![Cover image for Jinchalo / [Matthew Forsythe].](https://secure.syndetics.com/index.aspx?type=xw12&client=halan&upc=&oclc=ocm748088935&isbn=9781770460676&issn=/LC.JPG "Cover image for Jinchalo / [Matthew Forsythe].")
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Library | Audience | Home Location | Material Type | Shelf Number | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Carnegie | Adult | Graphic novels | Book | 741.5971 F735 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
From the author of Ojingogo , another tale of enchantment and adventure
Jinchalo is Korean for "Really?" and that question (formulated variously as "What is and what isn't?" "What is real?" and "What is imagined?") is at the heart of this book. A companion to Matthew Forsythe's vastly successful Ojingogo , Jinchalo stars the same little girl as its heroine. When the mischievous shape-shifter Jinchalo hatches from a mysterious egg, he starts our heroine adventuring anew. Magical troubles drag the pair out of the safety of her home, through the small village where she resides, up, up, and away. In the course of their flight, they visit a robot garden, follow a vine into the clouds, and leave the village far behind.
These comics are firmly rooted in Korean folktales and stylistic conventions, with a playful, joyous drawn line. Jinchalo welcomes readers back into Forsythe's Miyazaki-tinged dreamscape where spotted octopi fly and bears give piggyback rides, where hummingbirds are larger than people and a sad furry monster wearing a bowler hat lurks around every corner. Forsythe uses page space innovatively in this wordless, panel-less book, and his storytelling is compelling for all ages, both simple and intricately detailed.
Author Notes
Matt Forsythe works and lives in Montreal. His illustration work has appeared in numerous magazines, including The Walrus and The Wall Street Journal .
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-8-After eating everything in the house, Voguchi (named only in the cover blurb) is sent out to get rice and a giant egg from the market. However, she accidentally switches eggs with that of a traveling bird, which hatches into a mischievous, shape-shifting, spirit. Things proceed to get truly weird thereafter as Voguchi chases her look-alike, chastises the artist of the comic in which she's appearing, ages rapidly, and dashes through other surreal vignettes. Told almost entirely silently, with only the odd sound effect or untranslatable Asian dialogue, this book rarely has more than two sequential images per page, which can make it a deceptively quick read. The pages are populated with a catalogue of absurdities, including robots, giant sushi, and characters that are redolent of the Shinto spirits in Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away (Viz, 2002). This is a much more organic affair with amusing and tactile inking and effective spot color providing depth and a subtle setting. A strong mythological element pervades the book, giving it an attempt at groundedness that helps balance the enjoyable flights of imaginative fancy. However, those looking for a clear narrative and a succinct ending won't find them in this otherwise charming, whimsical reading experience.-Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Midway through Forsythe's mostly text-free graphic fable-the follow-up to the Eisner-winning Ojingogo-some readers may suspect that they are being fed some kind of moral, or worse yet, an allegory. What else can they be expected to make of a story so overstuffed with brazenly mythological overtones, journeys, mysterious creatures, and dreamlike encounters? A young girl of formidable appetite (she demolishes log-size sushi rolls like they were canapes) is sent off to market by her father to replenish their food supplies. It's a simple enough task, but one immediately complicated by her running into a tricky shape-shifter. After that, she's launched into one dream-logic encounter after another (robots, a headless giant meeting bodyless heads, a great tree that grows out of her pack). Forsythe's manga-inspired style, with its mellow blue-tones and wide-open white margins is deceptively coolheaded. There's a frantic but calculated imagination rumbling underneath the surface that recalls the films of Hayao Miyazaki in its fantastical beauty and the wordless glee of Andy Runton's Owly. There likely are allegories upon allegories threaded through this book, but it can be enjoyed just as well without unraveling them. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
Those familiar with Hayao Miyazaki films such as Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro will find much to like in this companion to Forsythe's Eisner-nominated Ojingogo (2009). After eating all the rice in the house, a young girl sets off on a journey to replenish her pantry, traveling through a world peopled with one-eyed aliens, walking sea creatures, headless monsters, and transmogrifying magpies. Steeped in Korean folktales, this mostly wordless, mostly panelless graphic novel pulls together elements of magic realism and childhood whimsy in a way that both delights and confuses. Forsythe's obvious love for Korean art and culture shows in the characters, and his scratchy line art rewards close examination, with much of the humor being found in the details. Very accessible to children, this book will also appeal to teen and adult readers, making it a true all-ages title.--Volin, Eva Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Jinchalo is a strange little wonder. The cover art-a girl following a laughing bird up a tree-suggests a children's story, but there's little that is childish about this book. This is the story of a girl named Voguchi who is on a nebulous, wordless quest that involves gorging on oversized sushi rolls, villages of harmless monsters, the shape-shifting crow Jinchalo (Korean for "Really?"), and a dream-within-a-dream visit with her creator. Using elements from Korean folktales and bits of untranslated Korean to punctuate his tale, Forsythe crafts a rich imaginary world in accessible pen and ink. In its use of foreign language and fantastical, eerily familiar surroundings, Jinchalo echoes the project of Shaun Tan's The Arrival but with a much lighter touch. Verdict Forsythe's layers of images within images and interweaving of different stories subtly comment on the nature of storytelling and art and by what means we are able to understand and engage with even the most unfamiliar things. The story is accessible to anyone, young or old, interested in exercising and expanding their imagination.-Emilia Packard, Bloomington, IN (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
