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Webcomics by Asian American Artists by Ryan Berke


Websites for Flight

  • Flight. 2006. Flightcomics.com. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://www.flightcomics.com/>.
    Flight is a collection of independent comics by some of the best artists the Internet has to offer. Organized by Bolt City's Kazu Kibuishi, Flight features such Asian American artists as Catia Chien, Clio Chiana, Derek Kirk Kim, Jen Wang, Kean Soo, and Khang Le, as well as several other artists of non-Asian descent. Flight is published by Image Comics, a company well known for helping independent artists get their work distributed to larger audiences. Volume One was released during the summer of 2004, in time for the Alternative Press Expo. Volume Two and Volume Three were released after the success of the first volume.
  • Weiland, Jonah. "Taking 'Flight': Kazu Kihuishi Talks New Indy Anthology." CBR News: The Comic Wire. February 6, 2004. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=3253>.
    This is the first of two articles at Comic Book Resources (CBR) News about Flight. Jonah Weiland introduces the idea behind Flight, including the origins and its intended direction. Even though comic anthologies aren't known for selling well, Kazu Kibuishi is defying this trend. Ironically sales are not as important to him as creating satisfying work. In Kibuishi's words: "I just wanted to do it, even if it cost me an arm and a leg to do so." The article further explains the origins of the project including who the other artists are and how they were selected.
  • Weiland, Jonah. "Kazu Kibuishi and Friends "fake 'Flight' at Image." CBR News: The Comic Wire. April 15, 2004. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=3530>.
    Jonah Weiland gives us an update: Flight has found a publisher. When Weiland wrote the first article, Kibuishi was planning to release the collaboration independently, but was starting to realize how that approach wouldn't be practical. While in San Francisco promoting the book, Kibuishi and his fellow artists were approached by Erik Larsen of Image Comics, one of the top five comic book publishers in the industry. Now that such a big name has taken an interest in the project, everything is coming together. All the pages are in, the book is being processed, and more artists have shown interest in joining Kibuishi in developing Flight, Volume Two.
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Personal Comic Websites of Flight Artists

  • Chiang, Clio. Cascadia. 2006. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://www.cascadiacomic.com/>.
  • Kim, Derek Kirk. Lowbright. July 14, 2006. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://www.lowbright.com/index.html>.
    Formerly known as Sinai! Stories Online, Lowbright is Derek Kirk Kim's own little corner of the web where he posts all his comics. Kim's stories are all independent of one another with unique characters, settings, and plotlines. The stories depict a "slice of life" focusing on the lives of ordinary people. Kim is probably best known for his award-winning Same Difference, telling the story of Nancy and Simon as they talk about everything from tic-tacs and old movies to the best way to eat ramen.
  • Kibuishi, Kazu. Bolt City. July 24, 2006. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://www.boltcity.com/>.
    Becoming better known for his leading role Flight Comics, Kazu Kibuishi's Bolt City is the website he uses for his solo work. The site includes two comics. Clive and Cabbage feature the wacky adventures of ill-tempered Clive, the rabbit and his silent vegetable friend, Cabbage who together explore the moon. Copper tells the stories of a boy and his dog and is updated monthly. Also worth looking at is Kibuishi's workbook, done in an easy-to-view, interactive form.
  • Soo, Kean. Keaner dot Net. June 28, 2006. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://www.keaner.net/>.
    Although it hosts several smaller comics, Keaner dot Net's main feature is Kean Soo's journal-comic showing the events in his life in picture form. Soo explores a wide range of emotions from severe alcoholism and depression to happiness and contentment. He archives all his journal-comic entries under the "comics" section.
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Personal Art Home Pages of Flight Artists

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Personal Online Journals and Online Communities of Flight Artists

  • Chiang, Clio. Clio's Sketchmajibber! July 23, 2006. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://cliobablio.blogspot.com/>.
  • The Pants Press Sketchblog. Ed. Jen Wang. July 20, 2006. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://community.livejournal.com/pantsketch/>.
    This is a Livejournal community maintained by Jen Wang and consists of contributions from six comic artists. Pant Sketch seems to get updated more frequently than any of their personal art pages, probably due to the easy-to-update blogging format that Livejournal provides. The Pant Sketch artists post everything from doodles they drew during classes and birthday present drawings for their friends to professional-grade pictures included in their portfolios. Also featured are artists Bill Mudron (Anne Frank Conquers the Moon Nazis), Vera Brosgol (Return to Sender), Dylan Meconis (Bite Me), and Erica Moen (Peachy Keen!).
  • Wang, Jen. Jen. 17 July 2006. Date Accessed: 25 July 2006. <http://mao.livejournal.com/>.
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Articles and Interviews with Flight Authors

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Reviews for Derek Kirk Kim's Same Difference and Other Stories

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Asian American Studies Program
University of Maryland Undergraduate Studies