Copper is a comic strip by Kazu Kibuishi that has enjoyed both web comic and print appearances.

The web comic began in April 2002 in a much larger than usual square format. Except for the first strip, the comic is in color.

The large format may account in part for the slow schedule - updates occur monthly at best. The comic went on a brief hiatus at the end of 2004 but resumed in March 2005, by which time a mere 24 strips had appeared. Each page tells a self-contained story, but there are a few recurring characters.

The comic theme anthology Flight Volume One, edited by Kibuishi (ISBN 1582403813, 2004) contains two short Copper stories: the 18-page "Maiden Voyage", and the 4-page "Picnic". Both of these stories have also appeared on the website.

In each self-contained story the boy Copper and his talking dog Fred journey through a detailed but economically-drawn landscape - sometimes beautiful, sometimes bleak, sometimes surreal. Fred usually has some pithy comment to make on their circumstances, while Copper is generally more sanguine. The first three strips suggest that their adventures are dreams. After that the question is usually left open.

Copper is haunted by two mysterious girls: a redhead who appears to be trapped inside a purple bubble that always floats just out of Copper's reach; and a dark-haired girl with amber sunglasses who always taunts him from a distance. Fred also suffers girl trouble when to his horror he falls in love with a female dog owned by another girl.

The 18-page story "Maiden Voyage" sees Copper building an airplane from parts purchased at the local Plane*Mart supermarket, while Fred constantly frets that the plane might crash. In the end his fears turn out to be not entirely unjustified. In the 4-page "Picnic" Copper and Fred take an aerial picnic in an airship, which Fred manages to sleep through.

External link

• http://www.boltcity.com/copper_home.htm
• Webcomics Examiner review
• Parody strip by Joseph Park