Review: DRAGON BALL 3-in-1 Edition, Volume 1

DRAGON BALL 3-IN-1 EDITION, VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Akira Toriyama
TRANSLATION: Mari Morimoto
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Gerard Jones
LETTERS: Wayne Truman
EDITOR: Annette Roman, Jason Thompson (manga edition)
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5564-5; paperback (June 2013); Rated “T” for “Teen”
576pp, B&W, $14.99 US, $16.99 CAN, £9.99 UK

Akira Toriyama is a hugely influential Japanese mangaka (manga creator), and his signature creation is Dragon Ball, the long-running shonen manga (comics for teen boys).  Originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1995, Dragon Ball is comprised of 519 individual chapters.  Various anime series have been adapted from Dragon Ball, most notably "Dragon Ball Z," which some believe boosted the popularity of Japanese anime amongst Western audiences.

VIZ Media is Dragon Ball’s North American publisher, and it has been publishing individual graphic novel collections of the series for some time.  Now, VIZ Media is republishing the series in its “3-in-1 editions,” which collect three individual graphic novels in one large-sized paperback edition.

Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Edition, Vol. 1 contains Dragon Ball Volume 1: The Monkey King (Chapters 1 to 11), Volume 2: Wish Upon a Dragon (Chapters 12 to 24), and Volume 3: The Training of Kame Sen’nin (Chapters 25 to 36).  Chapters 1 to 36 cover the introduction of the hero, Son Goku, and the start of his adventures to the beginning of a famed martial arts tournament in which Goku is participating.

In Dragon Ball, Vol. 1, Bulma, a young woman and genius inventor, meets Son Goku.  Goku is a monkey-tailed boy who both learned kung-fu and inherited a magic staff from his late grandfather, Son Gohan.  Bulma is looking for the seven Dragon Balls, precious orbs that when put together summon a powerful dragon.  This dragon is Shenlong, the Dragon Lord, and when he appears because of the union of the seven Dragon Balls, he grants one (and only one) wish.  Bulma convinces Goku to join her on her quest, and they meets lots of strange, new people:  Kame Sen’nin “the Turtle Master,” Oolong the shape-shifting pig, and Yamcha and Pu’ar, among many.

In Dragon Ball, Vol. 2, Goku, Bulma, and Oolong meet more strange people:  some good, some bad.  The quest for the Dragon Balls reaches an unsatisfying conclusion.  In Dragon Ball, Vol. 3, Goku meets Kuririn, a young martial artist and Shaolin monk.  They become rivals and then, friends as they train under Kame Sen’nin.  After some truly grueling training, Goku and Kuririn enter the 21st Tenka’ichi Budokai (“Strongest Under the Heavens”) martial arts tournament.

I first heard of Dragon Ball as an anime, having no idea that it was also a manga.  Years later, VIZ Media sent me an Akira Toriyama manga for the first time (maybe Dr. Slump).  Then, I learned that Dragon Ball was not only an anime franchise, but that it was also a hugely-influential manga.  After reading Dragon Ball 3-in-1 Edition, Volume 1, I am ready to be a regular reader of Dragon Ball, if not also a Toriyama fanboy.

Dragon Ball is wild and silly like an old American Saturday morning cartoon.  Toriyama is as inventive and as imaginative as classic American and European comic books; think of someone who blends Carl Barks, Jack Kirby, and Peyo into one super-cartoonist.  Dragon Ball is sprawling and epic in the way we’ve come to expect of shonen manga like Naruto and One Piece, whose creators Dragon Ball both inspired.

Mississippi, goddamn!  Dragon Ball is one of the best manga and comic books I have ever read.  Take that for your recommendation.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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

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Review: ANGEL FALLING

ANGEL FALLING TRADE PAPERBACK – (Original Graphic Novel)
ZENESCOPE ENTERTAINMENT/Big City Comics Studio – @Zenescope

WRITER/CREATOR: Jeffrey Kaufman
PENCILS: Kevin West
INKS: Mark McKenna, Bob Wiacek, Jack Purcell, Kevin Yates
COLORS: Tom Chu and Peter Pantazis with Nik Sardos and Wilson Ramos, Jr.
LETTERS: John Hunt
COVER: Jeffrey Kaufman, Dave Stewart, and Stan Johnson
VARIANT COVER: Billy Tucci and Felix Serrano
ISBN: 978-1-939683-22-9; paperback (August 2013)
104pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

Angel Falling is a new original graphic novel from writer Jeffrey Kaufman and artist Kevin West.  Kaufman’s previous comic book works include the graphic novels Terminal Alice (2011) and Whore (2012).  West has been drawing comic books since 1991 for a variety of publishers including DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Image Comics, among many.  Angel Falling focuses on a woman with no memory of who she is and her protector – a gifted young man who is autistic.

The story:  She wakes up in a dumpster.  She has no memory of who she is.  She has a pair of large angel wings tattooed on her back.  She is naked from the waist up.  A gang of goons, thugs, and would-be rapists decide to take advantage of her predicament.  He arrives in a flurry of kicks and blows.  She calls him “Connor.”  He calls her “Angel.”

However, Angel is really “Number Three,” and Connor is “Number Five.”  Connor, who is autistic, has photographic physical memory or “Eidetic Kinestheisia” (perfect physical memory).  That means Connor sees the physical movements of other people and his body can copy those movements – which includes everything from playing the violin like a prodigy to mastering hand-to-hand combat.  Angel is also quite good at the kick-ass art.  They share a past in a place called “The Sanctuary,” and that past is now sending teams of killers to destroy them.

As it is a graphic novel from a small publisher and a writer-artist creative team that is relatively not well known, I want to compare Angel Falling to some recent films that are fairly familiar to audiences.  Certain aspects of the story that deal with Connor/Five are similar to elements in the Jason Bourne film series.  Some things about Angel/Three are reminiscent of the film, Salt (starring Angelina Jolie in the title role).  The action scenes and shoot-‘em-up sequences in Angel Falling recall RED (the 2010 film adaptation of Warren Ellis’s comic book miniseries).

To put it simply, Angel Falling is one of the best action-oriented and espionage comic books of the last decade.  And it’s quite good.

With that said, Angel Falling is essentially character driven.  The search for identity and the need to unravel memory play a big part in the narrative.  Angel Falling confronts the characters with that thing that defines who they are in the eyes of others – their actions.  The conflict or tension in the story rests mostly in the struggle between what the characters say or think about themselves and what they do.  This is a fun and engaging thing that Kaufman does; he offers the interior of the characters, while splashing their assault on the exterior world in bloody, living color.

Jeffrey Kaufman is a unique and bold voice in comics simply because rather than pander to popular taste and opinion, he offers his own ideas.  I like that.  Kevin West seems like the perfect artist for Kaufman.  West’s sturdy anatomy belies his knack for knowing which moments require being poignant and which require being cruel, crass, or comic.

Obviously, I like and want to recommend Angel Falling.

A

If you order Angel Falling through your local comic book shop, this is its Diamond Order Code: JUL131419

www.bigcitycomics.com
www.zenescope.com
www.facebook.com/jeffreykaufmanjr
www.facebook.com/BigCityComics
www.facebook.com/Zenescope

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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

Review: MONSTER ON THE HILL

MONSTER ON THE HILL - (Original Graphic Novel)
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

CARTOONIST: Rob Harrell
ISBN: 978-1-60309-075-9; paperback (July 2013)
192pp, Color, $19.95 U.S.

Audience: All ages (10+)

Cartoonist and illustrator Rob Harrell is known for his former newspaper comic strip, Big Top (which was syndicated from 2002 to 2007), and the currently syndicated strip, Adam@Home.  Harrell enters the world of comic books with the original graphic novel, Monster on the Hill, which was recently published by Top Shelf Productions.  Monster on the Hill is the story of a sad-sack monster learning to become a real, scary monster with the help of an eccentric doctor and a sardonic newspaper boy.

Monster on the Hill is set in a fantastical version of 1860s England.  In this world, each quiet little township is terrorized by a ferocious monster, and the citizens love it, because its monster is a great source of local pride and tourism.  Yes, every town has its own monster except Stoker-on-Avon.

Well, Stoker-on-Avon has a monster, but he’s not really a monster.  He doesn’t do anything monstrous or even terrifying, and no tourists come to see him.  His name is Rayburn, and instead of scaring up some tourists, he lets loose enormous sighs and groans that shake the buildings in town.  And frankly, Rayburn’s attitude is a downer, man.

Enter disgraced doctor and scientist, Dr. Charles Nathaniel Wilkie.  The town fathers want Dr. Wilkie to “fix the monster.”  Wilkie gets some unexpected help from plucky street urchin and newspaper boy, Timothy.  The duo meets Rayburn and thus, begins an epic journey of self-discovery and redemption, guest-starring the awesome Tentaculor (a.k.a. “Noodles”).  Time is short, however, as something worse than a monster threatens to destroy Stoker-on-Avon and its people.

Readers, creators, publishers, retailers, etc:  everyone involved with American comic books on some level talks about the need for comic books for children or comics that can be read by everyone (“all ages”).  Monster on the Hill is not just a children’s comic book; it is an entire awesome children’s graphic novel, and it is a monster.  The story borrows from several genres; it is everything from a faux Victorian children’s story and grand adventure to a road trip story and plain old monster comic book.  Harrell summons the hoary ghosts of Marvel/Timely’s old monster comic books, complete with full-splash pages in order to depict epic battles between humongous monster foes.  It’s like Jack Kirby meets Japanese monster movies.

The characters are hugely likeable, and no one character dominates, which allows all the players to shine – even the dastardly villain.  Little Timothy provides easy-going, sarcastic one-liners, and Dr. Wilkie is the steady narrator.  The monsters are witty and surprisingly original; you will wish that other comic books had characters like these.

Obviously, I am big on this graphic novel.  I plan on introducing my niece and nephew to Monster on the Hill.  It’s monstrously good.

A

Neil Gaiman and Jeff Smith (Bone) provide cover quote blurbs for Monster on the Hill.

Public info on Monster on the Hill: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/monster-on-the-hill/732

www.robharrell.com
http://www.topshelfcomix.com
http://twitter.com/topshelfcomix
http://facebook.com/topshelfcomix

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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

Review: MARCH: Book One

MARCH: BOOK ONE
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

WRITERS: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
ARTIST: Nate Powell
EDITORS: Chris Staros with Leigh Walton
ISBN: 978-1-60309-300-2; paperback (August 2013)
128pp, Black and White, $14.95 U.S.

Congressman John Lewis is Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District Representative (GA-5, Democrat).  Lewis was also one of the “Big Six” leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement (with the others being Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., James Farmer, A. Philip Randolph, Roy Wilkins, and Whitney Young).  Before such fame and accomplishments, he was born John Robert Lewis in February 1940 to sharecropper parents, Willie Mae (Carter) and Eddie Lewis.  His early life, from farm boy to activist college student, is the focus of March: Book One.

March: Book One is a comic book written by John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, drawn by artist Nate Powell, and published by Top Shelf Productions.  This is the first of three graphic novels recounting the life of Congressman John Lewis.  March: Book One is both a riveting history of the United States during the second half of the 20th century and an evocative personal story of a famous man’s life.

Lewis’ lifelong struggle for civil and human rights includes the key roles he played in the historic 1963 March on Washington and the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March.  March will apparently focus on Lewis’ personal story and on the highs and lows of the broader movement for civil rights in the U.S.

March: Book One opens on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama (part of the 1965 Selma-Montgomery March) on March 7, 1965, the date that would become known as “Bloody Sunday.”  The story moves forward to January 20, 2009, and sees Lewis share the story of his past with a mother and her two young sons.  The narrative moves back in time again, to the 1940s, where in first person, Lewis recounts the early events and incidents that shaped his life.

March: Book One’s co-writers John Lewis and Andrew Aydin recount Lewis’ life on a 110-acre cotton, corn, and peanut farm in Pike County, Alabama.  This section of the narrative covers Lewis’ time as a junior chicken farmer and chicken rights activist (of sorts) up to 1954.  Both reminiscence and personal history, it is as if Lewis and Aydin are spinning tales from the world of young John Lewis, yarns of childhood that go beyond the personal and intimate about Lewis and into the small world that his home and community.  So we learn about his family, their wishes, small incidents (like trading chickens for much-needed flour and sugar), their way of life (having to miss school to work the fields), and transformative moments (Lewis’ trip “up north” to Buffalo with his maternal uncle, Otis Carter).

In 1954, momentous events in the larger world outside of Lewis’ life as farm kid and ambitious country boy begin to transpire.  The Supreme Court rules “separate but equal” unconstitutional in Brown vs. the Board of Education of Topeka.  A young preacher named Martin Luther King, Jr. emerges.  Two adult white men kill a black child named Emmett Till, are acquitted of their crime, and publicly brag about (making them the original George Zimmermans).  On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a city bus.  The Civil Rights Movement is gaining momentum.

Lewis becomes a part of that movement when he becomes a student at American Baptist Theological Seminary.  He attends a workshop on non-violence taught by Jim Lawson.  Lewis later helps to organize sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee.  That begins with test sit-ins in 1959 and launches with the history changing real deal in February 1960, which culminates into an eventual public confrontation with Mayor Ben West of Nashville.

Obviously, John Lewis is a man who has made history.  However, in the humble and gentle way in which Lewis and Aydin tell this story, Lewis is as much a witness to history as he is a participant.  Lewis, the character in March: Book One, is not the hero who changed things.  He is also a participant, one among many; leader and organizer, yes, but also part of a fellowship.  This striking modesty brings the reader into the story, and in the retelling, allows the reader to be a quasi-witness to history.

I don’t think that I have ever seen any work by cartoonist and graphic novelist Nate Powell that was not published in black and white.  Powell’s black and white comics are not about the contrast of black and white – negative and positive space.  His storytelling is a graphical space in which black and white blends and unites to create nuance, subtlety, texture, complexity, ambiguity, and mystery.  For March: Book One, Powell creates a visual storytelling tapestry that is at once grand, earth-shattering history, but also singularly, personally intimate and deeply human.

In March: Book One, Lewis, Aydin, and Powell have created a story that wrestles grand history down to size so that it is not too big for anyone to grasp.  In this small-sized manner of storytelling, we can see the humanity in and importance of all the participants in our story we call history.

A+

For more information about March: Book One and to read a 14-page preview, visit here or http://www.topshelfcomix.com/march

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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

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DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 28 2013

DC COMICS

FEB130216 ABSOLUTE SUPERMAN BATMAN HC VOL 01 $99.99
JUN130249 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #4 $3.99
JUN130230 ALL STAR WESTERN #23 $3.99
JUN130292 AMERICAN VAMPIRE ANTHOLOGY #1 (MR) $7.99
JUN130163 AQUAMAN #23 $2.99
JUN130197 BATMAN INCORPORATED SPECIAL #1 $4.99
JUN130193 BATMAN SUPERMAN #3 $3.99
JUN130196 BATMAN SUPERMAN #3 COMBO PACK $4.99
JUN130207 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #23 $2.99
JUN130215 CATWOMAN #23 $2.99
APR130253 FABLES DELUXE EDITION HC VOL 07 (MR) $29.99
JUN130296 FBP FEDERAL BUREAU OF PHYSICS #2 (MR) $2.99
JUN130169 FLASH #23 $2.99
JUN130232 GREEN TEAM TEEN TRILLIONAIRES #4 $2.99
MAY130258 HELLBLAZER TP VOL 06 (MR) $19.99
JUN130244 INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US #8 $3.99
MAY130232 JACK KIRBYS OMAC ONE MAN ARMY CORPS TP $19.99
JUN130154 JUSTICE LEAGUE #23 (TRINITY) $3.99
JUN130157 JUSTICE LEAGUE #23 COMBO PACK (TRINITY) $4.99
JUN130227 LARFLEEZE #3 $2.99
MAY130257 LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN OMNIBUS TP $29.99
MAY130223 LEGION LOST TP VOL 2 THE CULLING (N52) $16.99
JUN130283 MAD MAGAZINE #523 $5.99
JUN130225 RED LANTERNS #23 $2.99
APR130263 SANDMAN OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 (MR) $150.00
JUN130189 SUPERMAN #23 $2.99
MAY130228 SWORD OF SORCERY TP VOL 01 AMETHYST (N52) $24.99
JUN130203 TALON #11 $2.99
MAY130217 TALON TP VOL 01 SCOURGE OF THE OWLS (N52) $16.99
JUN130240 TEEN TITANS #23 $2.99
JUN130297 TOM STRONG AND THE PLANET OF PERIL #2 $2.99
JUN130289 UNWRITTEN #52 (MR) $2.99
JUN130294 WAKE #1 DIRECTORS CUT (MR) $4.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

APR130283 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY NIGHTWING STATUE $124.95
APR130287 BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE BY SEAN MURPHY $79.95
MAY130272 HUSH JOKER HARLEY STEALTH BATMAN AF 3 PACK $49.95

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 28 2013

MARVEL COMICS

JUN130595 A PLUS X #11 $3.99
JUN138087 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #700 5TH PTG RAMOS VAR $7.99
APR130742 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN OMNIBUS HC VOL 01 NEW PTG $99.99
JUN130664 ASTONISHING X-MEN #66 $3.99
JUN130597 AVENGERS ARENA #14 $2.99
JUN130632 CAPTAIN AMERICA #10 $3.99
JUN130590 CAPTAIN MARVEL #15 INF $2.99
JUN130690 DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID TP VOL 04 $16.99
JUN130657 DEADPOOL #15 $2.99
JUN130631 FF #11 $2.99
JUN130698 FURY MAX TP VOL 02 MY WAR GONE BY (MR) $19.99
JUN130659 GAMBIT #16 $2.99
MAY130717 GUARDIANS OF GALAXY PREM HC VOL 01 COSMIC AVENGERS NOW $24.99
JUN130624 JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #655 $2.99
MAR130730 MMW FANTASTIC FOUR HC VOL 15 $69.99
JUN130670 MMW INCREDIBLE HULK TP VOL 03 $24.99
JUN130589 NEW AVENGERS #9 INF $3.99
JUN130618 ROCKET RACCOON TP TALES FROM HALF WORLD $7.99
JUN130610 SCARLET SPIDER #21 $2.99
JUN130594 SECRET AVENGERS #8 $3.99
JUN130683 SECRET AVENGERS TP VOL 01 REVERIE TP NOW $17.99
JUN130592 THANOS RISING #5 INF $3.99
JUN130623 THOR GOD OF THUNDER #12 $3.99
JUN130603 ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #26 $3.99
JUN130593 UNCANNY AVENGERS #11 $3.99
JUN130644 UNCANNY X-MEN #11 $3.99
JUN130649 WOLVERINE AND X-MEN #35 $3.99
JUN130665 WOLVERINE MAX #10 (MR) $3.99
MAY130722 X-MEN LEGACY TP VOL 02 INVASIVE EXOTICS $15.99
JUN130695 X-MEN MAGIK TP STORM AND ILLYANA $16.99
JUN130599 YOUNG AVENGERS #9 NOW $2.99
JUN130682 YOUNG AVENGERS TP VOL 01 STYLE SUBSTANCE NOW $15.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for August 28 2013

Digital Comics: Digital new releases available from your local comic book shop are marked below. [DIG] = Digital version available. [DIG/P+] = Print-Plus digital/print combo pack available. For more information, go to www.digitalcomicsreader.com.

IDW PUBLISHING

JUN130375 100 PENNY PRESS TMNT #1 $1.00
JUN130363 DOCTOR WHO PRISONERS OF TIME #8 $3.99
JUN130386 GI JOE #7 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130389 GI JOE A REAL AMERICAN HERO #193 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130358 GODZILLA RULERS OF THE EARTH #3 [DIG/P+] $3.99
SEP120372 JERICHO SEASON 4 #4 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130338 JUDGE DREDD CLASSICS #2 $3.99
APR130393 KILL SHAKESPEARE TIDE OF BLOOD #5 [DIG/P+] $3.99
MAY130382 LOAC ESSENTIALS HC VOL 03 POLLY AND HER PALS 1933 $24.99
JUN130378 MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC #10 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130419 RIP KIRBY HC VOL 06 $49.99
JUN130411 SAM KIETH SAMPLINGS & DABBLINGS SC $19.99
FEB130373 STEVE DITKO MONSTERS HC VOL 02 KONGA $34.99
JUN130328 THUMBPRINT BY JOE HILL #3 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130368 TMNT ANIMATED TP VOL 02 NEVER SAY XEVER / GAUNTLET $7.99
JUN130370 TMNT ONGOING #25 $3.99
MAY130355 TRANSFORMERS CLASSICS TP VOL 05 $24.99
JUN130397 TRANSFORMERS MORE THAN MEETS EYE #20 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130402 TRANSFORMERS PRIME BEAST HUNTERS #4 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130403 TRANSFORMERS PRIME BEAST HUNTERS #4 SUBSCRIPTION CVR $3.99
JUN130399 TRANSFORMERS REGENERATION ONE #94 [DIG/P+] $3.99
JUN130410 VISUAL FUNK JIM MAHFOOD ART HC $49.99