Saturday, July 12, 2008

Flight Explorer, Volume 1 Anthology

Flight Explorer is a anthology of graphic-style tales set in alternate worlds. They seem to be connected to another series of graphic novels called "Flight", but only by name, as this collection can be read by anyone from kids to adults with equal facility.

This book contains 10 stories, each only a few pages long, from "Copper: Mushroom Crossing" about a boy and his dog who forgo crossing a ravine by the bridge to jump across via the many mushrooms, each hugely big and tall, that grow in said ravine.

"The Perfect Cat" involves an Egyptian cat who feels it will be replaced in its mistress's affections by a new white cat that all around it are calling "The Perfect Cat". It quickly loses all hope and stops chasing birds, mice and rats, until it finds out why everyone needed a perfect cat...

In "Jellaby: First Snow" a little girl and her pet monster go out to experience the wonder of the monster's first snowfall.

In "Big Mouth", a creature is rejected by others for being too big and too loud. But there are times when such things come in useful, and it gains him a friend.

"Missile Mouse: Guardian Prophecy" takes the titular character and has him crash land on a planet where he is the foretold guardian of a native village. He quickly determines that the monster that is plaguing them is one of the minions of his enemy, and then has to make a plan to deal with it.

"Fish and Chips: All in a Day's Work" asks how a fish can save the world from an asteroid about to hit it... then show us how.

"Zita the Space Girl: If Wishes Were Socks" shows the title character being gifted with a sock that grants wishes, and she soon learns that wishes aren't all they are cracked up to be.

"Wooden Rivers: Rain Slickers" involves a weather forecasting cat, and the danger at laughing at people who know more than you.

"Delivery" shows Tarzan of the Apes as running into the same problems as modern humans when delivering a special package for his wife's birthday, namely, traffic. But he overcomes his problem by using his special friends to ensure he gets her what she wants.

And "Snow Cap: 2nd Verse" involves a story told without words, of a girl and her monster and the trouble it can cause when it is very cute, but stupid and forgetful.

This is a charming collection of shorts that evoke the joy of childhood, even if you aren't a child. Each story invokes a mood, no matter how short it is, and sometimes a laugh or a smile. Though the book itself is short, it's well worth a look and a read. Extremely well done.

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