About Heroes

Black Cat vol. 1
Story & Art: Kentaro Yabuki
Translation: JN Productions
Adaptation: Kelley Sue Deconnick
Publisher: Viz

I really never know what to expect from certain titles. Especially when it comes to titles of manga. Black Cat has nothing to do with superstitions or a certain voluptuous silver haired burglar that hangs with Spider-man. The story is about Train “Black Cat” Heartnet and his partner Sven Vollfie. They are known as sweepers, which is just another word for bounty hunters who take on the most dangerous kind of work. By the time we get to the core of the book we meet the thief Rinslet Walker, who is in need of help from Black Cat. Rinslet is after some research data, but to obtain it, she needs crime boss Torneo Rudman out of the way. Of course, there is enough bounty on his head to entice the sweepers to join with her. They discover that Torneo is researching nano technology, and he intends to build an army of super human clones. While Train is off gather information on Torneo, Sven meets a little girl named Eve. He has no clue that Eve is one of Torneo’s research experiments, and she's also a highly skilled assassin. Even with a few slow chapters towards the beginning, this book has so many ingredients that make it work: Likeable characters, snappy dialogue, lighthearted story, and action packed gun fights. I anxiously await the next chapter in their story. A-

D. Gray-man vol. 7
Story & Art: Katsura Hoshino
Translation: Toshifumi Yoshida
Adaptation: Lance Caselman
Publisher: Viz

D. Gray Man is set at the end of a fictional 19th century Victorian England. Allen Walker is a boy who appears to be 15 years old but isn't at all what he seems. Walker is an exorcist, born with a cross embedded into his hand that is a powerful weapon that he uses to battle Akumas. Akumas are weapons of evil that use a human soul as their power, and a human skin to hide within. After a huge battle, Allen disappears and it’s up to Lavi and Lenalee to find him. However, what they don’t know is that Allen is now in the care of the Asian branch of Black Ministry and he is trying to regain his innocence (the substance that makes his left arm a weapon). There are so many things that seem to have inspired this manga. It’s a mix of H.P Lovecraft, Batman, Harry Potter, Death Note, and Dragon Ball Z. The story develops at an acceptable pace, and the action is completely gorgeous. His art also reminds me of greats such as Mike Mignola Arthur Adams, Sam Keith, and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. It’s a fantastic style and clear to see what his panels are portraying, but during some fight sequences, it can be a bit blurry to see what the characters are doing. This is a very fun book, not only for fans of manga, but funs of just books as well. B+

Disgaea 2 vol. 2
Story & Art: Hekaton
Cover: Takehito Harada
Original Story: Nippon Ichi
Publisher: Broccoli Books

If you don’t already know by now, I’m a huge fan of the world of Disgaea. I have played all the games and just a month ago reviewed the figures released by rosenqueen.com. So to say that I just had to read the manga based on one of my all time favorite games is a bit of an understatement. In the first volume we are introduced to Adell, a boy who is going to kill the Overlord Zenon to break his town’s curse, and Rozalin the daughter of the demon who was summoned by Adell. Now she is starting to develop feelings for Adell, but how can she fall for a guy that is going to whack her dad? Ahh, now you are trying to understand the messed up beauty that is the world of Disgaea. To top off the mix feelings that Rozalin is having, we also get more of the self-proclaimed dark hero Axel and the return of Etna (those of us that have played the game knows that this can only mean more trouble). The story is funny, the characters unforgettable, and where else are you going to hear a penguin like creature known as a Prinny say the word dood? I really love the presentation that Broccoli has done with this manga. The thick paper, the beautiful semi-glossy cover, the color pages (even if it’s only 2 or 3), translation notes, and the preview of volume done in the style of the game! If you haven’t played the game, at least read this manga; you won’t be disappointed. A

Museum of Terror vol.3
Story & Art: Junji Ito
Translation: Naomi Kakubo
Lettering: Studio Cutie
Publisher: Dark Horse

And just in time for Christmas I wrap up this review with Museum of Terror volume 3, just to get the Holiday spirit rolling! After reading the first two volumes of this phenomenal series, I was expecting to read more of the disturbing Tomie stories, but instead I got 12 different short stories that ran in horror serials from 1987 to 1990, and I’m satisfied with that. It’s not that I was sick and tired of Tomie, but Ito is such an amazing horror writer, I wanted more of his other stories. With each story, you can tell that Ito’s art and storytelling get stronger and exponentially better. By the end we have a clear understanding of what his strong points are. The stories range from gory to haunting and from creepy to heart wrenching. The problem with this collection or any collection for that matter with such a big gap in years is that the art towards the beginning years is lacking. This wouldn’t be a problem, but for stories like these, you really need that shock value to translate well in your art. So I think some of the creepier moments often fail, because the art and the overall effect just didn’t deliver. Don’t get me wrong, I would rather read these stories any day than watch slasher flicks or “new” Hollywood horror movies. Do I still highly recommend this book? Absolutely! B+

The Ring vol.1
Story: Hiroshi Takahashi
Art: Misao Inagaki
Original Story: Koji Suzuki
Publisher: Dark Horse

It’s very hard for me to get scared or freaked out watching horror flicks anymore. I think it comes from years of my childhood just numbing myself to that genre of movies and comics. Then in 1999 I was introduced to Ringu, a movie that would later be Americanized as The Ring. After the first time watching that movie, I was really creeped out, hell even the American version creeped me out to the point I couldn’t sleep at night. This manga is based on the novel that inspired the movie and it’s the story of Reiko, a journalist that is searching for the truth behind the mystery involving a cursed videotape that is somehow responsible for the death of her niece. The curse is that anyone who watches the tape will be dead a week later. She locates the tape and watches it and now has a week to try to break the curse. The eerie atmosphere of the movie is convincingly captured, but for some reason I got more of a story from the manga than the movies. There was a wonderful dynamic between Reiko and her ex-husband Ryuji in the manga. The art here is definitely not your typical glittery wide-eyed shoujo style, although Mai, who is drawn kind of cute, is closest to it. It feels somewhat outdated even for 1998 (when the book was originally published), but it really works with the eerie story. Some of it is pretty macabre, such as Reiko waking up to the sight of a bloodied Tomoko and that scene in the well with Sadako still sends shivers down my spine. The creators have sparked a fantastic mythology that will never be forgotten. A

The Ring vol.2
Story: Hiroshi Takahashi
Art: Meimu
Original Story: Koji Suzuki
Publisher: Dark Horse

So yeah, I couldn’t put down the Ring volume 1 and I just had to read volume 2. That was my mistake, because I went into this book with high expectations. Hell, I didn’t think I was going to get a Halloween pt. 3 or Psycho 2 kind of sequel out of this book. Instead of reminding me of a horror story, this book read more like a poor man’s version of Akira. This is the story of Mai Takano, Ryuji’s student that appeared briefly in volume 1. Now, both her and Ryuji’s son Yoichi have developed psychic powers of their own and are being haunted by Sadako. Instead of moving ahead with the story, it seems like we’ve taken two steps back. The feel of the first volume is lacking in this sequel. There is no sense of eeriness or being utterly terrified do to the pacing of the storytelling. The art, while being completely gorgeous, is the wrong choice for this book. It’s too clean and crisp, it really feels more like a pop manga artist or someone more suited for a shojen story. Meimu doesn’t do a good job depicting the gruesome and frightening atmosphere. The saving grace of the book is Sadako; getting more of her and the psychology of her character really save this book from a lower grade. You really don’t need to read it to enjoy the rest of the series, unless of course you are a completist. C-