Review TERRA FORMARS Volume 1

TERRA FORMARS, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Yu Sasuga
ARTIST: Ken-ichi Tachibana
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: John Werry
LETTERING: Annaliese Christman
ISBN: 978-1-4215-7154-6; paperback (July 2014); Rated “M” for “Mature”
216pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Artist Ken-ichi Tachibana first collaborated with writer Yu Sasuga on Terra Formars, which was also Sasuga’s debut as a manga writer.  Now, Terra Formars is the latest title from VIZ Media’s VIZ Signature imprint.  Illustrated by Tachibana and written Sasuga, the manga concerns the terraforming of Mars and the horror that unleashes.

Terra Formars opens in the year 2599 AD.  Overpopulation on Earth has reached the breaking point, and humanity must find new frontiers and a new home.  For centuries, Earth has been terraforming Mars by introducing moss and cockroaches.

Terra Formars, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 6) opens after humanity’s first manned mission to the Red Planet, “Bugs 1,” was lost.  Now, “Bugs 2,” the second expedition, arrives on Mars with a crew of 15 men and women.  These explorers prepare to exterminate the cockroaches that were used to transform the Martian environment.

However, they discover that the insects have mutated or evolved into giant, aggressive humanoids creatures – a race of roach men.  These creatures apparently have one overriding goal; that is to exterminate all humans.  However, each member of the crew of “Bugs 2” has undergone the “Bugs Procedure.”  This terrifying and dangerous experimental surgery is designed to make each human something more than human.  But will that be enough for the Terra Formars?

In over a decade of reading and reviewing manga, I have come across some strange and even stranger manga.  The Terra Formars manga is stranger, shocking, and bizarre.  There are six chapters in Terra Formars Volume 1, and there are at least two or three shocking reveals in each one.

I don’t quite know how to describe it, but this first volume took me so many places in terms of plot that I want… no, I need to know what happens next.  I think Terra Formars will hold readers’ attention at least for the first two or three volumes.  It is definitely worth a look for fans of strange sci-fi manga.

B+

www.VIZ.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Gangsta: War of the Twilights

I read Gangsta., Vol. 2

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which is in need of donations.  Follow me on Twitter and visit my Indiegogo campaign.

Vagabond: The Weight of Water

I read Vagabond, Vol. 35

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Manga Review: GANGSTA Volume 1

GANGSTA, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Kohske
TRANSLATION/ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Katherine Schilling
LETTERING: Eric Erbes
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6077-9; paperback (February 2014); Rated “M” for “Mature”
194pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Kohske is the penname of manga creator, Kohske Koosuke.  Kohske made her manga debut in 2009 with the short story “Postman” in Shonen GanGan magazine.  Her first manga series is Gangsta, which began running in Monthly Comic Bunch in 2011.

Now, Gangsta is VIZ Media’s latest graphic novel series from the VIZ Signature imprint.  Gangsta is set in the city of Ergastulum, a city filled everything from mafia types to petty thieves.  There are crooked cops, and prostitutes are plentiful.  Enter the “Handymen,” 34-year-old Nicolas “Nic” Brown and 35-year-old Worick Arcangelo.  They are the guys who take care of the jobs no one else will handle.

Gangsta, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5) opens with a whore named Alex Benedetto getting her assed kick.  The 24-year-old has not made enough money to please her pimp, but it is about to get worse for Alex.

Police Inspector Chad Adkins has just delivered an assignment to the Handymen, Worick and Nic.  Barry Abbot and his gang are expanding their criminal enterprise into restricted territories, and the mafia bosses want Worick and Nic to kill Barry and every member of his organization.  Alex is part of Barry’s organization.  And Nic and Worick don’t fail.

Later, Nic takes on a man much like himself.  Alex picks up a few more tidbits about Nic from Big Mama Georgiana, madam of the “Pussy” Brothel.

The Gangsta manga is unapologetically violent.  I used to hear people refer to certain movies that were rated “R” by the MPAA as being “hard R.”  Gangsta is a hard R.  The setting, Ergastulum, is a world without mercy, but I don’t want to spoil how Kohske shows that lack of mercy.

I will say that I really like this first volume.  It reminds me of such body-count VIZ Signature titles as Black Lagoon, Dog: Bullets & Carnage, and Jormungand.  All the Gangsta characters, even the “guest stars,” are good, and Kohske sprinkles hints about the mysterious Nic throughout these early chapters that will tempt readers to return for more.  Readers looking for some seinen action will want to go Gangsta.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

Dogs: Bullets and Carnage - Mother and Mother

I read Dogs, Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Dorohedoro: The Hole is Not Hogwart's

I read Dorohedoro, Vol. 10

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Jormungand: The Final Volume

I read Jormungand, Vol. 11

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Dorohedoro: Memory-Go-Round

I read Dorohedoro, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Tenjo Tenge: The Final Full Contact

I read Tenjo Tenge, Vol. 11

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

Dorohedoro: Mushroom Dreams

I read Dorohedoro, Vol. 8

I posted a review at ComicBookBin (which has free smart phone apps and comics).

Jormungand: SEAL Team 9 – “the Night Nine”

I read Jormungand, Vol. 10

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

Tenjo Tenge: Susano-O the Swift

I read Tenjo Tenge, Vol. 10: Full Contact Edition 2-in-1

I posted a review at ComicBookBin.

Dogs: Bullets and Carnage - The Family Fuyumine

I read Dogs, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Tenjo Tenge: Time War(p) at Osaka Castle

I read Tenjo Tenge, Vol. 8 (Full Contact Edition)

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Review DOROHEDORO Volume 7

DOROHEDORO, VOL. 7
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Q Hayashida
TRANSLATION: AltJapan Co., Ltd. (Hiroko Yoda + Matt Alt)
LETTERER: Maui Girl
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3381-0; paperback; Rated “M” for “Mature”
184pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN

Q Hayashida (Kyū Hayashida) is a Japanese female manga artist. Her best known work is the fantasy manga, Dorohedoro. A seinen comic (adult male demographic), Dorohedoro began publication in 1999 in the manga magazine, Ikki, where it is still being published today.

Dorohedoro is set in two worlds: the Hole and the world of the magic users. People who do not have the ability to wield magic live in The Hole, a dismal city neighborhood. The Hole is also the place where Sorcerers (or “Magic Users”) abduct people to use in their awful black arts experiments.

A young woman named Nikaido hunts and kills sorcerers. Her partner is Caiman, a male mutant with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. Caiman chomps down on the head of each sorcerer the duo finds, hoping to discover the one that transformed him. However, this couple has drawn the attention of En, the head Sorcerer and crime boss, who wants them dead.

As Dorohedoro, Vol. 7 begins, Caiman is trying to rescue Nikaido from En’s clutches. In order to break into En’s sprawling estate, he will have to don a disguise and sell President Tanba’s meat pies! And Caiman will need the help of the devil, Asu. Meanwhile, Professor Kasukabe and his companions escape En’s clutches, but drive right into the backwoods trouble of “Hydra Forest.” Now, Shin and Noi have to rescue them.

I have read countless manga that are strikingly similar to other manga, but each usually has its own idiosyncrasies and other elements that make it different from others. The Dorohedoro manga is so strikingly different from every other manga that I have read that I sometimes have trouble believing that it is a manga title, but is rather some strange Eurocomic.

I have noted Dorohedoro’s similarities to such international comics as the works of Moebius and the Jamie Hewlett-drawn Tank Girl comics. However, that does not come close to describing this crazy manga from creator Q Hayashida. I’ll say what I said before, that this is a gumbo of uncanny landscapes, kooky mushrooms, bizarre tattoos, a peculiar rookery of flying devils, and funky meat pies. As the series progresses, however, the characters become more developed, so I want another serving.

A-

Ikigami: The True Face of Love

I read Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit, Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Tenjo Tenge: Maya Natsume vs. Tetsuhito Kagiroi the True Demon

I read Tenjo Tenge, Vol. 7 (Full Contact Edition)

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

Jormungand: Wiley - The Portrait of a Young Bomb Maker as a Young Bomb Maker

I read Jormungand, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which has free comics).

Tenjo Tenge: Masataka Rising

I read Tenjo Tenge, Vol. 6 (Full Contact Edition)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has free comics).

Tenjo Tenge: "F"

I read Tenjo Tenge, Vol. 5: Full Contact Edition 2-in-1

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps and comics).