Amulet: The Stonekeeper's Curse by Kazu Kibuishi

Finally, this sequel is coming out!

Emily and Navin are still in the kingdom of Alledia and have made a few new friends. But now the evil elves are on their trail. While Emily travels to Demon's Head Mountain to retrieve the Godoba fruit that may be the only cure for their mother, Navin pilots the house and saves the robots from the vengeful elves.

This episode of the story is very exciting, with lots of fight scenes. We learn more about the land itself and the strange properties of the Stones and the Stonekeepers. Emily and Navin both grow as characters and the entire story becomes more complex and exciting.

As with the first GN, the art work is beautiful. I like the mix of traditionally drawn characters with the lush, detailed backgrounds and wild steampunk machines. The two-page spreads are especially breathtaking. In the advanced readers copy, only the first eight pages are in color and the remainder is black and white. I expect that some people will be disappointed if this is the way it is published, but I actually enjoy the monochrome better. It is much easier to follow the story (esp. during fight scenes) and the details are not overcome with too much color. This technique allows the reader to take in all the intricacy of the style without being overwhelmed. It also, in my mind, brings me closer to the characters.

Maybe I'm just used to black and white and what can be done with it, since I read so much manga. I'll be quite happy if this is the way the final product looks. Plus, less shiny, colorful pages almost guarantees that this volume will be less likely to fall apart, as happens far too often with glossy American comics.

Book Source: Advanced Readers copy provided by publisher