Title: Explorer: The Lost Islands
Date:2013
Publisher: Amulet Books
Writer: Jake Parker, Chrystin Garland, Jason Caffoe, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Michel Gagne, Katie Shanahan, Steven Shanahan, Kazu Kibuishi
Artist:Jake Parker, Chrystin Garland, Jason Caffoe, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Michel Gagne, Katie Shanahan, Steven Shanahan, Kazu Kibuishi
Colorist: Braden Lamb, Eric Kim, Selena Sizazzo, Jason Caffoe
Editor: Kazu Kibuishi
Graphic novel anthology edited by Amulet creator Kazu Kabuishi.
This is an anthology of fantasy stories loosely themed around the idea of islands. It opens with Jake Parker's cute fable about an island of hardworking rabbitfolk and the discovery of a useful robot who proves to be a bit too useful.
A pair of stories hit the "stranded on a desert island" idea."Carapace" by Jason Caffoe is a cute tale of the friendship that develops between a castaway and the ghost of a giant crab. Featuring giant crab theology! Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier's "Desert Island Playlist" is an oddly surreal story that plays around with nonlinear time.
Michel Gagne's "Loah" is a mythic story of ancient fish seeking a way to escape disaster.
The amusing "Radio Adrift" by Katie Shanahan and Steve Shanahan involves a mage-in-training working to complete her pixie-hatching project and an unusual radio station that she tunes in to.
Editor Kazu Kibuishi contributes a classic fish story with "The Fishermen" that does a nice job of character development in the short space it has to work with.
My personal favorite was the very creepy "The Mask Dance" by Chrystin Garland.
All of these stories were good, and the artwork, while varied in style, was all fantastically colorful and imaginative. The tone of the stories varies a lot with the broad theme, but if you enjoy a general sense of myth and wonder, you will definitely find a lot to like in this volume.
Rating: 8/10
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