The Story of Saiunkoku: Final Volume and Side Stories

I read The Story of Saiunkoku, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Review: 21ST CENTURY BOYS Volume 2

21ST CENTURY BOYS, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

WRITER: Naoki Urasawa with Takashi Nagasaki
ARTIST: Naoki Urasawa
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Akemi Wegmüller
LETTERS: Freeman Wong
ISBN: 978-1-4215-4327-7; paperback (March 2013); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S., $14.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Naoki Urasawa’s epic 20th Century Boys comes to an end with the second volume of 21st Century Boys.

The war is over. The “Friend,” leader of the worldwide cult known as the “Friends,” is dead. But has peace really come to Tokyo, after the world was on the brink of destruction? Many mysteries concerning the Friend remain, such as the Friend’s true identity. Are any of his diabolical plans still in motion? The answers may be in the memories of Kenji Endo, the returning hero and the Friend’s sworn enemy. 20th Century Boys has concluded. Welcome to 21st Century Boys.

Naoki Urasawa’s 21st Century Boys, Vol. 2 (entitled 20th Century Boy) is the final volume of the series. It opens in the Friends’ virtual reality game. Working with United Nations Forces, Kenji Endo entered the game, which is mostly a simulation of Kenji and his friends’ childhood neighborhood. Kenji’s goal is to learn the secrets behind the Friend’s final plot – an anti-proton bomb that can apparently destroy the world.

Meanwhile, Kanna (Kenji’s niece), Yukiji, Chono, and Maruo race to help Kendo. Yukiji, the woman Kendo has loved since they were children, and Kanna, however, are about to endanger themselves in their attempt to help Kenji. Can he save them and the world before it’s too late? And why does he keep going back into the Friends’ virtual reality game? The answers are in Kenji’s memories.

Whodunit? What is the face behind the mask? Who is pulling the strings? After reading two other fantastic Naoki Urasawa manga (Monster, Pluto), I get it, or I think I do. The fun in reading Urasawa and the greatness of his work are found in the journey. It’s the threat, the conflict, the desires and goals, the plot, the subplots, the cast of thousands, the action, the mystery, the surprises, the stunning revelations, the cameos, and the narrative. The bad guy is lost in all of that, at least after awhile.

Naoki Urasawa’s manga are just as fantastically conceived and executed as the work produced by the top names in comic books from American publishers. Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Frank Miller, and Grant Morrison: Urasawa’s manga are just as good (if not better, hmm?) than these creators’ most famous works. The last volume has been published, but Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys and 2lst Century Boys will be fresh to new readers looking for great comic books. People who have already read the books may return to the Boys and find things they missed.

As we close out this great series, I must say again that comic book readers who want great comics want 20th Century Boys and 21st Century Boys.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: THE BLACK BEETLE #3

THE BLACK BEETLE #3
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

CREATOR/CARTOONIST: Francesco Francavilla
LETTERS: Nate Piekos (of Blambot)
COVER: Francesco Francavilla
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2013)

“No Way Out” (Part 3 of 4)

Created by artist Francesco Francavilla, The Black Beetle is a comic book character that blends the aesthetics of pulp fiction, mystery, and the superhero. The Black Beetle is a super-heroic sleuth, and his base of operations is Colt City, a classic pulp and noir-type urban landscape.

In his first comic book series, the Black Beetle attempted to infiltrate a meeting of Colt City’s two crime families, the Galazzos and the Fierros. Shortly after he arrives at Spencer’s, the site of the meeting, the place goes up in a tremendous explosion – killing everyone inside. Determined to discover who came between him and bringing these gangsters to justice, the Black Beetle meets a wily adversary, the enigmatic Labyrinto.

The Black Beetle: No Way Out #3 opens at The Coco Club, a music club and gathering place for Colt City’s high society. The club was also owned by the late Joseph Fierro, A.K.A. “Faccia D’Angelo,” one of the crime lord’s killed in the explosion at Spencer’s. The club certainly seems to be doing well with its owner dead, so who’s operating it now?

In disguise as a stranger-in-town named Ray Steves, the Black Beetle visits the Coco Club. He even makes a new friend in hot singer, Miss Ava Sheridan. But something else catches his eye, something that should not be.

As I wrote in my review of The Black Beetle #2: it is good when a comic book series proves itself not to be a fluke after a dynamite debut issue. Well, sometimes, it is the third issue of a comic book series where the actual slump or letdown occurs. If there is a slump coming in The Black Beetle, it will have to wait because issue #3 is as good as the issues before it.

I think the Black Beetle is so appealing a character because Francavilla went back to the roots of the superhero to create him. The character captures the essence of a costumed hero, without covering him with the barnacles of modern relevance and fake psychological claptrap. So, this is simply the mystery man taking on colorful villains.

The thing that makes this first Black Beetle comic book series so attractive is the graphic design and page layout. Reading this comic book is like following a trail of my favorite treats as my vision pursues the sparkling visual elements on each page. The colors, which switch from muted to vibrant, are simply appealing to the eye. Damn, I love this comic book.

A+

http://pulpsunday.blogspot.com/

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Itsuwaribito: Kuroshiro the Black Castle

I read Itsuwaribito , Vol. 8

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

Review: STAR WARS: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1

STAR WARS: DARTH VADER AND THE NINTH ASSASSIN #1
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

["Star Wars Central" review page is here.]

SCRIPT: Tim Siedell – @badbanana
PENCILS: Stephen Thompson
INKS: Mark Irwin
COLORS: Michael Atiyeh
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Ariel Olivetti
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S. (April 2013)

In the Star Wars Expanded Universe, “The Rise of the Empire” era is the 1000-year period before the events depicted in the original Star Wars film. Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin is a new Star Wars comic book series from Dark Horse Comics. The series is set during “The Rise of the Empire” era and takes place some months after the events depicted in the film, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1 introduces readers to a wealthy mining magnate who seeks revenge against Emperor Palpatine’s mysterious apprentice, Darth Vader. He has hired eight assassins to murder Darth Vader, and all eight assassins are apparently dead.

Now, the man seeks to enlist a ninth assassin. The ninth assassin, however, asks a high price, a cost higher than all the credits in the revenge seeker’s bottomless coffers. Is this price/sacrifice too great to acquire the one man who can kill the Dark Lord of the Sith?

If the second and third issues and so on are good, they will continue to give us the awesome read that Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #1 promises. Series writer Tim Siedell seems as if he is planning to go into some dark places. In fact, Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin is darker than George Lucas ever made any of his Star Wars films. I can’t imagine The Walt Disney Company adopting a more sinister tone in their planned Star Wars films (but we can hope).

The pencil art by Stephen Thompson reminds me of Frank Quitely’s art, but with more texture and grit. Thompson’s compositions are well-served by Mark Irwin inks and Michael Atiyeh’s always high-quality colors. Thompson’s take on Vader is quite chilling; he has a way of making Vader’s ability to intimidate real rather than implied.

With Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin, Dark Horse once again proves that in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, it is the master.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Bleach: March of the Starcross

I read Bleach, Vol. 56

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

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 17 2013

DC COMICS

FEB130202 BATMAN BEYOND UNLIMITED #15 $3.99

JAN130309 BATMAN YEAR ONE HUNDRED TP NEW PTG $19.99

FEB130163 BATWOMAN #19 $2.99

FEB130166 BIRDS OF PREY #19 $2.99

JAN130297 BIRDS OF PREY TP VOL 02 YOUR KISS MIGHT KILL (N52) $14.99

FEB130165 CATWOMAN #19 $2.99

FEB130133 DC UNIVERSE PRESENTS #19 $2.99

JAN130295 DIAL H TP VOL 01 INTO YOU (N52) $14.99

FEB130243 FABLES #128 (MR) $2.99

JAN130298 FRANKENSTEIN AGENT OF SHADE TP VOL 02 SECRETS DEAD (N52) $16.99

FEB130175 GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #19 (WRATH) $2.99

FEB130238 HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #1 $2.99

FEB130248 HOUSE OF SECRETS OMNIBUS HC (RES) (MR) $75.00

FEB130205 JSA LIBERTY FILES THE WHISTLING SKULL #5 $2.99

FEB130121 JUSTICE LEAGUE #19 $3.99

FEB130124 JUSTICE LEAGUE #19 COMBO PACK $4.99

FEB130119 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICAS VIBE #3 $2.99

FEB130195 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #19 $2.99

DEC120334 MARSHAL LAW THE DELUXE EDITION HC (MR) $49.99

FEB130168 NIGHTWING #19 $2.99

FEB130169 RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #19 $2.99

JAN130314 SMALLVILLE SEASON 11 TP VOL 01 THE GUARDIAN $14.99

FEB130144 SUPERGIRL #19 $2.99

FEB130182 SWORD OF SORCERY #7 $3.99

FEB130129 WONDER WOMAN #19 $2.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

JAN130347 INJUSTICE DEATHSTROKE VS GREEN ARROW 2 PACK AF $29.95