Twig (Twig #1)

After his father’s death, blue-furred, bipedal creature Twig is reluctantly designated the new Placeling, whom “this world and all the ones beyond are depending on,” in this lightly creepy graphic novel series opener by Young (The Me You Love in the Dark) and Strahm (Into Radness). After arriving late to his first assignment, Twig and his snarky, yellow slug-like companion Splat are given a glowing red gem and instructed to take it to the Pathsayer, a diviner of mystical objects’ origins. But when the pair show up at the Pathsayer’s residence, they find him dead. Using the Pathsayer’s tools, Twig determines the gem’s destination, severely damaging it in the process, and the duo embark on a series of side quests to repair it before a “darkness covering all things” descends upon the world. The narrative’s gentle tone smartly contrasts the art’s occasionally grotesque visuals; in brilliantly hued palettes, Strahm renders distorted landscapes populated by innovative technologies, anthropomorphic ruins, and softly rounded critters sporting an astounding array of teeth. While Young’s plot follows a well-trod quest trajectory, clever tweaks and subversions keep it feeling fresh. Ages 12–up. (Nov.)