Writer/Illustrator/Publisher: Alex Kosakowski
WHAT IS IT?
Cookie and the Kid is an all-ages mini-series that stars a child in a land unknown. It’s light-hearted, funny, and is kid-friendly.
It feels a little like Calvin & Hobbes meets The Neverending Story. It’s a great little mix.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
(Minor Spoilers)
Cookie is just a young elf who just wants to hang out, steal cookies, and then eat those cookies.
Unfortunately, a human child chasing after her dog has stumbled into his hidden land, and everyone is blaming him! In order to prevent the Hill King from finding her, Cookie must find a way to get her back over the hill and out of the land.
WHAT WORKS?
I like how light it feels. It’s warm and touching and goofy, all qualities that are nice, if not necessary, to have in an all-ages comic.
On that note, I found this a pretty enjoyable read despite it being all-ages. Don’t confuse that for being for children — it’s still solid enough for adults to read it as well.
Love the art style. It feels like classic comic strip style, but it works super-organically with how the tone of the story lands.
I genuinely like the characters. All of them are likeable, and the way they interact with Cookie is pretty funny.
I like the world-building going on. Despite only being two issues in, we know enough about the world for us to understand how it’s different. There’s a lot for us to take in and still maintaining some mystery for us to discover later.
It feels like entering and exiting the world feels like a joke too. The dog stumbles into it on accident and then…trebuchet.
The book doesn’t try and get laughs out of being overly ridiculous or through low-end humor. It uses solid character work, dialogue, and situational humor. It’s a genuine all-ages book, rather than lowering the bar to be for children specifically.
I’m really surprised that only one person did this whole book. The writing is good, the art fits well, and the lettering is pretty good itself. All of it came out pretty well!
WHAT DOESN’T WORK?
Things can get a little confusing in the panel work from time to time. The handshake sequence between Mutt and Cookie confused me at first, but I pieced it together right at the end there.
Things like the bag’s stitching also kind of felt…random? It may become important in later issues, but it just felt a little bit forced.
WHY SHOULD I READ IT?
Truthfully, I think this book is perfect for parents who have kids and they want to share a comic experience with them. You can read something that doesn’t dumb down a plot or characters in order to get something out of it along with your children. This is a truly solid pick for that.
Again, as someone who doesn’t read a lot of all-ages comics, I am telling you that this is a pretty great comic for everyone, of any age.
HOW DO I BUY IT?
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