Omnibus publication of graphic novel Flight Nineteen funded by SK Arts launches March 7th.
When Saskatoon artist Audra Balion first sketched a picture of a woman riding a fantastical beast, she had no idea what kind of journey it would take her on. What started as a fun project in her University of Saskatchewan printmaking class turned into a story that would take over a decade to tell.
Now, after having published ten issues, spoken at comic conventions across the prairies, and started teaching the next generation of comic artists, her work Flight Nineteen has its first-ever omnibus publication, made possible thanks to a grant from SK Arts.
“I wanted to find a way to create something special while still making it accessible,” Balion says. The result is a hard cover, gold foil edition with behind-the-scenes content and concept sketches. Thanks to SK Arts, she’s able to sell the compilation for less than she’d have sold the individual comics.
Flight Nineteen is a steampunk tragedy, set in a world of magic and mutants. And while its setting and decade-long creation might suggest a disconnect, its message has become more relevant than ever. At the heart of its story is a simple question: is technological progress worth losing your humanity?
That wasn’t necessarily the story Balion set out to tell, but it is the interpretation and re-interpretation of the story that makes Flight Nineteen magical. The colourful graphic novel is silent: it is told without dialogue or narration. Each reader can come away with something different.
Ultimately, Balion believes this offers a way to connect with her readers. “As we’re faced with so much change and uncertainty, it can be easy to disconnect from one another. [Flight Nineteen] invites readers to connect with the story and engage empathetically.”
Flight Nineteen will have its official launch event at Amazing Stories on March 7th. The graphic novel will be available there as well as her downtown studio, Audra Balion Art Sanctuary, and soon through Indigo and Coles.
