About Heroes

Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition Volume 1
Author and Artist: Kenichi Sonoda
Publisher: Dark Horse Manga

You know it's good if the manga is rated for mature audiences of 18 or older! (Not saying though that being over 18 necessarily makes you mature…) With that disclaimer out of the way, there's lots o' cool gun tricks, bombs galore, car chases, and sex in Gunsmith Cats! The two main characters, Rally Vincent, 18 years old, owns a gun shop and works as a bounty hunter on the side. Her partner, Minnie May (17 years old), is a sex addict who happens to be a bomb expert. These two girls are anything but normal. To quote Rally, gun oil and gunpowder are her favorite fragrances, and Minnie May goes down on a guy to go undercover in a whorehouse. But enough with the random stuff; three things really make this book great.

1. The detail in Sonoda's art is phenomenal. He really knows his stuff. Each gun, bomb, or car is painstakingly drawn to perfection, and he adds notes underneath panels to explain the type, make, or how the bullets work. Now as far as boobs go…, all I'm saying is that I wish I had Rally's boobs because they change size all the time! If I felt like having big tits, as she does on the cover of the book or issue covers, then I could just snap my fingers! But if they got in the way while exercising or, say, chasing down criminals, I could just switch them to A cup size!

2. The characters' facial expressions are on point as well. He seamlessly makes the transition from Rally's face being "I'm in pain because my ribs are broken but I love this new gun I'm shooting" to "I better get serious or this guy is going to blow my head off!" It's not just a fast-paced action story; humor is sprinkled in to slow down the pace.

3. The story is well-written. Some of the issues can stand alone, other stories are two or three issues long, but there is an over-all story arc throughout the whole book. It's not just a shoot-'em up, car chase, explosion happy time story - I invested myself in the characters and genuinely care about what happens to them.

This book, collecting 16 issues of Gunsmith Cats, is definitely worth the 16.95 retail price! An Ultimate Spider-Man hardback is about twice as much and only contains 12 issues. Besides, you can probably find it cheaper online or at a used bookstore, and it will take you a good while to enjoy.

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