Portia is the typical precocious grade school student. While all of her classmates are doing book reports on Dr. Seuss, she’s doing existential studies of Tom Stoppard’s writings. During recess, the other kids run around and play while she sits off by herself, observing the play but never really a part of it. She’s a kid but she’s not one of the kids, if you get my meaning. One night after a rather scary dream, she hears a shuffling noise outside her window. Knowing that her mother doesn’t want her out of the house at night, Portia goes out anyway and finds a lost and scared monster. He’s sitting in the middle of some small woods. clutching his tail like it is his security blanket. Later named Jellaby, the monster is more interested in eating the vase of flowers than the tuna sandwich Portia hospitably makes for it.
Kean Soo’s Jellaby has been around for a while but this is the first full-length graphic novel of the character. Jellaby has appeared before in short stories in the Flight anthologies. I remember being charmed by those stories. Jellaby is a cross between an lost dog and Hellboy. O.k., maybe the Hellboy part is pushing it but Jellaby is a very cute monster. Imagine a Hellboy-like character if he was created by Jim Henson. The big and round creature with huge, innocent eyes, tiny useless wings and a cool tail. He follows Portia round like a lost dog, even following the girl to school and forcing her to protect Jason, a classmate, from getting picked on by some bullies.
For the most part, Jellaby is a sweet and charming story, focusing on a girl and her pet creature. That’s present here in this new book and it’s a carry over from what I remember in the Flight volumes and some webcomics. With the more expansive “graphic novel” that Soo has to work with, he tries to impart some larger, darker fantasy story on top of his characters. The plot-driven fantasy parts feel heavy and slightly out of place with the rest of the book. At two particular times, it feels like Soo is trying to drop some of Jeff Smith’s Bone into his story. It’s not bad but it distracts from the wonderful innocence and charm that exists in Jellaby. At this point in the story (there will be more Jellaby in the future,) a heavier over-arching narrative isn’t needed while he could work on building the characters of Jellaby, Portia and her classmate Jason. I want more of Jellaby watching Godzilla movies and less robed figures showing up in dreams.
Jellaby
Written and Drawn by: Kean Soo
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