A friend of mine gave me books for Hannukah (yes, I know you are shocked) and I’ve been waiting for just the right time to read them. This happened to be today. After, given that a convention starts tomorrow, I wanted to plan my reading around it, and thus not having things hanging over my head that I really want to read in one sitting. Which made today the best day to read Explorer: The Lost Islands and Explorer: The Hidden Doors.
Edited by Kazu Kibuishi, these are graphic novel anthologies. Aimed at kids, or so I guessed from the number of happy endings and the general focus on kids and teens as main characters, but that’s no bad thing. The art on every single one of these stories is gorgeous and mesmerizing and if some stories are simpler, they certainly aren’t bad. Some are highly conceptual…though the concepts may not be the most unique thing, who cares? The art is great.
There’s at least one story that seemed to be part of a series, and a couple authors (including the editor) who contributed to both books. These are normal trends in any pair of anthologies, but since I don’t read nearly as many graphic novels as I do standard books, it’s very interesting for me.
I don’t think that Explorer is going to jumpstart my interest in graphic novel anthologies or even get me to pick them up more often than I already do. This was a nice change of pace from normal books, and something short enough to finish in a single day despite working overtime. Every single one of these stories has merit and is worth reading.
The story my mind keeps ranging back to is likely Radio Adrift, for being the one whose components are least recognizable as a trope. It’s found in The Lost Islands and was the largest group effort in both books, having been created by Katie and Steven Shanahan, with Eric Kim and Selena Dizazzo assisting with the colors. Desert Island Playlist from the same volume also gets a shoutout. That’s by Dave Roman and Raina Telgemeier with colorist Braden Lamb.
That’s not to say there’s nothing worth mentioning in Hidden Doors. On the contrary, I’d say Two Person Door from Faith Erin Hicks and colorist Noreen Rana caught my attention the most in that volume. Again, there are no bad stories. There is no bad art – which to my mind is more important. Graphic novels are a very visual medium and if I don’t like to actually look at the art, then already it’s not going to be the best thing for me to read.
Overall, these were great gifts and I’m happy to have been introduced to them. If I do see other Explorer anthologes, I might just pick them up.
mouse Reads Books 