My Comics/Manga/Graphic Novel Collection

James Review -- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Volume Four

This week I decided to review Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Volume Four written by Kyle Higgens. 

Billy Cranston and Tommy Oliver are still trapped in the timeline ruled by Lord Drakkon, this timeline’s counterpart to Tommy who rejoined Rita’s forces after being freed from the Mind Control spell she placed him under. The pair are led by this timeline’s Saba to the Coinless, an anti-Drakkon resistance movement led by this timeline’s Trini Kwan and Zack Taylor. While roaming the Coinless headquarters, Cranston finds a library dedicated to his dead counterpart and tracks down Kwan trying to find out what happened. Kwan explains that Cranston’s counterpart was killed protecting her during a lost battle. And when Drakkon tracks Saba to the Coinless base and launches an attack, Kwan leads Cranston to the last resort option of the Coinless, his counterpart’s power coin, the last one in this timeline not controlled by Drakkon. But Cranston is uncertain if the power granted by the coin will be enough to allow him to turn the tide against the overwhelming army the rebels face…

Meanwhile in the primary timeline Trini Kwan, Jason Scott, Zack Taylor, and Kimberly Heart are trying to find a way to regain their powers, and retake their command center, now serving as Rita Repulsa’s base of operations. Alpha 5 contacts them, revealing an unguarded route into the command center. But when the rangers arrive they discover that Alpha has been reprogrammed to lure them into a trap and find themselves in a desperate battle against a squadron of enhanced versions of Goldar

There is also a short scene where Zordon, trapped in a space between timelines, observes what happened in Drakkon’s timeline. He also has a brief discussion with his dying counterpart as well as meeting that timeline’s Saba.

I give this book 8.5 out of 10. I still enjoy the new forms of the original characters a great deal as well as the overall story. But there were a number of questions about Drakkon’s timeline left unanswered which I wanted answers to badly. Also, there’s a point in the simultaneous climatic battles where even after re-reading them several times I’m not sure which timeline it takes place in or if it is supposed to mean the same thing is happening in both timelines because the shifts aren’t always made clear and I feel that shifts between timelines should always be obvious.

Book Review -- Seconds

Today we have Bryan Lee O'Malley's graphic novel follow-up to the insanely awesome Scott Pilgrim series: Seconds. Is it as good? Let's find out.

The story follows aspiring restaurateur Katie Clay who already has one successful restaurant called Seconds under her belt. She isn't stopping there, though; she's planning on going solo for her next venture (Seconds basically belongs to the investors who funded it and she wants a place to call her own). But, of course, things don't go quite the way she wants. Her ex-boyfriend Max drops back into her life and she doesn't know how to deal with it. Also, one of her employees named Hazel gets injured on the job, causing Katie quite a bit of stress. And, finally, she finds her decision to hook up with the head chef to be a mistake because they were making out while Hazel got hot oil on her arms.

But just as things seem somewhat bleak, a mysterious girl named Lis appears in her bedroom and hints at a way to change things. Katie then finds a mysterious kit in her dresser with the following instructions:

1. "Write your mistake"
2. "Ingest one mushroom"
3. "Go to sleep"
4. "Wake anew"

So she writes her mistake ("I shouldn't of fooled around with Andrew! Workplace canoodling is NO GOOD!") on the included notepad and eats the included mushroom. She then wakes up the next morning to find her make-out sessions with Andrew never happened, therefore Hazel never got injured. Everything's good, right? But, Katie thinks to herself, what if she were to keep performing the ritual and making things better and better? With that philosophy in mind, any time something bad happens, she changes history to fix it.

But this pisses off Lis who insists you only get one chance at changing the past. Katie says to hell with that, though; she wants to get her life perfect. So again and again she eats the mushrooms, fixing every mistake she makes. However, for each mistake she fixes, a new one pops up, kinda like a whack-a-mole game. Not only that, she finds reality is getting increasingly distorted the more she does this. And all the while, a dark...something...is growing in the basement of Seconds, becoming stronger with each change to history. Katie will ultimately discover the shocking truth about what she's actually been doing.

Seconds continues O'Malley's cute cartooney art style we saw in Scott Pilgrim and Lost at Sea. I would say the tone of the story is somewhere between those two. We get the fantastical elements of Scott Pilgrim and the adult language of Lost at Sea, so it's a nice median. Seconds is a stand-alone story like Lost at Sea, so we don't have the multiple volumes like Scott Pilgrim. Still, at 323 pages, it certainly doesn't feel short. You get a full-length story that's well worth the hardcover price. 

In terms of the narrative itself, O'Malley continues the theme of his previous works of struggling to make your way in the world as a young adult, so, mostly, it doesn't break new ground, and this time-travel story is one we've seen before in other series'. However, the final revelation really nails it. You'll end up feeling sympathy for something that didn't seem pitiable at first.

Bottom line: Seconds is another home run by Bryan Lee O'Malley. 

https://www.amazon.com/Seconds-Graphic-Bryan-Lee-OMalley-ebook/dp/B00JXKY8X8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1487480481&sr=1-1&keywords=Seconds

Cool Kickstarter Project -- Afterlife: Episode 1

Today I'd like to tell you about another Kickstarter project I've started backing. It's a graphic novel by Sander Offenberg and Hugo Kejzer called Afterlife: Episode 1. From the project homepage:

"What if you get the news no one ever wants to hear:

You are terminally ill - there is nothing we can do for you.

While trying to prepare yourself for your final goodbyes, you get an unexpected chance at surviving: 

You may move to a secret underground facility where you'll get experimental treatment that may return you to health... 

But there is a considerable downside: you will never be allowed to return to the 'real world'.

You will never see your family, your friends and lovers again.

They will think you are dead.

Afterlife is about a group of people who have made this decision.

They will have to come to terms with the loss of everything they ever knew or cared about.

They must find new purpose and they will have to learn to deal with the idea of literally being buried alive in this 'perfect place' called Novamed...

And as if that is not enough, their new world turns out to be anything but peaceful. Inhabitants must face impossible dilemmas: terrifying threats from corrupted doctors, frighteningly unstable co-inhabitants and other unexpected dangers.

As this once idealistic world begins to unravel, more and more people are looking to achieve the impossible: to find a way out."

The story is intriguing, and the art so far looks pretty slick. I encourage everyone to check out Afterlife: Episode 1.

For more information, visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1946387629/afterlife-episode-1

Cool Kickstarter Project -- Red: A Cyberpunk Fairytale

I recently came across a kickass project on Kickstarter, and after backing it, I decided to share it with you. It's a graphic novel by Daniel Velez and Sean Stephens called Red: A Cyberpunk Fairytale. Think a crazy anime cyberpunk version of Little Red Riding Hood, and you're pretty much there. I strongly encourage everyone out there to back this project.

Copied from the project page:

A sci-fi version of Little Red Riding Hood. Red, a member of a private security firm, must fight to survive in a violent world.

The Comic: Red: A Cyberpunk Fairytale Vol. 1 is an 80 page graphic novel created by Daniel Velez and Sean Stephens. Inspired by the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood, it tells the story of Red, a member of a private security firm. She lives, works, and fights to survive in a futuristic world that is spiraling into a violent police state. When Red's grandmother falls victim to a bio-terror attack, Red will unravel a mystery involving the terror group known as the Lords of the Fourth Order, the megacorporation known as Canis, as well as the most clandestine levels of government.

For more information visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1299255827/red-a-cyberpunk-fairytale-volume-1

Soulless: The Manga

This past week at Barnes & Noble, I picked up the first volume of Soulless, the graphic novel based on Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate steampunk series.

The story centers around well-endowed (in more ways than one) Alexia Tarabotti. In addition to having to deal with the public's belief that she is well beyond the marrying age (she's 26), she is also a Preternatural, a being with the ability to nullify the powers of both werewolves and vampires. One night she is attacked by a rogue vampire but manages to kill him with her brass-weighted parasol. The creation of new blood-suckers is strictly regulated, and no one can account for this new one, so this presents a mystery. Where did he come from? And why are werewolves around London disappearing? To find the answers, Alexia teams up with alpha wolf--and potential romantic interest--Lord Maccon, as well as the extremely effeminate vampire lord Akeldama. Action and comedy ensue as these unlikely allies battle both bad guys and sexual tension.

I haven't read any of the novels this is based on, so I'm just going to treat this as a stand-alone story. Despite being classified as a manga, it is in Western left-to-right format rather than the Eastern right-to-left. However,  the visual gags have a definite anime style (for example, characters will get comically deformed when they yell at each other). I'm no expert on drawing, but I find the art style of this book very appealing. The artist, REM, is unquestionably good at drawing beautiful women, and the cover illustration (see below) is really slick.

I'm honestly not entirely sure who this book is catered to. Alexia's cleavage is front and center throughout, yet there is also female fan service. I guess that just means Soulless can appeal to anyone. There isn't anything too graphic in here, though; it's rated "Older Teen."

Overall, I feel the fusion of steampunk and manga worked out really well here. They are two great tastes that taste great together.