Review: Air – Letters From Lost Countries

G. Willow Wilson’s Enigmatic New Graphic Novel

Sep 22, 2009 Brian Jungwiwattanaporn

This collection of the first five issues of Air is a well written whimsical journey.

Written by G. Willow Wilson and illustrated by M.K. Perker, Air – Letters From Lost Countries features Blythe, a flight attendant afraid of heights, and her immersion into a surreal adventure that echoes the works of Neil Gaiman and William Gibson. Air is a fine fairy tale that weaves displacement, mystery, futurism, mysticism, and a playful imagination to transcend the standard expectations of a comic.

Eisner Award Nominee for Best New Series (2009)

“Aren’t you glad this isn’t a Salman Rushdie novel?” are the first words uttered by Zyan to Blythe as they are falling from the sky indicating to the reader that Air will not be the typical graphic novel. Zyan, who eases into different identities, may be a terrorist or a savior as G. Willow Wilson plays with the concepts of identity and discrimination. The concept of vigilantism is also played with as Wilson taps into the post 9/11 zeitgeist.

The story revolves around Blythe, a flight attendant, and her affair with Zyan which plunges her into a world of secret vigilante groups, ancient artifacts, and mysterious places. The Etesian Front, a vigilante group willing to hijack planes, seeks to manipulate Blythe who in turn plays pawn to Zyan, whose agenda remains clouded. In a race to secure new technologies, Zyan is kidnapped, and Blythe along with her friends transcend the map to find him in a hidden land.

The plot verges into fantasy, but it’s the charisma of the characters that maintain the strength of the comic. The plot stretches as Blythe zooms to different locations, but this enables the reader to experience the disorientation of the characters. The story is engaging, and while some plot points feel more contrived than necessary, this graphic novel has its charm. Whether G. Willow Wilson can support the mythos that she has created in future volumes will be a challenge, but one worth reading.

The art of Air – Letters From Lost Countries is stunning at times, especially the cover art work. Perker does an admirable job of conveying the character’s humanity making them all the more believable. The facial expressions are well varied and many panels convey a depth of action. His lines and character drawings are very strong, and the colorist provides solid work throughout.

Comics by Women

In a male dominated industry, Wilson is a strong female writer that lends a grace and sensibility to her characters which is not found in other comics. The heroine Blythe is not the typical ornamentation or fantasy object that defines many female characters. Instead she is multilingual, possesses a philosophy degree, and is consistently resourceful. Other female characters in Air are written in a similar vein. As the work takes a turn into the surreal, Blythe remains a believable, grounded, and well-written character.

Air – Letters From Lost Countries was published in March 2009 by Vertigo (ISBN 978-1-4012-2153-9).

The copyright of the article Review: Air – Letters From Lost Countries in Graphic Novels/Comics is owned by Brian Jungwiwattanaporn. Permission to republish Review: Air – Letters From Lost Countries in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Air - Letters From Lost Countries

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Dec 2, 2009 2:35 PM

Guest :

I just stumbled over the first AIR in our local comic store here in Berlin / Germany yesterday. I liked the premise of it and wanted to check it out. After reading it through in one session, i bought the second one today. And i have to say I am actually surprised how much i like it. Is it perfect? no! Does it have flaws? yes! I just finished the DMZ series (which i loved) and it was quite a jump from the dark story of Manhattan going down the drain to Blythe's adventures. The drawing is sometimes a little too cute for my taste and sometimes Wilson doesn't take enough time to build up the story properly. For example the whole beginning of the love affair between Zayn and Blythe just went a little to fast to make the implied overwhelming feelings between the two protagonists fully believable and the rest of story also takes quite a fast pace. AIR could need a stop here and there to catch its breath and build up the characters with a little more detail.

That being said, I wouldn't have bought the second issue "Flying Machine" if i wouldn't have liked "Letters From Lost Countries". AIR is charming, i couldn't stop reading and i love the direction the story is taking. I do like the mixture of politics, love story, fantasy and mystery. if Willow Wilson and M.K Perker put a little more love into the details and give some plots a bigger chance to build up to add some (believable, thought through) drama to make it easier for the reader to identify with the main characters, AIR can count me in for the journey!

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