Chunky Rice

It seems like I have been yaking about it long enough that it feels like I am about to be repetitive, but there is nothing for it so here goes. I finished reading my very first graphic novel over the weekend, Good-Bye Chunky Rice by Craig Thompson. Lest you think it is some gross out topic, let me put you at ease by telling you that Chunky Rice is the name of one of the characters. Chunky is a turtle. Why his name is Chunky Rice I have no idea. His best friend is a philosophical mouse named Dandel. For some reason I'm not quite sure of, Chunky decides he has to go away. Dandel says it's because Chunky is like a flower that has outgrown its pot. So Chunky ships out for some islands on a boat whose captain tosses most of his belongings overboard and makes him work even though he has paid for the trip. His shipmates are Livonia and Beululah, still connected Siamese twins who think Chunky is strange. The book's "moral" for lack of something better to call it, basically is that between friends there is no such thing as goodbye. It's a sweet but unchallenging story. The challenge for me came in learning to read the pictures. I got confused a few times when scenes would change or time would pass. By the end of the book I felt like I was getting the hang of it. I received notice from my library that Persepolis and Tommy Corrigan are ready for me to pick up. I'll get over there some time this week and perhaps give one of them a try over the weekend. I figure after I read those two I will know if I want to read more graphic novels or if my curiosity has been satisfied.