everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too
Written and illustrated by: Jomney Sun
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Number of Volumes: 1
everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too is a cross between a graphic novel and cartoon strip, with almost every page being a self-contained thought, but together they create an overarching narrative. It is an innocent story of an alien temporarily assigned to Earth to study humans. He spends his time meeting and speaking with Earth’s creatures, of which none are human, and periodically reports to his workaholic supervisors who check up on his progress. Who really could mind a little alien confusion?
Misspellings like the ones in the title and the graphics add to the naively innocent tone of the book. The drawings are simplistic and black and white, with a style that resembles a doodle. It gives the impression that a child drew it. All the objects and animals have kawaii faces, and the lack of color or hues makes every image instantly digestible as if the author wanted to ensure that nothing would obstruct the alien’s observations. Despite the child-like style, this is not a children’s book. The lessons taught by the Earth creatures often apply to a much older demographic who are more likely to ponder existential thoughts. Simply put, I doubt any book that matter-of-factly states that death results in nothingness is meant for a child, regardless of religious belief.
If cute and easy to swallow existential crises are your thing, then this would be the graphic novel for you. I, however, would prefer not to be kept awake at night by talking turtles.
