Even as the Flight
anthologies grow larger—this volume has about 80 pages on its immediate predecessor—there is still so much good material it never feels like too much. Many of the stories are silent and depend on the cartoonist's ability to tell fluid and accessible narratives by pacing their stories with extreme delicacy. Fortunately most of the cartoonists meet this demand, notably the opening “Castaway” by Michel Gagne as well as “N” by Phil Craven. The stories that do feature dialogue have an inviting, warm feeling to them, an appreciated effect considering how many stories here there are to read. “To Grandma's” by Clio Chang has the most fun with the power of childhood dreams and fantasies. “The Forever Box” by Sarah Mensinga takes childhood as a major theme, as do many of the selections; its mix of imagination and humanity is a great example of what the Flight
books work so well. As the reader nears the end, after so many varied stories, a comic like “Twenty-Four Hours” by Andrea Offerman bursts out with wild images never seen before. Flight Volume 4
is good to the last drop. (July)
