Kingdom of the Air

Sithrah #1

by Jason Brubaker

Nirvana Page wanted to see the world. Traveling by private seaplane with her father on their annual vacation, together they explore exotic places and discover remarkable wildlife, and even if it s only for a few days, she gets everything a seven-year-old girl could hope for. That is, until a mysterious force crashes their plane, separating Nirvana from her dad, and stranding her in a strange and unfamiliar land. It s there she encounters SITHRAH a mysterious being who could hold the key to finding her father and begins a grand and perilous adventure that will bring her to the end of the world and beyond! SITHRAH is an all-ages book embracing a mixture of comic art and prose in a way that has never been done before."

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Comics Manga, Science Fiction

96 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2015

About the author

Jason Brubaker works at Dreamworks Animation in Visual Development. At night, he puts on his cape and doubles as an independent graphic novelist and self-publisher.
--from the author's blog

Reviews

[Lightwhisper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story and drawings are good, and I kept on my seat while reading it 'till the end..but there was no end, and more is to come..but alas, I just found this one volume.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree with other reviewers that this book was too short. It should probably get 4 stars for that, however I was not part of the kickstarter (I actually won this from a giveaway). I think if I had supported the kickstarter I may have wanted more story for the extra star.

I really, really loved this book. I want more of course, and found out he's publishing installments through Webtoon each week, and I *think* that's good enough for me, though I'd love to have 5 chapters in one of these bound books instead of just one chapter. I love that it's a mixture of classic comic style and children's book (sometimes very similar but they tend to be one or the other).

[k.wing · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I loved the art and enjoyed the story, this book felt like a short introduction. I think it would've made sense to present the story with Book One and Book Two together. I can't imagine Jason finishing the story in just two books, especially with how short this book felt. And that makes me nervous that he will actually finish this story in just two books.

I'm a big fan of Brubaker, and will continue buying his books, but I just wish he included more story, more pages, in this first book.

[Joansie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate that Jason was trying to do something different here however I feel like it didn't always work. I liked the insert of a blank page to add to the dramatics; That was refreshing! I thought I'd like a more novella style storytelling method too however I didn't feel like it was executed well enough. The page was styled to look like a Dr Suess book and the story was way too short. I would have been hugely disappointed if I backed the Kickstarter as it felt like a bit of a childish read. It was cute for kids but didn't hit the mark for me. Would definitely like to see this type of storytelling in graphic novels again though to see if it can work under different circumstances!

[Maleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this in one sitting. I like the illustrations. (Do you still call it that when it is a graphic novel?) The drawings? So much happened in one book. And it ended on a cliff hanger. I'll need to read the second one soon. The story seems realistic, but there is clearly fantasy woven into the story. It is a little scary. Maybe not for small kids.

[claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a teaser trailer — this book. Brubaker is a fantastic artist and his page layouts, the way he tells the story, can even be really clever sometimes. And this intro is great! It’s really mysterious and draws you into the story... but like shouldn’t be considered a book on it’s own.
(Also Moomin vibes)

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story started beautifully. Brubaker managed to make me care about Nirvana and her Dad in a few short pages, light on dialogue but exquisitely presented with beautiful artwork.
Thank goodness I already have the next volumes to satisfy the 'To be continued...' !

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Brubaker's reMind series so when I saw he had a new one I hunted down the first volume. I was a bit disappointed since it's rather short and there wasn't much time to get into the story before the first volume ended. But I do plan on reading the second volume and so forth.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5.

[Krystelle Gélineau · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many things going on with the representations of image and word and story, beautiful beautiful piece.

[Seth Merlo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid start to what promises to be a heartfelt, enchanting story.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is amazing! Rich with symbolism, color and line. It made me think about things I haven't ever in quite the same way before.

[Naveena · Rating 5 out of 5]

all my heart 💗

[Raven Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic start to the WebToon series. Fantasy and realism mixed in a grand adventure

[Crystal Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5 🌟

When I first started reading this series, back in 2016 I didn’t know it was a Christian webtoon since there were no other types of graphic novels of the sort on the app at the time. I should’ve known from the scripture shown on the first page, but I wasn’t sure. I’m so glad I found this book this story speaks volumes in so many ways. Can’t wait to reread the rest of the series.

I feel for nirvana and have always found Sithrah to be my favorite character.

[Joel Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a bright, intriguing start to this series. I was hooked from the first few pages. Right from the start, I can tell this will be a different kind of story.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars For a Gorgeously Illustrated, Visually stimulating Graphic novel By Jason Brubaker! I acquired this book through a Kickstarter campaign last November. I wasn't familiar with the creator, writer and artist but I fell in love with the story and the art, by gosh, the art. The art is so amazing. There's certain pages that just sweep you in. My own gripe is that IT'S SHORT. A VERY SHORT READ. I see now that it serves as a introduction to another story but I was so bummed out that it ended so quickly. But it's set to be in a series of five or six books so there's that.

Bonus points for such a beautifully crafted book--it's sitting on my bookshelf surrounded by other graphic novel trade paperbacks as a hardcover book printed on high quality paper, fully colored with a cloth binding for the cover.

[meleah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely beautiful. I read this online as it was posted, but there is something to be said for fine quality printing. Nothing beats holding this in your hands. The art is breathtaking. Jason's use of color and textures always captivate me and I find myself lingering on each page, studying all the detail. And his layouts are brilliant. I am by no means an expert, but I find these top notch. The story itself is very short in this first book. It reads as more of an introduction and leaves you wanting more right away. While I would recommend reading this book for the art alone, I must warn you that the story will not be fulfilling...but it certainly shows promise for what is to come. I anxiously and excitedly await more.

You can experience the story right away at www.sithrah.com.

[Micaela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Call me a sucker for father-daughter stories (because I am) but even putting aside my bias, this is still a great read. (Just too short! Need more!)

Like all graphic novels that are worth reading, this weds intriguing storytelling with eye-catching art. Nirvana Page, brought to lovely, two-dimensional life, travels the world with her father and a cat named Simon. I could tell ya more, but that would be spoiling it. Grab a copy and read!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick read, felt more just like a little intro. But the art was good, kinda like the style of Delirium in Sandman. The story set up was really good too, the mood felt a little like Kibushi's Copper and it was leading to an interesting fantasy plot line, with Nirvana (main character) stumbling upon a creature that moves fast, is super cute, and communicates telepathically. I'm eager to read more.

[Kahlil Kinser · Rating 2 out of 5]

A picture book for adults, but with a story that is nicely crafted, if not cliche. It is a very short installment, with big pictures and words scattered about in a sensible way, much like a Doctor Seuss book. I would be interested in seeing where it goes. I've not had any other experience with this author, but the forward and other comments made about this particular book have me intrigued.

[Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little story with art that would look simplistic and then complexly beautiful on the next page without changing style.

It was a basic concept with a unique implementation.

Unfortunately, the story moved so slowly that book one felt very light in content.

Despite this, I feel good about this one and hope that book two explores this quirky little world much more thoroughly.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gorgeous art, I really can't express that enough. Fun, though short, story. The reason I give it 2 stars may seem very petty, but I almost did not open the book after reading the blurb on the back. I do not know why anyone would pick something so condescending to the entire medium, especially considering the function of a blurb.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. The book reads very quick and feels like chapter 1 of a book with 39 chapters, so really an intro to the story.

Overall I feel like I need more story to really critique the book, so I gave a 3/5.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jason Brubaker is a phenomenal artist and Sithrah lives up to his previous work. This first volume is mainly exposition, but it appears to be setting up an epic story. The art is gorgeous, the story is intriguing, and it's much better reading it in print than update by slow update on the web.

[Alex Neilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as long as I was expecting (based on the length of each volume of ReMind), but very good nonetheless. I haven't been following the story online, and I'd rather read it in physical form anyway, so I suspect I'll have to wait a while for the next volume.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any graphic novel by this guy I will buy without a second thought! I fell in love with his last graphic novel (ReMind). Starting Sithrah, I sense that this is another journey that I can't wait to be continued.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole series was a remarkable find, with amazing and a very spiritual story. The whole thing is available for free online.

[Rob Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book in all areas-- art, story, even the book itself looks good. My only complaint is that it's a very fast read and ends on a cliffhanger.

[A.B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world is beautiful created and each page offers something to visually feast on, but the story is lacking. Too little plot to get 5 stars, to pretty to skip the read.