RIGHT TURN ONLY!!
Graphic Novel Goodness
by Liann Cooper,
Buy It Now!  Yoko Matsushita Released by Viz $9.99 US There's little more that can top a series filled with bishies, but what about a series filled with dead bishies? All too tempting, I know. CLAMP Released by Del Rey $10.95 US Tsubasa may be a shameless display of beloved CLAMP creations, but it is a darn enjoyable shameless display. Mixing old and new, this series reads like a “Where's Waldo” of characters from such series as: Kaori Naruse Created by Junichi Satou Released by ADV Manga $9.99 US If you're going to do fluff, you better make sure you do it well. Even the creator writes, “... I wanted to do a project that people who love good-looking young boys could really enjoy being a part of.” Prétear is just that, pages and pages of good looking boys all built upon a loose foundation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves- beautiful, cottony fluff. Earth is protected by a chosen guardian called the Prétear, who is aided by the powers of seven hunky guys called The Leafe Knights. Himeno is still struggling to decide whether or not she wants to commit to being the Prétear or not. When the truth behind the previous Prétear's demise surfaces, the Knights hesitate revealing it for fear of scaring Himeno away. However, driven by her strong desire to help others – like any good Yasuhiro Nightow Released by Dark Horse Manga $9.95 US Being the spoiled reader that I am, making the transition from the aesthetics of the Kaori Yuki Released by Viz $9.95 US There's nothing like a good, complex gothic manga to make you whap yourself in the face and just scream out, “What the HECK is going on?!” If you thought you had seen it all... you haven't read Angel Sanctuary. Let's do a recap of what has happened in these past couple of volumes to try and get our bearings. Male Setsuna is the reincarnation of the female angel named Alexiel. Sara is his younger sister. Setsuna and Sara love each other very much, and not in that sibling sort of way. Setsuna's best friend, Sakuya, is actually some immortal spirit who is just using Sakuya's body to be close to Setsuna because he loved Alexiel in a previous life. They're all being followed/watched/hunted by crazy angels or demons that either love or hate Alexiel. Volume three just adds more fuel to the fire when Setsuna and Sara totally snap and run off together and consummate their relationship. Now, before you go writing this series off, I will tell you that despite all of the obvious “shock factors,” Angel Sanctuary is very well-written — and gorgeous to boot. There are far too many series out there that branch out into so many complexities and side stories that they get lost in themselves. Kaori Yuki, does an excellent job of giving the reader just enough “twists” to keep them interested, but not so many that the reader is discouraged from continuing. Yes, this is a weird manga and if there were an award for most messed-up plot, Angel Sanctuary would be a strong contender. But, amidst all of the bizarro relationships and religious references you become acutely aware that this title has a sinful appeal that just makes you desire more.  Sakurako Gokurakuin Released by Broccoli $9.99 US Someone asked me what Juvenile Orion was about the other day and I told them, “Pretty boys fighting.” I realize now that this was perhaps too general of a description since so many other series -*eyes Prétear*- fall into this category. So, what is Juvenile Orion about? It's about pretty boys with supernatural powers that fight against other pretty boys with supernatural powers. Alright, so I watered it down a bit, but you get the idea. We're on the verge of wrapping things up with the The Vision of Escaflowne Volume 8 Story & Art by Katsu Aki Released by Tokyopop $9.99 US Van and Hitomi's Energist exploits in their mission to save Gaea finally come to an end in this eighth and final volume. Pulling out all the stops, the concluding book reveals the dastardly desires behind not only Dornkirk, but Dilandau as well. With his sights set on Earth, Dornkirk makes the ultimate merge and absorbs Hitomi into his crusty, old body. Unfortunately, this absorption proves to be a fatal mistake after it awakens Hitomi's true powers – the power of her own sentiment. We wrap things up with our heroine making the ultimate sacrifice in the name of love, but don't worry because we're still given that “fairy tale” happy ending. Escaflowne definitely makes the most of its dramatic story and vivid characters, but this volume's melodrama meter is set to the max. By mid-volume you just want everyone to suck it up and take action, rather than crying about what's going to happen next. Being an alternate, Gōshō Aoyama Released by Viz $9.95 US Inspector Poirot take note because young Jimmy Kudo could probably run circles around you. Aspiring to be the next Sherlock Holmes, Jimmy Kudo possesses intuition and observation that rival even the best detectives. One evening, while following a particularly suspicious subject, Jimmy's presence is detected and as a result is istered an experimental drug. The drug didn't kill him, but it had a devastating side effect that shrank Jimmy's body into that of a grade-school kid. Still possessing his keen, investigative mind, Jimmy takes on the alias of Conan Edogawa and continues to aid the police with their cases while hoping that one day he'll stumble upon a cure for his condition. Case Closed probably possesses appealing elements for certain readers, but for me it was a rather boring read. The catch phrase of the book is “Can you crack the case before Conan does?” The answer is yes, since all the police always choose the wrong suspect and Jimmy ALWAYS finds that Ai Morinaga Released by M Manga $9.99 US It matters not what you are on the outside, but what you are on the inside that counts. Try telling that to Reiichi who went from eyesore ugly to drop dead gorgeous in the blink of an eye. Thanks to the powers of a less than cute dog named Mister, Reiichi is now the hottest guy in school. Now he can get everything he ever wanted: attention, popularity, and affection... all except from the one girl he wants it from. To complicate things, due to a gross misunderstanding everyone thinks Reiichi is dating the most unpopular girl in school. The tables have turned on our bowl-haircut geek and he is quickly learning that being beautiful isn't everything... not by a long shot. I was initially charmed by Duck Prince's humor and easily relatable storyline. But, volume two is simply a carbon copy of volume one, except for the fact that everyone thinks Reiichi is dating the “ugly girl” of school. ing characters, Mister and Mr. Takemura, do provide some additional amusement, but that humor isn't anything new. We're already to the point of “let's introduce a new character (Blanche) and see if she spices up the story's chemistry,” and this only the second volume. Still entertaining, but lacking any progression, Duck Prince is a prime example of why a series cannot exist on hijinks alone.  Yudetamago Released by Viz $7.95 US “The DMP threatened the well-being of Earth. Thankfully, our pristine planet was under the protection of good wrestlers called the Muscle League. Lead by its super strong leader, King Muscle, justice prevailed and Earth lived in peace until 28 years later when the DMP reared its ugly head again. Now when the planet of blue and green most needs their help, our team of wrestling protectors have aged too much to be of any use. Now our fate lies in the hands of a newer, younger Muscle League with King Muscle's son, Mantaro, as the leader. Too bad Mantaro is a wuss who is more interested in books than brawn. What can I say about Ultimate Muscle? The artwork alone is enough to clothesline itself and the whole concept of superhero wrestlers is like a mangafied Mucha Lucha. However, unlike Mucha Lucha, once you get around the lame story and Mantaro's banana lips, Ultimate Muscle is actually pretty funny. Much of Ultimate Muscle's humor comes from some of the ridiculous superhero names for the characters: the Canuckler, Dik Dik Van Dik, and my personal favorite, the Boaconda. Additional amusement is provided by their equally ridiculous wrestling moves – everyone say “Butt Basher” with me. Your basic tournament series, Ultimate Muscle may be full of enthusiasm, but it isn't going to knock anyone's socks off. Nevertheless, if I had a younger sibling and an extra $7.95 lying around, I'd have no qualms about getting this for them. |
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