I first picked up Amulet in 2010, back then the third book in the series was coming out, and they were getting a lot of publicity and were showcased everywhere from Chapters to Wal-Mart. I was also very naive to graphic novels back then. As I’ve mentioned before, I didn’t really grow up on comics. I was a fan of Star Wars, and really those were the only comics I read, and even those were few and far between. I also sort of missed the whole YA fiction boat, something I blame my grade 7 English teacher for. While other kids my age were reading Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events, I was delving into Jane Austen, Shakespeare, and Lord Byron. I jumped from Star Wars-themed beginner chapter books to The Lord of the Rings. I’ve since gone back and read some of the more iconic YA series, but I think that because I missed that stage, I don’t really enjoy them as much as I could have. Enter 2010 me, curious about comics and graphic novels, but with no interest in superheroes, and searching for something a little heavy on the fantasy. I picked up the Amulet books, and knew right away that they were for a younger demographic, but they were unlike anything I’d seen and I thought I’d give them a try.
It’s now eight years later, and there are seven Amulet books in total, with an eight slated for a 2018 release. The graphic series follows a girl, Emily, who is transported from Earth to another world, Alledia, and thrust into a saviour-like role as protector of that planet through the use of a magical (and corrupting) stone. The series is created by Kazu Kibuishi and has been critically acclaimed the world over. Because there are seven books in this series, I decided to lump them all together in this review, giving the series as a whole a broad, overlapping, examine.
I have very mixed feelings about this series. While the artwork is beautiful, and the characters are likeable and the themes, dark and interesting, I still can’t seem to shake a sort of apathetic response for this series. Amulet never really gets as dark as you’d like it to, which also makes total sense, as it’s targeted toward a younger audience in the YA genre. There are very dark themes, don’t get me wrong, some of the later books deal with ideas like guilt and repression, and the main protagonist is constantly walking a thin line between morality and corruption, but there’s never really any true danger to the main characters. I know, I know, “But Michael, this is a series targeted towards children and (very) young adults,” and maybe that’s why it just fails to resonate with me.
If we examine Amulet from an artistic perspective alone, this series is incredible. Kibuishi’s artwork is stylistic, unique, flashy, and resonating with that cherubic charm that’s so enticing to a younger audience. I really have no problem with his artwork. In fact, I like it. And in a medium like graphic novels, you’d better have spectacular artwork, because (and I’ve seen this often) the writing-side of the work tends to falter when compared to traditional novels. And of course it would, you’re essentially taking a novel and condensing it into a series of images, you are bound to loose some of the depth of the written word. Unfortunately, Amulet’s story is where the series tends to fall apart for me. The plot has meandered on and on through seven books thus far, without really progressing all that much. Characters and plot seem to change and shift subtly with each new book, almost impressing that Kibuishi really has no direction and doesn’t even know where the plot is going (*cough* George R.R. Martin anyone? *cough*). I felt this was incredibly apparent in the latest book, Book 7: Firelight, with the re-occurance of a former enemy who has suddenly switched sides, and the introduction of alien technology and space-explorative themes to this series that has been, thus far, rooted in fantasy. It all just seems a little strange, and like it’s taking a little too long to get to the finale. Every time I picked up the next book in the series I'd wonder what’s going to be slightly different and changed without an explanation, from the last.
Still, this series continues to grow, and capture the hearts of new readers and fans alike, and I am interested to see how Kibuishi wraps up this… somewhat chaotic story. Let’s just hope it happens in fewer books, I’m not sure I can handle any more meandering around the plot.
