The Saga of Rex - Michel Gagné, Image, $17.99 trade paper (200p) ISBN 978-1-60706-322-3

While children may enjoy this graphic novel for its gorgeous art--especially the cute characters--its story line will more likely be appreciated by older readers. The almost wordless story isn't meant to be read on a literal level but instead on more a mystical and dreamlike level.

Characters include aliens and deities, and a mysterious being referred to as the Guardian-Shepherd. The Guardian-Shepherd is a tentacled alien who controls "Blossoms" that copy what they see.

Rex is a fox who gets taken off to another planet and has a Blossom turn into a female, purple fox to mirror his own image. Though they clearly love each other, they are not always together. Rex soon dies after that, in a bloody image that might distress some readers, and returns later like a fox unicorn with a single horn on his forehead.

Sometimes a single picture will take up a whole page, and other times pages are blocked into boxes. Gagné has done creative work for such animated films as The Iron Giant and Ratatouille; here he offers a sensitive and intriguing graphic novel for people who like a little enigma in what they read. Ages 9–12. (Nov.)

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