Flight Volume Seven

Flight #7

by Kazu Kibuishi (Editor)

(E) Kazu Kibuishi (W/A) Various Flight 7 is the latest volume in the acclaimed graphic novel series, a full-color graphic anthology of short stories by some of the hottest creators in the fields of comics and animation including JP Ahonen, Jason Caffoe, Michel Gagne, Justin Gerard, Paul Harmon, Kazu Kibuishi, Stuart Livingston, Katie Shanahan, Kean Soo, and many others.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Science Fiction

288 pages, ebook

First published July 20, 2010

About the author

Kazu Kibuishi (born 1978) is an American graphic novel author and illustrator. He is best known for being the creator and editor of the comic anthology Flight and for creating the webcomic Copper. He has also written (drawn) the Amulet series. The webcomic artist and noted critic Scott McCloud has said that some of Kazu Kibuishi's work is so beautifully drawn that "it hurts my hands when I look at it".

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Volume 7 is my third journey with the Flight series. I finished volume 2 last night and was still wide awake so I went ahead and started this one. It has only 16 stories compared to the 33 in Volume 2, so I finished it pretty quickly.

And I must say, this was my least favorite of my three Flights. The artwork was still lovely and some of the stories were as well, but I noticed that most of them had much more blood and guts involved than the stories in the other books had.

Darker themes, too many monster hunters and fights for my taste, and most of the stories were simply too long. But there were still favorites, such as The Courier by Kazu Kibuishi,
Live Bait by Justin Gerrard, and Premiun Cargo by Kostas Kiriakakis.

I'm glad I got this book, and I will read some of the stories again, but I am hesitant now about trying any further volumes of the series. I would be disappointed to discover more dark stories when what I really want is to soar again the way I did in Volume 1.

[Kim Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was good, better than one or three and almost as good as Vol 2, which is still my favorite for both overall art and strength of narrative sequence.

[Oneirosophos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, amazing series. Too bad that the 8th is hard to find. Perhaps one day I'll find it...

[Karissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 7th volume in the Flight graphic novel series. This book contains another set of interesting graphic novel short stories that are all supposed to have some aspect of Flight to them. While this collection was better than Vol 5 and 6; it still wasn’t nearly as strong as some of the earlier volumes.

You can see below for brief comments on the included stories and what I thought of them. My favorites continue to be Gagne’s “Saga of Rex”, Kazu Kibuishi’s stories, and the Jellaby stories. I additionally really liked “Live Bait” by Justin Gerard and “Sentinels” by Jason Caffoe.

Overall a solid collection of graphic novel short stories. I enjoyed them and plan on reading the final book (8) in the Flight series. I would recommend to those who enjoy sci-fi/fantasy graphic novels.

“Saga of Rex: The Harvest” by Michel Gagne’ (5/5)
This explains why everything that happened, happened to Rex in the previous installments. Gorgeous illustration and a sweet story.

“The Courier: Shortcut” by Kazu Kibuishi (5/5)
This was another wonderful addition to the Courier story and of course was beautifully illustrated.

“Live Bait” by Justin Gerard (5/5)
More fantastic illustration with a story that at first seems predictable but has a touching twist to it at the end.

“Kenneth Shuri and the Big Sweep” by JP Ahonen (4/5)
This was a continuation of the Kenneth Shuri (unemployed ninja) stories that have been in previous volumes. It’s a cute story but the illustration style is not my favorite.

“Premium Cargo” by Kostas Kiriakakis (4/5)
This was a cute story that had a fun twist to it. The drawing style was unique and interesting but the story was a bit hard to follow.

“Sustain the Song” by Lenland Myrick (3/5)
I didn’t really like this story or the illustration style; it was okay but not great.

“Overhead” by Stuart LIvingston (4/5)
I enjoyed this story and the illustration style but the story felt very incomplete.

“Onere and Piccola” (4/5)
This was a beautifully done mythology themed story. I liked the illustration as well and enjoyed it.

“Fairy Market” by Kadi and Steven Shanahan (3/5)
The artwork was very cartoony and sketchy for this story (not my favorite). I also thought the story was goofy and a big silly. It was okay but not great.

“I’ve Decided to Become a Skeptic” by Dave Roman (2/5)
Very short and silly story. I didn’t enjoy the artwork or the story.

“Jellaby: Guardian Angel” (5/5)
I always love the Jellaby stories. In this one Jellaby is determined to make everyone’s life better and the shenanigans that ensue are very entertaining.

“Career Day” by Bannister and Grmaldi (3/5)
This was a cute story but I wasn’t a fan of the artwork. The story was about a boy who follows around his older brother (who is a knight) on career day.

“Sentinels” by Jason Caffoe (5/5)
This was a very thought-provoking story and had amazing artwork.

“King of Beasts: What’s Yours is Mine!” by Paul Harmon (3/5)
I liked the color in the drawings and the story would have been neat but it got pretty confusing and was hard to follow.

“TT Challenge” by Dermot Walshe (2/5)
Very short story about a TT Champion. I didn’t like the story or artwork and wasn’t sure what the point was.

“B.L.T” by Drew Dernavich (3/5)
This was an okay story about a man who orders a BLT but the place he orders from is out of bacon. This leads him to consider endless possibilities for his sandwich.

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

These little graphic novel/comic collections are fantastic. The illustrations are beautiful & the stories are moving, funny, and delightful. One of my favorites is the ninja who is trying to balance his family life & his work life (The Mundane Life of Kenneth Shuri). Unfortunately, the assassin business isn't going that well & he's had to take a job as a janitor. I've enjoyed his other stories in the previous Flight volumes & am going to have to look up other works by JP Ahonen!
I definitely recommend these books, they're a fun read.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my favorite collection of graphic novel short stories over the years, but this one was a little lacking in the "art" department category. Just left me wanting more.

[RunningRed NightBringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might just write a general review to copy and paste when I finish each volume.

Like the prior ones, this Volume is an anthology of stories by various artists and writers.

A few stories follow on characters or world building from prior volumes but it's not necessary to have read those volumes to follow what happens here.

Many of the stories connect with a theme of "flight" in either a literal or metaphorical sense, but that requirement gets looser and looser and the collection just becomes a chance to showcase some amazing creators.

The best way I can describe the Flight volumes and the stories contained is "whimsical vignettes."

They're nice collections you can pick up and lose yourself in.

[Whispering · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the stories were really decent though some of them I didn't really enjoy.
I loved Live Bait, Premium Cargo. I wish I got to see more of it though. I especially loved Fairy Market and King of Beasts.
The rest of the comics I found boring and confusing. Especially Overhead by Stuart Livingston which I thought needed more context.
I enjoyed the other volumes better than I did with this one

[Paula Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the first one and the one about Naga the serpent.

[Sarah N · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3 1/2 STARS) A wide variety of styles represented. The stories varied from “not my thing” to “very engaging.”

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm always amazed by the artwork in these series of anthologies. It just creates epic pictures in my mind and I love it.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good volume.

[Sean Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I especially liked the adorable Jellaby, and the poignant Onere and Piccola. The retired ninja story was funny too.

[Ottery StCatchpole · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all anthologies there will be some stories markedly superior to others, and comic book anthologies are no exception, but while some of the vignettes in Flight are weaker than others in the book they are all far superior to the majority of comic books being published as single issue comic books. This is why I love reading the Flight anthologies.
You can expect every single volume to be different than the others in story content but not story quality. We start off the book with another of Michel Gagne's little fox stories, or as we find out the same story that's been going on in the books since volume 2, it concludes the story rather unsatisfactorily for me, but his art is still brilliant and the concept is truly original. Kazu Kibuishi throws in another story and I will be the first to admit that I am a great fan of his Amulet books, Copper, and just about anything else he does, so not surprisingly I'm reading Flight which he edits. The story here is new to me, it is not a Copper story and it is not the western girl story he's done before and I liked it very much, the art as well as the tale on par with his usual high level of storytelling. I will call it my favorite story in the anthology.
Kenneth Shuri who gave us the working ninja/dad story in the last anthology follows up the story here as well as we continue to follow our intrepid hero through the everyday slogs of modern life as a ninja working a janitor's job. This one is another of my favorite stories in this collection, I highly recommend it, especially if you're not too picky about cartoony art. Premium Cargo by Kostas Kiriakakis is a heartbreaker and a beautiful story, one I liked as well, Onere and Piccola I have this to say of it, while the art did not wow me the story was so much better than the one he contributed in the last volume which in itself was hard to follow (what with having no words). It was a beautiful love story and I'm always a sucker for those.
There's another Jellaby story in here, which I found cute, but I can't stand the way Ken Soo draws those little kids, the rest of his art is wonderful, I love Jellaby but those kids noses and eyes are just weird. Still, if you don't mind Ken's art then you will find the story delightful for its whimsy like most of the entries in this anthology. Then there's Bannister's contribution Career Day also one of my favorite stories where a boy goes off with his brother to find out what all it takes to be a heroic knight. Its rather very comical, and full of action and awesome visuals. Easily my second favorite story. Sentinels by Jason Caffoe also bears mentioning for not playing to our preconceptions which is fun in a comic story, it's also a beautiful piece.
The stories that follow like Paul Harmon's King of Beasts did not catch my attention as well, what I found weak about King of Beasts was the art not so much the story and the slow pacing of the story. The art in the stories I did not mention is beautiful and/or interesting and the stories are by part comical, tragic, or interesting but they did not catch my attention overmuch. I would still say of them though that they are far superior in story or art to the majority of comic books out there. All in all, a beautiful collection of stories, by very talented artists and writers with different views and explorations of Flight. Truly a book worth looking at and reading.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flight volumes never fail to deliver exciting new styles of artistry and comics and spellbinding stories from all genres.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good compilation, you have to read all the flights to get a decent story as they are broken up throughout the 8 volumes.

[Larissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this is a collab work of some talented illustrators. Overall, I thought all the comics a little weak, lack of interesting story and development. It was good, but it could be better. Maybe it was too short to give us something spectacular, still I think it's possible to create a great well developed story and comic even if it has just a few pages. It was interesting to see different tecniques and drawing styles, but I think the stories needed a plot way more developed along with the illustratons, cause it's not about the theme you choose, it's how you work with it. "Premium Cargo" was one I liked the most, it promise so much, maybe if was longer could it be just amazing. "Kenneth Shuri and The Big Sweep (The ninja dad)", "The Courier", "Onere and Piccola", "Sustain This Song", "King of Beasts" were also some comics I liked most here. And "B.L.T" was the shortest yet so interesting! The one who seemed more done by a cartunist, not just the art line style but it has a cartunist's way to think, how he worked with the colors to tell the story and growth of the character! From black and white to colors, from boring and sameness routine to outstanding, inspiring, fresh and new! It was so simple yet so brillant! It didn't need many words or frames to express its beauty and I loved it, loved it. It was my favorite and I'm still thinking about it. I could write 2 pages review just about this comic which has just a few pages but didn't fail to amaze me, how intelligent and brillant! How a word, a new thing gave start to a new thought and a new way, a new joy! A joy the character was missing feeling from the beginning and in the end, the light colored the comic. I could talk about this little comic for ages, but I'll stop here.
Finally, I think here there were a lot of great ideas, some well done, others not so, the art was just great, all of them! The stories need more structure, nuances and development. Personality, luckily, they already have, thanks to the artists who worked so well with their art. The true star here was the art, the illustrations and the colors, they shine so so bright despite I didn't enjoy all the comics as much I'd wanted to and thought the stories were little weak, my heart was warm and smiling because of this star.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to the previous seven books (Volumes 1-6 plus Flight Explorer, Volume 1 ) of this extraordinary anthology series, the 16 stories in Flight Volume Seven offer creators from around world employing a variety of genres: fantasy, science fiction, and slice-of-life ranging from serious to whimsical. While not as impressive as the previous volume, which I included among the Nexus Graphica Top Ten for 2009, most of the always beautiful stories rise far above others in the medium. Justin Gerard's anthropomorphic tale "Live Bait" relates the interesting search for a swampland killer. J.P. Ahonen's unemployed ninja returns in the amusing "Kenneth Shuri and the Big Sweep." "Premium Cargo," magnificently envisioned by Kostas Kiriakakis, recounts the emotional final days of an airship captain with his winged foster son. Kate and Steven Shanahan rely on over the top shenanigans for the humorous "Fairy Market." The lovable monster Jellaby delivers some sage wisdom in Kean Soo's "Guardian Angel." As with the earlier volumes, Flight Volume Seven deserves a place in any finer collection.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: This book was nominated for a Cybils '10 Graphic Novel, category and we judges didn't receive review copies and I wasn't able to find a copy in time for the judging. I have just now been able to obtain a copy.

I don't have an awful lot to say about this book. A graphic novel anthology of short stories by mostly people who as a collective haven't published many books but are in the industry on a freelance basis with much experience in animation work. I had previously heard of (and read two) of the author/illustrators presented here: Kibuishi obviously and Dave Roman. Then I came across a Jellaby story which I didn't know the author's name but have been wanting to read the books and very much enjoyed the short story. Some stories are very short, others quite long. There is no theme, rhyme or reason to the collection, just a presentation of beautiful art. That is where this book excels. The graphic presentation is beautiful. the artwork is stunning and it is pure joy to read through. The stories are hit and miss with me I really enjoyed a couple "Jellaby" by Kean Soo, "Live Bait" by Justin Gerard and Premium Cargo by Kostas Kiriakakis. The majority of the other stories were okay and a handful I just plain didn't get. I can't see myself reading another one of these books in the future, unless I had to.

[Astrid Terese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeg har selvfølgelig favoritter blant alle de ulike tegneserieskaperne og tegneseriene i denne samlingen og den første er Rex. En liten rev som må klare seg gjennom ulike farer og som får uventet hjelp. Rex er reven i tegneserien «Inner Sanctum», «Underworld» og «The saga of Rex» av Michel Gagne (volume 3 og utover) og historien utvikler seg videre i samlingen.
Flight blir redigert av Kazu Kibuishi, en amerikansk tegneserieforfatter og illustratør. Kibuishi sier at Flight ikke er en tematisk antologi og at tittelen Flight ikke har noen spesiell betydning. Men likevel inneholder mange av tegneseriene noe som har med flygning å gjøre, i den videste forståelse av ordet. Utenom det er der et mangfold av ulike teknikker, og historier som dekker komedier, tragedier, eventyr og romantikk.
Flight er blant mine absolutte tegneseriefavoritter. De er fantastisk nydelige!

Hele min omtale finner du på bloggen min Betraktninger

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series. I like that the books are filled with short stories by different authors/illustrators. I am fairly new to the graphic novel scene, and I have a hard time following some formats. This series is nice because if I don't like one or am struggling with one I can just move on. The books are also tied together in that some of the stories continue from one book to the next. This makes me want to keep reading them to get the continuing bits, but then you also get the stuff that is new in each volume. One of my favorites is the continuing story of a modern day ninja trying to make it in today's world.

[Tung · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Flight volumes are anthologies of indie cartoonists’ creative efforts (see my reviews of volumes one through six). The tales told in these works span the entire spectrum of contemporary comic stylings from manga-influenced works to rough sketches to symbolic surreality to more traditional graphic novel flair. The tales vary in art style, length, and unfortunately, quality as I found each volume except for the first volume fairly uneven. My favorite stories in Volume Seven were “Live Bait,” “Premium Cargo,” and “Sustain This Song.” My favorites from a visual perspective were “Premium Cargo,” “TT Challenge,” and “B.L.T.” For graphic novel fans only.

[Vivek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continuing on the anthropology of short graphic novels, many which have nothing to do with the term flight incase people were wondering that is the common theme. TBH, while the art is varied and great, some of the stories just bounced over my head but some really caught my attention and could connect with. It is really interesting that some of the storylines that feel so random on their own are continued series from each volume of the anthropology. Wouldnt have realised if it wasnt for me reading it back to back.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

In these collections there are the occasional disappointments - artwork cliches, confusing story lines - but I can always count on consistent quality in well over half of the tales and even the sub-par entries usually have an imaginative element somewhere. I'll continue to read these as long as they keep publishing them.

[Damon · Rating 3 out of 5]

About what I've come to expect from these, though the stories were a little longer in this one, so there was a bit less variety. (The "Jellaby" story was like 30 pages long, and seemed to be written for 5 year olds.) Still, nice enough assortment, and a story by Kazu Kibuishi is worth the price of admission.

[Dani Shuping · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Flight series has always been one of my favorites and this volume is no exception. A cast of multi-talented artists and who have created wonderful little short stories and characters for readers to enjoy. While initially the book was based upon the theme of flight, the later volumes began moving away from that theme--although the stories are no less enjoyable.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was probably least impressed by this volume of the overall excellent Flight series. Overall the quality of artwork was lacking and some of the story telling as well. That being said did greatly enjoy Ninja story, Fairy Market, and Premium Cargo(Snowball).

[Elizabeth Nordquest · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was going really well until the last few (seems to be a common theme with these books). Overall, this is one of the better ones. I liked Career Day & Premium Cargo best. There were a lot of good ones in this set. Love seeing all the different illustration styles.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy the Flight anthologies, and while this isn't my favorite collection, I liked quite a few of the short stories this time around. I didn't read it with reviewing in mind, however, so all I'm currently recalling is a sense of contentment. *shrug*

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't as good as previous seris. The best part was the ninja dad by JP Ahonen. The other good stories are "Premium Cargo", Sustain this Song", "BLT", and Kean Soo's ever reliable Jellaby story.

There's too much fantasy adventure stories.