Manga Reviews: End of Year Wrap Up!

Emma vols. 5 & 6
Story & Art: Kaoru Mori
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Janice Chiang
Publisher: CMX

I remember reading the first two volumes of Emma and thinking….oh man, here comes some more maid stories from Japan and rolled my eyes. Of course there are some exceptions like Hand Maid May and Mahoromatic, but I was so tired of maids when I opened the first book. Well, if you read my review you know the books took me by surprise. Although I found these two volumes, not as captivating as the first volumes; they were still fun to read. Emma is kidnapped and sent off to America, but William tracks her down. This is portrayed so abruptly that she may as well of just been hiding in the basement. William breaks off his engagement to Eleanor and her parents seem to take it rather well. This all turns into a darker plot to get rid of Emma once and for all. Other problems arise, but frankly it seems that the focus of these last volumes is just to get things over with. Emma & William may find happiness at some point, but the books are starting to feel a little rushed. I was very disappointed with this volume in comparison to the earlier ones. Mori’s artwork certainly fits this story with the use of crisp, clean pristine lines that are reminiscent to the print style used back in the Victorian age. The reconstruction of Victorian England is careful, but above all, the character of Emma is so lovely, so tender, that I was absolutely taken by her and her history. As much chasing around and betrayals that there are in these volumes, you can’t forget that Emma is a tale of love, and it’s beautifully crafted. B-

Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture vol. 1
Story & Art: Masayuki Ishikawa
Translation: Stephen Paul
Lettering: North Market Street Graphics
Publisher: Del Rey

I can usually tell what a book is going to be about by looking at the cover. I guess, yes there were a few exceptions in my time. Watchmen # 1, Y The last man #1, and Fables #1. Well I can certainly add Moyasimon to the list. At first glance I thought I was going to be reading another Obama manga, but it turned out to be something else complete. Tadayasau is attending a university for the first time, an agricultural university to be precise. There is a reason he is going to this school; because he has a unique, yet bizarre gift. He can see germs with his naked eye. That may not seem like much of a talent, but when the produce of a country depends on cultural processes, the skill becomes more valuable. For his fellow students saved from food poisoning, he is appreciated. For his classmates, who look for his assistance on their assignments and sake brewing activities, he is also appreciated. To his professor, his grandfathers' friend, he is invaluable. For a young man, eager to enjoy his first university experience, his special talent also carries a burden. One of the most intriguing parts of this manga is the information presented by Masayaki Ishikawa when the narrative stops frequently to explain the science of, say, how sake is made, or yogurt. I find notes like that help carry the story for someone who knows little about agriculture or wasn’t a member of the FFA. He explains how invaluable fermentation is to food supply and drug manufacturing for readers. His art style is a nice blend that mixes realism with a bit of exaggerated cartoonish faces. But his attention to detail really pay off when it comes to differentiating the bacteria. It’s an odd book, I’ve never really read anything like this and the cover really threw me off. I guess that’s why I enjoyed it so much. A

Oh My Goddess vols. 31-33
Story & Art: Kosuke Fujishima
Translation: Christopher & Dana Lewis
Lettering & Touch-up: Susie Lee & Betty Dong
Publisher: Dark Horse

It’s been a while since I read new Oh My Goddess adventures; recently I read the classic volumes 9 through 12. Sometimes it feels like reading a different series with an almost different artist. There is a nice race between her broom Stringfellow against Hild’s. Chichiro makes her return just in time to take the gang to her hometown to make her dream to make motorcycles come true. Of course when you involve Urd and Skuld in the story, there is going to be some modifying. By far my favorite story is the one focusing on why Urd didn’t get to become a first class goddess. The stories were fun to read, I literally couldn't put these books down and read them all in one sitting and re-read them again to just awe at the beautiful artwork. Every time I read these books they always seem to take me away to a more innocent time. The Love story of Keichi and Belldandy is still touching to this day. Even though the author is beyond 33 volumes and the characters really haven’t changed that much except in the style in which they are drawn. The aspect I have always been interested in is the borrowing of Norse mythology in this series. But who am I kidding? That’s not why I read this series, I read for the fun it brings into my day of reading dark and depressing comics! My only gripe is that the books seem to read faster than they used to. Not only that, but the pages seem to have gotten thinner, ranging from 140 to 150 or so pages. They also seem to be more story driven than character driven nowadays. With lots of grunts, interjections, and exclamations of powers in every battle, this leaves very little room for those more of the character driven stories from the past. I still think this is a must read series for any manga fan or anyone wanting to try something new. B+

Samurai Deeper Kyo vols. 35/36
Story & Art: Akimine Kamijyo
Translation: Stephen Paul
Lettering: Michael/Carpelis Design
Publisher: Del Rey

It’s not that I am reviewing two books, it’s just that Del Rey decided to release volumes 35 and 36 in one book format. That’s right! This book is no longer being published by Tokyopop. The kind folks at Del Rey are nice enough to finish the series. When I mean finish, I mean finish the book only had four more volumes before Tokyopop lost the rights to it. Well, if you aren’t familiar with Samurai Deeper Kyo, it’s a story that takes place in the Edo era of Japan. The story mainly focuses on Mibu Kyoshiro, a wandering medicine peddler whom tires easily, whines every now and then, is very clumsy, and, of course, is quite peaceful despite it all. That is, until you make him mad, much like the Hulk you wouldn't like him when he's mad. His eyes turn blood red, and the innocent Kyoshiro transforms into the murdering Demon Eyes Kyo. Who is the "legendary killer of a thousand men". No longer is he reluctant to participate in any acts of violence; on the contrary, Kyo, the dark spirit residing within Kyoshiro, actually enjoys slaying. Along his journey he gathers a group of warriors: Benitora, Shiina Yuya, Sanada, Sakuya, Sasuke, and even the Four Emperors. After a long journey they finally reach the top of crimson tower to do battle with Fubuki and Hishigi. Meanwhile Shiina is still being held prisoner by the former Crimson King. Only two more elders before they reach the end of their journey! This has been a epic story of massive proportions!! It’s taken years to get this far and I have been along for the ride since volume one. While some volumes toward the middle of the series were a bit dull; Occurrences in these two volumes has really picked the series up! The art for this series is gorgeous. The characters are well drawn and expressive and the backgrounds are elaborate. The fight scenes are well done and well paced, allowing the reader to easily follow the battle without words. I will warn the squeamish that there is a lot of blood flying in the battles, but I personally find that much like Blade of the Immortal, it's done elegantly and that it's necessary for Demon Eyes Kyo to maintain his persona. A

Last Minute Gift Ideas:

Pop Wonderland: Thumbelina
Story: Michiyo Hayano
Original Story: Hans Christian Andersen
Art: POP
Translation: Camelia Nieh
Publisher: Dark Horse
I figure I throw a couple of gorgeous books as last minute gift ideas at the end of the review. The first book is an interesting take on the classic tale of Thumbelina by Hans Christian Andersen. Thumbelina is a very special girl, not only because she captivates everyone she meets with her charm and innocence, but she is no bigger than your thumb. This sweet little girl emerges from flower that a witch created to give to a woman who couldn’t have a child of her own. Soon after, Thumbelina was spotted by a frog, who stole her away to marry his son. Trapped floating on a lily pad, Thumbelina was rescued by a beetle who took her back to his family. Thumbelina's adventures were just beginning. Later she would meet fish, butterflies, moles, and other woodland creatures, all enchanted by the littlest girl in the world. But I guess her most exciting meeting was meeting the Prince of Flowers.POP is the creator behind the educational series Moetan. POP uses his unique style of pastel palette which flatters the story. I read this to my little girl and even if you don’t have kids and are just a kid at heart, I highly recommend this book even if it’s just 32 pages long. A

Tsubasa Album De Reproductions Original Art Collection
Art: CLAMP
Publisher: Del Rey
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of CLAMP and with more than 1 million copies of Tsubasa manga, this is an art book that you knew was going to happen. Originally published in Japan in 2007, this amazing art book contains every piece of color artwork created by CLAMP for Tsubasa. It includes every cover published in the United States, as well as rare hardcover images never seen before in America. Each image is reproduced in full-color with amazing clarity and quality. An original bonus short makes this a must-have for CLAMP's many fans. At the end of book is five black-and-white pages titled: World of the Untold Story #8. This story happens to be an original Tsubasa manga that will appear only in this book! In it, the characters from the series try to get gifts for Yuko…yep it crosses over with xxxHolic! There is an additional four pages dedicated to explaining the artwork and where you can see thumbprints of the original artwork. If you are a fan of CLAMP, Tsubasa, or just an admirer of beautiful images in general, chances are you owe it to yourself to buy this book. It makes a nice addition to the manga series, I just wish it was a little longer. A-

Episode 128 - Nobody Wants to See Kingpin Naked

This ep we talk about Preacher, Flash of Two Worlds, Dark Avengers, Blackest Night, and how there are just some things a person can live without seeing in a comic book.

Note: Intro music is a little long...but for good reason

Episode 128 -Nobody Wants to See Kingpin Naked

Manga Reviews: Man, we cranked them out this week!

.hack: Legend of the Twilight Omnibus

Story: Tatsuya Hamazaki
Art: Rei Idumi
Translation: Ben Dunn
Lettering: Jose Macasocol Jr.
Publisher: Tokyopop

I love LOVE Omnibus editions! If you ever come to my house and check out my bookshelf, you’ll see exactly what I mean. I’m a wait for trades kind of guy, which you know if you listen to the podcast and it seems more and more I’m turning into a wait for omnibus kind of guy. I enjoyed the previously Tokyopop omnibuses err omnibi whatever….. This one is no exception, it collects all three volumes of the series with over 650 pages plus original artwork, all original covers, Japanese covers, and a postscript all for less than 20 bucks! Let’s talk about the story for now. This series, Legends of the Twilight takes place following the .hack games on Playstation 2 games. A pair of siblings, Shugo and Rena, win a contest that grants them limited edition characters models or Avatars (not to be confused with the Last Air Bender or James Cameron) of the legendary players known as Black Rose and Kite. Rena, as Black rose, is keen to use the prize characters although Shugo is a bit more reluctant to assume the role of Kite. He feels he has outgrown the videogame genre. Inside The World however, Shugo is back to being the kid that loves playing videogames. Then a visit from Aura provides Shugo with Kite's bracelet, and they quickly draw the attention of other familiar players. These include Balmung, Helga, and even Orca. All wondering if history is trying to repeat like it happened four years ago. Gradually, the pair make new friends and start playing in the virtual world. As epic as it sounds it really lacks in the action department and most of the book is spent on tame adventures. It’s not until we get to third part of the story that things come together. While the cute character art might fool into thinking this is a story for kids, it’s really not. There is a sexual undertone used by the writer and it contains its fair share of language. Unfortunately the artwork doesn’t stand out and while it serves its main purpose of telling the story; it really falls flat when it comes to action sequences and facial expressions. While it wasn’t necessary to read this book to enjoy the rest of the .hack world any fan of the series will probably pick this up. If you aren’t a fan of the .hack games this might give you an idea why it has a huge fan following. B -

Alive: The Final Evolution vol.8
Story: Tadashi Kawashima
Art: Adachitoka
Translation: Anastasia Moreno
Lettering: North Market Street Graphics
Publisher: Del Rey

As much as I hate to admit, Omar was right. I wasn’t a big fan of this series at all. But he kept insisting that the series did get better as it progressed. So I read the first five volumes and now I’m hooked. I don’t know why the first volume didn’t reel me in; I mean the premise is neat. A worldwide epidemic of something knows as a suicide virus causes chaos at a Japanese high school. Kids and teachers begin killing themselves in bizarre and violent ways. A group of high school kids learn that they may hold the key to this mystery. It turns out that the virus is of alien descent and people either kill themselves, gain powers that give them the urge to kill, or as with Taisuke Kano; they get powers without the urge to kill. It’s a unique way of taking a superhero book and gives it more of a sci-fi twist. Speaking of heroes, this volume questions just how much of a protagonist is Taisuke. Not to mention an awesome fight between Nami and the girl who killed her brother Kanon! What I noticed this time reading these books is how enjoyable the artwork is. It’s crisp and clean. You can really tell what’s going on in each panel without having to look twice. Adachitoka (awesome name by the way) has a gift for sequential story telling. Throw in some plot twists in each volume and I’m there for every volume. I really can’t rave enough about this series…where else are you going to find such a variety of genres being covered? A-

Amefurashi: The Rain Goddess vol. 2
Story & Art: Atsushi Suzumi
Translation: Elina Ishikawa
Lettering: North Market Street Graphics
Publisher: Del Rey

From the creator of Venus vs. Virus and Haridama: Magic Cram School comes Amefurashi! I guess it doesn’t help that I never read either one of those two books. That can also be good, because I go in this book with no idea what to expect. The story is somewhat like Oh My Goddess; Boy meets Goddess. Gimmy is just an ordinary teen that runs a repair shop and lives in a desert town. With rain rare to come, the town gives up offerings to the rain goddess who in return provides them the essential water. She lives in a grand magical tree with instead of leaves, have clouds. Gimmy notices that his younger twin brother and sister disappear. While searching for them, Gimmy runs into Sora, the rain goddess who provides water to the town. But another goddess, Ciel, wants Sora’s sacred Nimbus tree, so that she can control the rain. By the second volume Gimmy realizes that Sora isn’t just a goddess, but she is very normal at heart and laughs and cries and he could see himself falling for her. The book is often silly, but fun with some great artwork. That’s really what grabbed my attention was the beautiful artwork. The characters are vivid and gorgeous. The only thing is that the action scenes seem stiff and awkward and really don’t flow very well. That’s just a small gripe for an otherwise fun book. A-

Clover Omnibus
Story & Art: CLAMP
Translation: Ray Yoshimoto
Lettering: IHL
Publisher: Dark Horse
I remember years ago buying the first volume of Clover when it was published by Tokyopop and it was 15 bucks. It was during a time when manga was being dropped to ten dollars a pop and 15 bucks for 100 pages just seemed too much to put down. Even if I am a big fan of CLAMP, I just couldn’t do it. Along comes Dark Horse and release all four volumes for less than 20 bucks! Now I got to finish the story and the price is rightly justified. This omnibus is over 520 pages long and includes not only the original four covers, but promotional art featuring the characters from the book. Clover is set in a dark, cyberpunk, futuristic world where the people in control are called Wizards and they will do anything for power; even destroy lives. Enter the clovers, a few children with special powers who seemingly have the magical ability to manipulate technology. Their powers vary from teleportation to summoning weapons from thin air. The higher the leaf-number the higher their power; they rank from 1 through 4. The wizards fear them, so the Clovers are either controlled, or destroyed. The story is also about a young girl called Sū and she happens to be the only 4-leaf Clover discovered. She is imprisoned along with other Clovers by the government. Now with her escort, Kazuhiko, they will journey to Fairy Park and they relationship will take a turn to the past. The story is fascinating, the characters endearing and intriguing, and the art is incredible. There aren't too many complicated two-page spreads as there usually are with CLAMP. Instead, they experiment with blank space and unusual angles. The artwork is clean and sparse, but this is in a good way. It's not filled to the brim with images like Clamp's usual works, which is not to say that is bad, because I love that style too. The gorgeous artwork mixes lush, baroque detail with spare, elegant page layouts and this serves to reinforce the mood of isolation and gives the whole manga a film-like feel. It gives the book a clean, austere feel that none of CLAMP's other manga has. This is a beautiful work that any fan of cyberpunk, Clamp or excellent stories/art will enjoy. A-

Dokkoida?! vol.1
Story & Art: Yu Yagami
Original Story: Taro Achi
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Publisher: CMX
Never thought I would be reading a book that had a superhero wearing diapers. Ohh, who am I kidding? I read manga and independent comics; I knew this had to happen eventually. The manga and anime of the same name are based on a 6 volume novel series. The premise of the manga is pretty absurd, but it works on considering the characters’ personalities. 19-year-old Suzuo Sakurazaki is in search of a part-time job when he runs into Tanpopo, an alien who happens to look like a 10 year old human girl. Claiming that she works for a toy company, she offers him a job testing a costume for the character Dokkoida. But she’s really working for the Galaxy Federation Police, an organization looking to test out power suits for their own peacekeeping forces. The suit itself looks like a cross between Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Kikkaider. Before you know it, Suzuo beats up a giant robot and moves into an apartment building with other suit-testers-only and none of them know they’re all doing the same job! The book is not only action packed, but also it happens to have a very humorous take on superheroes and their secret identities. But that humor is really lost when you realize it’s the same over the top goofy tantrics that keep repeating and repeating. There is also the stereotypical harem approach to the book when all the girls he moves in with have a crush on him. It’s a good concept and the art style really fits the book, but I hope with the next volumes the in your face humor takes a step back. C

Hellgirl vol.6
Story & Art: Miyuki Eto
Original Story: The Jigoku Shoujo Project
Translation: Gemma Collinge
Publisher: Del Rey

I settled with watching the anime of Hell Girl after reading volume 1. How could I forget how sometimes the anime seems to vary so much from the manga. Hell girl was an original anime that was later adapted to manga and even a live action television series. Just because you’ve seen the anime doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to skip the manga. Most of the stories are original and yes, some are adapted from their anime episodes. The plotline revolves around Ai the cute school girl on the cover who also happens to be Hell Girl. She’s an ageless entity who collects names of the deserving and unfortunately sometimes undeserving for retribution. The cost of sending your enemy or rival to hell it that eventually you join them in eternal torment. Volume six adds four new chapters to the story. One of them focuses on Ai’s assistant Ichimokuren. That was a nice break from the usual norm of the story. The flaw that I noticed in this series and yes even the anime is that sometimes you never see the people actually fully realize their choices & their mistakes. Some of the clients never fully understand what eternal suffering in hell means, and as such they never appear to regret their actions or fear their deaths. Most of the characters assume that they'll live for a long time and not worry about the consequences of their actions. While the art is gorgeous to look at, I’m not sure it still fits the book. For example Ai’s eyes (no pun intended) are full of life and big where as her anime counterpart’s look like they are cold and dead. While sometimes the plot was predictable the stories were still entertaining and I can’t wait to read more of Ai’s wicked moral lessons. C+

Variante vol. 2
Story & Art: Iqura Sugimoto
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Dave Lamphear
Publisher: CMX

It’s been a long time, probably a year since I reviewed volume one of this intriguing manga. In volume a girl named Hosho Aiko wakes up after the murder of her family, in a lab to discover that her own arm has been replaced by one from a hideous and powerful monster. This arm has a will of its own as we find out in this volume. Agents from Aethos which is a mysterious, government-linked corporation, want to use the power of Aiko's demon arm to fight the deadly creatures known as Chimeras, whose attacks on the civilian population are increasing. But agent Sudo, who has befriended Aiko, isn't so happy about this development. After tests on dogs Dr. Kochigawa releases Aiko to fight her first opponent. After a brutal battle she is able to defeat it, but it’s not her will that makes this happen. Through a series of flashbacks we find out that agent Sudo knew a girl 14 years ago by the name of Nana. Nana, seems to have had the same thing happen to her on her back. These “wings” eventually took over her body and Sudo had to shoot her down. This is why he wants to help Aiko out as much as possible. The art makes the story flow better too. There’s a nice mixture of cross-hatching and toning that works well here, giving the artwork a unique feel to it that helps convey the rather bleak world of the series and gives it that dark etch that terrifies you at times. The designs of the Chimeras and Aiko’s left arm are very organic looking and Aiko seems to be in real pain when the arm strikes unexpectedly. I’m intrigued with what’s going to happen to Aiko and Sudo and the rest of the Chimera. I can’t wait till the next volume. A-

The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls: Revenge of the Hori Clan vol.7
Story & Art: Masaki Segawa
Original Story: Futaro Yamada
Translation: Gemma Collinge
Publisher: Del Rey

Man, that is one long title, but it completely makes sense why you have to use the whole title to describe the inside of the book. I’m being completely honest when I say that as much as I loved Basilisk I just couldn’t get into volume one of Yagyu. I’m not sure if it’s because the first volume took too long to tell or maybe I just kept comparing it to Basilisk. The story is about Kato Akinari, the local lord, rules the territory with an iron fist, committing all manner of atrocities. When the Hori clan rebels, he squashes them with the help of the freakish Aizu Seven Spears. Not content to simply round up and execute the men, the Seven Spears track the Hori women clan to a sacred, female-only temple and slaughter them in front of the captured male clan members. When the dust settles, only seven women remain. The survivors begin planning their revenge on the Seven Spears and Akinari. But to carry out their plan, they’ll need a little help from a certain one-eyed swordsman by the name of Jyubei. Yes, the legendary Jyubei with the eye patch. Four of the Seven Spears are dead and three remain. The women now enter Aizu where they encounter the remaining three Spears and a new father/daughter villain team known as Ashira and Oyura. The art is amazing and takes a while to get used to because there’s a heavy reliance on toning which can turn some people off. The action and emotions are clearly depicted, if at times a bit comically so. You can easily tell the good guys apart from the baddies because the bad guys are ugly, with several bordering on animalistic. Segawa seems fond of round edges as well; instead of square shoulders, all his characters have round, muscular ones and their chins and noses have a smooth curviness to them as well. I found myself really enjoying this volume though. Even if I missed the five volumes in between the remaining cast is making this book really enjoyable. It’s enough to go back and pick up the missing volumes. The interaction between the characters is what kept me reading this volume and I can’t wait to see how it ends up. B+

JSA All-Stars #1 Review

Writer: Mathew Sturges
Art: Freddie Williams II
Colors: Richard & Tanya Horie

Following the events of Justice Society of America 33 and 34 comes the new spin-off title that majorly focuses on the new team players and Power Girl and Hourman. With the suggestion by Magog and Power Girl the team with 20+ characters needed to form a military squad. This is it!

The first issue sets the new status quo for the characters. Magog tries to use his military background to become field commander and sets up three sub teams. Meanwhile Power Girl is still the chairman of this new Society. While they manage to hold their ground against a group of androids, the characters are trying to figure out which sub-team they are supposed to be on. After a brief meeting of trying to come up with names and some extreme training drills the team holds a press conference. It is during this press conference that the team is attacked by the Strike Force! It is during this attack that Star Girl gets kidnapped by Johnny Sorrow. Who happens to be one of my favorite JSA villains of all time.

Freddie Williams II provides the art here for this issue and he seems to have tweaked his art style a bit. There are plenty of more shading and more detail in each picture. To be completely honest Freddie really packs each panel with immense detail, beautiful backgrounds, and when given the chance; Power Girl's tits. Even when she gets her clothes torn twice in the issue we are still being teased by her. But not every detail is a good one because it seems he also fills everyone up with a strange sort of squiggle and swirl in both their outlines as well as the texture on their clothes. At times the sizes of the characters change. Particularly Wildcat's head and Damage's body. All the guys seem to toned-up as well; kinda reminds me of an older Bart Sears style.

Sturges establishes which characters he's taken with him to the new title. You get to know most of their personalities, their reason for being on the team, and how much growing they have to do to become one badass team on the battlefield. There was a nice mention of the Science Ninja Team Gatchaman that made me chuckle too. This was quite a bit to in one issue so he got the job done of establishing his new status quo. He really is proving himself to be a good writer. I'm glad they chose someone who’s got a very strong feel for these characters and their respective personalities. They all feel very much like they have in the past, when Johns or Goyer were writing them.

It's not a bad start for a new book and it does the job of setting up why this team has to exist outside of the main JSA book. The inclusion of two old villains showing up was a nice notch to the older readers and I'd like to see Magog develop into a character outside of his cookie cutter mold which was Cable (back in the New Mutants days).
B

Green Lantern Corps #43 Review

Writer: Peter J. Tomasi
Penciller: Patrick Gleason
Inkers: Rebecca Buchman, Tom Nguyen & Gleason
Colors: Randy Mayor

The shit just got real! I'm not really sure why they decided to spoil such a twist in the plot with the cover, but maybe its so people that are buying Blackest Night can see what they are missing by not picking up Green Lantern Corps. Either way, it did soften the impact in the book when Guy became a Red Lantern.

Following up right after last month's issue; this issue shows Guy and Natu's reaction to Kyle's death. Natu attempts to bring him back and tries to keep his ring from flying back to Mogo while keeping the Black Lantern rings from taking over him. Guy completely looses it and let's his rage overtake him which leads him to become a red lantern. And Guy goes ape shit on every Black Lantern! Meanwhile Miri and Kryb find the children are now part of the Black Lanterns. Guy burst in and rips Kryb’s arm off and shoves it down her throat. Miri fuses Natu's love and Kyle's will to bring him back from the dead. Now all Kyle has to do is go get his friend back from the Red Lantern Corps!

Gleason's work is a little unbalanced and ranged between dull to stunning. Particularly the scene when Guy becomes a Red Lantern and when he tells Kryb to choke on it!! Those were so badass, but it seems like the rest of the issue seemed really rushed. Of course that could be the fact that there were three different inkers working on the book. I dug the shit out of this book. Sure, compare to Blackest Night it's an okay story, but for a book doing its own thing while featuring aspects of a huge crossover, it really has created an identity of it's own. Hell, I even enjoyed the cheesy resurrection, I bought it. It really worked in the book. B+

Nation X #1 Review

Writers: Chris Yost, Simon Spurrier, James Asmus, & Scott Snyder
Artists: Mike Allred, David Lopez, Michele Bertilorenzi, & Leonard Kirk

I'm not really why Marvel insisted on canceling X-men Unlimited if they were going to keep comics like this, Divided We Fall, and Manifest Destiny around. But maybe these miniseries work better like TV seasons instead of monthly anthologies.

It is nice to see some of the characters that haven't been the spotlight of Uncanny or Legacy take light. It's also good to see the remaining cast of Young and New X-men come back and kick us off. So the idea behind this series is to show us how some of the other mutants who aren't Wolverine or Cyclops, or shit even Deadpool nowadays are dealing with this new Utopia that Cyclops has created for mutant kind. Unfortunately nothing really stands out in these four stories. Not to say that it's a terrible series, but nothing really shines like those Brandon Peterson covers, sorry horrible analogy I couldn't resist.

The Ghost of Asteroid M turns out to be the weakest part of the book. While then art is fine and get the job done; the story is bland and the dialogue is almost out of character for Magneto. Turns out the ghost was nothing more than a message by Magneto himself. Road Trip was probably the highlight for me because of Allred's art. It fit the story even if it was just a silly college humor kind of story. Cold Shoulder seem to go on a little too long to get the point across that Iceman does care, but he has to joke about everything to cover how scared he is. It was nice to see Stinger back, nice throwback to those classic X-factor stories. Testament was a solid story about Colossus not being able to leave the past behind and his resurrected sister treating him like a bitch. It was a touching tale and made me miss Kitty Pride even more.

Charging four bucks for stories like these is a little too much. If they had made it 64 pages instead of a four issue limited series it would have worked better. While it's not terrible it can be easily skipped and unless the next few issues bring something new to the table, the whole series can probably be skipped. C

Dark Wolverine #81 Review

Writers: Daniel Way & Marjorie Liu
Pencils: Giuseppe Camuncoli
Inks: Onfrio Catcchio
Colors: Marte Gracia
Cover: Brandon Peterson

I had to mention the cover artist because it's really weird to see Dark characters shine. While this works for the cosmic events like War of the Kings, I thought this title was supposed to be dark? Put Jae Lee or Bill Sienkiewicz on the job. I get the reasoning why they did it. It's a pretty cover that is supposed to show the false relationship between Daken and Moonstone, but Dark Wolverine should never be shiny.

Enough bitching about the cover, let's start bitching about the book. It's been a long time since I've reviewed a Daniel Way Wolverine book. I think I was burned out on repeating how much his stories suck ass and how he is destroying the character of Wolverine. Dark Wolverine or Daken is another matter though. He happens to be his own creation and for some reason Marvel is trying to make him a heavy hitter in their universe. As far as I'm concerned, I really could give a fuck about Daken and his mighty misadventures and this issue does nothing to intrigue the character.

Moonstone goes and looks for Daken and after flying around for half an issue she finds him and has some tea with him. Through a series of flashbacks we learn why Daken likes tea or doesn't like tea so much. We learn that he killed an old woman and he is a liar! What the fuck am I reading?!! I get that Dr.Karla Sofen is trying to psychoanalyze this douchebag that she has an interest in, but the execution is horrible. They spend half the issue answering questions with questions? Am I supposed to care about Daken, because shitty stories like this really make me despise the character even more? This issue is seemingly built solely to portray Daken as a misanthropic rogue a loose fucking cannon of the Dark Avengers. This is a fact that has already been shoved down our throats in other books; Making this series an instantly forgettable and unnecessary character study. You want an example of a good psychoanalysis issue; go read X-factor 87. Thais es a complete baste of time.

While I dig Camuncoli's characters, this book really needs a background artist. His style is a unique twist on the classic mangaesque look, but his buildings and setting really need some work. Perhaps a different inker and colorist to darken the feel of the book would help. To be honest I think they should replace the whole creative team or just cancel this useless book. I'm hoping someone will resurrect Sabretooth to come and chop this fucking hack of a Wolverine's head off. D

Manga Reviews:Doctors, Maids, and Online Game Playing!

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: The Power of Negative Thinking vol.4
Story & Art: Koji Kumeta
Translation: Joyce Aurino
Publisher: Del Rey
I really wasn’t sure what to think about this book when I encountered the first volume. I think the only things that came to mind were: Man, that is one long title and that cover really does nothing for me. I have never heard of Koji Kumeta and after reading this I can see why he is Japan’s most brilliant satirist. There is so much satire humor in this book it really reminds me of a British sitcom. The plot is very simple; Nozumo Itoshiki is a schoolteacher who happens to be so depressed he sees the only way out of this hell hole is suicide. As a matter of fact that’s how we are first introduced to him when he unsuccessfully tries to hang himself from a tree. One of his students saves his life and that is the premise of the book, well part of the premise, each of his students in his class seems to save his life. They each seem to have problems too; anywhere from an over-optimist to a stalker. Even though he tears them down and belittles them, they still follow him in his pessimistic way of life. You may think that with a title focusing on negative thinking the characters would be bland, boring, and over the top pessimistic, but somehow through his dry humor Kumeta makes Nozuma a very likeable person and you warm up to his ways. It’s funny to see the complete opposite character of Kafuka Fuura (an extreme optimist) try and make her teacher see the good in the world. The art style while simple has lots of contrasts of black and white and it really sets the tone of the book. I keep getting blown away by this series, the formula still works for me and I recommend it to anyone wanting to read something out of the norm. A-

Shiki Tsukai vol. 6
Story: To-Ru Zekuu
Art: Yuna Takanagi
Translation: Mayumi Kobayashi
Publisher: Del Rey

I’m not sure if it’s taken a while for volume six of this series to come out or maybe I have just read too much manga in between volumes five and six. I had to go back and reread the first five volumes just to make sure I was caught up with this series. I’m really glad I did because so much happened in volume two. To recap: Akira is a normal kid until one day he is told he is meant for greater things by young girl named Koyomi. Along with Koyomi (a Shiki Tsukai) he learns that he can control the seasons. Akira is the destined Shinra, but he still has not awakened his true potential to control the forces of nature. Now the clans of Fall and Summer want to destroy humanity for all they have done to the Earth and they want Akira to help them do it. Finally we get to see more in depth explanations about the Shiki Tsukai and the forward speaking of the different months and seasons really clear things up. Koyomi jumps into action to help Akira against Nanayo. While searching for new resources in a tropical paradise, Akira and the gang faces a new creature knows as Kijyuu. But it seems that Koyomi is just there to provide fan service and her character hasn’t developed much after all these volumes. Action is what you get in this volume, it was a fast read with a great new location for battles. The action sequences are still clearly drawn. The characters are easy to distinguish and backgrounds are sufficiently detailed and utilized to create the setting for each scene. Del Rey does a superb job of including extras in this manga. There are character profiles, character design sketches, a calendar, translation notes, and ability charts. The action has finally picked up in this volume, but I really wish they would move along with the story and quit introducing more villains of the week. B-

Shirley

Story & Art: Kaoru Mori
Translation: Sheldon Drzka
Lettering: Janice Chiang
Publisher: CMX

I didn’t think that Emma was over, but when I first looked at this book I thought I didn’t get the memo. I really thought this was a follow up to the Emma series, but instead it’s a stand-alone book that predates the story of Emma, well not in that kind of chronological order, but this is a collection of earlier work by Mori. It is also a collection of short stories that mainly focus around a thirteen maid that comes to work for Miss Bennett Carnley. At first she was hesitant to hire such a young girl, but as the story grows so does their relationship; stronger and stronger. There are five chapters that chronicle Shirley’s life and two extra chapters. In Me and Nellie and One Afternoon the precocious young master of an estate is in love with his maid, Nellie. The only problem is that he is only five years old and he also has some competition from his tutor, who is also in love with the maid. In Mary Banks a maid has to put up with her employer’s constant pranks and practical jokes. Even beyond the grave the old man was pulling pranks on Mary, but the letter he left her under the globe really made up for the things he did. The art is a complete joy to look at. While remaining simplistic in the first layer, if you look deep down enough you will see how much detail goes into each panel with finely detailed backgrounds and trappings, and lovely character design. IMany of Mori’s panels are wordless, and she shows the characters' emotions through small gestures or simply a moment of stillness. Interior monologue is replaced by a sigh or a glance in a mirror. The end of the book also has an interview with the creator and how she got some of those ideas she put in her books. For some reason much like I do after reading Emma, I find myself in a great mood, don’t know what it is about Mori that makes that come out in me, but the formula seems to still work!A-

World of Warcraft: Death Knight
Story: Dan Jolley
Art: Rocio Zucchi
Lettering: Michael Paolilli
Publisher: Tokyopop

Well, I have to say that it’s been a great week of manga reading, I don’t think we read a bad book this week. So I was really excited to read this book, considering I know nothing of the Warcraft world (other than it’s an addictive online videogame that has sucked the life out of some of my friends) and I missed out on the Sunwell Trilogy. I think the only thing that I have ever read that was Warcraft related was the Legends book that came out a while back. I do know that this book is based on the character from the expansion pack: Wrath of the Lich King. Thassarian is a Lordaeron soldier, whose primary goal is to honor his father’s death. Along with his company and Prince Artha’s army they fight against the Scourge. The prince decides to side with the Lich King and Thassarian manages to break free from his control. The story seemed a little stale and I guess it would mean so much more to me if I knew who these characters were beforehand. I just couldn't get into the character of Thassarian, I guess he is supposed to read like a one dimensional Conan. I was however, blown away by the gorgeous art, especially the amount of detail that went into the battle sequences. If you are a fan of the series, you are probably already picking this up, but I suggest fans of fantasy and magic to give this a shot.B

Yokai Doctor Volume 3

Story & Art: Yuki Sato
Translation: Stephen Paul
Lettering: North Market Street Graphics
Publisher: Del Rey

I must have missed the announcement that this series was being released in America, because this is the first I have ever heard of Yokai Doctor. For the first time in a long time the cover really intrigued me in this manga. At first glance it looks like a pretty boy, but at second look it’s a picture of a character who looks like has had his head cut off or neck slashed. Kuro, happens to be a doctor of the occult. He also happens to be a geek who has a secret ; he is a doctor exclusive to ghost, demons, and goblins. Kotoko also has a gift, her gift is that she can see spirits. The twist is that Kotoko's ancestry includes a lot of exorcists. In other words, even though she can only see spirits and not exorcise them, she still feels it's her family duty to bring about their demise. This means that the two of them to get along at all. As it turns out the person on the cover is one of Kuro’s childhood friends, Kaie. Of course it doesn’t seem like they are longer friends, because this volume shows a huge fight between Kuro and Kaie. When Kaie unleashes demons on Kuro, Kuro has only one option and that is to reveal his true self. What I liked most about the book, was the designs of the monsters. Different sizes, types, and art styles make up the tons of monsters in this volume: Everything from highly-detailed traditional Japanese beasts to odd, simple squiggles with eyes. I really enjoyed Yokai Doctor and I want to go back and pick up the previous two volumes. It's a story that's more about its main characters and how they get to know each other than it is a silly supernatural tale. The climactic battle between two old friends with a pretty depressing ending showed me what this book is capable of doing!
A