BLJ by Leo Fox (Mini Kus! #139)

If you informed a prospective reader that this book was superficially about a video game, it would belie the hidden universal truths examined within. I loved the wide-ranging cultural nods, from mid-90’s Super Mario 64, to audio illusions, the infamous work by Rene Magritte, classic cinema, and all the way back around to the gorgeous wraparound cover that mimics the immersive free-roaming gaming experience that the N64 game offered. The Infinite Staircase of Super Mario is examined in a way that ultimately makes it a metaphor for life. We are all hamsters running on the interactive wheel of life, driving toward some unmeetable goal, stuck in the illusion of forever improvement or ascendancy. If Leo Fox stopped there, it would already be a stark, fun reminder about the destination not being the point, and stopping to be present and enjoy the journey, of finding moments for our own illusive happiness in the proverbial rat race of modern existence. But, Leo Fox goes further. With thick figures and bold inky pages that soak up the somber blues and purples and crimsons, they seem to emphasize the very weight of our existence, the visual colors and shadows of oppression! There’s an allegory to be had about transition and renewal in the human body itself; and the inclusion of a clever hack in the game suggest there may also be a hack for navigating our own real-life existence. Reject the premise. Break the paradigm. This leads to freedom. By “conceding failure” on one path (as the book phrases it), you can often jump tracks to another more fruitful path. Sometimes things need to be broken first in order to be truly repaired. I thoroughly enjoyed this and was delighted to flip the book over to find the January 2026 publication date, because that means it’s an early contender for one of my favorite books of the year.