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The Abominable Charles Christopher #2
The Abominable Charles Christopher - Book Two
Chapter Two of Karl Kerschl's award-winning comic, The Abominable Charles Christopher, is collected here in a new softcover volume. Follow the continuing adventures of the lovable and dim-witted Charles Christopher as he ventures out of the Cedar Forest in search of his past. This book features a brand new colour cover and a dedication page for a sketch or signature. "Tales with animal characters have a way of exploring humanity better than those with upright homo sapiens. Karl Kerschl's stories of a simple yeti and the animal inhabitants of his wooded home raise not only the bar for storytelling in comics, but also for animal stories previously told by Mr. Kipling, Mr. Grahame, & even old Aesop himself. " - David Petersen, Mouse Guard
Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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About the author
Karl Kerschl
249 books56 followersKarl Kerschl is a Canadian comic book artist, best known for his work for DC Comics. His recent projects include Adventures of Superman, Majestic, The Flash (All-Flash #1) and Teen Titans: Year One. He is also the author of the webcomic The Abominable Charles Christopher
Kerschl was born in Toronto and raised in Niagara Falls. He attended the Ontario College of Art for a year before deciding to practice on his own, discovering and improving his own storytelling and drawing styles in the process. Kerschl currently lives in Montreal "with two cats, both of whom are French-Canadian."
Kerschl was born in Toronto and raised in Niagara Falls. He attended the Ontario College of Art for a year before deciding to practice on his own, discovering and improving his own storytelling and drawing styles in the process. Kerschl currently lives in Montreal "with two cats, both of whom are French-Canadian."
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 18, 2021
What an intriguing and surprising book this is.
This second volume of Charles' quest is equally gorgeous and mysterious as the first one.
Little hints and tips are left along the way in the art and dialogues so one must be paying attention to each page.
Yes, this is a book to enjoy s..l..o..w..l..y.
And make no mistake: this is a really *profound* book about life, choices, learning, growing up and growing old, you name it.
Just give yourself the opportunity to look beyond the cute animals and beasts, and you'll find a remarkable range of human emotions. As I said, it's a surprising book.
This volume deepens the story but there's still to much to be discovered, I feel.
So, on to the third volume!
This second volume of Charles' quest is equally gorgeous and mysterious as the first one.
Little hints and tips are left along the way in the art and dialogues so one must be paying attention to each page.
Yes, this is a book to enjoy s..l..o..w..l..y.
And make no mistake: this is a really *profound* book about life, choices, learning, growing up and growing old, you name it.
Just give yourself the opportunity to look beyond the cute animals and beasts, and you'll find a remarkable range of human emotions. As I said, it's a surprising book.
This volume deepens the story but there's still to much to be discovered, I feel.
So, on to the third volume!
October 23, 2017
Segundo capítulo de la historia de Charles Christopher donde la épica toma dimensiones larger than life mezclándose con leyendas sumerias mientras los subplots de los animales se tornan en policiales, bildungsroman y dramas. Kerschl lo vuelve a hacer, incluso en las tiras posteriores a lo compilado en este libro. Este webcomic es un pequeño tesoro del que todos pueden disfrutar.
October 28, 2021
This is a great follow-up to the first volume. The artwork is still phenomenal, and the strips keep that interesting balance of presenting both serious and silly story elements. I'm glad volume three is coming soon to finally continue this series.
June 5, 2022
Dialogues brillants et animaux humanifiés avec brio aussi. Les dessins sont dynamiques, j'ai bien aimé mon moment de lecture.
June 11, 2016
I read this webcomic several years ago. I started on it when it was still fairly new, and kept up with it for a few months. It seemed to be a deeper version of Bone, but for whatever reason, I didn't stick with it. It wasn't until a few weeks ago, when I saw that the author was selling the books at a great deal, that I decided to look into it again. Based on the blurbs by well-known authors (Neil Gaiman!), I decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did.
Like Bone, Charles Christopher is a heavy story with humorous overtones. Kerschl writes both with a deft eye and a keen ear, and he captures his characters well. Charles is a gentle giant, strong though he sometimes cowers, with courage and empathy to spare. The rest of the cast are the animals in the forest where Charles lives, all of whom can talk and communicate with each other, and with Charles. Kerschl writes those characters as well as he does Charles, such that when the story takes on its heaviness, the reader will feel it as well as his characters do.
The story itself is about the world of humans invading the world of animals, and the conflict that arises from the two worlds clashing. There is a spiritual theme to the story, as well, as Charles meets with a lion who represents the spirits of the animals. Charles, being an abominable (I'm guessing he's intended to be a Yeti, though it's never directly stated in the story) is a breed of both worlds, and serves as a potential intermediary in the conflict. This is how Charles gets involved with the conflict, and with the first two books, it's only barely begun.
Given that this is a collection of a webcomic, the structure of the books is a little odd. Kerschl will intersperse a humorous few strips amid the heavier storyline, making it a little difficult to grab on to the main plot of his story. I got used to it, and I assume other readers will, too, and it's a good thing, since the main story behind Charles Christopher is a heavy one. It begins with tragedy, continues into further tragedy, and then concludes (such as it does at the end of book two, with a lot more story to go) with even more tragedy.
Graphic storytelling should be a balance between the art and the story, and Kerschl excels at both. The story has been in development for a long time (the webcomic began nine years ago, and hasn't developed much further than what's in the two books), and it's clear that Kerschl has much more to tell. The story moves slowly, which might be frustrating for some readers, but for fans of Bone looking for something a little more geared for adults, The Abominable Charles Christopher is a good place to start. Like I mentioned above, the books are on sale right now!
Like Bone, Charles Christopher is a heavy story with humorous overtones. Kerschl writes both with a deft eye and a keen ear, and he captures his characters well. Charles is a gentle giant, strong though he sometimes cowers, with courage and empathy to spare. The rest of the cast are the animals in the forest where Charles lives, all of whom can talk and communicate with each other, and with Charles. Kerschl writes those characters as well as he does Charles, such that when the story takes on its heaviness, the reader will feel it as well as his characters do.
The story itself is about the world of humans invading the world of animals, and the conflict that arises from the two worlds clashing. There is a spiritual theme to the story, as well, as Charles meets with a lion who represents the spirits of the animals. Charles, being an abominable (I'm guessing he's intended to be a Yeti, though it's never directly stated in the story) is a breed of both worlds, and serves as a potential intermediary in the conflict. This is how Charles gets involved with the conflict, and with the first two books, it's only barely begun.
Given that this is a collection of a webcomic, the structure of the books is a little odd. Kerschl will intersperse a humorous few strips amid the heavier storyline, making it a little difficult to grab on to the main plot of his story. I got used to it, and I assume other readers will, too, and it's a good thing, since the main story behind Charles Christopher is a heavy one. It begins with tragedy, continues into further tragedy, and then concludes (such as it does at the end of book two, with a lot more story to go) with even more tragedy.
Graphic storytelling should be a balance between the art and the story, and Kerschl excels at both. The story has been in development for a long time (the webcomic began nine years ago, and hasn't developed much further than what's in the two books), and it's clear that Kerschl has much more to tell. The story moves slowly, which might be frustrating for some readers, but for fans of Bone looking for something a little more geared for adults, The Abominable Charles Christopher is a good place to start. Like I mentioned above, the books are on sale right now!
December 13, 2012
Volume two of this picks up where the first one left off in terms of quality and enchanting storytelling, combined with lovely moments of humor and some really tender and sad moments.
The art is incredible, stark and dynamic, with a lot of detail. But its the story that enchants me every time I start reading this comic - a number of storylines are going on simultaneously, and they vary from deeply serious to mostly funny. The moon bear bits especially stick with me.
We got a new bad guy in this volume and I'm not yet sure what to make of him/ He's self-centered and selfish and immature in equal parts, but he also seems somewhat young. It's hard to judge.
Anyway, long story short, recommended. Highly recommended.
The art is incredible, stark and dynamic, with a lot of detail. But its the story that enchants me every time I start reading this comic - a number of storylines are going on simultaneously, and they vary from deeply serious to mostly funny. The moon bear bits especially stick with me.
We got a new bad guy in this volume and I'm not yet sure what to make of him/ He's self-centered and selfish and immature in equal parts, but he also seems somewhat young. It's hard to judge.
Anyway, long story short, recommended. Highly recommended.
August 27, 2015
Just as gorgeous as the first volume. Charles' story continues, as do many of the others - the lovelorn rabbit, Vivol and Moon Bear, the owl and his son, and the merchant skunk (which takes a rather dark turn). Some new characters are added to the mix, including a wolf detective. It's the same wonderful combination of storytelling, epic adventure, and one-off gags.
May 17, 2014
I read most of this online, but lost my RSS feed of it without realising, until I saw the second book at TCAF this year. It's even better than the first one, I think. Just such a charming and beautiful world.
August 27, 2014
The second installment of this story continues to be astoundingly wonderful in every way. Gorgeous artwork, lovely characters, phenomenal stories. I couldn't love this more.
Brilliant. Hope it never ends.
Brilliant. Hope it never ends.
October 13, 2013
Please see my review of Book 1. The same is true except that this book is better because of the quality of the hardcover and printing.
February 19, 2015
Basically everything I said about Volume 1 stands here as well. It's lovely and clever and fascinating! I particularly like the D&D-playing porcupine and rabbit. (PS: I'm the rabbit.)
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews