ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Couri Vine’

Couri Vine is a creator-owned book by writer Vanessa Shealy and artist Leah Lovise (Undone). The graphic novel also features colors by Indigo Rael and Nathan Jensen and art by Todd Mein. Additionally, in issue four, art is provided by Liz Lathem with colors by Julia Zipporah, additional designs by Dorothy Shaw, and letters by Lovise. Released in single issues, the four together created a single graphic novel.

The book follows Couri Vine, a spunky-eleven-year-old who lives without the ability to breathe. While everyone else can breathe Moon City’s artificial atmosphere, Couri was born with a debilitating lung condition that keeps her confined inside an embarrassing life-support system. Ostracized, she longs to fit in, but instead, she is the subject of mockery. After turning in her homework one day, Couri gets far more attention than she bargained for and suddenly finds herself on a dangerous journey of self-discovery that uncovers dark family secrets and brings her face-to-face with a narcissistic tyrant.

Couri’s struggle as a disabled person is incredibly relatable. In her helmet allowing her to breathe, she stands out among all the other residents of Moon City. While some of it may seem exaggerated, any disabled person, myself included has felt ostracized because of their disability. One year at Mega-Con in Orlando, because of my health I choose to use a wheelchair while attending the convention. After transferring to use the restroom, a man in line jokingly told my boyfriend at the time, while I was still in earshot, that I clearly didn’t need the chair – I did. Using mobility aids, oxygen tanks, service dogs, or whatever medical device necessary automatically makes disabled people stand out.

Couri’s journey throughout the issues not only uncovers the truth behind the conspiracies of the Moon and Earth, but also her own family. On her journey, Couri also learns about herself and what she is capable of. Throughout her life, because of her disability, Couri has been told she can’t do things, so seeing her tackle hostile wildlife and authoritarian leadership with newfound bravery is empowering.

Additionally, her life support helmet often comes in handy as she traverses through water or other environments even Moon City residents could not breathe in. That being said, disability immunity can be a very overdone trope and does become a focus of Couri’s journey toward the end.

Couri Vine features a simple art style from Lovise but as the issues go on, the art gets much better. Broad strokes create a sketchlike and dreamy quality to the art. Additionally, the colorwork from Lovise, Rael, and Jensen, featuring pastel blues and lavenders, creates an ethereal feeling to the space atmosphere Couri travels through. It adds to her child-like wonder and the overall light-heartedness of the book. The art in issue four is different, but overall, it keeps the same feel of the other issues. My only major qualm with the art is the lettering which could have been much cleaner.

Couri Vine has a lot of whimsy for a space adventure. And while the reading level of the comic skews fairly young, the fact that it features a disabled protagonist makes it endearing and relatable for me, a grown woman. Couri’s adventure is a thrilling journey of self-discovery. Overall, Couri Vine is a solid indie comic and for $2.99 for the first issue and $0.99 for every issue after, it is well worth the price. Fans of The Unstoppable Wasp or Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur should definitely pick this one up.

Issues one through three of Couri Vine are available now.