I loved the web-comic Copper ( http://www.boltcity.com/copper/ ), but it is sadly no longer updated. There's something about creator Kazu Kibuishi's sense of humor, sense of style, and sense of backgrounds that allows me to enjoy each comic every single time I go back and look at the archive. I was very excited to pick up a copy of the first book in Flight, a series of compilations of all sorts of short comics with similar fantastical themes (not necessarily involving flying). The series is edited by Kazu Kibuishi and the first book features two of his comics along with 22 other comics. All of the comics in the book had excellent artwork and the styles varied greatly. As in just about any compilation, some stood out on either end of the good/bad spectrum. A few notable stories: "Maiden Voyage" by Kazu Kabuishi. What's not to like about his comics? Copper and Fred's interactions are always entertaining, the dialog against the fantastic backgrounds reminds me of, and to some extent surpasses, my favorite Calvin and Hobbes strips, and they shop at a place called Plane Mart. It's hard to beat Plane Mart. "Formidable" by Bengal. Beautiful artwork, steampunk aesthetic, and luxury zeppelins. This comic is full of win. "The Maiden and the River Spirit" by Derek Kirk Kim. One of my most favorite fables ever: a meta-fable. It's the perfect kind of short story for a collection, and it's likely the one that you'll tell your friends about when you try to get them to read this book. "Dummy Brother" by Jacob Magraw-Mickelson. This is one on the opposite side of the spectrum. It is so full of arts that it feels like it might explode in a brightly colored, vaguely disturbing mess at any moment. I don't mind an artistic story or people experimenting with strange styles, but this took it a bit too far. The "panels" were way too busy and made it hard to read the text. It was a nice try, however, and it did make me scared to imagine what Mr. Magraw-Mickelson's dreams were like. I can't recommend skipping it, because it really is interesting to look at, but don't feel bad if you skim it. Clio Chiang's story "The Bowl," is possibly my favorite one of the bunch. The story is told without dialog and done really well. Text would only detract from the effect. The story itself reminds me of something straight out of Hawaiian mythology, and is definitely the type of story that could carry a book even if the rest of the stories weren't mentionable (thankfully plenty of them are). If you read them out of order, check this one out first. Some, like "Outside My Window" by Khang Le and an untitled one by Chris Appelhans were beautifully drawn and had excellent stories, but were of a type that wouldn't normally interest me. However, these two were done so well that it made me forget my disinterest, especially the former. If some giant robot wanted to fulfill my every wish, I think I'd have to overlook its flaws. I'm pretty sure you'd feel the same way. Others, like "Hugo Earheart" by Jake Parker and "Beneath the Leaves: Jump" by Rad Sechrist were a bit on the silly side and geared a bit more towards kids. Volume 1 is definitely worth picking up. If the other volumes (there are 5 in print so far) can keep up the same quality, then they are as well.

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