Kimmie66

by Aaron Alexovich

When Telly, a 15-year-old technobrainiac who spends most of her time in the online virtual reality lair of Elysium, gets an e-mail suicide note from her best friend, KIMMIE66, she decides to investigate the validity of the mysterious message by traveling into the dark reaches of the online world, where she discovers many scary secrets. Original.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fiction, Teen, Mystery

176 pages, Paperback

First published November 7, 2007

About the author

AARON ALEXOVICH (who is me) was born in Chicago, Illinois, the year Elvis died, but I currently sleep the daylight hours away in Southern California. After neglecting to graduate from the world-famous CALARTS, I took up space in the animation industry for a while, contributing character designs to Nickelodeon’s INVADER ZIM and AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER. I like making comic books way better, though. SERENITY ROSE VOL. 1 was my first published work, but since then I’ve doodled up KIMMIE66 (DC/Minx), CONFESSIONS OF A BLABBERMOUTH (written by Mike and Louise Carey, DC/Minx), SERENITY ROSE VOL. 2, and issue #64 of DC/Vertigo’s 2000 lb. gorilla, FABLES. Among other things. I am the proud owner of two cats, one theremin, a Facebook account and something called “the photic reflex,” which makes me sneeze in bright sunlight.

Reviews

[Naomi Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Alexovich's Serenity Rose and really enjoyed it and wanted to read more by him, AND THEN I found this book when I wasn't even looking for it. I enjoyed it. I do have a thing for gothic comics, Gloom Cookie, Lenore, and Courtney Crumrin come to mind. This one is a little more tech-nerdy, which was fine. I love the exploration of AI and such things. I can tell my own artwork has been affected by the black and white style with macabre stories and cutesy characters. Can we talk about how cute Telly is? She is absolutely adorable. I love her. There is quite a bit of exposition that happens, but because it recognizes itself and is in Telly's voice I didn't mind and I felt like it worked toward characterizing the MC. ANYWAY. I'm glad I own it and thought it was definitely worth the read <3

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Telly, 14, is a teen in the 23rd century, and spends much of her time in her lair – Elysium – with her two best friends, Nekokat and Kimmie66. Elysium, and other lairs, are VR (virtual reality) worlds accessed by VR goggles. Technology has evolved so much that VR worlds are virtually indistinguishable from real experiences. Telly finds herself the recipient of Kimmie’s suicide note and she and Nekokat freak out – especially when they continue to catch glimpses of Kimmie in Elysium. Telly decides to track down Kimmie66’s real identity and discovers that she is the daughter of one of the big names in technology. Her search leads her to Kimmie’s mom, Dr. Tenn, after Kimmie destroys one of the lairs. There, Telly learns that Kimmie was digitally uploaded into VR after her suicide – by her mother. There were problems. For instance, Kimmie was perhaps too dead. With Telly’s help, they are able to recover the ghostly, malfunctioning Kimmie, and save the rest of the VR .

The boldly drawn, black and white characters – especially Telly – are gothic-cute (Elysium is goth-themed), and their environment (mostly dark grays and blacks) is rather gothic and haunting as well (fits nicely with the story). The parts of the story that take place in real life are much lighter in color and help distinguish them from their VR counterparts. I loved the artwork – especially Telly’s wild, curly hair and freckles.

Despite Kimmie’s influence on the lairs and her suicide, she comes off as being a rather flat character. We don’t even find out, really, why she committed suicide. Nor do we ever learn what possessed her mother to digitize her. Was it a chance to further her research? Was she overwrought by her daughter’s suicide? There’s so much potential here for discussion and a chance to further disturb us. But, with Telly’s assistance, all of that wraps up nicely. Kimmie is contained (is she also deactivated?), and presumably her mother goes on to further fame and fortune. Still, you find yourself wondering what’s in store for Telly in the future – she’s rescued or condemned her best friend, and now she’s more into the mechanics and possibilities of VR than ever before. What will she do next? This is one of the Minx titles, and I’m not sure if there are sequels planned (Minx is putting out a bunch of stand-alone graphic novels). It was decent, and visually appealing. I liked the sci-fi setting and some of the questions it raised, even though it left most of those unanswered.

[C.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaron Alexovich is a genius.

My wife bought this book for me in addition to Confessions of a Blabbermouth (both Minx graphic novels) for Christmas and let me say this: unlike Confessions, this went above and beyond my expectations.

I love Aaron A. because of Serenity Rose and now I love him even more for creating this gem.

Kimmie66 is a 24th century based story about a 14 year old girl named Telly. Telly spends the majority of her waking hours (that she isn't at school or cleaning up after her father and brother) in what they call lairs. Lairs are basically like the holodeck on Star Trek: a virtual reality simulator that one can plug into and basically exist in another world in a very, very real way. The lair Telly spends most of her time in is a place she goes with her two best friends, and the supposed suicide of one of them is the catalyst for this story: Kimmie66.

I wont say anymore, but I must say that in a world where it's hard to find an original storyline, this one, for me at least, was pretty original, which garners two stars in itself. Another is for Aaron's ability to take this idea and put it into fantastic words, and another is for the images that accompany it. The fifth star is simply an overall feeling I got out of completing the book.

My only problem with the story is that it didn't last longer. I want to continue to be a part of Telly's world.

Luckily, I at least have the continuing adventures of Serenity Rose to get my weekly dose of Aaron A's brilliance.

www.heartshapedskull.com

Do it.

[Jennifer de Guzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaron Alexovich tackles the increasingly important question of online identity, and he does it in a way that's fun and spooky, with a main character who is, oh my god, adorable. I love her hair. Her voice is a little teenage-girly, but I can handle that, and it fits the character and the story. Unlike a lot of graphic novels I've read lately, Kimmie66 treats a traumatic event as a traumatic event. (Really, how do these girls in other graphic novels do this? One accidentally kills two men and then her father gets murdered, another is inadvertently responsible for a kindly old man losing his mind, and another's grandmother turns out to be a Satanist, and they bounce back so easily from these horrible events!) Telly is appropriately devastated by the death of her friend, and her quest to find out what happened to Kimmie and who she "really" was comes across as earnest, touching and believable.

And Aaron is just an awesome artist. The futuristic world he creates is just the right balance between make-believe and realistic.

This book has the best cover design of the Minx books, I think.

[Lizzie♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay well this comic has a setting where it takes place in the 23rd century. It tells about the life of Telly Kade(shes the narrator in a way, since she talks about her life). In the 23rd century, people arent usually outside in the regular world. Theyre in cyberworld. Virtual reality is what many would call it. Everyone has their own lair and whatnot. It seems like a cool thing, but she does encounter a problem. Her best friend, Kimmie66, ends up dead since she suicided. She left a note for Telly and she hates to lose her friend, but something is very wrong. She is seen all over the 'net even if she is indeed dead. For Telly to find out why, she has to go from lair to lair(which is not allowed) to see why this is happening. Its an awesome comic, you should read it if you are into that mystery and mythical stuff.

[Chris - Quarter Press Editor]

I liked the ideas Alexovich is playing with here. There is a lot of potential in this world and story. However, it's too short for what it is. We don't get enough time to really dive in and grow with the characters--or even really care about them.

Even more, fans of SERENITY ROSE will, most likely, find a few too many overlaps in character design and personality. In many ways, this felt like an alternate reality version of SR.

Granted, that's not terrible--if you like Alexovich's work, afterall--but I would've loved to see him branch out more.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Virtual Reality is reality? You'll have to read this one to find out!

[Jose Moreno · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was good but it was too short and it kind of made no sense about kimmie dying and the end is way to plain, you ould expect something more exciting from kimmie and telly.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Conceptually intriguing but it read like an outline; this book lacked meat entirely. Minimal narrative, minimal character development, flat language. Only the illustrations were compelling.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ghost in the machine is a common theme in science fiction and fantasy and has been for many years. But what if a story were set in the future when most people spent more time plugged into the net then they do in real life interacting with other people? Telly Kade is a typical 23rd century teen, living most of her life in the lairs in a virtual world. But then her best friend goes missing supposedly to commit suicide. Telly cannot handle that and goes in search of Kimmie66, even if it means breaking the rules of VR and laws, to find out who she really was and what happened to her. Her search for the truth will lead her into a deeper understanding of the VR world and of the real world.

The short-lived MINX graphic novel line was supposed to feature stories about strong women and girls and be quality graphic novels for young women. This was a great story well written and with interesting plot twists and surprises. I plan on keeping the whole series set aside for my daughters for when they are older, but I will probably pull this one and a few of the others out again and again from time to time to reread.

[Lucy Granger · Rating 4 out of 5]

hell yeah. not super familiar with Invader Zim but hell yeah, i really liked this. i think Alex’s style is a perfect fit for mall goth meets 23rd century tech hellscape, very stark and simple but super expressive, a masterclass on strong character design.

the story is pretty A to B but a lot of great emotion is drummed up in the in between. I feel like I’d love to see more, what we’re given is great and i get graphic novels are often just as much if not more about the art than the story, but even just another chapter might satisfy. maybe not, maybe i just want more of a good thing when i should be happy i got a good thing to begin with!

Ready Player One if it didn’t suck so unbelievably bad and had a hot topic sense of aesthetics.

[Litwithlove · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little quick read. The way that everyone speaks is so peak cringey 2000s it brought me back to my own journal entries from that time. Her brother uses homo as a slur, they use the word "confuzzled" which was a mainstay in my childhood best friends vocabulary. The story is short and ends abruptly but tells a compelling story.
It's like Lenore, I luv Halloween, I hate fairyland, Invader Zim. ( Which I was not surprised to find out that the author worked on. )

[Ms Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A frightening future of VR and its consequences done well and with heart.

[Jessica Manna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Under appreciated and delightful. I adored everything about it. I sensed a flavor of JTHM in the art style, with a sort of morbid kind of 'ready player one,' atmosphere kinda! Dig it, man!

[aeasaea · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10⭐️

[Roybot · Rating 3 out of 5]

How much do we know about the people in our lives, when the people in our lives are online personas? That's the central question in Aaron Alexovich's Kimmie66.

The story itself is simple enough: In the distant future, Kimmie66 sends a note to her friend, Telly, saying that she plans to kill herself. The problem: Telly and Kimmie66 have never met in meatspace; they've only ever interacted online. Telly starts to worry about what might have happened, and how she can help her friend, when things start to get weird.

Alexovich wrote and drew this short work, published under the sadly short lived Minx banner. His visual style, easily recognized by fans of his work on Invader Zim, is sort of quirky sci-fi cyberpunk cute. The characters are very exaggerated and cartoonish, which may distract some readers, but I enjoyed the playfulness of his artwork. It works very well for a story set in such a strange future (also, for a story that largely takes place in a digital world).

The plot does raise some interesting philosophical questions about trust and identity, and it's hard not to wonder how different Kimmie's life might have been if she had more friends offline, instead of all online. That said, Alexovich doesn't preach, and there's not a sense that he thinks there's anything wrong with having an online community. Also of note, he doesn't seek to minimize the pain/anger/hurt that people experience from online relationships.

While the book does raise interesting questions, it did feel like there was a certain level of disconnect or dissonance between the style and the content. The dialog and visuals instantly call to mind Invader Zim or other relatively light fare, but the content of the story felt like it wanted a little more restraint and perhaps a more serious tone overall. The book is addressing real issues that have serious life consequences, and the humorous visual tone ends up conflicting with that goal. That said, this is still an interesting, if too light, read.

The issues Telly is dealing with will likely resonate with teens and young adults, making this a good fit for a YA collection. Because this book does deal with suicide and death rather frankly, younger kids may find some of the content disturbing.

[Evin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kimmie66, a futuristic graphic novel, takes place in a world where VR (virtual reality) reigns heavy. Most everyone spends insane amounts of time inside specific 'lairs' in which they create their own fantasy lives, much like the RPGs of today with far more advanced technology. Only, it is allowable to transfer between lairs. What's yours is yours. (This does not stop some people.) If you're a fan of gaming, this world would appeal greatly to you.

Our main character, Telly, is a resident of a fairly passive goth-kid lair in which she hangs out with her two friends Nekokat and Kimmie66. One day, she receives a letter from Kimmie66 that she would be committing suicide in the real world. Only, if she had, why are people seeing her all over the VR?

This is another one of my favorite graphic novels. It's unfortunate that it couldn't afford a bit more girth because I feel it could benefit from some padding. But for the space it has, it uses it fairly well.

The style, characterization, and messages within this book are just fantastic. It never feels like its talking down to you or lecturing you. It's like the life lessons are an after thought and I just love that.

Because of it's shortness, I feel it's fairly difficult to accurately summarize the plot without giving away most, if not all, of the book. I definitely feel this was steered more towards the YA female audience with all of the girl power so that may be why the reviews of this are so mixed. But overall, I really enjoyed this even more the second time.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Telly lives in the 23rd century. A time when virtual reality means virtual lives. Most people spend a good part of their time in Lairs, which are sort of like second life. Telly gets a suicide letter from her friend Kimmie, but she doesn't know if it's just a prank or not. The further she dives in the more she finds out. The more Telly begins to think that maybe you never really know your friends in the Lairs at all. Telly wants to help Kimmie, but it's going to take more minds than hers to figure out what is going on and save Kimmie from herself.

This was a weird book. The whole idea of Lairs and the weird avatars people come up with is a bit much. I really cannot image no human interaction. Coil sort of bothered me he looked like a juggalo (ICP), and it made me not like him very much. Telly was also sort of an annoying character, because she seemed to stumble and mutter a lot and never really get anything out. I liked how intricate the story was though. Aaron Alexovich did a great job building this eerie world, and then the worlds inside the world too. It was a fast little mystery and a little spooky. If you're really into virtual reality and sci-fi this might be right up your alley.

First Line:
"But...is it real, Telly?"

Favorite Line:
"I'm a reality check, poodlebuns."

Read more: http://www.areadingnook.com/2011/10/r...

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to love Kimmie66, but it was only possibly for me to like it.

The premise is appealing to me: issues of mutable unknown identities and virtual/synthesized reality through the lens of teen girls in the 23th century. Yes, please. The storyline seemed to go toward a circular nothingness for most of the book, however, and the dialogue teetered on the edge of obnoxious faux teen slang and sci-fi melodrama (the bad kind, not the good kind.).

Enough negatives; I did give it three stars. Why? The art in this is easily among my favorites from what I've read of the Minx line. Drawn from the same family as Invader Zim, the main character is adorable. Why is her hair so cute? Why is her cute hand always in front of her cute face with her cute sleeve pulled up nervously? Who knows, but it's cute. But it's still sort of cyberpunky. I liked the major characters, despite the annoying syntax and vocabulary. I really felt bad for Telly when she received her best friend's suicide note. I thought Nekocat seemed like a pretty good impersonation of a plausible online persona. Mad scientist mama turned Frankenstein? Okay, a little crazy but the intention seemed pure.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 23rd-century Seattle, 14-year-old Telly spends the bulk of her time in virtual reality, whether its learning in school, or in her online "lair." In this imagining of our future world, we are all members of lairs (essentially MMOish "Second Life" type virtual worlds) catering to our particular interests. Telly's lair is a kind of Tim Burtonesque gothy-steampunky place, where she has two close friends (one of whom is kimmie66). When kimmie sends a virtual suicide note, Telly embarks on quest to find out if the note was real or just roleplaying.

The themes of real world vs. virtual world, and the differences and distinctions between them, have been worked and reworked countless times in science fiction. This book, which is presumably aimed at teenage girls, does a nice job of covering this turf in an accessible manner. Telly's search for kimmie66 and her possible haunting by kimmie66's ghost is engaging and feels true. What she uncovers is pretty interesting, and triggers even more questions about consciousness and reality. It's not particularly deep, but it's accessible for young teens and the art is distinctive.

[Sucre · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't count the number of times I've reread this since I was in middle school. It's something that's always stuck in my brain. I think it captures online friendships so authentically, and at the time I hadn't read anything else like it. I, too, grew up on the internet. I had many online friends that I didn't know their real names, ages or what they looked like. I had people I cared for that, one day, out of the blue, stopped visiting the message board, or the MMO, or abandoned their Gaia/Neopets/LJ/Wordpress accounts. This comic felt so relatable even in its sci fi, futuristic setting. It opened my brain to bigger ideas and still inspires things I create, for myself or for online friends. I can't believe I ever thought I could get away with saying it's a 4 star read when it's made such a huge positive impact on me. I'm always going to love this comic and plan on keeping my original copy (now stained, dirty and banged up) for as long as I have a place to put it.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Appeal Characteristics: characters, concept, virtual reality, art, science-fiction, relationships, technology, teen angst, drama


I really LOVED this concept. This is a world (sorta like the movie Gamer [Gerald Butler]) where virtual reality is the "new reality." Instead of spending time in the outside world, everyone has a virtual place where they can become whoever they want to be. Telly has two good friends called Nekocat and Kimmie66. Apparently, Kimmie66 leaves a suicide note which sends Telly on an adventure of the mysterious message, and the virtual world.



Red Flags: Mild Language (I think?), Suicide

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Minx line is pretty consistent, in that every book I've read has a pretty good idea and reasonably believable characters. I liked this one a little better than some of the others, but the story was more complicated (therefore a little harder to follow, but that could be the 36-hour break I took in the middle of reading it; I lost the flow of the narrative). Probably my favorite of the Minx books so far, though to be fair it's not on par with many of the non-Minx graphic novels I've read. I'm waffling between 3 and 4 stars, so say 3.5.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

kimmie66 is the screen name of Telly's best friend in VR (virtual reality). It's a pain when you don't know your friends real names - especially when they send you a suicide note. kimmie66 kills herself but she keeps on showing up in the lairs (worlds in VR). The story is about Telly trying to find her friend. I liked the sci-fi bent to this story - it takes place in the future where virtual reality is so advanced there's not much difference between "real" and "virtual". This has much more of a teen audience than adults.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun self-contained graphic novel. The art work was good & the story was interesting. It's set in a futuristic world were people live online more than off. The main character, a spunky reserved 14 year old girl, is trying to find her online friend in the real world after receiving a suicide note from her. The lead character is sweet as well as brave. The rest of the cast is helpful, and not, but all add to the story nicely.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this more than most of the other Minx titles. The premise is unique and cool - in a future world where all social life is lived in virtual environments, a girl receives a suicide note from her best (virtual) friend. She has to surf through various virtual environments to solve the mystery. Cool illustration style (not my usual taste, but I liked it), with a premise that would be a good lead-in to Epic and other video game-based fiction. Definitely worth booktalking.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in a not-so-distant future where virtual reality has become more real than reality. Telly spends most of her time in her online "lair," a virtual reality world where she has two friends. When she gets a suicide note from Kimmie66, she races too find her friend before it is too late. Unfortunately, she only knows her friends by their online screen names. She seeks the help of rule-breaking drifter, Coil, to find Kimmie66 and finds more than she bargained for.

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Eh. That's pretty much all I have to say about this graphic novel. Don't waste your time. Especially if you HATE it when authors try to come up with their own teen slang and give you cutesy little words like "confuzzled" and "mysterimus." YICK. Please, please stop trying so hard. Please.

I expect better from the Minx line, I really do.

[Kristen Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fastforward into the future - where nearly everyone lives a part of their lives in virtual reality. A girl (kimmie66) leaves a suicide note to an online friend and that friend goes on to discover the true identity of her virtual reality friend and the truth behind why she still appears in the virtual worlds.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Telly is from the future, the far future, where most of life happens in VR. She has just recieved a suicide note from her best friend, which makes her realize she only knows her friends via VR, she knows nothing about them IRL. So she goes on a quest to find out if this note is real, if her friend, Kimmie, really did kill herself, or if it's some horrible joke.