Dinotopia, First Flight: 20th Anniversary Edition (Calla Editions)

This lavishly produced volume begins with an unabridged republication of Gurney’s influential 1999 story about the adventures of Gideon Altaire. Gideon escapes from his post as a drone pilot, befriends a small band of animal characters, and becomes the first human to fly on the back of a giant pterosaur known as a skybax. Together they challenge a bold attempt by the rogue leaders of Poseidos to overturn the tenuous balance between humans and dinosaurs. The second half of the book includes a bonus of over 45 new images, including never-before-published storyboards, concept sketches, and production paintings, plus new characters, stories, and backstory notes from James Gurney’s creative archives. The supplement begins with a cinematic treatment about a character named Blake Terrapin, who leads the resistance on the ground while Gideon takes to the air. Together, the elements of this richly imagined volume combine to conjure a complete world, and will serve as an exciting companion volume to Gurney’s other Dinotopia books.