Blythe is a flight attendant with a philosophy degree - and a fear of heights. And as odd as her career choice might be, it's nowhere near as strange as her life's about to get. She'll fall in love with a mysterious traveller who's either an ordinary frequent flier - or a terrorist. In search of him, she'll travel to a country that doesn't exist on any maps, become targeted by a violent anti-terrorist group, and inevitably find herself at the centre of a race to find an artefact that may change the science of flight forever. Suddenly Blythe's life is headed for the most exotic destination of all: the unknown. With her job, heart, safety and sanity all up in the air, will she fail and fall or learn how to fly...?

Air: Volume 1 - Letters From Lost Countries collects together issues #1-5 of the Air comic book series which began its run in 2008. Sadly the series was cancelled in August 2010 (which is the month this review was written), after 24 issues, due to disappointing sales. I'm not sure whether or not the series is wrapped up or things are left hanging in the air (if you'll excuse the pun) as so far we've only received the first two volumes for review.

To be honest, while on the whole I enjoyed this first volume, it's not hard to see why it failed to capture an audience. The artwork is average at best and the story is so incredibly slow to get going. Basically the five episodes could have easily be condensed into a single issue (two at a stretch).

At the close of this collection there's enough elements of interest to peak my interest in how the series progresses, but knowing that the conclusion (if there is one) will end up being a rushed affair doesn't really give me the inspiration to look forward to the rest of the series.

6

Darren Rea