The Mystery Boxes (Explorer Series #1)

by Kazu Kibuishi (Editor)

Overview

“All the stories offer top-notch storytelling while providing readers with something more to think about.” —Publishers Weekly
STARRED REVIEW *“An outstanding out-of-the box anthology from renowned comics veteran Kibuishi . . . Both a visual feast for the eyes and a healthy helping of thought for the soul. Superb.” —Kirkus Reviews

Seven clever stories answer one simple question: What’s in the box?

Funny, fantastic, spooky, and suspenseful, each of these unique and beautifully illustrated short graphic works revolves around a central theme: a mysterious box and the marvels—or mayhem—that is hidden inside.

Artists include middle school favorites Kazu Kibuishi, Raina Telgemeier (Smile), and Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy), as well as Jason Caffoe, Stu Livingston, Johane Matte, Rad Sechrist (all contributors to the groundbreaking comics anthology series Flight), and Emily Carroll.

Award-winning artist Kazu Kibuishi’s selection creates a mixture of laughs and creeps (with some philosophy) as well as the kind of graphical triumphs expected from Kibuishi’s other collections. With gorgeously detailed full-color artwork, there is a spooky tale of a sinister doppelgänger invading a girl’s life by up-and-coming comics star Emily Carroll; Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier’s comedy of wizarding errors and online bidding wars; and Rad Sechrist’s romp involving a teenage girl, an introduction to the basics of Shintoism, and a manic butter thief driving a grandma to the brink.

So, don’t hesitate. Come and open the box. You’ll be amazed. You’ll be entertained. You’ll be scared. And then you’ll want to read each story over again!

Also available:
Explorer: The Lost Islands
Explorer: The Hidden Doors

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419700095
Publisher:	Abrams Fanfare
Publication date:	03/01/2012
Series:	Kazu Kibuishi's Explorer Series , #1
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	317,215
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	GN370L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kazu Kibuishi is the creator of Amulet, the award-winning middle school graphic novel series, and the editor and art director of eight volumes of Flight, the influential, Eisner-nominated graphic anthology. His earlier work Daisy Kutter was named a YALSA Best Book for Young Adults. He lives in Alhambra, California.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3–6—A brief anthology edited by the organizer of the "Flight" anthologies (Villard, 2008), these kid-friendly shorts vary in tone from light horror to cheerful adventure. They continue the "Flight" collective tradition of artwork that has a painterly animated quality. While the artists vary in individual style and the stories vary in tone, the thematic connection to a mysterious box is highly effective, perhaps particularly so because of the slim length and tight focus of the stories. A box is a container, and therefore inherently holds potential and revelation. From Pandora to Santa Claus, it has represented the push-pull of compulsion and anxiety. Emily Carroll's opening tale and the cartoony romp by Saymone Phanekham deserve special mention for immediately establishing tone and a reader-friendly world, and the mythological underpinnings of Rad Sechrist's story provide it with a compelling base. Coherent for all its variety, there will be something here for most readers.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH

School Library Journal

Like the lesson of Schrödinger’s Cat, what exists within a box is possibilities—when opened, we all have to face the reality of that decision. The tales in this anthology—which add up to a kind of Twilight Zone for younger readers—offer characters who encounter the mystery boxes of the title, with no unification beyond their geometry and their role as catalysts to unexpected narrative turns. Gathering multiple creators to work within that concept, editorial dynamo Kibuishi (the author of the Amulet series) creates a mixture of laughs and creeps, with some philosophy thrown in, as well as the kind of graphical triumphs expected from Kibuishi’s previous Flight collections. Outstanding among the contributions are the spooky tale of a sinister doppelgänger invading a girl’s life by up-and-coming comics star Emily Carroll; Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier’s comedy of wizarding errors and online bidding wars; and Rad Seachrist’s romp involving a teenage girl, an introduction to the basics of Shintoism, and a manic butter thief driving a grandma to the brink. All the stories offer top-notch storytelling while providing readers with something more to think about without being overbearing in their intellect. Ages 9–up. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

An outstanding out-of-the box anthology from renowned comics veteran Kibuishi. Kibuishi's Flight series for adults (collected in Flight, 2011), spurred a spin-off, Flight Explorer (2008), a volume specifically written for a younger audience. Both anthologies were strong on art but held no cohesive theme; this volume preserves the strong artistic stylization of its predecessors, but also employs a unifying theme--"what's in the box"--throughout the slick and imaginative collection. The seven tales, from artists both established and up-and-coming, span the spectrum from a serious and moralistic tale of war and vengeance in "The Soldier's Daughter" to seriously silly and fun alien hijinks in "Whatzit" to a dark and creepy yarn about doll that comes alive with a sinister purpose in "Under the Floorboards" to the light and sweet "Spring Cleaning," replete with wizards and reunited love. This volume eloquently demonstrates how well short stories work in the comics medium and Kibuishi's masterful chops as an editor. By cleverly applying the thematic catalyst to an already-winning formula, Kibuishi deftly fends off staleness. With eye-popping full-color art and palettes ranging from candy-colored to ethereal earth tones, this is both a visual feast for the eyes and a healthy helping of thought for the soul. Superb. (Graphic short-story anthology. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews