The Battle of Central City

I finished reading Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 22 (Fullmetal Alchemist (Graphic Novels))

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

The Case of the Sinister Substitute

I finished reading The Gecko and Sticky: Sinister Substitute

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.  This is the third book in a juvenile readers series from Wendelin Van Draanen.  It is also a good choice for young readers who like adventure and superheroes.

Yes, We Are?

According to an article at CNN.com, a Pew Research Poll says that "Blacks optimistic about the future."

I'm usually about 35% optimistic/65% pessimistic about the future... just for the record.

VIZ Media for the First Half of 2010

Press release from VIZ Media:

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES EXCITING NEW MANGA RELEASES SCHEDULED FOR THE FIRST HALF OF 2010


VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announces some of the exciting new manga set for release throughout the first half of 2010.

The new releases will be published by VIZ Media under its best-known imprints including VIZ Kids, VIZ Signature, Shojo Beat, Shonen Sunday, Shonen Jump and Shonen Jump Advanced.

February

BIOMEGA • by Tsutomu Nihei • Available February 2nd •Rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences • VIZ Signature Imprint

Zoichi Kanoe plunges into the depths of 9JO, a sprawling island city in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in search of Eon Green, a girl with the power to transmute the N5S virus. The deadly contagion is spreading across the world and turns humans into disfigured zombie-like "drones.” But he's not the only one looking for her. Agents of the Public Health Service's Compulsory Execution Unit are also in hot pursuit with sinister designs of their own. Zoichi and his trans-human allies have no time to waste; the countdown to the apocalypse has begun!

BOKURANO: OURS • by Mohiro Kitoh • Available February 16th •Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • VIZ Signature Imprint

One summer, fifteen kids innocently wander into a nearby seaside cave. There they meet a strange man who invites them to play an exciting new video game. This game, he explains, pits a lone giant robot against a horde of alien invaders. To play the game all they have to do is sign a simple contract. The game stops being fun when the kids find out the true purpose of their pact.

DINOSAUR KING • by Yohei Sakai • Available February 2nd • Rated ‘A’ for All Ages • VIZ KIDS Imprint

Max is obsessed with dinosaurs. He knows his Tapejara from his Pteranodon and can find fossils better than a trained paleontologist. When he discovers a stone tablet that transports him to the age of dinosaurs, it's a dream come true--until it becomes a nightmare. An evil genius named Dr. Z has enslaved the dinosaurs so he can use their hidden powers to take over the world! Now Max has to defeat Dr. Z and his Alpha Gang to save the ancient beasts and life as we know it.

ULTIMO • by Hiroyuki Takei and Stan Lee • Available February 2nd • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • SHONEN JUMP Imprint

ULTIMO represents a historic collaboration between comics legend Stan Lee, creator of many iconic series including Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, and X-Men, and Hiroyuki Takei, the creator of the popular SHAMAN KING manga series. High above Farmless City, citizens are stunned by the sudden appearance of two floating figures. Are they human boys, monolithic robots, or something even more bizarre? As a battle ensues, destruction and devastation falls on the hapless city. One figure is Vice, and seems to be as evil as his name implies. The other is Ultimo, intent on trying to stop Vice from wreaking more havoc. But who are Vice and Ultimo really? Where did they come from? A new mystery begins with the fate of the world hanging in the balance!


March

CACTUS’S SECRET • by Nana Haruta • Available March 2nd • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • SHOJO BEAT Imprint

Miku Yamada has a longtime crush on classmate Kyohei Fujioka. But no matter how many times she tries to show him how she feels, clueless Kyohei just doesn't get it. Frustrated, Miku gives up on him, only to have him start calling her "Cactus" for being so prickly when he's around. In the opening volume, Miku decides to try telling Kyohei her feelings by giving him chocolates for Valentine's Day. But Kyohei, unaware that he's the object of her affection, offers himself up as a practice partner for her love confession. Will Kyohei ever figure out Cactus's secret?

ARATA: THE LEGEND • by Yuu Watase • Available March 9th • Rated ‘T’ for Teens • SHONEN SUNDAY Imprint

In a mythical world where humans and gods coexist, a ceremony marking the new governing princess is about to occur for the first time in 60 years. Only a girl from the Hime Clan may take this position, but the lack of females born to this family means that a boy called Arata must pose for the role. Meanwhile in modern-day Japan, a boy named Arata Hinohara is starting his new life in high school. He wants to put memories of his difficult past behind him, but things aren't going to be simple when he discovers a mysterious connection to the first Arata...

DOROHEDORO • by Q Hayashida • Available March 16th • Rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences • VIZ SIGNATURE Imprint

In a city so dismal it's known only as "the Hole," a clan of sorcerers have been plucking people off the streets to use as guinea pigs for atrocious "experiments" in the black arts. In a dark alley, Nikaido found Caiman, a man with a reptile head and a bad case of amnesia. To undo the spell, they're hunting and killing the sorcerers in the Hole, hoping that eventually they'll kill the right one. But when En, the head sorcerer, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering his people, he sends a crew of "cleaners" into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.

RISTORANTE PARADISO • by Natsume Ono • Available March 16th • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • VIZ Signature Imprint

In exchange for Nicoletta's playing "the daughter of an old friend," Olga offers Nicoletta a place to live and an apprenticeship at the restaurant. Nicoletta fits in well among the unique personalities at Casetta dell'Orso. She gets along particularly well with the kindly headwaiter, Claudio, a divorced man who, after years, has still never taken off his wedding ring. As Nicoletta's feelings for Claudio become complicated, she finds a sympathetic ear in Olga, leading the estranged pair to form a friendship neither expected. But as they grow closer, the pressure exerted by the secret they share becomes too much to bear.

April

STEPPING ON ROSES • by Rinko Ueda • Available April 6th • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • SHOJO BEAT Imprint

Poor Sumi Kitamura… Her irresponsible older brother Eisuke keeps bringing home orphans for her to take care of even though they can barely afford their own basic needs! Just when Sumi's financial problems become dire, wealthy Soichiro Ashida enters her life with a bizarre proposition: he'll provide her with the money she so desperately needs if she agrees to marry him. But can Sumi fool high society into thinking she's a proper lady? Moreover, is it worth giving up everything for this sham of a marriage?

ROSARIO + VAMPIRE SEASON II • by Akihisa Ikeda • Available April 6th • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED Imprint

Average human teenager Tsukune accidentally enrolls at a boarding school for monsters--no, not jocks and popular kids, but bona fide werewolves, witches and unnameables out of his wildest nightmares! On the plus side, all the girls have a monster crush on him. On the negative side, all the boys are so jealous they want to kill him! And so do the girls he spurns, because he only has eyes for one of them – the far-from-average vampire Moka.

HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES • by Natsume Ono • Available April 20th • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • VIZ Signature Imprint

Masterless samurai Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has time and again caused him to be let go by the lords who have employed him. Hungry and desperate, he becomes a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a gang called "Five Leaves." Although disturbed by the gang's sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi's motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he's drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.


May

FLOWER IN A STORM • by Shigeyoshi Takagi • Available May 4th • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • SHOJO BEAT Imprint

Riko Kunimi is trying to lead a normal high school life when Ran Tachibana bursts into her classroom carrying a gun and tells her that her life is now his. Ran, the richest, most powerful 17-year-old in Japan, wants her as his wife and he's not taking no for an answer!

MAOH: JUVENILE REMIX • Original Story by Kotaro Isaka / Story & Art by Megumi Osuga • Available May 11th • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • SHONEN SUNDAY Imprint

“As crazy as your ideas might be, as long as you believe in yourself and tackle the issue head-on, you can even change the world.”

Ando is a high school student who has the power to make others say out loud what he's thinking. Inukai is the mysterious leader of a vigilante group called Grasshopper, which is at odds with the city's redevelopment plan. In this chaotic city, these two will come together to weave a story of courage, determination and confrontation.

SATURN APARTMENTS • by Hisae Iwaoka • Available May 18th Rated ‘T’ for Teens • VIZ SIGNATURE Imprint

Far in the future, humankind has evacuated the earth in order to preserve it. Humans now reside in a gigantic structure that forms a ring around the Earth, thirty-five kilometers up in the sky. The society of the Ring is highly stratified: the higher the floor, the greater the status. Mitsu, the lowly son of a window washer, has just graduated junior high. When his father disappears and is assumed dead, Mitsu must take on his father's occupation. As he struggles with the transition to working life, Mitsu's job treats him to an outsider's view into the living-room dioramas of the Saturn Apartments.


June

AFTERSCHOOL CHARISMA • by Kumiko Suekane • Available June 15th • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • VIZ Signature Imprint

St. Kleio Academy is a very exclusive school: all of the students are clones of famous historical figures such as Beethoven, Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon, Mozart, and Freud. All of them, that is, except for Shiro Kamiya. As Shiro struggles to adapt to this unusual campus, St. Kleio's first graduate, the clone of John F. Kennedy, is killed. Are the clones doomed to repeat the fate of their genetic progenitors, or can they create their own destinies? And how does a normal boy like Shiro fit in?

LIBRARY WARS: LOVE & WAR • by Kiiro Yumi • Original Concept by Hiro Arikawa • Available June 1st • Rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens • SHOJO BEAT Imprint

Iku Kasahara has dreamed of joining the Library Defense Force ever since one of its soldiers stepped in to protect her favorite book from being confiscated in a bookstore when she was younger. But now that she's finally a recruit, she's finding her dream job to be a bit of a nightmare. Especially since her hard-hearted drill instructor seems to have it in for her!

For more information on these and other VIZ Media titles please visit our websites at: www.VIZ.com

http://www.vizkids.com/
http://www.shojobeat.com/
http://www.shonensunday.com/
http://www.shonenjump.com/
http://www.sigikki.com/
http://www.vizsignature.com/
[END]

Tigers vs. Dreams

I read Real, Vol. 7

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.

I Reads You Review: NARUTO, VOL. 4

Naruto: Volume 4: The Next Level

Creators: Masashi Kishimoto; Jo Duffy (English adaptation)
Publishing Information: VIZ Media, paperback, 184 pages, $7.95 (US), $11.95 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-59116-358-9 (ISBN-13); 1-59116-358-7 (ISBN-10)

Those in-the-know know that the star of Naruto, the hugely popular shonen manga by Masashi Kishimoto, is Uzumaki Naruto. When he was a baby, his body became the prison for a destructive nine-tailed fox spirit. Because of this, older villagers spurned him, but now, Naruto is an attention-seeking, ninja-in-training with dreams of being his village’s Hokage (champion).

Naruto, Vol. 4 concludes the storyline that found Cell Number 7: coach/teacher Hatake Kakashi, Naruto, and his classmates, Uchina Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, on a mission to protect a bridge builder in the Land of Waves. Gatô, a millionaire crime lord, is determined to stop the builder, Tazuna, from constructing a bridge that will bring prosperity to the Land of Waves, as well a usurp Gatô’s power. Gatô hired the ninja assassin, Zabuza, to kill Tazuna. However, the end comes via two bloody battles: Kakashi vs. Zabuza and also Naruto vs. Zabuza’s exceptionally talented apprentice, Haku.

When Team Kakashi returns to the ninja village of Konohagakure, it is near the time of the Journeyman Ninja Selection Exams, which brings in ninja from other villages to Konohagakure. That’s when Naruto and friends meet a group of fellow young ninja-in-training from the mysterious Land of Sand.

The fourth volume of Naruto exemplifies creator Masashi Kishimoto’s ability to balance the need for violence (because Naruto is, after all, about ninja) and his penchant for humor and silliness (best personified by the title character). I often compare Naruto to the Harry Potter franchise, which blends multiple genres and moods into what is basically hard fantasy. Naruto does this. It is not just about fights, battles, magic, and ninja. It is also a drama about the bonds of friends, rites of passage, amazing people, fantastic creatures, and life. Naruto’s juvenile nature and attitude does not hide the truth that this is an exceptional comic book series.

A-

The Feathers of Princess Ai Fly

I read Princess Ai -The Prism of Midnight Dawn- Volume 2 (Princess AI: The Prism of Midnight Dawn)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin.  I think that this second volume is much better than the first.