Look, ma! No yaoi! Instead we bring you reviews of six very different titles. Michelle starts us off with a review of The Color of Water (First Second), sequel to The Color of Earth; Melinda is up next with volume one of the four-panel manga GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Yen Press); Ken revisits Gantz (Dark Horse) with a look at its fourth volume; Sam weighs in on volume seven of Gimmick! (Viz) and volume one of Sumomomo, Momomo (Yen Press); and Connie recommends Oh My Goddess! Colors (Dark Horse) to newcomers to the series.

The Color of Water

By Kim Dong Hwa
First Second, 320 pp.
Rating: Ages 15 and Up

The story of Ehwa, as begun in The Color of Earth, continues in this second volume of a trilogy. Like the first book in the series, The Color of Water is mostly about sex. Ever-curious Ehwa discovers some new things in this volume, often spurred along by crude scenes involving fields of phallic peppers or copulating animals. She also begins a romance with Duksam, a sweet-talking farmhand, and starts to understand her mother’s wistful feelings towards her own itinerant lover.

The first half of the volume is pretty listless, consisting mainly of sexual escapades interspersed with countless discussions between Ehwa and her mother in which women are compared to flowers. I singled these mother-daughter conversations out for praise in my review of volume one, but their talks have become so repetitive that now I find these same scenes to be downright tedious.

In the second half of the book, more of a narrative thread develops, as Ehwa and Duksam make some progress in their courtship and Duksam’s elderly employer decides he wants Ehwa for himself, heedless of her mother’s objections. Unfortunately, Duksam is another one that spews flowery language both literally and figuratively, so it’s hard to care much about his relationship with Ehwa.

Still, I applaud the series for not saddling Ehwa with the very first boy she ever liked and allowing her to meet and be attracted to a stranger. Of course, there is one more volume and the back cover promises a story of “first love and second chances,” so perhaps I’d do well to remember the old adage about counting chickens.

The Color of Water will be available on June 9, 2009.

–Reviewed by Michelle Smith

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Vol. 1

By Satoko Kiyuduki
Yen Press, 120 pp.
Rating: Teen

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class is a four-panel manga featuring a group of five moe-style girls enrolled in a graphic design course, possessing unique personalities that are used at one point in the comic to illustrate different tones of a single color. The characters are motherly Namiko, tomboyish Tomokane, serious Miyabi (aka “Professor”), glasses-wearing Kisaragi, and fashion-plate Nodamiki. As the five girls go through their studies, learning about color, technique, and tools of design (from paints to computers), they also have a lot of fun, both with their tools (painting the linings of their school uniforms, for example, which brings about unintended consequences) and with the trappings of ordinary school life.

Though the author claims, “… regarding the art information in this manga: You shouldn’t really trust it,” there is still a lot to learn for those of us with no knowledge of color or techniques at all, and that’s actually the greatest draw of this manga for English-speaking readers. Though the comic strip is obviously humorous, as with many four-panels, the translated jokes are very much hit or miss, with more misses than hits in this particular case. The characters are a fun and whimsical mix and the volume is enjoyable, but outside of the genuinely interesting artistic instruction and related jokes (about mold growing in the poster paint, for example), there isn’t any other element that consistently succeeds.

The artwork is standard moe fare–tiny girls with giant eyes, generally indistinguishable from each other aside from their hair and accessories–and as such, rather bland. The book’s frequent color pages fare better, both in general expression and in their ability to convey ideas about art.

Though GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class is not stunningly humorous or emotionally engaging, it has some fun moments and a wealth of interesting information for those curious about art.

GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class is available now.

–Reviewed by Melinda Beasi

Gantz, Vol. 4

By Hiroya Oku
Dark Horse, 224 pp
Rating: 18+

The second mission kicks off with lots of bloodshed as the crew of press-ganged alien hunters loses one of their own.

I’m really not sure what to say about Gantz that I didn’t say in my earlier review. In fact, given that the events of this volume so closely mirror those of the first volume, I’m even more stumped. Kei, Masaru and Kishimoto all survived their first hunt and are joined by some new recruits, not to mention a few other survivors from the previous hunt. The new recruits shrug and wander away, much like they did in the first volume, heads explode, panic and confusion ensues as everyone tries to come to grips with what’s going on and why. Admittedly, this could be a storytelling technique–creating a certain amount of rote repetition to the entire affair, letting people settle into the routine before Oku mixes things up in a big way–but at this point it just feels like more of the same.

The artwork is still too stiff and lifeless for my tastes as well. I understand the whole concept behind it, attempting to evoke a feeling similar to that of first-person shooters and the like, but it just isn’t my thing. On the upside, the clean artwork allows for some very easy-to-follow action sequences even if they do feel a bit static.

Sad to say that despite the hype surrounding it, Gantz just doesn’t seem to be my cup of tea. It’s kind of interesting and there are moments where I can almost see the appeal, but ultimately it’s just not clicking with me.

Volume four of Gantz is available now.

–Reviewed by Ken Haley

Gimmick!, Vol. 7

By Youzaburou Kanari & Kuroko Yabuguchi
VIZ, 208 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

Gimmick! is back with its seventh and strongest volume so far, in terms of Kohei’s development, which is a nice change from the previous volume, which focused more on the secondary characters. Volume seven finishes up the Kohei versus Kagase (picture a fatter, less talented Kohei) battle, ending with Kohei gaining a powerful ally. It’s funny how similar the two actually are, both extremely passionate about the industry. Kohei then moves onto helping a struggling independent filmmaker, who is bent on creating the perfect redemption film. Finally, after enough honing of his craft, Kohei enters a SFX tournament, only to find out it is fixed, and is faced with the challenge of finding a way to impress his way into winning it all.

As always, the art was incredibly impressive in this volume of Gimmick!. Kohei’s creations in all the stories were brilliantly crafted and shaded, giving them the textured feel we expect from this series. The real treasure, as mentioned before, is the character development. Although for most of the series, Kohei comes off as much of a master of his craft, he is still very young and has a lot to learn. I’ve always enjoyed his optimism and enthuiasm towards his work. For example, when faced with the challenge of creating a seafaring monster, Kohei’s mind draws a blank. Instead of forfeiting the tournament, he runs off to the beach, falling into the ocean and building one of his most wonderful creations.

Pick up this volume if you want to continue the series. It also might be a good way to check it out for the first time.

Volume seven of Gimmick! will be available on June 9, 2009.

–Reviewed by Sam Kusek

Oh My Goddess! Colors

By Kosuke Fujishima
Dark Horse, 192 pp.
Not rated

Let’s let Oh My Goddess! Colors sum up the series for us: “An amusing inhuman dependent roommate moves in, the sisters come along as well, and then, together with their wacky friends in town, all sorts of wacky situations take place! One after another!” Also: “The story of Oh My Goddess! revolves around the relationship between Belldandy and Keiichi Morisato… that goes nowhere. Devoid of any actual developments between the two, it’s a romance that sort of wanders aimlessly through thirty-plus volumes, like a derelict.”

And so you have it, Oh My Goddess! is sort of the father of modern harem series, but significantly more charming than that makes it sound. This book was created to celebrate the longevity of the series in Japan—I believe the 20th anniversary was last year—but also serves as a great guide for anyone who feels daunted by the series’ length and strange US release history. After a hilarious eight-page introduction, the bulk of the book contains four colorized best-of chapters, one spotlighting each of the four goddesses. In the back, it has an encyclopedia with just about every item and person from the first 30 volumes and a guide (including summaries) for every chapter in the series. The material in the back has the benefit of the Carl Gustav Horn touch, so expect the entries to be of the same quality as the end notes in The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service.

It’s everything you could possibly want to know about Oh My Goddess!. Don’t expect any new chapters if you’re an old fan, but it does work as a wonderful look at the best parts of the series, and is probably the best place to start if you wanted to know if Oh My Goddess! is for you.

Oh My Goddess! Colors is available now.

–Reviewed by Connie C.

Sumomomo, Momomo, Vol. 1

By Shinobu Ohtaka
Yen Press, 222 pp.
Rating: Older Teen

Sumomomo, Momomo is the story of Momoko Kuzuryuu, a young woman who trained to be a warrior since birth only to find herself not fit to wield the secret arts of her clan. To carry on her clan’s future, she must bear heirs capable of fully utilizing the clan’s secrets. Enter Koushi Inuzuka, a young man who was once ardent about martial arts but has given it up, for unknown reasons, to pursue a career as a criminal prosecutor. Unbeknownst to him (because he blocked it out), Momoko is seeking him to be the father of his children, all while a plot around the world to kill Koushi arises. The plot sounds a little dull and overused but is perked up by the comedy in the book. Momoko’s failed attempts at sexual relations with Koushi are to-die-for.

The real reason why I liked this book is the art. Shinobu Ohtaka wields his pen in a very interesting and thoughtful style. When it’s funny, the art becomes scratchy and jittery, which gives an interesting movement to the characters. When the writing hits a more serious note, Shinobu’s style and mastery of tones really shine. Other than that, I can certainly see the book moving away from the comedy and becoming more about fighting, but I am hoping that it won’t happen.

Volume one of Sumomomo, Momomo is available now.

–Reviewed by Sam Kusek