Air (comics)

Air
Cover to issue #1 of Air (Oct 2008). Art by M. K. Perker.
Publication information
Publisher	Vertigo
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Publication date(s)	October 2008 – August 2010
No. of issues	24
Creative team
Created by	G. Willow Wilson M. K. Perker
Written by	G. Willow Wilson
Artist(s)	M. K. Perker
Letterer(s)	Jared K. Fletcher
Colorist(s)	Chris Chuckry
Editor(s)	Karen Berger Pornsak Pichetshote
Collected editions
Letters from Lost Countries	ISBN
Flying Machine	ISBN
Pureland	ISBN
A History of the Future	ISBN

Air was an ongoing comic book series published by DC Comics as part of the Vertigo imprint. It was created by writer G. Willow Wilson and artist M. K. Perker.

Air was an ongoing series and G. Willow Wilson explained her plans: "I have a solid detailed topographical map for the first year and a half and a loose hand-written treasure map for another couple of years. If this follows the four year model that has become typical of good Vertigo series lately, I'll be happy, and I've got ideas to fuel the whole run."

Wilson has also discussed the influences on the story, which partly comes from her non-fiction, journalistic work, but may also have been precipitated by one specific incident: "The concept behind Air came from Wilson’s own experiences after being grilled by a flight attendant in Amsterdam for the many visas in her passport."

Blythe, an acrophobic flight attendant for the fictional Clearfleet Airlines, is invited to join the "Etesian Front", who claim to be an anti-terrorist organization. The Etesians trick Blythe into transporting plans for a terrorist attack. When she discovers this, she and a man named Zayn are kidnapped and taken on board the plane that is the hijack target. Later, Zayn and Blythe leap clear of the plane as it crashes into the sea. The head of the Etesian Front, a man named Benjamin Lancaster, also survives. Zayn is later accosted by Lancaster in Narimar, a place that ostensibly disappeared from maps during the 1947 Partition of India, and interrogated as to the whereabouts of an Aztec artifact. Blythe follows him to Narimar, where she is designated by the Etesian Front a "hyperpract", that is, someone with the power to move into different dimensions or realities. The three escape Narimar, while their plane is followed by a mysterious winged serpent.

As the story progresses, the ambiguous concept of 'hyperpraxis' is introduced, as what seems to be a supernatural form of teleportation. The story develops more eccentric and fantasy elements, introducing Amelia Earhart and Quetzacoatl as supporting characters.