World of Warcraft: Mage

Story by Richard A. Knaak with Art by Ryo Kawakami
Published by TokyoPop

Slugline:  Treachery that can be seen from up high. 

Aodhan is a trainee mage in the flying city of Dalaran.  He became a trainee despite the opposition of his warrior family that did not see the usefulness of mage skills as compared to the family’s tradition so Aodhan instead follows his uncle Crevan’s example.  When Dalaran is attacked by blue dragons, Aodhan learns that Crevan’s example is perhaps not the best one to follow when he tricks Aodhan into releasing him from prison.  As the attack continues, Aodhan realizes that his uncle is not as virtuous as he had once thought and that the trainers who were so hard on him were so to make sure he did not make the same his mistakes as his uncle.  With that in mind, Aodhan manages to turn the tables on his uncle and help save Dalaran. 

This story would have been better served as a short story rather than filling an entire volume.  Mage is part of the classes line of Warcraft manga but what makes the class different and special wasn’t shown here.  This was a fairly typical ‘boy finds out his inspiration has feet of clay while people he not had much respect for have more wisdom that he thought’ story.  Variations of this story are fairly common but rather than trying to make interesting twists on it, pages are filled up with essentially meaningless fight and chase scenes that only make it clear that Aodhan's uncle is up to something while Aodhan stays clueless.  Meanwhile, some things are hand waved away rather spending pages to set things up for the story in order to make room for those fight and chase scenes.  There are a couple nice bits where items introduced earlier in the story are revealed to have more than one use but it that effort would have better spent working on making sure that the story held together better. 

World of Warcraft: Mage is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

World of Warcraft Shadow Wing, vol. 1 The Dragons of Outland

Story by Richard A. Knaak with Art by Jae-Hwan Kim

Published by TokyoPop

Slugline: Watch out for falling dragons!

The demons that attacked Azeroth have been defeated and pursued back to their homeworld through a mystical gate.  Among the armies that followed them back to Outland are Tyri and Jorad, who have been seen before in the Warcraft titles.  Jorad is still desperate to prove himself as a paladin of the Light so he takes on an important mission to coordinate friendly forces but he is waylaid and rescued by Tyri.  Tyri, who is a blue dragon that can transform into an elf, has felt herself drawn to Outland by her magic.  Together they convince some of Outland’s inhabitants to help them solve the mystery of the strange Nether Dragons and what their connection to other dragons be.  Meanwhile, a Death Knght has learned how to seize control the Nether Dragons and is planning on using them to rule Outland.

The World of Warcraft manga have been reviewed previously (see links), some of which have been by the same same creative team but they earn their new low rating for the new reasons here.  This is because of how the story is told rather than the content or the style of the story.  Richard Knaak is better known as a novelist and it seems that most of the problems come from using a novel’s pacing in a manga.  Five or ten pages of text reads a lot slower than the same number of pages in a manga.  A character that changes their mind over five pages of text seems more natural, like they had a chance to cool off and think, while doing so in the same number of pages in a manga pages seems like a waste to have the first scene at all.  Once again, it seems that this title would appeal just to fans of World of Warcraft rather than a wider fantasy audience.

World of Warcraft Shadow Wing, vol. 1 The Dragons of Outland is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Nightschool, vols. 1-3

By Svetlana Chmakova

Published by Yen Press

Slugline: A other kind of Plot? What Plot? story.

Sarah is the new Night Keeper of the Night School, a school for supernatural children including Weirns (witches), vampires, mermaids and many others.  Being held in a public school after the human children have left shows how close the two worlds are, especially since there are Hunters who make sure that the night creatures do not push at their boundaries.  But Sarah’s disappearance, not only physically but from people’s memories begins a series of events that may bring a dangerous prophecy to pass.  Sarah’s sister Alex already has a curse upon her, but to find the sister that no one remembers she enrolls in the Night School while a group of trainee Hunters and their Seer try to find who stole time from some of them.  There is seven prophecy children and though they are not known even to themselves, the consequences of their meeting will be terrible.

The characters are done well, at turns scary as they show off their more dangerous aspects while at other times they are cute and childish such as when they act like the teens they are.  The big problem is that while there is a strong overall plot, with the prophecy and the seven children waiting meet again, the actual plot in each chapter moves slowly.  Part of it may be a function of having to follow multiple characters who may (or may not) be the prophecy children but the end result is that Sarah’s story comes across as the main story but not as the most important one considering the number of scenes she isn’t even tangentially involved in.  The other potential prophecy children get less time than she does but get equally complicated plots so it feels that their stories are moving at a snail’s pace.  It didn’t feel so bad in the first volume, but by the end of the third the feeling becomes oppressing and the question is when are things going to happen?

Nightschool, vol. 1, vol. 2 and vol. 3 are all available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand 

Starcraft: Ghost Academy vol. 1

Written by Keith R. A. Decandido with Art by Fernardo Heinz Furukawa
Published by TokyoPop

Slugline: Brain panning is not an "This your brains on drugs" reference.

This manga fills in a missing gap in the Starcraft: Nova novel when Nova goes to the Ghost Academy.  In Starcraft, Ghosts are psionically powerful humans that are drafted to help keep the Dominion secure.  Nova is training to be one after suffering the the standard traumatizing childhood awakening of her psionic powers that both drives and isolates her.  But she is not allowed to be too isolated because the Ghost Academy trains in teams, and because of her isolated nature the others in her team suffer in their grading.  Things come to head when one of her teammates, a son of powerful political leader, helps create a situation in which another teammate who is a drug addict goes off the rails.  Though Nova helps her teammate and graduates to the next stage of her training, she has her memories erased of the incident and gains a new foe she does not even remember.

This is another title where the lack of knowledge about Starcraft handicaps the reader since it seems to expect that you already know background. This is made worse because Nova has already starred in a novel with the manga taking place in a gap in the novel.  As an example, some of the characters seem extraneous but if the reader knew the larger story their presence may make sense. The main character Nova is in a journey to be more connected to her fellow soldiers, but there is a moment of that journey that is missing. In the manga she realizes her behavior is harmful, and there are moments where she connects with the rest of her team, but there the moment in between when she makes the decision to change which is missing. While these are problems, they are not terrible ones since one of the purposes of the manga is to fill out the Starcraft backstory, so as long as it does that the manga has some worth.

Starcraft: Ghost Academy vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Domo: the Manga, vol. 1

Created by Tsuneo Goda, Stories by Clint Bickham and Art by Rem, Sonia Leong, Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges
Published by TokyoPop


Slugline: Speaking of characters who have a wide-ranging vocabulary...

Domo is the mascot of NHK, a major Japanese TV network who has been featured in a variety of formats already including a series of stop motion shorts on cable. The manga however is the product of TokyoPop creators and features the whole range of Domo characters in a color anthology. Most of them involve Domo developing a monomania about an object or activity that all of his friends are caught up in much to their dismay. This usually ends whenDomo's battered friends manage to convince him to stop. Considering that Domo has one word vocabulary you can understand that most of the stories are read quickly.

Domo is an all ages title that is definitely aimed toward kids. Most of the stories are built around very simple and repetitive gags that are done by Domo round-robin style on the entire cast of characters. While the stories are cute they are fairly predictable nor do they really add much to the characters. This title seems to be more for people who already know who Domo is and wants more of what they already know rather than being introduced to the characters.



Domo: the Manga, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Spy vs. Spy: Missions of Madness

By Antonio Prohias
Published by Watson-Guptill


Slugline: The Wrong Format

Spy vs. Spy is a classic comic strip made famous by Mad Magazine featuring two spies that use increasing more elaborate traps and ruses (including Rube Goldberg machines) to trap and kill one another. Very much a creation of the Cold War, with its creator Antonio Prohias a Cuban exile, the two spies representing opponents that have become indistinguishable from each other. This volume is one of several collections of the comics earliest strips in a manga format. It is because of that manga format that it is included on Prospero's Manga since it is likely that this volume (along with its companion collections) could be shelved with manga titles. That is a mistake because the comic is totally unsuited for the format, having just a single panel (in most cases) per page. Strips that would take up just a page or two in the original magazine format takes 10 or more pages in the manga, completely changing their feel and pacing. Since the comics are without word balloons the volume reads far too quickly making the book feel short even though it as long as traditional manga. The material itself are fine, this is just the worst possible way to read it.



-Ferdinand

CSI: Intern at Your Own Risk

Story by Sekou Hamilton and Art by Steven Cummings
Published by TokyoPop


Slugline: A murder of a Mary Sue

The Las Vegas CSI team has begun a high school intern program and Kiyomi Hudson is glad she managed to squeak into the program despite the lack of pay. But one of her fellow high school students will never get a chance to try again to be part of CSI except as the victim in a murder investigation. The five new CSI interns are allowed to work on the outskirts of the investigation, but they soon find themselves thrust into its center when it becomes clear that one of them is the murderer. Each of them focuses on their own specialty to uncover the evidence that is needed, with the killer's motivation revealed to be among the oldest, jealousy and lust, something which is not in short supply among high school students.

Any credibility this story may have enjoyed was lost the moment they had the interns on the firing range blazing away at targets. No cop in their right minds would let any 15 year old near a gun on a firing range. In a CSI story, where things are grounded in a world where science rules and emotions lead to your destruction, rational behavior defines the characters. So when the interns start shooting, there are no longer part of the world of CSI TV series. This is supposed to be spin-off of the TV series and thus follow the same rules as it, that disconnect makes it hard to the the story seriously. Add to that the new teen characters taking center stage and main characters of the series being shuttled off to the side the resulting story feels like a piece of bad Mary-Sue fan-fiction.



CSI: Intern at Your Own Risk is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Battlestar Galactica: Echoes of New Caprica

Stories by Emily Salzfass, Richard Hatch and Mike Wellman and Art by Chrissy Delk, Christopher Schons and Anthony Wu
Published by TokyoPop


Slugline: Just as dark and depressing as the original.

This is an anthology of Battlestar Galactica stories based on New Caprica storyline, when the humans were under Cylon occupation. Former President Roslin becomes a teacher and tries to balance educating and keeping her students safe with the demands that the Resistance and Cylons make on their parents. Temporary President Zarek after the escape from New Caprica makes decisions that are both difficult and easy on how to deal with humans collbators with the Cylons. Kara (the pilot Starbuck) has to decide after New Caprica what her relationship with her false daughter Kacey will be now that she has rejoined the fleet and the only lies left are the ones she tells herself.

Despite not having watched the new series, the volume gives enough information to understand what happened during the New Caprica storyline and why it was important to the characters. But this is probably one of the books that should be read in conjunction with the series in order to get the most enjoyment out of it, since the storyline in Battlestar Galactica was constantly changing and this touches on issues that the series could not take the time to examine. The Roslin story was an interesting view of life under occupation and featured its uncertainty, but the ending was weak and confusing, robbing the story of much of its power. The Zarek story covered ground that was already gone over during the series, but the Kara story did not, exploring the emotional fallout of Kara's time on New Caprica along with how it did not change despite her wanting it to, making it the strongest entry.



Battlestar Galactica: Echoes of New Caprica is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Manga: Bounkenshin

Stories by David Gerrold, Diane Duane, Christine Boylan and F.J. DeSanto with Art by E.J. Su, Chrissy Delk, Don Hudson and Bettina Kurkoski
Published in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Can a story be too faithful to its source material?

This an anthology title, with the first story being patterned on the tried and true "Wesley Crusher learns an important lesson" style of episode. There is also a scientific mystery story while the final two stories explore the fallout of broadcast episodes. These stores are reminiscent of early Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes in that they are more cerebral rather than action oriented and are humanistic, as in the outcomes are determined by human emotions and instincts. That results in very specific kinds of stories, ones that Star Trek: TNG moved away from in later episodes and in the spirit that Gene Roddenberry created the series in. This is not necessarily a judgment on the stories, but it does describe them and if you are expecting stories from other eras of Star Trek you will be disappointed.

The cover proclaims that one of the stories is written by David Gerrold, who is best known for writing the original series episode The Trouble with Tribbles. However, his contribution is the Wesley Crusher story which feels like it goes over ground that has been covered in many episodes before. David Gerrold has written some very adult oriented material, but in this case it feels like that he wrote a story that was more kid or comic book oriented. All of the stories are relatively self-contained, even the ones that spin out of broadcast episodes, with the only thing that you really need to know is that Picard once was taken over by the Borg. The stories are almost too much like the broadcast episodes, taking on many of the same themes without adding anything new.



Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Manga: Bounkenshin is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

the 9 Lives, vol. 1

Story by Bayou and Rachel Manija Brown with Art by Bayou
Published in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Why are cat-boys always effete?

Conri is an uncollared cat boy in a world like ours except that humans keep alien cat people as slaves and pets. Conri has no wish to be a pet but it is illegal to be uncollared so he has to dodge the authorities. After nearly being caught for stealing food he is rescued by the human Adrian. Curious why a human would help a cat person without demanding favorsConri follows Adrian back to his apartment. Conri later sneaks in, eating his food and sleeping on the bed, so when Adrian returns and sees the damage that Conri has done, Conri agrees to do housework to pay for the damage. Conri is wary around Adrian, causing several misunderstandings, as Conri expects that Adrian will eventually try to collar him. The reason why humans want collared cat-people is that they literally have nine lives and can share them to bring someone back from the brink of death.

What is it about cat-boys that make them androgynous and desperate to be featured in an yaoi like title? While this isn't a yaoi title per se, it certainly leans that way. Some sexual overtones are inevitable in any title that deals with a slave race (and is deftly handled early in the story) it just becomes gratuitous innuendo later. The idea of the nine lives that can be shared is revealed late in the book though the concept would suggested it ought to be a far more central part of the story for it makes believable the public acceptance of slavery. While issues of trust are brought up and explored,Conri is a juvenile so he handles them in a juvenile and superficial way. There is a lot of potential and a good foundation is laid, but using it is left for another volume.



the 9 Lives, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

Wolverine: Prodigal Son, vol. 1

Story by Antony Johnston with Art by Wilson Tortosa
Published by Del Rey and Marvel Comics


Slugline: Sort of the Wolverine you've seen.

Logan is the best fighter at the Quiet Earth Academy, a martial arts school in the northern woods for troubled teens. But Logan was not sent there by parents tired of his antics, but was found on its doorstep without any memory of his past other than his name. Add in his strange ability to quickly heal from any wound and claws that pop out from his forearms, Logan is isolated along with having grown an attitude problem that dwarfs the other students' problems. In an attempt to give Logan some peace the school's sensei takes Logan to New York City, but it only serves to make Logan even more disappointed. Just as the sensei is about to reveal a hint to Logan that there may be others like him, they are attacked by paramilitary types lead by Lady Silence, who can speak directly into one's mind. His sensei is captured, but Logan runs back to Quiet Earth, only to find it in flames and all of the students dead except for the sensei's daughter. Defeating the former student that destroyed the school who was allied with Lady Silence, Logan gains a clue about his origin and who is responsble for hunt for him.

This is a reimagining of Wolverine's origin, who is one of the most popular mutants of Marvel Comic's X-Men. Logan is not a person inclined to deep thought, so he, and thus must of the story is involved in kicking ass. That actually works well, for whenever the story slows down to think or talk about what is going on, the emotional responses of the characters seem shallow. There is not much of that, because most of the scenes are setting up for the fights or cleaning up after the fights, but it was still a block to my enjoyment. There are some shoutouts to other versions of Wolverine's origin, but he has had so many over of the years it is hard to pick them out. The art does show off the fights and their kinetic style well, but some of the details need a little bit of work, for it took me far too long to figure out that Lady Silence was actually a woman. Still, this is a nice action story that doesn't rely on its brand name to carry it.



Wolverine: Prodigal Son, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Orange Crows, vol. 1

Written by James Perry II with Art by Ryo Kawakami
Published by TokyoPop


Slugline: Post-Apocalyptic Witchcraft

Cierra, in an effort to solve a magical problem that her dead mother could not, disastrously failed in a magical experiment, injuring her best friend and scarring herself. Five years later, after serving the five year exile punishment for her crime, Cierra is brought back to a city that she barely recognizes. Her best friend Natalie has changed also, broken in a way that a witch of this world cannot hide or heal from and is emotionally damaged also. Cierra's own scars have grown from strange abilities that marked her in her time in exile. These changes forces Cierra to think that she will never again be able to find a place for herself, with her friends, family or society.

Though this volume is of standard length, it does not feel that much has occurred in it. The main and supporting characters are well fleshed out in asides and flashbacks, but at least in this volume many of those character moments do not pay off. The questions about the plot that we do know about at the end of the volume, such as who is the one-eyed demon and what is the source of Cierra's abilities, those answers have yet to be even hinted at. Considering that this is an original manga, this first volume does not really stand alone, and with publishing so unstable right now, who knows when or even if the rest of the story will be continued. It is that uncertainty and the fact this volume did not tell a complete story, or even a chapter of one, that lowers the rating of this otherwise well-executed manga.



Orange Crows, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

Yōkaiden, vol. 1

By Nina Matsumoto
Published by Del Rey Manga


Slugline: Be careful for what you wish for, because sometimes you will get it. Too bad you don't know any better.

Hamachi is living with his gruff (and not in a kindly way) grandmother after the death of his parents when he comes across a yokai, a Japanese demon/spirit that can have any number of origins or attitudes. The fact that there are so many of them means that there are more for Hamachi to learn about, much to his grandmother's disgust. Her disgust is so great that she lays a trap for one which Hamachi secretly rescues. When Hamachi learns that his grandmother laid the trap, he tries to overlook it, but the yokai that was trapped by it steals her soul while he is away. Upon his return, he decides to go to the yokai homelands through a portal to recover his grandmother's soul, or at least talk to the yokai that took it. Once in the yokai lands, he begins to make friends and enemies, but is still a long way off from confronting the yokai that has his grandmother's soul by the end of the first volume.

The manga at first starts fairly serious and straightforward, but as the volume continues, the story becomes more meta and self-referential. I don't think that is a good way to go, how serious one should take the story needs to be consistent, otherwise readers may feel that they are being manipulated (in a bad way.) To a certain extent, Hamachi is too naive and idealistic. He claims that he has read the books about yokai, so he knows that some are good, and is open to those but he seems to refuse to believe the truthfulness of those same texts in that some yokai are harmful and dangerous. Some amount of caution and learning from the dangers he is exposed to should be expected, but he seems impervious to them. After nearly having his own soul stolen, he just laughs it off. That sort of fits with the more metatextual aware Hamachi from later in the volume, when he seems to be more aware that he is in a story, but not so much in the beginning of the volume. It is this uncertainty over what the nature of the story is that robs it of tension and storytelling power.



Yōkaiden, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga

-Ferdinand

The Mysterians, vol. 1

Created by Chuck Russel and Michael Uslan, Script by Jay Antani with Art by Matt Hentschel
Published in the US by TokyoPop


Slugline: Not related at all with the cult classic Japanese giant critter movie

Imagine a Earth where Dick Cheney and George Bush were considered environmental wussies. Yes, hard to imagine, but that is the near future of the Mysterians, where the environment is going to hell in a hand-basket, except that there are not enough reeds left growing to weave a hand-basket. But five teenagers whose parents died arguing that the environment and the political situation was deteriorating learn that they have been changed, partly through their own abilities and some of them by genetic/organic engineering derived from alien technology. Wait, alien technology, did I forgot to mention the aliens? Yep, you see the aliens are behind all of the trouble on Earth because they need to reduce the Earth to a polluted wasteland so they can get a decent breath of air. But not to worry, five teenagers who have never meet before will gain strange powers to save the Earth! The only thing that is missing is a few color pages so that we can tell which color each teen's organic bio-armor is, since biologically similar creatures still would never be as tacky to be all in the same color!

Heh, sorry. The environmental message here is a combination of Captain Planet and X-Files, and even some of the classic cult movie THEM. It is so blatant and over the top that it is hard to take seriously. At least from a storytelling perspective, truth always seems so much more illogical since it does not have make sense as a plot. Obviously there is also the sentai/Power Ranger influences on the story are just a little bit obvious. Still, the whole story seems very simplistic, but the creators seem to have decided to compensate for that by having just as much over the top goriness. The disguised aliens are unstoppable unless you pull out their power source, which gives one a lot of reason to rip their corpse apart looking for the important bit. So lots of exposed spines and intestines. Nothing too stomach turning, but it was actually surprising to see it shown. Not sure if the shock value is worth it though.



The Mysterians, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Ferdinand

The Reformed, vol. 1

Story by Christopher Hart with art by Anzu
Published by Del Rey Manga


Slugline: A vampire looking for redemption? What would surprise me is a vampire that thinks redemption is for sissies.

Giancarlo is a vampire that is hunting in the city, but comes across a woman Jenny with whom he immediately bonds (and doesn't take a drink from.) Jenny is taken by him also and gives up her previous occupation but realizes that Giancarlo is a complicated man, but not a vampire. Another vampire shows up to make Giancarlo's life difficult and attracts the attention of police detective. I am not sure if Giancarlo and Jenny really have a romance, but the book is about how they deal with their attraction for each other and how Giancarlo uses that attraction to escape his vampiric past and apparent destiny.

Some interesting bits character-wise, mostly around Jenny. Rather than with a wink and nod that Jenny is walking the streets for completely pure of heart reasons, it is admitted that she was walking the streets, though admittedly not for very long. And the end of the volume was actually a shocker, though considering her profession it doesn't seem very logical. But those interesting character bits have to compensate for a fairly standard plot and a lot of details that it is just assumed that the characters will know or accept. So that the flow of story doesn't feel smooth, with short sharp little bumps on the way. And yes, this is an OEL, Christopher Hart is known for doing a series of learning how to draw books.



The Reformed, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Heavenshield, vol. 1

By Ryu Blackman
Published by TokyoPop


Slugline: What a horrible, over the top mess.

I wish I could tell you the basic outlines of the plot, but the few facts that I managed to glean from the title doesn't seem to match the back cover text at all. And what I did glean, I literally gleaned, sifting through the pages to try to pull out from the chaff some relevant bits of the story. I can sorta tell you that there is a religious/military conflict, that someone is trying to kill political leaders, that there is a maniac general of some sort, and that there is a top flight freelance protection squad out to protect a politician, but that is about it. And after trying to unpack what is going on, who is doing what, what everyone's motivations are, or at least what they say they are, I find that I don't really care. At the end of the volume I know about the same that I knew from the back cover text from before I even started. It just feels like such a mess. And I feel no urge to try figure it out.



Heavenshield, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

HellGate: London, vol. 1

Story by Arvid Nelson with Art by J.M
Released by TokyoPop


Slugline: For a video game tie-in, I didn't have to hold my nose.

I spend my time reviewing manga, so I don't play video games (or watch anime) so the game that this is based on is completely unknown to me. From what I understand, timewise, this is an early prequel that details some of the events leading to the rise of the demons in London. Focused on the antagonism between the Knights Templar and the Cabalist factions, it tells the story of John and Lindsey Fowler, siblings that are descendants of a Knight Templar family, who had an ancestor who went bad. Needless to say, that ancestor was a little bit miffed and has decided to come back in the run up to the HellGate incident where the demons return to Earth, with the end result of the siblings being forced to operate in two separate factions by the end of the volume.

Fairly straightforward action/horror title, competently done, with a couple of emotional twists that while I wasn't too surprised by, neither was I expecting. While the characters are not all that smart, they are consistently not all that smart, which makes it sorta okay. The art is on the realistic side, so you know who everyone is and what they are doing, which sometimes can be difficult in an action title. So the title makes 3 stars for not screwing up and not being too cliche. Not sure if that is damning by faint praise or not...



HellGate: London, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

eV, vol. 1

Created by Roger Mincheff, written by James Farr with art by Alfa Robbi and Papillon Studio
Published by TokyoPop


Slugline: Beware the Evil Bunnies

The slugline makes me want to sprinkle some of the lines from the Buffy:the Vampire Slayer musical, Once More with Feeling in the review, but I am afraid most people won't get people the reference. For the people who do, just remember Anya's bunny song.

Now that I have that digression out of the way, eV is set 20 minutes and five year's from now. Ev's father is a scientist specializing in nanotechnology and with the arrival of aliens asking for a Earth representative for an interstellar congress. Ev has some issues with her father basically disappearing for 5 years while preparing nanite enhancements for whomever eventually ends planetary representative, but car accident at the last minutes forces Ev's father to sacrifice the last five year's work to save her. But in return, she ends up having to become Earth's planetary rep, and let's just say aliens can be suckered just as well as humans by multi-dimensional creatures beyond anything's ken.

I wanted to like this more, but the pacing of the story seemed to be way off, sometimes skipping past things with barely any explanation, other times slowing down to show us details that don't seem to forward the story that much. I suspect that this was originally intended to be in another format (not manga) simply because of how the pacing seems off. There are some big sci-fi ideas, please I am always a sucker for Lovecraftian horrors.

And if the last scene doesn't scream out "sequel" I don't know what does. Is this the continuation of the trend of TV/Movie types getting involved in comics? Comic publishers have had an influx of Hollywood creators, is it nowmanga's turn? And is that a good or bad thing? I don't know, but in this particular instance, maybe the creators needed to acclimate more to the format.



eV, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

Spy Goddess: Chase for the Chalice

Created by Michael P. Spradlin, Script by Rachel Manija Brown and Illustrated by Rainbow Buddy
Released by TokyoPop


Slugline: A literary rest stop between Spy Goddess novels

Rachel Buchanan and the rest of her friends from the Spy Goddess novels, which are about a bunch of teen spies after the mythically inspired Mithras sect, have to go to Japan to track down one of Mithras latest criminal capers. Rachel is denying any connection with the goddess that once defeated the Mithras cult, but needless to say when captured and as her friends race to rescue here, some evidence to the contrary is introduced.

I think I have noticed a pattern when novelists do manga adaptations (even if it not a direct adaptation) of their titles, it seems like they rely on the words to tell the story, rather than balancing between words and pictures. Not that I am an expert here, but that is my impression. Maybe because they have spent so much time in the world of their novels as purely written experience, it has hard to dial it back when they have to continue it in comic/manga format. As such, this title feels like I experiencing it from a distance, that all of the emotional cues that I am supposed to be getting are actually coming from a distance so that are just not connecting. Also, it feels like that there is, or should be, more going on with the characters that is actually expressed in the word or thought balloons. The art is nice, though I wish there was more of a difference between the two female leads, I had to work to keep them separated while reading.



Spy Goddess: Chase for the Chalice is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

-Ferdinand

CBG Review: Megatokyo vols. 1-4

I have written a review for Megatokyo vols. 1-4, available on The Comic Buyer's Guide website. Please remember that the CBG website uses a 4 star rating. Check it out!



Megatokyo vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3 and vol. 4 are all available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.