This is the 5th volume in the Flight series edited by Kazu Kibuishi. This continues to be a very high quality graphic novel anthology where the stories included all feature themes of flight (in all it’s solid and ambiguous forms). I loved this graphic novel and am always incredibly impressed by the variety and quality of these graphic novel anthologies.

Below I have listed all the stories and my brief thoughts on them. There were a number of stories I absolutely loved. My son is 10 years old and has started reading this series as well and is really enjoying it.

Overall I continue to be very impressed with the quality of the Flight anthologies….they just keep getting better and better. I would definitely recommend to graphic novel fantasy fans.

“The Broken Path” by Michel Gagné (5/5)
Continue to love this story which follows the adorable Rex. Artwork is amazing.

“Delilah Dirk and the Aqueduct” by Tony Cliff (4/5)
Love the Delilah Dark books, they are action-packed and fun with a strong heroine.

“The Dragon” by Reagan Lodge (5/5)
This was another well done and action-packed story.

“Béisbol 2” by Richard Pose (4/5)
This was a cute story about baseball and people’s expectations. Not my favorite because it wasn’t fantasy but it was still well done.

“The Courier” by Kazu Kibuishi (5/5)
Kibuishi does such an amazing job with illustration. This is a small extension to the Amulet world and I loved it!

“Malinky Robot” by Sonny Liew (4/5)
This was a cute story about a robot, I enjoyed the unique illustration style and cute story.

“Worry Dolls” by JP Ahonen (4/5)
This was a funny story, I wasn’t a huge fan of the illustration but enjoyed the story

“Igloo Head and Tree Head in Disguise” by Scott Campbell (4/5)
I am always a fan of the Igloo Head and Tree Head stories. They are just so goofy.

“Evidence” by Graham Annable (4/5)
Mostly pictures this one was a well done darkly humorous story

“N” by Phil Craven (4/5)
Love this one. I loved the illustration style of the ninjas, no words but the pictures tell a sweet story.

“The Changelings” by Sarah Mensinga (5/5)
This one had an amazingly unique illustration which I adored. The story was also sweet and touching.

“Mountains” by Matthew Bernier (4/5)
This had decent illustration and a very quirky and odd story. It was a bit confusing but I still liked it.

“Big Dome: Flowers for Mama” by Paul Rivoche (3/5)
This was my least favorite of the stories so far. I just didn’t enjoy the illustration or the story much.

“The Chosen One” by Dave Roman (5/5)
Very cute story about a boy who gets chose to go on a quest to save the world. I loved the irony, humor and the adventurous story line.

“Jellaby: Lost” by Kean Soo (4/5)
I always enjoy the Jellaby stories. They are very cute and fun.

“Two Kids” by Bannister, colors by Steve Hamaker (4/5)
Good story about two kids lost in the woods, but for different reasons. The art was well done and the story was interesting.

“Scenes in Which the Earth Stops Spinning” by John Martz and Ryan North (2/5)
I was not a fan of this one. I didn’t enjoy the artwork and thought the concept was silly.

“Timecat” by Joey Weiser (5/5)
I loved this one. It was so cute and funny. It’s illustrated in a very cartoony way. I am a huge cat fan and this captures cats perfectly.

“Voyage” by Kness and Made (5/5)
There are no words in this one but the artwork is spectacularly beautiful. Seriously amazing artwork and a sweet story. Loved it.

“On the Importance of Space Travel” by Svetlana Chmakova (5/5)
This was a super fun story. I wasn’t a huge fan of the artwork but I loved the story and the way things turned out. There’s a lot of story here for how short it is.

“Seasons: Frank and Frank” by Chris Appelhans (4/5)
This has some cute artwork but is pretty light on story. It was a cute way to end the book. ( )

Another great collection of short graphic stories. The Saga of Rex fascinates me and I want more. The real reason why I borrowed these volumes was to check out a Delilah Dirk story, and I loved it. Enjoy! ( )

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. (This is a vast oversimplification; 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 this volume. 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. 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. ( )

This is some of the most gorgeous artwork I've seen. And "Igloo Head and Tree Head" is hilarious![ full review ] ( )

Flight 5 is possibly the best Flight volume since the first. The quality of the stories is consistently high, their subject matter both appropriately thematic and varied, and their artistic presentation top-notch. The extremely experimental works are more carefully selected than they were in Flight 3 and 4, and the more conventional pieces more in-line with those found in the first volume.

Particularly impressive works are: The Broken Path by Michael Gagné, Delilah Dirk and the Aqueduct by Tony Cliff, The Courier by Kazu Kibushi, n by Phil Craven, The Changeling by Sarah Mensinga, Mountains by Matthew Bernier, And They Called Me... Bigdome by Paul Rivoche, This Morning I Woke Up To Discover That I Was The Chosen One by Dave Roman, Two Kids by Grimaldi, Voyage by Kness & Made, and On The Importance of Space Travel by Svetlana Chmakova ( )