Comic Corner: An outside perspective

‘Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too: A Book’ review

By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor

5/5

It is unfortunate that oftentimes the categorization of “simplistic” becomes synonymous with “bad.” As readers, we all have those days, especially during summer, when we just don’t feel like powering our way through some great, epic story arc—but that doesn’t necessarily mean we don’t want to be entertained. If we choose to read something—no matter if it is a book, a comic, or a graphic novel,—we want to feel like the time we invested was somehow worthwhile. Luckily, Jomny Sun’s charming story “Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too” made me feel just that.

Written and drawn by Sun, the story is actually based off a Twitter account written by a fictional alien sent to observe Earth. The novel takes that characterization a step further as it portrays an alien, Jomny, who feels out of place in his own society. The interactions he has with the various creatures he meets on Earth help him find his own identity, as the Earthlings share their differing perspectives on life and the struggles it brings.

The art is fairly basic and doesn’t really hold much power behind it, beyond emphasizing the charm of the observational tone of the text/story it is presented alongside. Because it matches with the tone of the written aspect so well, I wasn’t bothered by the simplistic art style. It made it feel more like reading Jomny’s personal diary, as opposed to a voyeuristic experience of watching the events unfold.

To put it very simply, this graphic novel is short and sweet. It leaves you with a sense of happiness after reading it, in much the same way your favourite children’s book did when you were young. I’d definitely recommend ‘Everyone’s a Aliebn’ for a lazy day, or as a palette cleanser between comics with grander narrative structures—or if you’re just really having a bad day.