Vassalord, Vol.1

By Nanae Chrono
Tokyopop, 192pp.
Rating: 16+

One part cyborg, one part vampire, Charlie’s exceptionally good at his job as a vampire hunter in the service of the Vatican. His personal life is a bit more problematic, as resident vampire playboy Johnny Rayflo finds him infinitely amusing, and a complicated relationship between the two continually binds them together. The pair faces a host of supernaturally suspicious problems, from a childish vampire princess to a sinister branch of the Unitarian Church… but before they can fight evil, they’ll have to stop fighting each other!

Vassalord, the latest addition to that thoroughly oversaturated cyborg-vampire-BL market, is, simply put, a bit of a mess. The first installment is content mainly to float along through the usual gothic trappings, buoyed by character banter and, of course, plenty of gore. It’s not terrible per se, but the whole thing seems like a violence-laden piece of male eye candy with a healthy dose of comedic friction: come for the looks, stay for the snark. The first book is also largely anecdotal, although unresolved elements from this installment promise at least some semblance of overarching plot.

If the phrase “vampire playboy” doesn’t make you grimace, this is certainly the series for you. Character types are played mostly as archetypes: uptight, do-gooder Charlie is designed to clash with loose, suggestive Johnny, and the series’ comedic steam is derived mainly from the cracks they take at one another. This being BL, there’s obligatory romantic tension between the two, but Chrono chooses mainly to play the relationship as the occasional gratuitous panel rather than as actual relationship development. And as other manga on the market has taught us, who needs sex when you’ve got vampirism?

Chrono may have an eye for drawing a detailed scene, but paneling an action sequence seems a bit more of a challenge. There’s plenty of dodging, slashing and other staples, but figuring your way through the motions of just what, exactly, is going on proves difficult. Action sequences should flow, guiding the reader through the motions as they occur in relation to one another. If you have to backtrack to figure out who’s where, or worse, if you missed a panel because the next seems nonsensical, then something is direly wrong. Detailed character renderings and a good sense of space are admirable, but still not enough to atone for a glut of poorly done action sequences.

Vassalord may have several marks against it, but in not taking itself particularly seriously, the series gains traction against many of its Vatican-minded competitors. Gimmicky, clichéd, but not entirely a lost cause, the series still needs to rise above its tacked together storyline and poor action paneling before it can merit any kind of recommendation. For now, it remains best approached by those with a gothic bent and a forgiving attitude.

Volume one of Vassalord is available now.

Aoi House Omnibus Collection 1

By Adam Arnold and Shiei
Seven Seas
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Aoi House in Love!, Vol. 1

By Adam Arnold and Shiei
Seven Seas
Rating: Older Teen (16+)

Aoi House is about two college dudes who end up living with a harem of yaoi-crazed fangirls. It’s accessible to both non-harem and non-yaoi readers, but if you’re an expert in those genres, you might enjoy this series even more.

Strangely enough, my closest exposure to harem manga has been Ouran High School Host Club, which is of the gender-reversed “male harem” sub-genre. There are similarities between the two series: through a contrivance of fate, the main characters find themselves surrounded by beautiful examples of the opposite sex, which run the gamut of character types; also, hints of romance tend to emerge between the protagonists and members of the harem.

Among the fangirls of Aoi House are an ice princess, spunky tomboy, athlete, and glasses-wearing introvert. One of the guys who drop into their world looks like a stereotypical otaku, but the girls – who range from reasonably attractive to drop-dead gorgeous – are themselves heavily into manga, video games, and cosplaying.

They’re also big fans of yaoi, and in case you were wondering about the title, it’s revealed the club was initially named “Yaoi House,” but the Y fell off. The two aforementioned college dudes, otaku Sandy and the more average-looking Alex aren’t aware of that when they join up; they assume it’s a mainstream anime club, while the harem assumes they’re gay.

When the truth is revealed, there’s one member of the harem who opposes heterosexual, non-yaoi-watching males in Aoi House. However, much of the Omnibus Collection has less to do with the battle of the sexes than the kind of sexually-charged wackiness that can only occur in a frat house-style environment: random nudity; a sexually-humiliating hazing process; even a scheme to affix a small camera to Echiboo, Sandy’s underwear-obsessed pet hamster, and sic him on the girls’ locker room.

But as the shyest of the harem says, “After he’s done…can we tune into the guys locker room also?” which illustrates what makes this series so much fun, the argument that no matter how anti-social we may think of fanboys being, they’re nowhere near as crazy and perverse as a group of their female counterparts. In the very first episode, the guys get kicked out of their dorms for watching, “videos of a pornographic nature involving tentacles,” as the dean puts it; however, they’re begging for mercy by the conclusion, bound up A Clockwork Orange-style and forced to view a yaoi entitled, My Sexual Harassment.

Alex and Sandy are also objectified quite a bit, which could be viewed as a clever inversion to the objectification of women in anime. (This is a point I am actually not an expert in, but the objectifying of women in similar art forms – e.g., American comic books – has been an enduring complaint.) They’re constantly being compared to the typical seme/uke pairing, making them self-conscious to the point where, following some news from home, their second-to-immediate reaction is: “We can’t let the girls find out. This would play right into one of their sick yaoi fantasies.”

Towards the end of the Omnibus Collection, the focus does shift towards preparing for a fictional convention, and Aoi House indulges in the kind of fan service true die-hards of comic books or video games will wish they had the resources to finance. It also acts as the necessary calm before Aoi House in Love!, which is packed full of the over-the-top drama and nuttiness readers would doubtlessly expect if their yaoi-crazed harem were to be multiplied a hundred-fold.

Aoi House Omnibus Collection and volume one of Aoi House in Love! are available now.

Are you looking for a good comic for your pre-teen? Curious about CMX’s fall line-up? Or just a fan of all things kawaii? Then check out Sam’s advance review of SUIHELIBE!, a CMX title announced at New York Comic-Con 2008. With cute characters, transforming animals, and a breezy plot, it’s sure to appeal to the beginning manga reader in your life! –KD

SUIHELIBE!, Vol.1

By Naomi Azuma
CMX, 159 pp.
Rating: All Ages

Tetsu Kobayashi is just your an average 13 year-old boy. As a first-year middle school student, he is anything but pleased to hear that he needs to join a club. Enter Cobalt Lan Toriumi, or just Lan for short. She is a cutesy alien girl from the planet Noid, who sole mission is to capture creatures (called Noidys) that have escaped from her home. (They have landed on Earth and are causing a ruckus around town by attacking innocent bystanders.) The two meet when Tetsu stumbles into the Biology room, just as Lan is capturing one of her creatures – a bunny who gets muscular when upset. Through the power of teamwork (yay!), they capture it, Lan disappears, and Tetsu is left to deal with the Biology Advisor, who makes him sole member of the club. Lan reappears again, helping Tetsu to keep the club alive and recruiting three more members, including the smartest girl in school, a pompous bookworm, and the idolized student council vice president.

SUIHELIBE! is a very fun, light, and simple read. The subject matter is very familiar: boy meets an alien girl and hilarity ensues. The writing is very fluffy, never really digging deep into who the characters are or convincing us that the characters are actually a “biology” club, as there is no real science happening. Despite its lack of depth, SUIHELIBE never gets on your nerves. It’s a cute story with a good amount of humor. Azuma’s artwork is in the same boat as her writing, often using recognizable characters models. (Two of the main characters, Lan and Suzaka, look like they were taken straight out of the series 2 Love.) However, the characters are well drawn, fitting the style of the story and working well with the subject matter.

The most interesting part of the book by far was Azuma’s notes at the end of the book. She explains that each characters name is made up kanji of different elements (Tetsu=Iron, Suzaka Shirogane=Tin (Suzu) + Platinum), which is a really nice treat. In addition, the actual title, SUIHELIBE! is made up of the abbreviations of the first four elements (Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Belium). These treats made up a little for the lack of science in the story, as Azuma said “I chose the names, hoping it’d help the characters have chemistry together!”

More or less, I would toss SUIHELIBE! into the Manga Beginners pile. It’s a good read for someone who is not familiar with manga: it’s a light story that’s easy to read. Add cute, well-drawn art on top of that, and you have a great introduction to the form. SUIHELIBE! is great for kids in that respect, as it’s easy to relate to and fun. If you’re an experienced reader, I wouldn’t bother; you’ll get bored easily and not want to read the second (and final) volume. So if you have a little cousin, brother or sister, pick it up for them; otherwise skip SUIHELIBE!.

Volume one of SUIHELIBE! will be available in October.

Silver Diamond, Vol. 1

By Shiho Sugiura
TOKYOPOP, 192 pp.
Rating: Teen (T)

Rakan was only two when he and his late mother inexplicably appeared amongst the flowers in an old Japanese man’s backyard. Lonely and kind, the old man took them in and Rakan’s been doing his best to live a sensible life ever since. Having inherited the old man’s fortune upon his death, Rakan’s goals are simple and steady: graduate from college, find a stable job, marry someone kind and serious, and continue to reside in the house in which he’s lived for the past fifteen years.

His solitary existence is disrupted when a mysterious stranger named Chigusa turns up in the garden just like Rakan did all those years ago. During a scuffle resulting from a case of mistaken identity, Rakan demonstrates an ability he didn’t even know he possessed and causes Chigusa’s wooden gun to sprout into a tree. It turns out he possesses a rare gift that could help Chigusa’s barren world, and the latter vows to protect this “precious creature.”

Because Silver Diamond is billed as shonen-ai as well as fantasy, I had some doubts about it at first. I worried the fantasy plot might be treated like an afterthought while the wilting protagonist had to repeatedly fend off the lecherous advances of his Mr. Grabby Hands protector. I’m glad to say these fears were entirely groundless.

The plot might not sound like the most original thing ever—our unassuming hero could be the savior for another world—but Sugiura adds enough unique world-building and mystery for it not to seem derivative. It’s also unexpectedly funny. I was amused mostly by authorial asides—how did the old man get Rakan and his mom added to the national registry? In bold letters… CRIME—but also by the cranky talking snake that appears toward the end of the volume, who makes the old cliché “character from another world/time encounters a television for the first time” scene seem shiny and new.

All of the characters introduced so far are likeable and interesting. Rakan is practical and thoughtful, and though he realizes pretty quickly that his houseguests have something to do with his origins, he’s reluctant to ask questions about it, lest the normal life he wants for himself be threatened. Chigusa is enigmatic but smiles often and seems kind. Late arrival Shigeka functions somewhat as a go-between between the other two, answering questions as well as raising them, particularly where Chigusa’s true nature is concerned.

There’s something about the page layout that reminds me of Please Save My Earth, but that might simply be due to the abundant plants and flowers. The art is nice, though occasionally the pointy chins look like they could hurt someone. Some might feel there’s too much screentone, but it doesn’t bug me—I rather like how Shiho Sugiura uses it to create sand dune landscapes on a few occasions.

On the whole, I come away with a very favorable impression of Silver Diamond and am genuinely interested to see where the story goes from here. If the purpose of review copies is to hook people on new series they might not ordinarily have investigated, then mission accomplished.

Volume 1 of Silver Diamond is available now.

Time Stranger Kyoko, Vol. 1

By Arina Tanemura
Viz, 200 pp.
Rating: Older Teen (T+)

It’s the 30th century and all of the nations of Earth have united to form a single kingdom. The treasure of the people is their princess, Kyoko, but she’d rather attend school like a normal girl than fulfill any of her royal obligations. Her sixteenth birthday is approaching, however, and along with it the celebration at which Kyoko must finally appear before her subjects, putting an end to her incognito scholastic career.

Kyoko resigns herself to her fate, but her father offers her an alternative—if she can awaken her younger twin sister, who has been asleep since birth, and turn princess duties over to her, Kyoko can have her freedom. To do this, she must locate twelve godstones scattered around the planet and the twelve telepaths who can use them. When gathered, they can set into motion the giant clock upon which Princess Ui sleeps and use its power to awaken her.

I was pretty put off initially by the notion that Ui was to be awoken for the sole purpose of foisting princess duties upon her. Even though Kyoko intends to give her sister a choice in the matter, it’s still a thoroughly selfish aim. Quickly, though, Kyoko ends up revealing her identity anyway (to thwart a band of thieves who’re menacing her schoolmates) and her goal becomes simply meeting her sister.

Adventure ensues, with Kyoko gradually acquiring more powers and, eventually, locating the first of the telepaths. She’s often tempted to use her powers for selfish reasons, but usually ends up helping others in the end. Other hobbies include requiring rescue by her bodyguards and behaving irrationally.

There are some comedic elements to the story, though not all of them are a success. I giggled at the instructions for the issuance of a royal greeting (step 5: gesture flamboyantly!) and I like that Kyoko’s magic cane has a personality and dialogue, but I can’t stand the character of Chocola. She’s the King’s cat android pet, and I reckon I’m supposed to find her unbearably cute, but instead she just creeps me out.

As usual, Tanemura’s artwork features big eyes, lots of screentone, and a plethora of flowers. I was a little disappointed that she didn’t avail herself of the opportunity to draw the kirito—humans whose DNA has been combined with that of plants or animals—in a new and different style. Mostly, they just get things like pink hair or gold eyes. Kyoko herself has pointy ears, but no one has commented on them thus far, so I’m not sure if she’s supposed to a hybrid or not.

While I didn’t love this volume, I didn’t absolutely hate it, either. It’s true that neither the story nor the characters particularly engage me, but because the series is only three volumes long, it’s really not that much of a commitment to see it through to the end. I expect that I will do so.

As a final thought, I leave you with a topic: Arina Tanemura is the manga equivalent of Meg Cabot. Discuss.

Volume one of Time Stranger Kyoko is available now.

The Last Call, Vol. 1

By Vasil Lolos
Oni Press, 136 pp.
Rating: T + (Older Teens)

Alec and Sam are two typical teenage guys. They like loud music, sticking it to the man, being rebellious, sneaking out at night, and generally being “bad”. Unfortunately for them, it seems that they’re conservative parents may have been right, listening to the devil’s music (a.k.a. metal) will doom them to hell… or at the very least hell’s version of Amtrak.

Vasil Lolos throws your right into the mix with little to no prep what so ever. One minute you’re in the car with two teens who are blasting metal from their speakers, then, suddenly, they’re on board a massive train full of demons and monsters. Don’t worry if you feel a little lost at first, so do Alec and Sam–your confusion in theirs. Of course things just go from bad to worse for the two as they have the unfortunate luck of bumping into the ticket checker, who promptly throws Alec through a window, leaving poor Sam to fend for himself on a train full of fiends. And yes… it gets even worse from there, as Sam soon finds himself as the only witness to a murder aboard the train, and host to a living shadow.

The story is surprisingly fun once it gets rolling. The scenes of the two boys in the car are a little blah, and they do drag on for about twenty pages or so, but once they board the train, the pace really picks up and the fun stuff begins. Sam spends most of the time trying to come to terms with his new location, swept up in the different happenings aboard the train against his own wishes. Despite the large amount of inaction on Sam’s part, and despite all the fretting he does, he still manages to come across as a fairly likeable kid, just a bit frayed at the edges. Then again, under the circumstances, you can hardly blame him.

Lolos’ artwork is really fantastic. His monsters range from very human to weirder creations that actually make me think of some of the critters from the Hellboy 2 ads, only with a 1920′s sense of style. These monsters aren’t in loin clothes or rags, they’re dressed to the nines in outfits that look like they’d be right at home in a F. Scott Fitzgerald story: furs, bow ties, I think I saw a monocle or two in the background at one point. I suppose the fashion he was going for might have been from a different era, but it definitely evoked the Jazz Age in my mind. Beyond the snazzy character designs, Lolos’ art is nicely detailed and his characters are all wonderfully expressive, whether it’s the terrified look that Sam wears for most of the time, or the sinister grin upon the overweight Meredith’s face, it’s all wonderfully done.

I really enjoyed this, a lot more than I thought I might. When it comes to western comics I tend to fall into ruts, only buying books from tried and true names and sometimes I forget just how fun it can be to find a new name and be blown away by their work. This is definitely one of those cases, and of course it’s Oni who does it once again. You’d think I’d have learned my lesson after being introduced to people like Bryan O’Malley and Corey Lewis thanks to Oni, but no, I still tend to over look their OGN’s. The Last Call is a fun book and fans of “Through the Looking Glass” type of tales should definitely give it a look and do so soon, the second volume is due out at the end of the month.

Volume one of The Last Call is available now.

Puri Puri, Vols. 2-4

By Chiaki Taro
Published by DrMaster
Rating: Ages 15+

It’s a scenario that just welcomes wacky hijinks: an aspiring priest enrolls at a private divinity school, not realizing they recently changed from an all-girls institution. As a result, he is the only boy, surrounded by young ladies who either don’t know – or don’t seem to care – how to behave properly around someone of the opposite gender. Every moment at the school is a battle against temptation, as flashes of skin and underwear constantly threaten to derail his dream of becoming a man of the cloth.

The priest-in-training in Puri Puri is Kamioda-kun, who takes his own virtue as seriously as that last sentence implies. But Saint Sophia Academy does feature a considerable number of temptations, and Kamioda constantly finds himself in situations that put his urges to the test: face-to-face with cleavage; cheek-to-cheek with a coed’s rear end; pinned underneath some boxes with the girl he finds hopelessly cute; naked in a bath with a willowy female samurai warrior-in-training.

Granted, a lot seems contrived, especially in volume one, but writer/artist Chiaki Taro’s series is not without inspiration: specifically, the hormonal battlefield we all experience as teenagers, between our intellects and desires, our brains and other bodily organs.

That’s all subtext, of course; on the surface, Puri Puri may be drawn in a squeaky-clean style, but Chiaki devotes as many panels as possible to T & A – effectively simulating the distraction-prone mind of Kamioda. Unfortunately, this means an inordinate amount of page space gets devoted to girls in their undergarments or less, which does get old after a while. However, it’s also the source of much of the series’ humor: the fact Kamioda is practically living through stereotypical male locker room fantasies – those that can be published for audiences age 15 and above, at least – but they’re mostly nightmares to him.

Looking back on the first four volumes, the series does improve quickly as Chiaki gets away from schemes to get Kamioda kicked out of the Academy, introducing wacky supporting characters, over-the-top scenarios, and potential love interests instead. The decision proves correct, given how exploring the religious school’s appropriately-themed clubs – along with choir, there’s one for exorcism, even a Knights Templar that makes sure students obey the behavioral code – is more fun.

And quite frankly, Chiaki’s lone attempt to introduce a more traditional adversary for Kamioda – as opposed to just letting her oddball and sexually-obsessed cast play off one another – ends in an unsatisfying deux ex-machina. Our hero doesn’t need to face off against a devious student body president. His worst enemy, he knows all too well, are his own raging hormones.

The would-be comedy sequences also seem to get more elaborate, even if the punch-lines frequently involve nudity. At least Chiaki takes an equal opportunity approach to exposing and embarrassing her characters; by volume four, everyone’s revealed so much of their bodies already that it’s impossible to predict how a game of strip “rock/paper/scissors” is going to turn out.

It may sound as if Puri Puri will mostly entertain male audiences, but if there is a reason for female readers to also pick it up, it’s probably the character of Sherrice, the captain of the Knights Templar. This being a manga, of course the private school has its own student-based security force. However, Sherrice also serves as the female counterpart to Kamioda, constantly struggling to balance the rigorous training required of the samurai with her own personal desires. She’s a refreshing antidote to Puri Puri’s other female protagonists, given she’s quite possibly the only one who displays determination, focus, and confidence. She definitely merits her own series.

Volumes two through four of Puri Puri are available now.

COWA!

By Akira Toriyama
Published by Viz
Rating: All Ages

COWA! is Toriyama’s storybook-like tale of a cute half-were-koala, half-vampire and his best friend, a ghost named Jose Rodrigez, as they save Monster Ridge from the Monster Flu with the help of a retired sumo wrestling human. Behind the extremely cute artwork is a masterfully crafted story which strikes a careful balance between what kids want to read about (monsters, fighting, farts, flying) and what parents want kids to read about (doing the right thing, getting in trouble for lying, etc.).

Paifu transforms into a super-strong monster koala when he sees any cross-shaped object and turns back into a vampire when he sees anything round. The transformations in the book are few, but brilliantly timed. Paifu acts like a typical kid, prone to trouble-making and bossing around the less-strong-willed Jose. I found the first few stand-alone chapters cute, but I was bored by Paifu and Jose’s relationship, which is like a less extreme version of Mac and Blue from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. Why does one kid always have to be the jerk?

Fortunately, the main story arc of the volume picks up and the jerk/scaredy-cat relationship falls to the wayside. Paifu and Jose must team up with ex-sumo Mr. Maruyama, formerly known as “The Volcano” on an epic road trip to get the cure for the deadly Monster Flu, which threatens to wipe out the entire town.

The story unfolds halfway between a folktale and the Hero’s Journey. Some bystanders Paifu helps along the way become allies later and, in the end, Paifu must face the witch alone. But nevermind my highbrow literary reading, Paifu and his friends are kids through and through. Despite the high stakes, the little monsters argue over who gets to sit in the front seat on the road trip. In another scene, staying safe from a [bad] monster hinges on Paifu’s ability to learn to whistle. I was particularly impressed, since I could totally imagine kids whistling to keep monsters away after reading this book.

Mr. Maruyama quickly becomes a pseudo-father/hero figure, beating up bad guys and monsters (who sometimes look very similar to Dragonball characters). Some of the bad guys are introduced and disposed of very quickly, as if they were created only to generate fight scenes. I haven’t read Dr. Slump, but COWA! seems more like Slump than Dragonball Z.

This story is so very, very cute, but I wonder if strict American parents would be annoyed by the fist fights and (surprisingly frequent) gun-pointing. I would let a kid read this, but for the record, I don’t have any kids.

The character designs are deceptively simple (Jose only looks easy to draw!) and the storybook layout of the panels is easy to follow. A few color pages begin each chapter, but beyond the first 15 pages everything is in black and white.

Don’t pass this up! At only one volume, it’s just the right length. Who wouldn’t want to read about a were-koala? (Apparently not Carlo Santos!)

COWA! is avaiable now.