Explorer: The Lost Islands edited by Kazu Kibuishi

I really like this series. It's not that graphic novels can really do anything that well written prose can do, it's that it is a different delivery method. I'm not very visual as a rule, but I like the mix of illustration and narrative. I think it may be easier to quickly depict a fantasy setting using a visual medium than if it had to be verbally depicted. Mind you, straight writing allows the readers imaginations to fill in the gaps more completely so the world feels more real in my experience. However, it's really just a case of different strengths.

"The Lost Islands" is similar to "Mystery Boxes." Both are collections of seven short stories and in both there is a common theme, in this one it is a mysterious island of some sort. For some reason, in this volume all the stories came out more like fables and have easily discernible morals. This doesn't end up being tedious as it could be.

Specifically, I really enjoyed "The Mask Dance," "Loah," and "Radio Adrift." "The Mask Dance" is about a girl who ditches her work to go to a festival after a spirit in a mask tells her her father is already there. "Loah" is a kind of creation myth about adventurous aquatic critters. "Radio Adrift" is about a young witch on a quest to find a specific sound that will hatch a pixie egg.

All of the stories are about people who think they know better or who are trying to make things easier and who find out that their view of the situation is incomplete. Over all they are well written and there is some excellent artwork.

Over all, worth a read.