Review: Kimmie66

Kimmie66 by Aaron Alexovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

How much do we know about the people in our lives, when the people in our lives are online personas? That's the central question in Aaron Alexovich's Kimmie66.

The story itself is simple enough: In the distant future, Kimmie66 sends a note to her friend, Telly, saying that she plans to kill herself. The problem: Telly and Kimmie66 have never met in meatspace; they've only ever interacted online. Telly starts to worry about what might have happened, and how she can help her friend, when things start to get weird.

Alexovich wrote and drew this short work, published under the sadly short lived Minx banner. His visual style, easily recognized by fans of his work on Invader Zim, is sort of quirky sci-fi cyberpunk cute. The characters are very exaggerated and cartoonish, which may distract some readers, but I enjoyed the playfulness of his artwork. It works very well for a story set in such a strange future (also, for a story that largely takes place in a digital world).

The plot does raise some interesting philosophical questions about trust and identity, and it's hard not to wonder how different Kimmie's life might have been if she had more friends offline, instead of all online. That said, Alexovich doesn't preach, and there's not a sense that he thinks there's anything wrong with having an online community. Also of note, he doesn't seek to minimize the pain/anger/hurt that people experience from online relationships.

While the book does raise interesting questions, it did feel like there was a certain level of disconnect or dissonance between the style and the content. The dialog and visuals instantly call to mind Invader Zim or other relatively light fare, but the content of the story felt like it wanted a little more restraint and perhaps a more serious tone overall. The book is addressing real issues that have serious life consequences, and the humorous visual tone ends up conflicting with that goal. That said, this is still an interesting, if too light, read.

The issues Telly is dealing with will likely resonate with teens and young adults, making this a good fit for a YA collection. Because this book does deal with suicide and death rather frankly, younger kids may find some of the content disturbing.


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