Review: A Flight of Angels conceived and illustrated by Rebecca Guay

Title: A Flight of Angels  [Amazon|GoodReads]
Authors: Holly Black, Louise Hawes, Todd Mitchell, Alisa Kwitney, Bill Willingham
Illustrator: Rebecca Guay
Standing: Stand alone novel.
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy
Published: November 8th, 2011 by DC Comics
Format: Hardcover; 128 pages.  
Source: Borrowed from my local library.

Occasionally, there are battles in the sky.  One likes to imagine angels as always triumphant.  One does not like to think of the ancient and terrible scales balancing the infernal and divine as a wobbling back and forth.  Tilting freely to and fro.  

One does not like to think that sometimes it is the angel that falls.

An angel falls to ground, grievously injured and unconscious in the land of the fairies.  A lord, a maid, a hag, and a trickster sit tribunal over his fate, with a boy as judge.  Their goal is to determine what to do with the angel--to help him, to kill him, or to let him be.  Each member of the group tells a tale they know of angels, a tale they feel reveals the creature’s nature and will influence the tribunal’s outcome.

A Flight of Angels, conceived and illustrated by Rebecca Guay, is one of the most hauntingly beautiful graphic novels I have encountered to date.  Perfect for readers looking to enter or ease into the genre, the story is captured in one compact volume composed using the work of well-known young adult and graphic authors.  Holly Black has written the frame story of the fae creatures determining the angels fate, and each author tells a tale of angels therein.  In one short and breathtaking novel, questions of incredible depth and complexity are asked such as what it means to live, the value of a soul, and how do humans balance their animal instincts and angelic natures?  Heartbreaking at times, and very fist-pumpy girl power at others, A Flight of Angels is a graphic novel for any fantasy fan.  The illustrations were astoundingly gorgeous, Rebecca Guay (who’s illustrated for authors such as Ursula K. Le Guin) has a style not often seen in the graphic universe, and I for one could not get enough of it.

Likelihood that I'll be back for more: YES PLEASE do more of this collaboration goodness!

Recommended for:  Fans of fantasy graphic novels, and fantasy fans who’d be willing to try a graphic novel--this is a total gateway book!

Real life repercussions of reading this book: Um...so...I know that Laini Taylor’s totally awesome husband does amazeballs illustrations, and I love them, but Raziel from the first story of this book has totally taken over as my mental image of Akiva from Daughter of Smoke and Bone.  Can you say sexy angel crush?