rating: ★★★★

You might not know about Kid Koala, but you probably know some of the things he has worked on. The Canadian DJ has contributed to the scores of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, composed for the Cartoon Network and released three albums of his own, the last of which was Your Mom’s Favorite DJ back in 2006.

Koala’s latest project, coming out Oct. 25, is the graphic novel Space Cadet. The book tells the story of a young space cadet and her robotic guardian, and what each of them go through when the cadet takes on a solo mission to the far reaches of space.

What makes this simple tale stand out is the soundtrack that Kid Koala has accompanying the book: all-new songs meant to be listened to as you read through the story. Each song title has the page number that begins the associated section of the comic, and there’s a table of contents at the beginning as well — although, confusingly, it gave different page numbers than the song titles did. Go by the table of contents in order to avoid confusion, and this problem is easily avoided.

Regarding the graphic novel itself, Space Cadet is simple but effective. The scratchboards used for each image provide a great visual style, and there’s enough visual creativity to keep your attention and get across the quiet mood of the story. Throughout the comic we see the past both characters have shared, contrasted with their solitude and loneliness when the cadet travels off to space. The story and relationship these two have is conveyed strongly even without dialogue, and will keep you engrossed for the length of the novel.

The soundtrack does its part as well, with 15 tracks that carry you through the length of the book, and it supports the story very well. The opening tracks “Goodbye” and “Remembrance” set the tone with almost haunting piano refrains, instrumental accompaniment such as strings and marimba and electronic effects that complement the sci-fi of the comic.

It’s the type of music you can listen to either on its own or with the story, but together the two aspects create a moving experience that will leave you contemplating your own travels and what you may have left behind on them.

If there had to be one flaw in this project, though, it would have to be the pacing. For the most part, the soundtrack and graphic novel work well together, allowing you to read at a comfortable pace as you take in each image and how it adds to the story, but on reaching the segment accompanied by the song “Expedition” it becomes more of a rush to read through a large number of pages in a short amount of time before the next song begins.

It may not be a big problem for fast readers, but for others it can be enough to pull you out of the story. It’s understandable that songs cannot always be perfectly timed to book pages, especially taking different reading speeds into account, but the change of pace is more jarring than one may like.

Despite this pacing issue, Space Cadet in both graphic novel and soundtrack form is recommended to anyone who enjoys science fiction, comics and music, or simply wants a half hour to rest from life’s hassles and reflect on what’s really important. It’s not a happy story, but in the end it gives a sense of hope and reminds you how important it is to not forget about the people who helped you reach that important state of independence.

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Image: Supplied