reMIND: Volume 1

reMIND #1

by Jason Brubaker, Jeremy Barlow (Foreword)

All Sonja wanted was to find her missing cat, Victuals, but when he washes up on the shore of her sleepy coastal town several days later with a head full of stitches and the startling ability to speak and no memory of how he got that way her quiet life is forever changed. Together they set out to solve the mystery of his disappearance, embarking on a journey that leads to a strange kingdom under the waves and into the heart of a royal power struggle, where the answer to Victual s true identity could save or doom them all!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Webcomic, Graphic Novels Comics

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Jason Brubaker works at Dreamworks Animation in Visual Development. At night, he puts on his cape and doubles as an independent graphic novelist and self-publisher.
--from the author's blog

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wouldn't have believed that reMIND is Jason Brubaker’s first published work, but having read his afterword on the first volume of the aforementioned graphic novel, it is simply that. The road to its eventual publication though is a story in itself. The remind concept started as an animation project that metamorphosed into a graphic novel from its storyboards. Brubaker did most the work during free time while taking on an animation career and this went on for a few years until he was able to produce his first hardcover volume from a Xeric grant and a Kickstarter campaign.

The art is amazing, a blend of many influences like animation, manga, science fiction, steampunk and horror rendered into pages and panels with a painted veneer. Initially I thought the story was about Sonja, a gifted mechanic and inventor who’s dealing with the loss of her father and for a few pages into the story her cat, Victuals. But as the story progresses, it became more about the cat and the mystery that surrounded his reappearance and new ability to speak.

Like most great graphic novels, this was an easy read. Brubaker’s cartoony and expressive art does the heavy lifting storytelling-wise. I like it that he does clutter his panels with captions, allowing the art to tell the story and the reader to enjoy the visual feast.

I read this on Comixology and I definitely would be re-reading this again. It is that good.

Originally reviewed on The Raving Asgardian, my personal blog on comics and its myriad forms.

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amazing art, very boring story.

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tale, great art. Really makes its own world, and art-wise, the clash of the cartoonish cat and the realism everywhere else really does it. Absolutely great!

[Valéria. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nie je to to najlepšie čo som kedy čítala, ale ani najhoršie a nejakým divným spôsobom ma to naozaj bavilo a chcem vedieť, čo bude ďalej. Čokoľvek by som napísala k deju by bol spoiler, takže proste ak sa do toho niekto bude chcieť pustiť, pripravte sa na hovoriace zvieratá, jašterka pod vodou ktorá vyzerá ako TMNT od Michaela Baya a zaujímavo aplikovanú veda.

[Madi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well that was weird

[Seth T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introduction One
Religion in literature is hard to do well. One of the greatest struggles for a literary work concerned with faith in the unseen is negotiating that breach between Why Should I Care and Hey You're Preaching At Me. The borderlands that lie between the two are filled with deep and often satisfying conversations—or at least ones that help readers to recognize the breadth of perspectives that naturally hover across the human landscape. And then consider even those works that don't press us to think seriously about what it means to be human in the face of all else that exists—if they resonate with us without dogmatizing, we tend to appreciate them a bit more. And this is a phenomenon unique to the realm of fiction.

When picking up a brick of text called Beliefs of the Coptic Church, one would likely be disappointed if the book hemmed and hawed and only vaguely laid out what the Coptic Church might believe. We not only excuse blatant and direct reference to a particular theological dogma when reading a reference work discussing that dogma's merits—we expect it. Fiction, on the other hand, long ago ceased its comfortable position as a vessel to convey a distinct and particular moral. Such overtly displayed lessons as found in "The Fox and the Grapes" are largely seen as reliquary, a nod to a long-passed and primitive kind of reader. Nowadays we, for good or for ill, are embarrassed by fictions that wear their heart too immodestly exposed.


[p.s. I am Iron Cat]

At least we are when we're not members in good standing of the particular choir that is being preached to in a work. Christians who read Doug TenNapel's CreatureTech seem a lot less fidgety around the book's very very Christian climax. Atheists and those who've fled fundamentalist Christianity seem much more willing to overlook Craig Thompson's rather weighted evaluation of churchgoers in Blankets. The problem with each of these works is that we feel a little too handily that we are being preached at. It's an uncomfortable thing: first because whenever the author's agenda overwhelms the story, we lose sense of their world being a real kind of place; and second because fiction is so well suited to discussion that most contemporary readers will find its repurposing for monologue a bit jarring.1

Happily Jason Brubaker's reMIND doesn't, I think, fall into this trap. It has things to say about belief, questions to ask, but it does so with enough humility that one can easily forget that it was even about a question of faith. And really, maybe it's not about that. Maybe religion is just part of the world he's unveiled for the space of this story and maybe the book is about living, and so naturally treats our beliefs in unseen possibilities.




In any case, while Brubaker employs direct reference to a divine entity (the Invisible) and even some less overt clues as to whom the Invisible might best represent, he keeps it oblique, allowing readers to make their own decisions about his characters' cosmogony. In CreatureTech, Doug TenNapel wallops readers over the head by having his non-believing protagonist actually flatout encounter the divine and witness crucifixion. It's a crude hammer the size of Mjolnir that TenNapel uses to pound penny nails into an Ikea version of faith and belief. (Fortunately, TenNapel almost redeems his book through sheer madcap humour—what he lacks in subtlety, he nearly makes up for in bravado.)


[This is when TenNapel's hero in Creaturetech actually experiences Jesus the Christ on an alien world in alien guise.]

Brubaker's path is more thoughtful and more considerate and more enjoyable and hits less like the eighteen-wheeler of belligerent proselytizing than TenNapel's. reMIND's characters have no direct encounter with the divine. No vision. No dream. No voice in the midst of fire or storm. Their Invisible remains invisible and if they continue to believe, they do so out of faith, out of a hope in things not seen. And because of this, I found that I could enjoy Brubaker's story for what it was rather than have to stop and think about what I thought about how much I agreed or disagreed with his characters' personal ideologies.

Introduction Two
reMIND is one of those books that I thought was going to be one thing and was excited about the thing I thought it was going to be and then it turned out to be something else entirely and I was a little disappointed and then forty pages later I didn't care and was excited again. The book opens with gorgeous art depicting a mechanically inclined woman named Sonja climbing a tower to do some work on a propeller turbine.




I wanted a story about her and her life and her trials. I wanted her personal dramas to unfold across a landscape of workshops and machinery and oil and gaskets and tools. I wanted Lawrence Marvit's Sparks without the fantasy. But pages later, when I discovered that this wouldn't be at all the direction Brubaker would be taking, I was disappointed. Completely unfair of me, I know, but it was as if I had witnessed the murder of my new best friend. My new best imaginary friend, as it turned out. Fortunately, Jason Brubaker is a talented storyteller and has things to say even if they aren't the things I imagined for him to say.




Pretty quickly, things take a turn for more wild and rambunctious paths. Talking animals, undersea civilizations, body-swapping, political coups. I blew through both (handsomely packaged!) volumes of reMIND rather quickly. Maybe over a couple hours? Maybe less? Even though his book is not the quiet character study I'd injudiciously hoped for, it's very good at being exactly what it is: a sometimes adventure, sometimes fantasy, sometimes theological rumination.

The Art
The first thing most readers will notice—before the talking cat, before the talking lizard, before the talking rat, before the talking sea anemone—is Brubaker's art. It's gorgeous, actually gorgeous. I read that he works (worked?) for Dreamworks animation. After reading reMIND, it's obviously to their credit that they thought to hire him. reMIND's visual troposphere is a beautiful mix of alien and familiar. Though deeply unlike, it reminds me of Moebius in that. His characters have the kind of fluidity that those with animation backgrounds tend to boast over their other comics-illustrating compatriots. As well, the book does a good job designwise, laying out some wonderful panels and scenes.




His character designs are usually pretty tight, even if often more cartoony than I generally prefer—the design for the lizard princess Cyrene is particularly good, being both grotesque and beautiful simultaneously.




I appreciated Brubaker's use of Photoshop (or some similar image-editing/creating software) for colouring. He uses, I believe, a number of watercolour washes (and oils) masked and recoloured to lend texture to his art.2 His colour choices are vibrant and fit the proposed mood well.




Another technique he employed that I thought worked particularly well focused on the use of white, overlit backgrounds to silhouette his foreground action. The effect creates a kind of bloom around figures, increasing their dynamism and pushing the reader to sense action even in the static.




Brubaker uses digital blurs to create dimensionality rather than strictly relying on colour cues as most (colour) comics would.




Anything Else?
reMIND is above all else: fun. It's primarily an adventure story, the tale of righting a kingdom's wrongs. It has other stuff (like the religion aspect), but those things may seem more like local colour meant to add solidity to Brubaker's world rather than to stand as the book's purpose. reMIND is an enjoyable romp that may or may not prompt further reflection on its themes. If it does, fantastic. The self-examined life and all that. If it doesn't, it's still a pretty bitchen little story.




And maybe its sequel will be about Sonja's life on the outskirts of a society that can never truly understand or appreciate her. And how that affects her love life!3

Bonus
Because I'm completely awesome, Jason Brubaker drew a picture of Victuals the cat in my books.



Actually, I lied. It had nothing to do with how awesome I may or may not be. It's just 'cuz he's a nice guy.

Footnotes
1) It's possible that Blankets almost sidesteps this by almost being non-fictional. The book is ostensibly a recapitulation of Thompson's childhood growing up in fundamentalist America but is in reality a fictionalization of that experience (at least more so a fictionalization than any straightforward memoir would be). Strangely enough, Tezuka's Buddha very neatly dodges the awkwardness of the dogma question despite similarly being a fictionalization of religious history and presenting its story as True Fact. The loophole might rest both in that Tezuka's life of the Buddha is filled with blatant fantasy elements and in that the book doesn't really ever take itself very much seriously at all—if a movie of the life of Christ received similar treatment, it would be picketed more than Scorsese's Last Temptation.

2) I guess this to be the case because I use the same technique in my own illustration work and think it looks pretty nice. Colour me biased.

3) Maybe Jason Brubaker is better off not consulting me with what to do next.
________

[Review courtsey of Good Ok Bad]

[Ash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not entirely sure what to make of this, beginning to see this as a pattern in graphic novels. Intriguing start. Beautiful art work (imo). Not sure what to make of the last pages. Will probably have more of an opinion after reading the next.

[Skyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

"reMIND is a mystical, sci-fi about faith, love and brain transplantation." [Source]



I'm not huge into comic books, nor would I ever even dream of calling myself a graphic novel aficionado. But "holy kelp"! reMIND really stuck with me even hours after reading the first volume. There are so many positives that this book touts, for instance:

1. The characters are incredibly relatable and engaging. Sonja? She maintains the lighthouse in the sleepy seaside town of Cripple Peaks after the death of her father. He dedicated his life to building the myth that a reptilian creature (aptly named "The Lizard Man") was haunting the depths of the seas. He hoped to bring tourists to the town and generate interest by fabricating tales of a mythical bogeyman. But secretly? He hoped to discover The Lizard Man for himself. And Sonja's cat, Victuals? Don't let the fur fool you. He's got a great personality and a whacky sense of humor. And for a feline he's crazy introspective.
2. The plot is so inconceivably fantastical you can't help but crave more of the story. Come on. Lizard people? Brain transplants? Mysterious cases of disappearing house pets? How can you not fall in love with that?
3. The illustrations are perfect. Honest. If I were a critic, there is not a single flaw there for me to nitpick. The artistic detail is ridiculous. I haven't seen colors this vibrant since Aquaman.

So it's obvious that a lot of time and prep went into creating the reMind series. It's weird, okay? If you don't like weird, quirky stories about underwater adventures with lizard men dramatic heroics, and mechanical swimming suit contraptions, this probably isn't the book for you. But if you want to give reMind: Volume 1 a go? I wholeheartedly support you.

At least humor Victuals, won't you? Poor guy.
"Nahustan is a god! I'm just a cursed lizard... cat...thing."

[Mathew Carruthers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Very cool story and art, definitely worth the time to read it, if you can find a copy. I just read a library copy and it's numbered 1545 of 2500, so it is a fairly limited printing. The story is unique, the art is slightly reminiscent of Moebius, all in all, a great combination.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very weird story about a talking cat and lizard people that live under the sea. The artwork in this book is just beautiful--Brubaker has a tremendous talent, a unique style, and the colors in this book are absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, the story isn't quite up to the same level as the art. It was a very strange tale of body-swapping and underwater religious cults, but it just wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped when I first thumbed through the book.

The characters all feel a bit glossed over, which could be helped with a bit more character development--we really know very little about Sonja, and her relationship with her cat isn't very well fleshed out at all. Sure, Victuals is just a cat, but when he comes back and starts TALKING, there's plenty of room to develop that relationship beyond "you're fluffy and cute and I like to pet you". Unfortunately, where the story of Victuals is concerned, I don't see much purpose in involving the cat and his human at all--though perhaps that will feel like it has more purpose in the conclusive volume. Right now I'm just wondering why Brubaker didn't just tell the entire story within the lizard city?

The rest of the story certainly has potential and I did like it--but for me the art is on a higher level than the story, and I was hoping they'd be more on par with each other.

[47Time · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is cute, though it touches on more serious topics like exiled individuals, family, a not-so-benevolent king, brain transplants. The artwork is a good match for the story with its shaky lines and occasional wide backgrounds. Overall, it's a kid's book, really. The story progression is slow until the second half and it feels as some of the details in the first half are glossed over. I for one can't feel anything for the characters. The story is that bland.

After Sonja's cat Victuals goes missing, it turns up again and starts to speak and walk upright. Sonja lives in the Cripple Peaks watchtower and doesn't believe in the myth that a lizard lives in the closeby swamps. The towspeople do, though, and have been promoting the myth to attract tourists. They even find a molted lizard skin that they believe proves the lizard's existence. Back home Sonja finds that Victuals's mother has come for a visit. And she is a rat. But they are really lizards from the deep. Weird...

Victuals had its brain replaced by that of a lizard who was exiled from the deep ocean by the god Nahusthan or the Invisible. It returns home using a diving suit Sonja built and is captured by the one who stole its body and its life. 

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely liked this one. The story was really good. Basically these lizard creatures live underwater/ground and have this society built around a false idol that the lizard in power claims the "god" is talking through him and abusing this power. Enter Sonja and her lizard brained cat who is trying to bring this all to light to the rest of the lizard community.

The art is cool too, especially the cat and lizards, and settings. Like a hand-drawn/watercolor kind of style.

I borrowed volume 2 from the library too so I can't wait to jump into it.

[Rose Q. Addams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really well-done story: I enjoyed it, despite not being the biggest fan of sci-fi or contemorary-set stories.

The town cryptid is actually real. Just not in the way people thought. The only one to really see the truth is the only one who never believed in the legend-- a girl named Sonja, who runs the town lighthouse. The "lizard man" in her home (and her cat's body!) gains the courage, with her help, to go and face his people once more...

There are hints/allusions to David and Saul within the underwater storyline, and I immediately read volume 2.

[claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a very fun comic, very fantastical. Almost steampunk, I guess. It's clear that a lot of concept development went into the making of this comic and I appreciate that because it feels like this is a well established fictional world and not just surface details. The style is fun too. Reminds me a bit of TMNT comics, but that's probably just because of the talking lizards.

[Radwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was... interesting.

It starts with a girl named Sonja living in a weird town where they believe in weird things, most importantly lizard men. Then her cats disappears, but it comes back.... different. and that makes her start to question everything.

The story was weird, but I'm interested to see how it will be resolved in the 2nd part.

[Vinayak Hegde · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story of a talking cat, a dilapidated lighthouse and a underwater fantasy world. The artwork is good but the story is okay. The coloring is brilliant and lends an otherworldly look to the book.

[Sheri S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the artwork in this book but the story line was a bit odd and kind of confusing. Victuals, the cat, is well drawn and original, and I appreciated his drive to return to his world and restore his reputation. Perhaps reading Volume 2 will bring more clarity?

[Liz H {Redd's Reads} · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was rather strange, and I don't know how I feel about it. It was interesting, but the story was a little all over the place. Perhaps future volumes will give more world building and backstory, but I don't know that I will pursue that.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was a very cute and interesting premise for a story. It’s creative and not at all what I expected.

Some of the characters could have been a bit more round. But it’s not a long story so really focuses on the main character.

[Raven Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read Jason Brubaker, okay? He is bada$$ and knows how to kick you in the gut so you say, "Thanks! Please, do it again!" as you hunt down the sequels and open your wallet wide.

And it has a talking cat, lizard people, and a really cute girl named Sonia. You can't go wrong.

[Jefferson Searle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids had this graphic novel sitting out. Great story. Creative premise. The person you think is the protagonist turns out a bit player. At least in volume one.

[Valissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely art, quick and oooo story, and a cliffhanger ending, perfection for a desperate comic reader.

[Alejandro Algarin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully paced and unique story. I loved victuals and how brave he was. I want to read volume 2 when I get it.

[Robert McTague · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book and Brubaker is a sincerely nice, accessible artist as well. Very original...

[Legustafson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting. Good storytelling and interesting graphics.

[Janelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A amazing quick read. Drawings and colours are beautiful!

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right smack in the middle of 3 and 4 stars. Of course...

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the whole thing in like an hour. The story wasn’t super interesting to me, but the art was really cool and you can tell that a lot of care went into making the book.

[Devon Munn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4 stars
This was a pretty interesting read. The setting was nice and the art style was nice to look out and was vaguely reminiscent of the art in Low

[Sneha Jaiswal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great artwork, weak story

A cat trapped in a lizard-man's body? That's the kind of weird I like reading. reMind is a blend of science-fiction, fantasy & mysticism, and while the story grabs the readers attention at the beginning, it becomes hard to keep any interest alive as the story progresses. While I loved the water-paint style artwork, the plot didn't work much for me. Don't see myself reading volume 2.