Monthly Archive for June, 2003

Digging for Gold

By Lewis on June 26, 2003

The book for this week is about a young, bespectacled lad, from a broken home who suddenly finds out that he’s to be the greatest magician ever. To be trained by some of the most powerful mages and witches, have enemies constantly trying to kill him. Plus, deal with the general pains of growing up. The book of the week is,The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman, published by DC Comics.

Nope,sorry. Just can’t do it. Been there,done that. Let somebody else mention where JK ripped most of her ideas from (the rest of the fantasy book world mostly).

So. The real book of the week this week is Gold Digger by Fred Perry (not the tennis player), published by Antarctic Press.
Simply put, this is Tomb Raider on steroids.
Something to mention is that the comic came out well before Tomb Raider and Perry now and then likes to make a pointed reference to this. OK, Eidos and Perry both had the same idea of making Indiana Jones into a well-endowed, smart female, but sometimes………….. Nah,like I said, not going there.

Gold Digger is the tale of Gina Diggers. Her main mission in life is to discover ancient archeology. Along with her half-sisters Brittany ( a were-cheetah), and Brianna (an amalgam of the two), their adventures take them to places like The Garden of Eden, Shangri-La, The Realm of the Dead and the local giant supermarket (Brittany and Brianna being a cat and half-cat respectively, love tuna).

Their mother and father are powerful swordmasters and magicians who come from the land of Jade, so lots of Gina and Brittanys friends and enemies come from other mystical realms as well.

Its exciting, funny, full of adventure, and one of the best examples of American manga going at the moment. Perry’s art is kinetic and moves at full speed. You certainly get the feeling of movement when Britanny moves into kickass mode.

Gold Digger was printed in B/W for a long time and Perry has only made the leap to colour in the last two years. So there are two versions in graphic form at the moment. The B/W’s are finishing off that particular series, and the colour one is now into two volumes. Unfortunately, early trade paperbacks have now been discontinued and the only way to get the story from the beginning is with the Gold Brick graphics. OK, you get about 25 issues in one book but they are expensive. About £35.00 each. The latest graphics, fortunately, are much cheaper.
If your wallet can get over that, treat yourself to one of the best action/comedy comics ever.

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Love Hurts

By Lewis on June 18, 2003

Back again with another recommendation.

Something weird is happening in the bookshops of America these days. The biggest growth in book-reading amongst the young and teenage market ( and boys especially) is not Mr.Potter and his cohorts but, believe it or not, Manga.

Nobody can understand how this came about, but it seems that good marketing and variation of titles by publishers like Tokyopop or Viz. Good promotion and stocking by bookshops like Borders, plus the fact that the most popular titles come out every month and have a definite ending have all helped. People talk about the story and art in groups, have no problem with the view that comics are ” just for kids” and bring more readers into the fold just by their sheer enthusiasm.

A lot different from the attitude of bookshops in this country. Where graphics are relegated to horrible spinner racks Shame on you, or ignored totally as most of the staff and the GM can’t understand them ( a view related to me when I went for a job at the local Ottokars. I knew the moment I mentioned that I read them that I wouldn’t get the job. The look on the personnel managers and GM’s faces).

Anyway. After all this you’ve guessed that this weeks book is a manga and its Love Hina vol 11 by Ken Akamatsu, published by Tokyopop.

The story is now coming to its end ( its 14 volumes long) but don’t let that put you off trying to find the rest. Its always in print and fairly cheap too ( about £7.50).
The simple story of a lad and the promise he made when a kid doesn’t even begin to describe the sheer comic madness that overtakes him when, after failing to get into TU for the third time, he becomes caretaker at Hina Lodge for girls. Trying to do his job as well as he can when the rest of the girls think he’s nothing but a pervert, studying for his re-exams, being dragged off on madcap schemes and wondering if the girl he loves is the one he made the promise to all those years ago is just a small fraction of what happens to him. Some of the story does seem a little made-up, on the spur of the moment, and the introduction of a new character so late in the series, does seem odd. But it only adds to the utter insanity and frantic quality of the book.

Now, it has to be said that although the Japanese do love stories (and schoolyard romances) brilliantly they are the most kinkiest nation on Earth. This means that Love Hina does have lots of “fan service”. A polite way of saying that all the girls are incredibly cute, show their underwear a lot, wear schoolgirl uniforms and swimsuits, lose said items in a series of zany and crazy mishaps, bathe naked in hot springs, think nothing of gender-bending ( the latest volume even surprised me when one of the girls, having to impersonate the male lead, goes all the way and adds a particular piece of equipment), and beat the poor lad into the ground.

Ok, as someone who’s read a lot of manga, it doesn’t faze me anymore (well,not all the time). But for someone who’s new to the genre, its going to come as quite a surprise to see what writers and artists get away with. Especially with the ages of some of the girls.

The translation is well done and conveys the feelings of the characters nicely. The continuing policy of printing the books so they have to be read in the Japanese style also means that there is very little jar or break in the sound effects and the whole tale comes highly praised.

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Babes and Guns

By Lewis on June 11, 2003

Where do I start when describing the art of Masamune Shirow? One of the first manga artists I was introduced to, with the Eclipse printings of Appleseed and Dominion Tank Police, I knew straight away that this was an artist/writer I would stick with over the years. And so it has proved.

A major influence today in Hollywood, thanks to the Wachowski brothers and the movie of Ghost in the Shell, its surprising that Shirow isn’t more well-known in certain circles. But this could be down to the man himself. Notoriously private ( Shirow isn’t even his real name), I’ve never seen a photo of him and the only information I’ve heard is that he’s a schoolteacher.

But back to the book and although its a little disappointing in that there’s nothing from his latest project (Wild,Wet West) and some art is repeated from earlier Intron Depots with extra 3d rendering this is a superb coffee-table book that will show how sophisticated and cool you are to any future date or gaming pals.

Some may find his use of scantily clad, drop-dead gorgeous women a bit suspect, not to mention the fact that most of them have guns. But Shirow modestly depricates himself over this, and then quite rightly blames his editors and publishers Thumbs up

One idea started in Intron Depot 2 and continued here are the little data panels explaining what he has used in his methods and whether its turned out the way he wanted. I like stuff like this as I find it interesting to know what an artist uses to create their art.

Recommended, and available from Dark Horse Publishing @ £34.99 and all good comic-book shops. Make sure you get a bagged copy, if there’s one thing I hate about a lot of shops it’s their open book policy. If I’m paying this much for a book I don’t want one that some little toe-rag has mauled

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