As if Quentin Tarantino’s mind and a children’s picture book were accidental merged during teleportation to another universe!
Cupcake & Astronaut is a weird dive into the mind of famed comic artist, Question No. 6. ( ) (that’s her name-the empty parenthesis, not this one) has one too many arms and one too few eyes to be an astronaut until she realizes that her love of shotguns could force the Space Center to build a special spacesuit just for her. Her adventures in space, with her beloved cupcakes, ensue. [cue Kill Bill soundtrack]
The artwork here is, of course, the star. It’s affordable pop art that would be excellent framed. It is similar to the colorful style of Roy Lichtenstein. The plot is scattershot. Trying to guess its direction, or even its purpose, is difficult. It might be a story celebrating diversity. I can’t even tell its genre. Science fiction? Fantasy? Women’s fiction? Children’s picture book (even though it says it is for grade 11 and up)? Who knows? But I like its delicious difference from any other book ( not just graphic novel) out there. 4 stars!
Nerd alert!
The author’s name refers to the most difficult question given to high school mathletes. If you’re interested, search for “Question 6 1988 Australian math olympics”.
End nerd (of which I am one of course) alert!
Thanks to the publisher, Alternative Comics, and Edelweiss+ for an advanced copy.