Sandbox by Yuichi Yokoyama (Mini Kus! #134)

Sandbox reads right to left in the Japanese tradition, which will be a welcome printing adjustment for any comic book readers who enjoy manga. I think this is the first time I recall Kus! publishing a book in this format, which is a nice touch. Visually, Yokoyama’s work is stunning, with thin lines particularly in the early pages, that recede into the distant vanishing point on the horizon. I also really love the way some text and sound effects are drawn into the art itself, and not overlaid later with lettering. I enjoyed the different helmets or head shapes of the characters, which seem to recollect our different human forms. The characters travel through a couple different vignettes in sandy mountainous terrain, or some near the sea, and they’re obtuse struggles with walking on sand, and parsing the meaning of figures and noises along the way. For me, it was a metaphor for the journey of life, an effective reminder that we’re all on different pathways, and are presented with choices, how we interact with our surroundings, when we stay or leave a given situation or environment, some of those choices resonating with significance, and some being inconsequential non-sequiturs. Usually, with international work, there can be something “lost in translation,” but with Sandbox I think the translation quirks actually enhance the work thematically, underscoring the challenge with discerning meaning in what we encounter on our grand journey.