Abadazad fans, rejoice, as the creative team behind that lost and sorely missed series have teamed up once again to present a new comic title that captures the same sort of magic without seeming as though it's just a retooling of their previous efforts. The Stardust Kid boasts the same kind of charming storytelling and inventive visuals we came to expect from Abadazad, but the theme and focus the story explores are actually much different. Ploog's designs and illustrations are delightful, and DeMatteis's script is playful while still maintaining n atmosphere of slight tension.
The women in Cody DiMarco's life are worried about him. His mother believes Cody is spending too much time in Wilde Park with his friend Paul Brightfield, but she's not really sure why she feels that way. There's something about Paul she just can't put her finger on, something different that makes her uncomfortable. And then there's Alana Sloane, Cody's best friend during his toddler years. She doesn't see as much of Cody as she used to, as Paul seems to have replaced her as Cody's best friend. Neither of them realize just how special Paul Brightfield is, but Cody does, and he's kept Paul's magical secret for years.
Ploog's portrayal of Paul keeps the reader guessing, wondering if Cody's mom and Alana are right about him. At times, he looks a bit suspicious, not quite right, just as they feel. But at others, he seems like the kind soul Cody perceives him to be. Ploog's designs are full of wonder, just as they were in Abadazad, and I don't just mean for the magical elements in the story. Alana and her brother seem particularly sharp and likeable thanks to the wide-eyed look the artist has crafted for those characters. Nick Bell brings a darker, more foreboding tone to bear with a deeper, darker color palette. It reinforces those afore-mentioned fears and suspicions.
DeMatteis offers two approaches to the narration, one that captures the mystery and wonder of the plot elements, and another that addresses the reader directly. The latter is a more playful tone, helping to balance the darker bits lurking along the periphery of the story and the growing tension. My favorite character so far is one we barely glimpse, and that's Nathaniel, Alana's younger brother. He's clever, and the bond between brother and sister shines through despite the sibling rivalry we see on the surface.
Whereas Abadazad was about a young girl rediscovering her innocence and sense of wonder as she sought out her long-lost brother, The Stardust Kid is actually about growing up, about the need to lose that innocence. The story focuses on how Cody is growing more distant from his parents as he enters adolescence and about how just about everyone, Cody included, hates the notion of change and growth. It's the title character who points out that personal evolution is a necessary thing, and I suspect the plot will head in a direction that examines his need to change and evolve as well. 8/10
