This looks like a book for little kids, but it's definitely not. It's really my favorite kind of graphic novel - the illustrations are really good, and definitely on the cutesy side, but the storyline is as significant as books like Marcelo in the Real World - if you haven't read that one, you should read that too! ( )

Oddly adorable.
I liked the extra bit at the end where Kazu explains his creation process; very useful for kids who are clearly the target audience. ( )

Beautifully drawn. I wouldn't call it funny; I think it's more about communicating a sense of wonder and imagination. ( )

A boy and his dog go through life and make small introspective observations along the way. ( )

'Copper' is a series of short strips following the imaginative adventures of an optimistic boy and his somewhat less optimistic dog. The artwork is the most striking thing you'll notice as you read; it's absolutely gorgeous. The frolicking landscapes of the boy's imagination are colorful, drawn out in vivid detail, and often just plain beautiful.

The jokes aren't often laugh-out-loud funny, leaning more toward a wry smile at the punchline, but there is a sense that there's a deeper truth plodding along somewhere beneath the surface (take, for instance, a few panels where the Copper, the boy, and his dog Fred discuss art and whether the beauty in art comes from the completion of a piece and its exactitude or trying to capture the beauty in the first place).

All in all, it's an appealingly drawn and charmingly written comic book. ( )