go back and read Kukuburi again, if you’ll excuse me.

Kukuburi
http://www.kukuburi.com/2007/08/09/one/
by Ramon Perez
review by Delos Woodruff
(5 votes, average: 4.4 out of 5)

 Loading …