Had I read Adventures of Mia without seeing Miyazaki's Porco Rosso, I probably would have been much more impressed, as Casarosa takes the reader into the same world of Italian seaplane racing along with anthropomorphic animals. As is, while Mia suffers by comparison to the longer and animated story of Porco Rosso, the beauty of the artwork and the unusual subject matter, as well as Casarosa's delightfully spunky protagonist, it's still a very entertaining read. Actually, entertaining reads, since this book contains three stories, two of them showing Mia at different ages and one, in a clever bit of historical tie-in, features Mia narrating a story of a pioneer of aviation.
The biggest selling point of Adventures of Mia, at least for me, was Casarosa's artwork. It compares most closely to Mark Crilley's work on Akiko, with detailed backgrounds and props but fairly simple (albeit very expressive) characters. Casarosa is an animator, and that influence definitely shows, as he provides beautiful backdrops but keeps the moving elements of the story simple so that the implied motion becomes the star. The airplane race that makes up the bulk of the first story is exciting and fun to watch.
Which is not to say that the stories are lacking. The stories are short, to be sure, but they carry with them everything you need to know about the basics of Adventures of Mia. Mia's renegade attitude, mixed with a youthful charm, comes through both in her fearless challenge to the fascist pilot who challenges her and in the sheer glee we see in the reveal of the second story. Mia reminds me in all the good ways of the delightful Chance from Leave it to Chance, and it's clear that she fits into the mold of hometown hero as well.
Adventures of Mia is a book that is long on charm but perhaps a little short on plot. There is a change of status quo resulting from the first story, but given that it's the first issue, it doesn't really have a lot of impact, because we don't get to really see the improvements this change will make on the town. Though Casarosa and his co-writers are to be commended for avoiding the overly long pacing that plagues many comics these days, the pitfall of this more concise storytelling means that the characters and plots come off as a little more lightweight. On the upside, this does make it a great read for younger readers, as the stories aren't complex or hard-to-follow, but instead focus on universal truths and easy-to-relate difficulties.
Mia is great for fans of flying machines, and especially good for younger readers who will enjoy the action and the approachable story, all the while learning something in spite of themselves. Certainly those who enjoy modern-day young adventure comics like Akiko or Leave it to Chance should take a look at this one, especially as those books tend to come out on a pretty erratic schedule, and more in the same vein is always welcome, given how sparse that genre is in comics.
