Above the Clouds

by Melissa Pagluica

Once, high above the clouds there lived the People of the Sky.

They were tasked as caretakers, for as long as tree was happy there would be balance in the world.

For hundreds of years the tree and the people of the sky traveled among the clouds undisturbed.

Until one day darkness fell . . .

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

288 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Taylor Lust · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel is beautiful and heartwarming and lovely. I cried at the end, happy tears of love and joy and triumph! I was actually a bit surprised by how touched I was by the story and how much it resonated 💚 do yourself a favor and read it!

The art is also absolutely breathtaking

[Matthew Noe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous comic that shows off how few words the medium needs to succeed

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story with beautiful illustrations -- the hardback book is exquisitely done, too.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Above the Clouds is one of the best graphic novels I've read.

It has an amazing art style, with two stories. One that contains very little words, so everything is conveyed through facial expressions and actions, and another world that is told from a mix of words and actions.

I loved going into this story almost blind and figuring out the themes and plot as I read. I love how the back cover describes the story.

"Above the Clouds is a half-silent comic that intertwines two stories- on of a hero who must save a dying world, and the other of a young girl who must convince an author to finish what he has started."

What I will say is that this reads like a fairy tale interwoven with a medieval story of castle life.

I found this book on the authors Etsy, teacupbee

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first ran across Melissa's work in the artist alley of Salt Lake FanX and I had a hard time paring down what prints to limit myself to from her booth. She has an incredible light flowing style that I couldn't get enough of.

When I found out she was kickstarting a graphic novel I had to back it, day one!

I finally received me copy a few weeks back and made time to read it this week. The first half of the story is mostly without dialog and it was a little hard for me to follow but I still got the general gist. As the story within the story moved to a climax, though, it felt like it all came together and ended up in a very satisfying ending.

The art throughout the book is absolutely gorgeous and I'll definitely spend time flipping through it a few more time savoring it all. I'm so glad Melissa's kickstarter was as successful as it was, and she got to make exactly the book she wanted to.

I look forward to all her future work and I will eagerly pick it all up!

[Darcy Roar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet & beautiful with a charming story. I greatly enjoyed the 2 storytelling styles & found the nonverbal sections quite understandable. What I like best about this book is that you can see the artist's style shift slightly as you go along. It's not dramatically different, but it's enough of a change that it feels like the art is growing & evolving with the characters (especially the human ones). Also, the binding, on the kicstarter version at least, is gorgeous! A lovely story in a lovely package.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so beautiful. I'm very happy that I supported this book and got a chance to read it. The story and characters are lovely. I love how she had facial expressions do the talking in the "real" world and dialogue in the story world.

[Gabrielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art was so well done, whimsical for the story and just worldly enough for the other half. Love the idea of not having words except in the story portion as well.

Very well done. I am very happy with it

[Andrew Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I wish I could give this more stars. Above The Clouds is an absolutely beautiful experience. I read this with my 9-year old and we both loved it so much. It’s rich with lovely art and a heartfelt story.

It’s only March, but this is my favorite read of the year so far.

[Twitchmatic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across the author at a Comic Con and had to buy the book. It is an absolute delight to read and very thought provoking. So absolutely beautifully crafted and I loved the addition of the author’s character notes at the end.

A delight to absorb and think about.

[Filip Koval · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of best comic book I every read
Polite story
Some allegory to thing about
I'm really glad I back this project on Kickstarter

[anisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

so cute!

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a beautifully told story and I am so glad to have found it on etsy.com. I didn't expect to find such an original work there but the story is so compelling and the art is just gorgeous. Its an instant classic . A tale of adventure, lost love, facing your fears and fighting for what you want: its absolute perfection and worth every penny too! I'll be looking out for more works like this in the future for sure.