This week’s minis column is stuffed to the gills, so let’s get right to it! Jen starts us off this week with a look at volume four of Bride of the Water God (Dark Horse) and also reviews the BL anthology Love Full of Scars (NETCOMICS); Grant still isn’t won over by the second volume of Cat Paradise (Yen Press); Isaac enjoys the fourteenth volume of From Eroica with Love (CMX); Ken is confused by volume two of Jack Frost (Yen Press); Phil weighs in on the third volume of Negima!? Neo (Del Rey); Michelle recommends volume two of Nightschool (Yen Press) for a Halloween read; and Connie appreciates the oddities in volume two of 13th Boy (Yen Press).

Bride of the Water God, Vol. 4

By Mi-Kyung Yun
Dark Horse, 176 pp.
Rating: 12+

I want very hard to like this series.

It’s increasingly difficult, however, as the storyline that seemed somewhat obtuse in the first few volumes has shifted into something that seems like it’s from a dream. There are scenes that seem to be related, but what one page has to do with the next is often confusing and muddled. Perhaps some of these are chapter changes, but if so, then why is there no differentiation between these shifts only to have a blank page later in the volume to signify a break?

As for the plot—Soah’s back on Earth, but home isn’t quite what she wanted it to be. She’s discovered that her abusive father sold her, and confronts him. He would strike her, but her human fiancé Dong-Young Nim intervenes. When Habaek comes to Earth in the guise of Mui, she feels a connection with him even though she doesn’t remember any of her time in Suguk. She is eventually spirited back to the realm of the gods. In between these story threads, there’s some explanation of Habaek and his first human wife, Nakbin. Well, I say explanation… I came away from it being more confused than ever.

I find that it’s easiest to enjoy Bride of the Water God when I come to it as an artbook rather than something that’s supposed to tell a coherent story. The beauty of the art is breathtaking, if a bit cold, and I could spend quite some time just enjoying the tableaux.

Volume four of Bride of the Water God is available now.

–Reviewed by Jennifer Dunbar

Cat Paradise, Vol. 2

By Yuji Iwahara
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

The second volume of Cat Paradise does very little to redeem the series after its disastrous first volume.

Kaen’s underlings infiltrate the school campus, hoping to find some way of breaking the barrier that prevents them from reaching the outside world. Tsukumo, having taken over the vice-principal’s body, calls in fellow evildoer Rachi to help him out. From there, it’s a big melting pot of ridiculous plot developments and cat powers. Rachi, now residing in the body of a schoolgirl, decides to snack on one of the school’s many stray cats. After she eats his tail, the cat runs and she follows in pursuit. When Iwahara cuts back to the chase, Rachi has—the reason absolutely fails me—stripped down to her underwear.

The inevitable big battle with Rachi starts out with one character on the receiving end of a wicked impalement that goes completely through his body and his cat’s. It’s a sinister set up that is completely wasted when another character comes charging into the fight riding a dinosaur.

Yes, that’s right, a dinosaur.

Some people might have found this awesome. I burst out laughing. The idea is so out of place, it’s ridiculous (and the explanation for it, while acceptable, does little to lessen the initial hilarity). It gets even worse when the half-naked Rachi is eventually wrapped up by a bunch of tentacles.

And what have we, the readers, learned about the over-arching plot by the end of this volume? Nothing, really. There is something precious Sandou left behind and it’s important to Kaen.

If this is cat paradise, I hate to imagine what cat hell is like.

Volume two of Cat Paradise will be available in November 2009.

–Reviewed by Grant Goodman

From Eroica With Love, Vol. 14

By Yasuko Aoike
CMX, 200 pp.
Rating: Teen

Volume fourteen of From Eroica With Love continues the series’ long-standing staple of non-stop hilarity. If you’ve read any Eroica before, little preface is needed for this installment. Klaus and Mischa are at one another’s throats, and the Earl somehow gets involved to the great consternation of both parties. This is not to say that the series has lost its original punch: Yasuko Aoike’s singular comic ability has kept this series both fresh and special.

What’s most impressive about this series to me is how wide and consistent its appeal is. It’s got a little something for everyone. It’s got compelling action, mild fanservice, slapstick humor and plenty of comedic scenarios. And all of these traits overlap in awesome ways. Freud would no doubt be proud to see Klaus swinging around his big guns, and the way that the major deals with some ladies sent by Mischa and co. to seduce him produces some of the most innuendo-laden moments of the series. The Earl’s ongoing obsession with the Major is also cause for much ongoing amusement, especially when he steals a statue that looks very similar to the major and uses it to torment him.

My only complaints about this series are the extremely boring landscapes and panel backgrounds and James’ two-dimensional inanity as a character. Beyond that, I wholeheartedly recommend this volume!

Volume fourteen of From Eroica With Love is available now.

–Reviewed by Isaac Hale

Jack Frost, Vol. 2

By JinHo Ko
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

The second volume of this ultra-stylish manwha series brings little in the way of answers to the mysteries raised in the first book. In fact, if anything it raises more questions! More characters and groups are thrown at the reader, though the nature of their relationship with the preexisting characters and how they fit into the overall world isn’t quite clear. On top of that, a new area of Amityville is revealed as ominous messages about the 72 Demons of Solomon and more are tossed about in a barely coherent, but action-packed tale.

Jack Frost and Noh-A head out in search of… something, that’s apparently very important for some reason. Meanwhile, Noh-A is troubled by strange dreams involving someone she’s never seen before, but they might just link back to her death and arrival in Amityville. If that wasn’t enough, two mysterious new characters are dispatched from the West District to capture Noh-A for… some reason.

I know it’s a bit early in the series run, but the story is already starting to feel like a thinly veiled excuse for JinHo Ko to draw up a storm and produce over-the-top action sequences and über-cool-looking characters. Things happen with a bare minimum of explanation while folks higher up the food chain laugh and talk cryptically about a war and the 14th Requiem. It sounds cool, but so far it’s just leaving me scratching my head in confusion and desperately wishing that the story had a solid direction.

Jack Frost is definitely an odd read. There’s a lot to like—it’s quite stylish and the action is crazy and over-the-top—but the story really feels like it’s, well… like it’s missing altogether, frankly. Still, hopefully at some point everything will be made clear and things will start to make sense in some kind of coherent fashion.

Volume two of Jack Frost will be available in November 2009.

–Reviewed by Ken Haley

Love Full of Scars

By Psyche Delico
Published by NETCOMICS
Rating: 18+

The biggest problem with Love Full of Scars is that it starts out on the wrong foot and continues to stumble, arms windmilling, until the middle of the volume. Chapters 1-3 are all individual stories, each painful to read in one way or another. While chapter one deals with a silly miscommunication and chapter two is just plain boring, chapter three is downright yucky with its themes of incest between brothers. If I hadn’t been reviewing this manga, I would’ve stopped reading at this point and given up.

Luckily, it does get better. While the story in chapters 4-6 isn’t exactly original, it at least kept my attention. It follows the romance of Seishiro Kanda and Kaname Uesaka, a pair of juvenile delinquents who have regular fights to prove how tough they are. Kanda is usually the victor, despite being smaller and less developed than Uesaka. He’s the one who develops the crush on his opponent, but it takes a while for Uesaka to get him to admit it. The story then focuses on their growing relationship and the troubles they encounter, such as troublesome siblings and members of Uesaka’s former gang who want to now prove that they’re the badasses at school.

Chapter seven pulls it to a decent ending, telling the story of Seishiro Kanda’s older brother Kotaro, a drag queen who operates under the stage name of “Ruby.” As BL stories, the tales of Uesaka, Kanda, and Kanda’s brother are fair to middling, and definitely not good enough to get the foul taste of chapters 1-3 out of my mouth.

Love Full of Scars is available online at NETCOMICS.com. A print edition will be released in November 2009.

–Reviewed by Jennifer Dunbar

Negima!? Neo, Vol. 3

Story by Ken Akamatsu, art by Takuya Fujima
Del Rey, 208 pp.
Rating: OT Ages 16+

This series is supposed to show the early years of Negi, boy wizard and star of the ongoing Negima!. As such, longtime Negima! readers may find this volume to be significant, since it features Negi telling himself, “I have… to get stronger,” so he can protect his students. This would appear to be the first time in the character’s history when he feels this way, but it’s hardly the last; Negi is similarly self-critical in volume 21 of Negima!, and for the same reasons: he feels the safety of his friends is his responsibility to bear.

But if you’re only reading Negima!? Neo, you’ll probably be equally satisfied by this volume, albeit for different reasons. In this installment, the “sprite shard” storyline introduced back in volume one gets resolved. Meanwhile, there’s plenty more harem zaniness, with each chapter revolving around a different member of the all-girl ensemble. There’s the Negi-obsessed class rep, the dork who’s secretly an internet idol, the immortal vampire girl who hates him, etc. Rotating girls may be a staple of harem manga, but in this case, it also emphasizes Negi’s pure and uncorrupted nature, since he’s relatively unfazed by either the class-rep’s boy fetish or the computer geek’s cosplaying. On the contrary, he’s earnest at all times.

In my previous review of Negima!? Neo, volumes one and two, I wrote that the title seemingly belongs to the magical girl genre, despite having a male protagonist. My opinion has not changed, but interestingly, the “sprite shard” storyline ends with an ex-classmate of Negi’s— a magical girl-type herself—trying to destroy him. In my somewhat meta interpretation, she represents the status quo attempting to restore itself. Luckily for readers, given that the series seems to be hitting its stride, she doesn’t succeed.

Volume three of Negima!? Neo is available now.

–Reviewed by Phil Guie

Nightschool: The Weirn Books, Vol. 2

By Svetlana Chmakova
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen

Home-schooled weirn (witch) Alex Treveney had no interest in attending the nightschool that caters to her kind until her older sister went missing while on the job there. Several thwarted attempts to gain unauthorized entry leave Alex with no alternative but to enroll, and she spends her orientation tour scoping out the place and her first class proving just how ahead of the other students she is.

Meanwhile, three Hunters that encountered Alex in a graveyard the night before are still unconscious, victims of a violent magical attack that Alex has no memory of inflicting. Their leader, Daemon, is out for answers, and one of the magical sources he turns to in his search will soon become Alex’s new teacher.

After the exciting introduction to this supernatural world afforded by volume one, volume two gets down to the more mundane business of introducing Alex to the school and showing what the Hunters do while they’re at home. It’s still interesting, but it doesn’t pack as much of a punch as the debut volume. I also found it odd that the volume’s cliffhanger moment goes to a subplot about a seer under Daemon’s guardianship rather than to our main character, who shows another glimpse of a possible dark path when a classroom challenge causes her to access further levels of magical power.

If you’re looking for a fun story to put you in the Halloween spirit, you really can’t go wrong with Nightschool. This particular volume may not be full of action, but it does flesh out the world and set up some things to look forward to in installments to come.

Volume two of Nightschool: The Weirn Books is available now.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

13th Boy, Vol. 2

By Sang-Eun Lee
Yen Press, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen

Hee-So continues her earnest pursuit of Won-Jun, and Won-Jun continues to politely turn her down. Undaunted, Hee-So decides to join Girl Scouts in order to have more opportunities to be with Won-Jun, who is a Boy Scout. This opens the door to lots of teasing and criticism from other girls that aren’t impressed with Hee-So’s less-than-pure motives for doing community service. The scout leader, while always offering Hee-So a chance, becomes more and more of a hostile rival as she makes her jealousy over Whie-Young’s attentions plain.

Wow, what a weird series. It uses fairly common plot devices (the bullying, the romantic triangles between the childhood friends, the destiny themes) and adds bizarre touches that make reading it very worthwhile. Magic gets twisted into things here, but the characters are all rather nonchalant about it. It’s not commonplace, but it is used the same as any other talent or skill as a plot device for saving a life, helping out, et cetera. I couldn’t believe how well it worked, and I’m usually wary of magic in places it doesn’t belong.

I also enjoyed the attitudes of the various characters. Hee-So is unwavering in her pursuit of Won-Jun, who isn’t cold or outright hostile like the usual male character showered with unwanted attention. He’s very kind, which makes a revelation towards the end of the volume even harder to take. Similarly, Whie-Young is the usual teasing and somewhat hostile secondary boy, but his attitude doesn’t really match his motives, which become more and more clear as the volume goes on. And I liked that, when confronted with a romantic rival, Hee-So is more concerned about the bullying the rival is enduring than the fact that they may or may not like the same boy.

13th Boy isn’t really breaking new ground, but it is proving to be much more fun to read than I expected.

Volume two of 13th Boy is available now.

–Reviewed by Connie C.