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.