About Heroes

Clamp No Kiseki Volume 8
Creators: CLAMP
Publisher: Tokyopop

If you’ve ever read manga or even heard about manga, I’m sure some time or other you have come across the work of CLAMP. CLAMP is an all female manga creator group from Japan. There are four members of this group: Mokona, Satsuki Igarashi, Tsubaki Nekoi, and Ageha Ohkawa. These ladies are responsible for such creations as Magic Knight Rayearth, Chobits, Angel Layer, Tsubasa, X/1999, xxxHolic, and Tokyo Babylon. They celebrated 15 years together in 2004 and these wonderful books with chess pieces were released in Japan for fans. Thanks to the great folks at Tokyopop these wonderful books are now available again in America. Since volume 7 the price of the collector’s item has dropped to $19.99 and they come inside of a blister card packaging. In this set you get a book about X/1999 in full color pages, interviews, 6 pages of brand new manga, and a timeline and family line of all the characters in X. Of course the grand price is really the three small chess pieces that come with this set: Shiro Kamui from X, Mokona, and Modoki. If you collect all twelve of the box sets you can have, the greatest chess pieces (in my opinion) ever made. These books are not just for fans of CLAMP, but toy collectors as well. A

I’’s Volume 15
Story & Art: Masakazu Katsura
English Adaptation: Arashi Productions
Publisher: Viz

If there is one thing that I will always remember about Katsura, it has to be those gorgeous gorgeous covers. I can’t think of a time that his covers on DNA^2, Shadow Lady, or Video Girl Ai has not blown me away. He draws the most realistic beautiful women I have ever seen. Funny enough when you flip through one of his books, you can tell it’s still the same artist, but the pictures are done in a different style. Reaching for a Dream concludes the story of Ichitaka and his obsession over his classmate Iori. It seems that Iori now has her own personal stalker. There is a confrontation that takes Ichitaka out of commission and makes Iori realize that she is in love with him and that her dream happens to be his dream as well. As Ichitaka finally wakes up he gets all his strength to tell her how he finally feels about her. There is a sweet little ending as the book closes and I will really miss these characters. The downside is that there were some chapters that just dragged on for far too long that got in the way for character development. The art, as always is phenomenal and breathtaking. I really hope to see more of Katsura’s work in the US. A-

Museum of Terror: Tomie Volume 1
Story & Art: Junji Ito
Translation: Naomi Kokubo
Publisher: Dark Horse

Now, from hearing our podcast last year about horror comics, you should know how much I love the horror comics genre. If there is one thing that the Japanese know how to do; is how to scare the hell out of me. There is nothing better than watching creepy things when I’m at home alone. I never really get creeped out by watching horror movies or ghost stories on TV. This past weekend in the spirit of Halloween I decided to read a few horror stories. One of the books was of course was Museum of Terror. It is pretty much a collection of short stories about a girl named Tomie. Where she came from or how old she is I think has become relevant. The only thing that is for certain is that you can’t kill the creepy bitch. She regenerates from a chopped up head or even her liver. There were times when I had to take a break, because I kept looking in the corners of my room. I threw the damn book one time from being just creeped out by the sick pictures. Ito really builds a mythos around this character and you start feeling bad for the cast of characters that runs into her. The art ranges from plain and clear to dark and gothic, but that is because the stories range from publications in 1987 to 1995 I can’t recommend this book highly enough to people that enjoy being scared! Trust me, this will do the job. A+

Psycho Busters Volume 1
Story: Yuya Aoki
Manga: Akinari Nao
Publisher: Del Rey

So what would happen if after wanting to be left alone to play video games and read comics a naked girl appears in my bedroom? Obviously Kakeru and I have a completely different idea of what we would do. Of course there is only so much you could do with a naked astral projection….err anyways. It turns out that the girls name is Ayano and she takes Kakeru to the psychic’s hideout. There is a government group that is also after this special group of people. It seems that Kakeru might be a little more powerful than most people think. I don’t know what it was but the story really did very little for me. I really didn’t care for any of the characters and the story was just bland. The art is clean and very clear especially with all the action sequences. I think the best part about the book is the character designs. Funny enough I was reading Teen Titans and New X-men and couldn’t help but compare the books. I went into this book expecting a video game story retold through manga because of the name and cover and I was still disappointed. A group of powerful teenagers is an idea that has been done before and far better. I am willing to give volume 2 a chance though. C

Reborn! Volume 1
Story & Art: Akira Amano
Translation: JN Productions
Publisher: Viz

I didn’t think that right after I finished the finale to the Sopranos I would be reading a book about the mafia in Japan. No, not the Yakuza, but the real Italian mafia. Looking at that cover, I really didn’t know what to expect from Reborn! I have never read a portrayal of the mafia, or at least one this extremely ridiculous. Due to some kind of family tree goof up by his great great grandfather, Tsuna is the only candidate left to become the Vongola family boss. Disguised as a tutor, Reborn is really there to prepare Tsuna for this task. He is also packing magic bullets such as the Deathparation bullet, that makes you face your own death and think of all the regrets you have, it makes you come back to life and give you the power to achieve your dying wish. For Tsuna this was just the simple task to tell the girl he has a crush on how he really feels for her. By the end of volume one he has recruited on soldier in Hayato Gokudera and made one enemy in the pint sized Lambo. I’m not sure who this story is intended for; if not for the guns I could see this being a kid’s story. The art is very comedic, but can be right down serious and grasp your attention when needed. I have mix feelings about the book, don’t get me wrong it’s good and I want to keep reading it, but I’m just not sure how long the charm will last. B

The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls: Revenge of the Hori Clan volume 1
Story: Futaro Yamada
Manga: Masaki Segawa
Publisher: Del Rey

If you read my review of Basilisk you know I was a big fan of that manga. This is done in the same way and it’s just a different chapter in the Ninja Scroll chronicles. Think of this as Basilisk with different characters and unfortunately not as freaky or ugly looking designs. This story is about, you guessed it about revenge! The Seven Spears capture the Hori men and kill the Hori women in front of them. With the exception of seven young women that were saved by Princess Sen. They later take the men to be executed in front of Akinari, Lord of Aizu. The women swear to avenge their fellow Hori and under the tutelage of legendary swordsman Jyubei Mitsuyoshi this might be a possible task. I can’t put my finger on what it was, but the story just didn’t peek my interest like Basilisk. It may have to do with the fact that in almost every two pages in the first chapter there is nothing but footnotes, to inform the reader about everything in this era in Japan. And it could have been just me, but I really didn’t feel like reading a novel; especially when the title of the book has ninja on it. About halfway through the book I got really hooked on the story and started caring for the characters and Jyubei just screams out badass! Of course this is because of my previous knowledge of this legendary character! The art is just as solid as it was in Basilisk. The same foggy faded look is done with the CG backgrounds and the characters all stand out because of the great character designs. The first volume is just a set up to what I’m sure will be a bloody massacre in volumes to come. B+