Review: ULTRAMAN Volume 1

ULTRAMAN, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[A version of this review first appeared on Patreon.]

STORY: Eiichi Shimizu
ART: Tomohiro Shimoguchi
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Stan!
LETTERING: Evan Waldinger
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8182-8; paperback (August 2015); Rated “T” for “Teen”
240pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

As a team, Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi created the manga, Kurogane no Rainbareru (Linebarrels of Iron, Akita Shoten), and have produced character designs for video games and action figures.  Their current collaboration is the manga, Ultraman, based on a character that appeared in Japanese sci-fi/fantasy films and television series, beginning in the 1960s.  Ultraman was an alien entity that merged with a human host to create a superhero that fought aliens trying to invade Earth.

Eiichi Shimizu worked on the story, script, and mechanical design for Ultraman (stylized as ULTRAMAN).  Tomohiro Shimoguchi provided character designs and art for this manga that is a sequel to the television series, “Ultraman” (1966).  The manga (Japanese comics) began its serialization in Monthly Hero's in 2011.  VIZ Media will publish the manga in English as a graphic novel series, beginning August 2015.

Ultraman, Vol. 1 (Chapter 1 to 6) opens 20 years after Ultraman (“Giant of Light”) left Earth after defeating the last of the alien invaders.  Defense Minister Shinjiro Hayata and his young son, Shin Hayata, are visiting “The Giant of Light Memorial Museum.”  The elder Hayata does not remember that he had merged with Ultraman even after something shocking happens to his son at the museum.

Twelve years after that fateful museum visit, young Shin is trying to be a normal school boy, trying to get the girls at his school to notice him.  His life, however, is about to change, and the truth is going to come out.  What is the “Ultra Factor,” and who possesses it?

Many years ago, on a comic book creator's message board, I posted that I wondered if there were Japanese superheros that were similar to American superheroes , such as Superman and Spider-Man.  Another board member said there was such a Japanese superhero – Ultraman.  I wasn't buying it, as what little of Ultraman that I had seen just did not look like something from DC Comics or Marvel Comics or even like superheroes from independent comic book publishers.

Years later, VIZ Media recently sent me the opening volume of the new Ultraman manga.  I don't know how close the new is to the original, as I have not experienced original Ultraman.  I can say that Ultraman Volume 1 makes me believe that Ultraman is like an American superhero.  I could not help but think of Iron Man, although neither Shinjiro nor Shin Hayata is like Tony Stark.  This manga does remind me, a little, of Neon Genesis Evangelion.

This first volume is quite an enjoyable read.  The graphical storytelling moves like a superhero comic book.  If I did not know that Ultraman was created in Japan, I would not at all think of it as manga.  That is not a criticism; I simply think that this Ultraman could work as an American comic book.  I look forward to future volumes because Ultraman has the potential to be quite good.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Deadman Wonderland: Earthquake Party

I read Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.  Support my work on Patreon.

Review: RESIDENT EVIL: The Marhawa Desire Volume 5

RESIDENT EVIL: THE MARHAWA DESIRE, VOL. 5
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Naoki Serizawa
CONCEPT: Capcom
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Stan!
LETTERING: John Clark
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7376-2; paperback (July 2015); Rated “M” for “Mature”
168pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

VIZ Media's publication of the seinen manga, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, has come to an end with the publication of the fifth volume or graphic novel in the series.  An adult horror manga, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, serves as a comic book prequel to the story line of CAPCOM’s bestselling video game, Resident Evil® 6.  This iteration of Resident Evil introduces the highly virulent C-virus, and the manga explores the origins of this new outbreak.

The story begins with Doug Wright.  He is a professor in the Department of Sciences and Engineering at Bennett University, and he specializes in bacteriology.  He receives a letter from Mother Gracia, headmistress of Marhawa Academy, Asia's largest and most prestigious school.  Wright, who had a past relationship with Gracia, rushes to the school, with his nephew, 20-year-old Ricky Tozawa, in tow.  Deep in the jungle, Marhawa Academy is located within a giant, self-contained and self-sufficient complex.  There, Prof. Wright and Ricky find themselves caught in a deadly and growing tragedy that is an epidemic of zombie proportions.

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, Vol. 5 (Chapters 33 to 39 – Final Chapter) opens as the remaining humans in the Marhawa Academy complex make their last stand against a legion of students, faculty, and staff turned zombies.  Ricky has joined a three-person team from the B.S.A.A. (Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance):  Chris Redfield (team leader), Merah Biji, and Piers Nivens.

They believe that they have found a way to escape the campus, but before they do that, they must fight their way not only through zombies, but also through monsters.  The bio-organic weapon (B.O.W.), Nanan Yoshihara, swings her horrible tentacles when she isn't spewing deadly virus gas, and Bendi Bergara has undergone a horrible transformation.  Meanwhile, the Hooded Woman lurks in the background, carrying the truth behind the Marhawa Incident.

[This volume includes a “Special Epilogue.”]

Sigh.  The Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire manga has come to an end.  I want more.  No, I have never played any Resident Evil video games, nor do I play video games in general.  I have not read previous Resident Evil comics, but I am a fan of the Resident Evil live-action film franchise that began with the 2002 film, Resident Evil.  I enjoyed reading the manga more than I have enjoyed watching the films, which I have, for the most part, found entertaining.

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 5 offers a satisfying ending, relatively speaking.  Zombie apocalyptic fiction has to break your heart for every time it gives you a good outcome.  Writer-artist Naoki Serizawa gleefully poured on the gore and violence, and he gave us some attractive characters, so that he could use some of them to break our hearts.  He put the reader right in the middle of the action.  I felt that I had to run every time the heroes did, and I felt like every page was about a fight for my life, just as the heroes were fighting for their lives.

Yeah, you might say that this is “just” a Resident Evil comic, so it can't be that good.  Well, it is just a great Resident Evil comic, and it is that good because it is classic monster comics.  Read it by flashlight, under a bed sheet, while something scratches at your window.  Fans of horror manga and zombie comics will want the VIZ Signature title, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux (Support Leroy on Patreon)


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire - B.S.A.A. on Site

I read Resident Evil, Vol. 4: The Marhawa Desire

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.

Review: TOKYO GHOUL Volume 1

TOKYO GHOUL, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Sui Ishida
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
LETTERING: Vanessa Satone
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8036-4; paperback (June 2015); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
224pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

The horror manga, Tokyo Ghoul, is the creation of Sui Ishida.  After winning the Young Jump 113th Grand Prix award in 2010, Tokyo Ghoul debuted as a series in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in 2011.  A bestselling and popular manga, it was adapted into an anime series in 2014.  Tokyo Ghoul focuses on a young man who, through no fault of his own, becomes a creature that must eat dead human flesh to survive.  Tokyo Ghoul is the latest addition to VIZ Media's VIZ Signature line.

Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 9) introduces shy college freshman, 18-year-old Ken Kaneki.  He attends Kamii University where he studies in the Department of Literature, specializing in Japanese literature.  His best pal, Hide Nagachika, wants Kaneki to read less and date more, so Kaneki is thrilled to go on a date with the beautiful Rize.

However, there are Ghouls that live among us.  They look the same as normal people in every way, but that only hides the truth, especially their craving for human flesh.  Rize is a ghoul, and her actions will change Kaneki.

I was interested in the Tokyo Ghoul manga when I first got a press release from VIZ Media that they were going to publish this series as a digital manga release.  VIZ is now publishing the series in print and sent me a copy for review.  I'm glad that they did; I would have had to buy this otherwise.

Tokyo Ghoul Volume 1 slowly, but gradually brings the reader into a world that is both similar (through the eyes of a young college student) and also into a dark world that is just around the corner from the world in light (the world of the Ghouls).  Creator Sui Ishida presents the life of a shy kid as if Tokyo Ghoul were a BL or shojo drama.  Then, he presents a fantastic world that offers both mystery and intrigue and also violence and death.

So the narrative reflects the dual nature that comes to define Ken Kaneki.  This first volume is a joy to read, but I wonder if the narrative will become trapped in its internal mythology around the Ghouls.  Will character drama remain strong, or will it become subservient to genre trappings?  If the drama remains strong, Tokyo Ghoul will be one of the best new series of the year.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux; support on Patreon.


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

#IReadsYou Review: BLACK LAGOON Volume 10

BLACK LAGOON, VOL. 10
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Rei Hiroe
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Joe Yamazaki
LETTERS: John Hunt, Primary Graphix
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7772-2; paperback (April 2015); Rated “M” for “Mature”
192pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 U.K.

The baddest mercenaries on the high seas of Southeast Asia sail aboard the “Black Lagoon,” a modified, World War II torpedo boat.  Prowling the waters off the coast of Southeast Asia is a small crew of four.  There is Vietnam vet, Dutch the Boss, and Benny the Mechanic, who handles the boat’s complicated high tech electronics.  Revy Two Hand is the ultra-lethal, gunslinger, and Rock, the corporate crony formerly known as Rokuro Okajima, just ended up part of the crew.  Through Dutch’s company, Lagoon Traders, this quartet operates a maritime courier service out of Roanapur, Thailand, a dangerous city rotten with military, ex-military, gangsters, drug dealers, etc.

Black Lagoon, Vol. 10 has a singular focus on Chapter 77: The Wired Red Wild Card.  Benny's lascivious girlfriend, Jane, arrives in town with naughty plans to make love to Benny... and sometimes to rape him.  The tech-savvy Jane, who leads an international counterfeiting group, however, has even darker plans for her latest recruit, Feng Yifei, a Chinese spy.

The plan is for Feng to hack into Reinbach A.G., a German electronics manufacturer, in order to steal the avionics data the company is developing.  Jane's real motive is to blackmail the Chinese government, an act which leaves, Feng, who is enlisted in the Chinese military, as the scapegoat.  Now, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has hired men to kill Feng.  Some of the crew of the Black Lagoon are sympathetic, but they would rather not bring Feng's trouble on themselves.  What will she do?

I think the last time the Black Lagoon manga was published in North America was in 2010, when VIZ Media published Vol. 9.  In an afterword published in Black Lagoon Volume 10, series creator, Rei Hiroe, seems determined to make his readers understand two things.  He has been working on the series during the five years between Vols. 9 and 10, and he was not on hiatus, no matter how many people say he was.

He doesn't need to explain anything to me, at least.  I did miss Black Lagoon and often wondered what happened to the series.  I love it.  It's the comic book that The Punisher should be like, although DC Comic's recently launched Deathstroke series (2014) reminds me of Black Lagoon.  While Vol. 9 was a shoot 'em up fest, Vol. 10 is short on the kind of explosive gun battles that have come to define this series, although there are a few ballets of bullets.

In this chapter, Hiroe takes a deeper look at the personalities and philosophies of Revy and Rock, particularly from the standpoint of how each views getting involved in other people's affairs.  I think this is a way of encouraging the readers to be invested in the crew of the Black Lagoon, and it worked on me.  I suddenly find myself drawn to Revy as an intriguing mystery girl and not simply as a cool bitch with two smoking guns.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire - Secrets of a Hooded Woman

I read Resident Evil, Vol. 3: The Marhawa Desire

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter and at Grumble.

Deadman Wonderland: Ninben

I read Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire - A Hooded Lady

I read Resident Evil, Vol. 2: The Marhawa Desire

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.

Review: RESIDENT EVIL: The Marhawa Desire Volume 1

RESIDENT EVIL: THE MARHAWA DESIRE, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Naoki Serizawa
CONCEPT: Capcom
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Stan!
LETTERERS: John Clark
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7372-4; paperback (November 2014); Rated “M” for “Mature”
176pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire is a manga that serves as a prequel to the storyline of CAPCOM’s bestselling Resident Evil® 6 video game.  This manga was originally published in Japan in 2012 by Akita Publishing Co., Inc.; now, VIZ Media is publishing the manga in North America as a 5-volume graphic novel series.

Resident Evil 6 introduces the highly virulent C-virus, but where did this new outbreak begin?   Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) opens at Bennett University in Singapore.  There, Doug Wright is a professor in the Department of Sciences and Engineering, and he specializes in bacteriology.  He receives a letter from Marhawa Academy, Asia's largest and most prestigious school.  The letter is written by Marhawa's Headmaster, Mother Gracia.

The fact that she had some kind of relationship with Wright in the past is probably the reason that Wright rushes to the school, which is located deep in the jungle, a giant, self-contained and self-sufficient complex.  Wright takes his nephew, 20-year-old Ricky Tozawa, with him because he is failing at Bennett and could use some extra credit work.  Prof. Wright and Ricky find themselves caught in a deadly and growing tragedy and perhaps, epidemic.  Meanwhile, Chris Redfield and his B.S.A.A. ( Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance) is looking for Prof. Wright.

First, I have never played any Resident Evil video games.  I did not read the Resident Evil comics produced by Marvel and Wildstorm a long time ago.  I am a big fan of the Resident Evil live-action film franchise that began back in 2002.  When I received a press release announcing the Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire manga, I was excited by that news.  When my VIZ Media rep sent me a copy of Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire Volume 1 for review, I was thrilled.

I like this manga.   Naoki Serizawa, the writer and artist behind Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, offers one of those horror stories that starts as a mystery about a conspiracy that a group of people are protecting.  Of course, this eventually leads to a horror bigger and worse than anyone realized.  I tore through this manga in one sitting.

I think Professor Doug Wright and his nephew Ricky Tozawa are good characters.  The reason is because they are two-things necessary in mystery and even horror fiction – open to the mystery, adventurous, and fearless enough/foolish enough to run into the belly of the beast that will eat them or turn them into zombies.  I am surprised that this story can be contained in five volumes.  Once again, I will admit my love of the Resident Evil movies, as I heartily recommend the VIZ Signature title, Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, to you, dear readers.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Deadman Wonderland: Scar Chain vs. Undertakers - Round 2

I read Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 5

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Deadman Wonderland: Scar Chain's Plot

I read Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 4

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is seeking donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Deadman Wonderland: Liar Flower

I read Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 3

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is in need of donations.  Follow me on Twitter.

Deadman Wonderland: Necro Macro

I read Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, and I have a Indiegogo campaign for this comic and follow me on Twitter.

Bleach: Everything But the Rain

I read Bleach, Vol. 60

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Manga Review: DEADMAN WONDERLAND Volume 1

DEADMAN WONDERLAND, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Jinsei Kataoka
ARTIST: Kazuma Kondou
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Stan!
LETTERS: Annaliese Christman
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5548-5; paperback (February 2014); Rated “T+” for Older Teen
216pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

Several years ago, TOKYOPOP sent me a copy of Deadman Wonderland Volume 1 for review.  Now, VIZ Media has the license to publish Deadman Wonderland in North America, and they sent me a copy of Vol. 1 for review.  VIZ Media announced in a press release that they plan to publish Deadman Wonderland as a 13-volume graphic novel series, scheduled to be released bi-monthly.

Deadman Wonderland is a manga from the team of writer Jinsei Kataoka and artist Kazuma Kondou.  A science fiction comic, the series takes place in a near-future world version of Japan.  The story opens ten years after the Great Tokyo Earthquake put 70% of Japan underwater.

The action occurs in Deadman Wonderland, a privately run, carnival-like penitentiary that has risen from the ruins of Tokyo.  It is a bizarre and fatal theme park, where the prison bosses force the inmates to perform in notorious gladiatorial fights to the death.  While the inmates are the performers, the tourists who watch them pay the money that helps to finance the Tokyo reconstruction.

Deadman Wonderland, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 4) introduces 14-year-old Ganta Igarashi, a student at Nagano Prefectural Middle School No. 4.  On the day of a class trip to Deadman Wonderland, Ganta’s 21 classmates are slaughtered before his very eyes.  Ganta is charged with the murders, convicted at trial, and sentenced to death for a crime that he did not commit.

Now, Ganta is Prisoner #5580 at Deadman Wonderland.  The other inmates are strange, and the guards are brutal.  And the real killer of his classmates, the mysterious “Red Man,” has also found his way to Deadman Wonderland.

Just the fact that Deadman Wonderland was set in a prison was enough to give me the chills back when I first read it.  I liked it, then, and I may like it even more, now.  The characters were what really interested me the first time I read the series.  Now, I find myself intrigued by the setting.

Deadman Wonderland is like a co-lead character with Ganta Igarashi, and it is good that the authors make Ganta both a prisoner and an explorer of his new home.  I think this prison drives the characters to act the way they do.  If they were someplace else, they might still be bad guys, but they would likely do things differently.  Readers who like the venerable future-prison science fiction subgenre will want to try Deadman Wonderland.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Bleach: The Battle

I read Bleach, Vol. 59

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Review: SLAM DUNK Volume 31

SLAM DUNK, VOL. 31
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Takehiko Inoue
TRANSLATION: Joe Yamazaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Stan!
LETTERS: James Gaubatz
COVER: Takehiko Inoue with Matt Hinrichs
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3338-4; paperback (December 2013); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN

Takehiko Inoue is an acclaimed manga artist and creator and also illustrator.  His most famous work is Slam Dunk, a shonen manga which focuses on the Shohoku Prefecture High School boys basketball team and their pursuit of victory.  Slam Dunk was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan from 1990 to 1996.  Slam Dunk was so popular that it apparently helped popularize basketball in Japan and East Asia.

The spirit of the series is defined by the view that winning isn’t everything in the game of basketball, but who really wants to come in second?  Shohoku High School basketball team does not want to come in second, and they believe that they have the dedication and discipline it takes to be the best.  Captain and starting center, Takenori Akagi, dreams of making it to the finals of Nationals, and this season is his last chance.  Hotshot freshmen, like superstar Kaede Rukawa and basketball novice, Hanamichi Sakuragi, could make Akagi’s dream come true.

Slam Dunk, Vol. 31 (entitled Shohoku High School Basketball Team; Chapters 270 to 276) is the final volume of the series.  Shohoku made it through the Prefectural Tournament to Nationals to play for the national championship of Japan.  In the second round of the tournament, they face the defending national champions, Sannoh Kogyo (of Akita Prefecture).

After a good start, underdog Shohoku falls behind Sannoh by 24 points, before a furious rally cuts the deficit to eight points.  Sannoh eventually returns the lead to 18, but another rally brings Shohoku within eight of tying the game.  Hanamichi Sakuragi drives his team to fight back, and Kaede Rukawa’s talent brings the points.  Then, Sakuragi severely injures his back diving for a loose ball.

After a free throw, early in this volume, Shohoku has the lead down to five points with a little over a minute left in the game.  Both teams know that they have to give their all, because only one of them is leaving the court victorious.

So the Slam Dunk manga has come to an end with Slam Dunk Volume 31.  I’m not ready for it to be over.  Because it apparently helped popularize the sport of basketball in Japan, Slam Dunk is obviously a classic manga.  It makes one ask, “Is there a better sports comic book?”  Is there another sports manga doing for a sport what Slam Dunk did for hoops in Japan?  Could there ever be a basketball comic book or manga better than Slam Dunk?

Much of Vol. 31 has no dialogue or exposition.  Takehiko Inoue uses graphical storytelling – illustrations and lettered sound effects as graphics.  Inoue captures all that is grand and exciting about basketball as well as (if not better than) the best sports photographers.  Reading Slam Dunk is as invigorating as watching a real, live basketball game, and I don’t know if I’m ready to give that up.  I guess this isn’t really a goodbye, as VIZ Media will keep this iteration of Slam Dunk in print.  I hope so; Slam Dunk is basketball depicted as art.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Slam Dunk: Career

I read Slam Dunk, Vol. 30

I posted a review at ComicBookBin.

Bleach: The Fire

I read Bleach, Vol. 58

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics - which you can buy).