Kazu Kibuishi – Flight, Volumes 5 & 6

153 & 155. Flight, Volume 5 and Flight, Volume 6 ed. by Kazu Kibuishi (2008, 2009)
Flight, Volume 5 & 6

Read my review of:
– Volumes 1 & 2
– Volumes 3 & 4

Length: 364 & 284 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Anthology, Graphic Novel

Started / Finished: 24 & 27 November 2011

Where did they come from? The library.
Why do I have them? Ay-yup, that’s still Memory’s fault.

Summary: The Flight anthologies are collections of short stories in graphic novel form. They don’t have overt themes, per se, but in Volume 5, a number of the stories had to do with the power of childhood illusions and imaginations, while Volume 6 was more geared towards the choices one has to make in being a grownup. (These are vast oversimplifications; the stories are always really varied, and can just as easily feature ninjas, zombie rabbits, cowboys, or baseball players.)

Review: Now that I’ve gotten over my (false) preconception of “The Flight anthologies should mostly wordless” that I developed while reading Vols. 3 & 4, I enjoyed the heck out of these two volumes. Some highlights for me in Volume 5 included JP Ahomen’s “Worry Dolls”, about the way the dolls get rid of the worries from your mind while you sleep; Sarah Mensinga’s “The Changeling”, which had a really charming story and interesting artwork with a lovely palette; the lovely but incredibly sad “Voyage” by Kness & Made (I have a thing about polar bears, okay?); and Ryan North (of Dinosaur Comics) and John Martz’s gleefully absurd “Scenes in which the Earth Stops Spinning and Everybody Flies Into a Wall”, which is exactly what it sounds like. Volume 6 had the bizarre but fascinatingly drawn “Mate” by Andrea Offerman; Bannister & Grimaldi’s immediately recognizable tale of “Cooking Duel”; “Magnus the Misfit” by Graham Annable, a cute Viking story about fitting in – or not; and best of all, a Daisy Kutter story (“Phantoms”) by Kazu Kibuishi! 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: These anthologies are visually stunning, full of interesting stories, and a great way to get exposed to the wide range of what comics can be, and can do. Definitely worth checking out.

Volume 5: This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Volume 6: This Review on LibraryThing | This Book on LibraryThing | This Book on Amazon

Other Reviews: 1330v (#5), Stella Matutina (#5)
Have you reviewed these books? Leave a comment with the link and I’ll add it in.

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