Battlestar Galactica: Echoes of New Caprica
Authors: Emily Salzfass, Richard Hatch, and Mike Wellman
Art: Chrissy Delk, Christopher Schons, and Anthony Wu
Cover: Udon with Christine Choi
Publisher: Tokyopop
Quick! Someone take my geek badge away….for I have not seen the last five episodes of Battlestar Galactica. Luckily enough these three stories are set around the time of Season 3 of the popular Sci-Fi channel series. The first thing that caught my eye was that gorgeous cover by Udon Studios with beautiful colors by Christine Choi….I wonder if she is related to Brandon. The first story is Teacher’s Pet and it tells the story of Laura Roslin teaching the children of New Caprica while the insurgents and the Cylons are in midst of battle. With informants everywhere it’s only a matter of time before she has to protect her children with her own life. Shelf Life is the second story that is written by Richard Hatch (Apollo in the original BSG series). It focuses on Tom Zarek who is put against the wall when friends of his could be collaborating with Cylons. In the third and final story: Visitation, Kara Thrace finds her false daughter Kacey in Galactica. However, Kacey is living in squalor in the Shantytown. Now comes the question of what to do next and what is she is willing to risk to get her Kacey out. My biggest gripe is the artwork. While the three artists did their job telling a story through a series of good sequential art; for some reason I just don’t think they paired up the right artist to the story. I can’t imagine anyone other than Battlestar fans enjoying these three stories, but if you are a fan of the series I would definitely check these out, but don’t read them until you have seen season 3 of the show. B
Black Jack volume 4
Story & Art: Osamu Tezuka
Translation: Camellia Nieh
Publisher: Vertical
As you probably know by now….I have never been disappointed by Tezuka’s Black Jack series. Sometimes I find it difficult to review Tezuka’s work because after all the man is the God of comics and how do you criticize perfection? I guess the only left for me to do is try to talk people into purchasing these wonderful books. Like the previous three books, this volume is oversized with 14 different stand alone stories. By far Pinoko Love Story really touched my heart. It’s so cruel that Pinoko is trapped in that little girl’s body while being in love with the doctor. The Thieving Dog made me cry and anyone with a pet will feel the same way I did when I finished that beautiful story. Tezuka's storytelling is mastery in hindsight, because while reading I forget my troubles because I am completely enthralled by the drama, sadness, and excitement. Black Jack is a complex individual; he is a man who professes to care only about money but who is deeply concerned for the well-being of all his patients. Camelliah Nieh does a stupendous job with the translations making the characters sound so real and as true to the Japanese as possible. I literally read the book from cover to cover twice and have passed it around to other friends to get them to read comics. A
Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei: The Power of Negative Thinking vol.1
Story & Art: Koji Kumeta
Translation: Joyce Aurino
Publisher: Del Rey
I really wasn’t sure what to think about this book when I glanced at it. 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 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 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. Even the artwork started to make sense….sure it’s simple with lots of contrasts of black and white, but the style really sets the tone of the book. I was blown away by this book, I really wasn’t expecting anything special and after all these years I guess I still judge a book by its cover, so please don’t make the same mistake. Pick this book up and read it! A
Star Trek Ultimate Edition
Story: Chris Dows, Paul Benjamin, Wil Wheaton, Rob Tokar, Christine Boylan,
Luis Reyes, Mike W. Barr, and David Gerrold
Art: Makoto Nakatsuka, Steve Cummings, E.J. Su, Bettina Kurkoski,
Nate Watson, Jeong Mo Yang, and Don Hudson
Color: Michael Kelleher & Glasshouse Graphics
Publisher: Tokyopop
I think as far as the original Star Trek is concern I am familiar with the movies, two episodes, and that’s about it. City on the Edge of Forever and The Trouble with Tribbles are the only two episodes that I have seen from the original series. The collection in this novel is nothing but original Star Trek stories taken from the three manga released in 2006 and 2007. Not all the stories are collected in this edition just what the fans thought were the best from the original Star Trek manga trilogy. As extras you get a free poster, a forward by David Gerrold, a 16 color page prologue, and a preview Star Trek: The Next Generation Boukenshin manga. Some of the stories that were hand-picked by the fans on TOKYOPOP.com include Side Effects, Orphans and Til Death (Shinsei/Shinsei); Forging Alliances and Communications Breakdown (Kakan ni Shinkou), Art of War, The Humanitarian, and Bandi (Uchu). Some of the writers include David Gerrold, who wrote The Trouble with Tribbles and Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher from Next Generation). The stories ranged from very intriguing to passable. Some of them just came off as really bad fan fiction and others were highly enjoyable. The same could be said for the artwork. The artists they have chosen for this collection don’t have a unified style, making it hard sometimes to keep characters straight from story to story. Some of the artists apparently have no idea what McCoy, Kirk, or Chekov look like; at least you can always recognize Spock, because of his ears. I’m sure fans of the series would get more out of this book than your average manga reader, but you don’t have to be a Trekkie to enjoy the stories. C+
