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.

Explorer: The Mystery Boxes edited by Kazu Kibuishi

It's odd. I like graphic novels but I don't pursue them the way I do conventional fiction. Instead I have a handful of people who's opinions I highly value. They tell me to read it and I probably will. In this way I find interesting graphic novels without having to sift through the substantial portion of juvenile stuff floating around.

Indirectly, that's how I came across the Explorer series. Kibuishi is better known for the Amulet series which I haven't read yet, but it's on my stack. The Explorer series is interesting in that it's more like a collection of short stories. There are seven distinct stories written and drawn by different people in each volume. All the stories share one element. In this one, the shared element is a 'mystery box'. So, in each story there's some sort of mysterious box at the center of the action.

Each of the seven stories is a good solid read. Some of them are a little strangely moralistic such as "The Soldier's Daughter." While it was a touching story it was also a somewhat heavy handed statement about the nature of revenge. "The Keeper's Treasure" was an interesting thought on what we confer value to.

I was very impressed with "The Butter Thief" which was an adaptation of Japanese fables and an inadvertent commentary about preserving traditional folk ways. I particularly liked the sparse art style of this one.

"Whatzit" had a classic Saturday morning cartoon feel. It's about the cosmic warehouse workers who ship out components for new universes. The story is cute but I particularly liked the artwork which reminded me of "Johnny the Homicidal Manic."

All in all, this is a good introduction to what graphic Novels can be.