Air #1

I feel like I make the same observation about damn near every first issue of a Vertigo ongoing series, but once again I find myself wondering what exactly this book is about, and where it could possibly be going. Curiosity is a good thing in that it will get me to come back for another issue, but bafflement is not necessarily an appealing quality in a series opener. I can tell you that Air is about a flight attendant who is caught up in some sort of secret underground world of, um, rogue air marshals? There are two factions battling it out, and she ends up siding with one of them, represented by some chameleon-like dude who can apparently make himself seem like he's from anywhere in the world. And they fall in love.

Writer G. Willow Wilson jumps around all over the timeline, and makes many cryptic references to things happening beyond the main character's understanding. Clearly she wants to take on Big Issues here, what with all the discussion of terrorism and the fluidity of countries' borders and so on. But right now it's just a lot of vague talking around points that aren't really made. Artist M.K. Perker has a nice straightforward, realistic style that makes all the portentous goings-on seem a little more relatable. The cover blurb from Neil Gaiman claims that he loved the first six issues, that they start out as Salman Rushdie (who's referenced on the opening page) and then transform into Thomas Pynchon. Which may mean that this series will end up being mindblowing, or that it will just be confusing and pretentious.