Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for July 18, 2018

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

MAY181256    ABERRANT #2 CVR A LEON DIAS (MR)    $3.99
MAY181257    ABERRANT #2 CVR B LEON DIAS (MR)    $3.99
MAY182203    AKAME GA KILL GN VOL 15    $13.00
MAY181375    ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66 #1 CVR A ALLRED    $3.99
MAY181376    ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66 #1 CVR B CHARM    $3.99
MAY181377    ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66 #1 CVR C FRANCAVILLA    $3.99
MAY181378    ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66 #1 CVR D JARRELL & FITZPATRICK    $3.99
MAY181379    ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66 #1 CVR E PARENT & BONE    $3.99
MAY181380    ARCHIE MEETS BATMAN 66 #1 CVR F TEMPLETON    $3.99
MAY181422    ASPEN SPLASH 2018    $3.99
MAY181246    ATHENA VOLTAIRE 2018 ONGOING #5 CVR A BRYANT    $3.99
MAY181247    ATHENA VOLTAIRE 2018 ONGOING #5 CVR B JOHNSON    $3.99
MAY181248    ATHENA VOLTAIRE 2018 ONGOING #5 CVR C SHOONOVER    $3.99
MAY181401    B & V FRIENDS JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #263    $6.99
MAY181884    BALLAD OF SANG #5 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
APR181619    BARRY STEAKFRIES #1 CVR A BLANKENSHIP    $3.99
APR181620    BARRY STEAKFRIES #1 CVR B MOKHTAR    $3.99
APR181621    BARRY STEAKFRIES #1 CVR C SO EXPENSIVE GOLDEN LOGO BLANK SKE    $9.99
MAY181391    BETTY AND VERONICA VIXENS #8 (OF 10) CVR A ANWAR    $3.99
MAY181392    BETTY AND VERONICA VIXENS #8 (OF 10) CVR B FISH    $3.99
MAY181393    BETTY AND VERONICA VIXENS #8 (OF 10) CVR C LANZ    $3.99
MAR181237    BLACK AF WIDOWS & ORPHANS #2 (MR)    $3.99
MAR181118    CALL OF THE SUICIDE FOREST #5 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
MAY181853    CATALYST PRIME SUMMIT #7    $3.99
MAY181851    CATALYST PRIME SUPERB #11    $3.99
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MAY181317    CLANKILLERS #1 CVR B DOE    $3.99
MAR181641    COMPLETE PEANUTS TP VOL 09 1967-1968    $22.99
MAY182175    DEAD DEAD DEMONS DEDEDEDE DESTRUCTION GN VOL 02 (MR)    $14.99
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APR182084    DIDNT I SAY MAKE MY ABILITIES AVERAGE GN VOL 01    $12.99
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MAR181864    DIVINICA #4 (RES)    $3.99
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JAN181114    DOLLFACE #15 CVR E MENDOZA REAL GIRL (MR)    $4.99
JAN181115    DOLLFACE #15 CVR F MENDOZA REAL GIRL RISQUE (MR)    $4.99
APR181567    DULL MARGARET HC    $29.99
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MAY181860    ENCOUNTER #5    $3.99
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MAY181250    HELM #4    $3.99
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MAY181856    INFINITY 8 #4 (MR)    $3.99
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MAY182206    IS WRONG PICK UP GIRLS DUNGEON SWORD ORATORIA GN VOL 04    $13.00
MAY181387    JUGHEAD HUNGER TP VOL 01 (MR)    $17.99
MAY181385    JUGHEAD THE HUNGER #7 CVR B BOSS (MR)    $3.99
MAY181386    JUGHEAD THE HUNGER #7 CVR C WALSH (MR)    $3.99
MAY181465    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 (MR)    $5.99
MAY181474    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 FAUNA (MR)    $5.99
MAY181467    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 IVORY (MR)    $5.99
MAY181490    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 IVORY NUDE (MR)    $7.99
MAY181468    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 LORELEI (MR)    $5.99
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MAY181469    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 LUSCIOUS (MR)    $5.99
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MAY181487    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 NUDE (MR)    $7.99
MAY181470    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 QUEEN SASHA (MR)    $5.99
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MAY181472    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 ROCKET FAUNA (MR)    $5.99
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MAY181471    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 SULTRY (MR)    $5.99
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MAY181485    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 TRANSPARENT NUDE (MR)    $7.99
MAY181473    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 VIXENS (MR)    $5.99
MAY181477    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 VIXENS NUDE (MR)    $7.99
MAY181466    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 WRAP (MR)    $5.99
MAY181476    JUNGLE FANTASY SECRETS #1 WRAP NUDE (MR)    $7.99
MAY182207    KAKEGURUI COMPULSIVE GAMBLER GN VOL 06    $15.00
MAY182243    KISS ME AT STROKE OF MIDNIGHT GN VOL 06    $12.99
MAY182208    LAID BACK CAMP GN VOL 03    $13.00
MAY182244    LAND OF THE LUSTROUS GN VOL 06    $12.99
MAY181561    LEGENDS OF AUKERA ASCENDANTS GN VOL 01    $18.99
MAR181795    LETTER 44 DLX HC VOL 01 (MR)    $59.99
MAY182209    LOG HORIZON WEST WIND BRIGADE GN VOL 09    $13.00
MAY181319    LOST CITY EXPLORERS #2    $3.99
MAY181807    MADAME CAT GN    $12.95
MAY181859    MAE VOL 2 #2    $3.99
FEB181762    MAGICAL GIRL SPECIAL OPS ASUKA GN VOL 03 (MR)    $12.99
MAY181968    MALL #1    $3.99
MAR181020    MEN OF MYSTERY #108    $29.95
MAY181808    METABARON SC GN VOL 01 TECHNO ADMIRAL ANTI BARON (MR)    $19.95
MAY181404    MICHAEL TURNERS SOULFIRE TP 06 FUTURE SHOCK    $19.99
OCT171043    MIRACULOUS ADVENTURES LADYBUG CAT NOIR #5 CVR A HESS    $3.99
OCT171044    MIRACULOUS ADVENTURES LADYBUG CAT NOIR #5 CVR B GRACE    $3.99
MAY182290    MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM WING GLORY OF THE LOSERS GN VOL 07    $12.95
MAY182210    MURCIELAGO GN VOL 07 (MR)    $13.00
MAY182292    MY BOY GN VOL 02    $12.95
APR181274    NANCY IN HELL #1 (OF 4) (MR)    $2.99
MAY182092    NINJA-K #9 CVR A CARNERO    $3.99
MAY182093    NINJA-K #9 CVR B QUAH    $3.99
APR182095    NON NON BIYORI GN VOL 10    $12.99
MAY181242    OCTAVIA BUTLER KINDRED TP    $18.99
APR181380    OH S#!T ITS KIM & KIM #1 (MR)    $3.99
MAY182211    OVERLORD GN VOL 07    $13.00
MAY182202    POLAR BEAR IN LOVE GN VOL 03    $15.00
MAR181892    PRECARIOUS WOMAN MISS BLACK GENERAL GN VOL 01 (MR)    $12.99
FEB181804    PRISONER KIRBY & KANE ARTIST EDITION HC    $79.99
MAY182084    QUANTUM & WOODY (2017) #8 (NEW ARC) CVR A FOWLER    $3.99
MAY182085    QUANTUM & WOODY (2017) #8 (NEW ARC) CVR B ULTRA FOIL SHAW    $3.99
APR181993    REAL LIFE GN VOL 02    $15.00
MAY182119    REVENGE OF WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) CVR A VITORINO    $3.99
MAY182120    REVENGE OF WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) CVR B SALAZAR    $3.99
MAY182121    REVENGE OF WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) CVR C KROME    $3.99
MAY182122    REVENGE OF WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) CVR D OTERO    $3.99
MAY182123    REVENGE OF WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) CVR E VITORINO    $3.99
MAY182124    REVENGE OF WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) CVR F COLAPIETRO    $3.99
MAY182125    REVENGE OF WONDERLAND #1 (OF 6) CVR G BLANK SKETCH COVER    $10.00
MAY182015    RIVERS OF LONDON WATER WEED #2    $3.99
MAY182033    ROBOTECH #11 CVR A MILONOGIANNIS    $3.99
MAY182034    ROBOTECH #11 CVR B ACTION FIGURE VAR    $3.99
MAY182035    ROBOTECH #11 CVR C DUNN    $3.99
MAY182212    ROYAL TUTOR GN VOL 08    $13.00
MAY182213    SACRIFICIAL PRINCESS & KING BEASTS GN VOL 02    $13.00
MAY182214    SAGA OF TANYA EVIL GN VOL 03    $13.00
MAY182199    SCHOOL OF HORNS GN VOL 01    $13.00
MAY181835    SEA OF LOVE HC    $24.99
MAY182215    SEKIREI GN VOL 05 (MR)    $24.00
APR182096    SERVAMP GN VOL 11    $12.99
MAY182080    SHADOWMAN (2018) #5 CVR A ZONJIC    $3.99
MAY182081    SHADOWMAN (2018) #5 CVR B MACK    $3.99
MAY182101    SHADOWMAN (2018) TP VOL 01 FEAR OF THE DARK    $9.99
MAR181078    SHIPWRECK TP VOL 01    $17.99
MAY182216    SO IM A SPIDER SO WHAT GN VOL 03    $13.00
MAY181403    SOULFIRE PRIMER 2018    $0.25
MAY181411    SOULFIRE VOL 7 #1 CVR A LADJOUZE    $3.99
MAY181412    SOULFIRE VOL 7 #1 CVR B TAN    $3.99
MAY181413    SOULFIRE VOL 7 #1 CVR C TURNER    $3.99
MAY182217    SWORD ART ONLINE ALTERNATIVE GUN GALE GN VOL 02    $13.00
MAY182218    TABOO TATTOO GN VOL 11    $13.00
MAY182200    TEASING MASTER TAKAGI SAN GN VOL 01    $13.00
APR182100    TESTAMENT OF SISTER NEW DEVIL GN VOL 09 (MR)    $12.99
MAR181865    THEORY OF MAGIC #4 NEW PRINTING    $3.99
MAY181462    TRAIN 8 ZOMBIE EXPRESS #2 (OF 3)    $4.99
MAY181255    TWELVE DEVILS DANCING #1 (MR)    $5.99
MAY182219    UMINEKO WHEN CRY EP 7 GN VOL 03 REQUIEM GOLDEN WITCH    $30.00
MAY182220    VAL X LOVE GN VOL 03 (MR)    $13.00
MAR181895    VOYNICH HOTEL GN VOL 01 (MR)    $12.99
APR181491    WAHOO MORRIS TP VOL 02 (OF 2)    $13.99
MAY182249    WAKE UP SLEEPING BEAUTY GN VOL 05    $12.99
MAY181861    WRAPPED UP #9 MAIN MCMAHON CVR    $3.99
MAY181285    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #50 CVR A CELOR (MR)    $4.99
MAY181286    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #50 CVR B CELOR RISQUE (MR)    $4.99
MAY181287    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #50 CVR C MCKAY (MR)    $4.99
MAY181288    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #50 CVR D MCKAY RISQUE (MR)    $4.99
MAY181289    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #50 CVR E MENDOZA (MR)    $4.99
MAY181290    ZOMBIE TRAMP ONGOING #50 CVR F MENDOZA RISQUE (MR)    $4.99

MAGAZINES
MAY181591    COMIC SHOP NEWS #1622    $PI
MAY181725    FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND #289 GEORGE ROMERO TRIBUTE    $29.99
MAR182205    HOBBY JAPAN JUNE 2018    $20.00
MAY181862    LOCUS #690    $7.50
FEB182136    MEGAMI MAY 2018    $20.00
FEB182137    NEWTYPE MAY 2018    $20.00

BOOKS
APR181743    APOLLO HC (RES)    $24.99
MAY181747    BAD GIRLS GN    $27.99
APR181584    BIG BIG OVERSTREET PRICE GD VOL 48 JEANTY  BTVS CVR    $47.50
MAR188210    DOCTOR WHO BORROWED TIME MMPB    $9.99
FEB181773    OCCULTIC NINE LIGHT NOVEL VOL 03    $13.99
APR181581    OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG HC VOL 48 FLASH GREEN LANTERN    $35.00
MAY181749    OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG HC VOL 48 HALL FAME AMER FLAGG    $35.00
APR181583    OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG HC VOL 48 PLANET OF APES    $35.00
MAY181748    OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG SC 48 HALL FAME AMER FLAGG    $29.95
APR181580    OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG SC VOL 48 FLASH GREEN LANTERN    $29.95
APR181582    OVERSTREET COMIC BK PG SC VOL 48 PLANET OF APES    $29.95

Review: MARCH Book Three

MARCH: BOOK THREE
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS – @topshelfcomix

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITERS: John Lewis and Andrew Aydin
ARTIST: Nate Powell
EDITOR: Leigh Walton
ISBN: 978-1-60309-402-3; paperback with French flaps – 6.7" x 9.7" (August 2, 2016)
256pp, B&W, $19.99 U.S.

Congressman John Lewis is a member of the United States House of Representatives as Georgia’s Fifth Congressional District Representative (GA-5, Democrat).  During the 1960s, 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.

In 2013, Top Shelf Productions began publishing a series of three graphic novels, entitled March, that would chronicle Congressman Lewis' time as a Civil Rights activist.  March begins with his childhood and moves onto his time as a college student who is a participant in and organizer of dangerous protests.  The story ultimately shits into Lewis' years as a leader in the Civil Rights movement and as someone who shapes and influences change, politically and socially.  March is written by Congressman Lewis and Andrew Aydin, one of Lewis' top advisers, and is drawn and lettered by Nate Powell, an award-winning book illustrator and comic book creator.

March: Book Three (August 2016), like March Book One and March Book Two, uses the inauguration of President Barack Obama (January 20, 2009) as a kind of framing sequence from which a 68-year-old Lewis looks back on the events of the past.  Book Three opens on September 15, 1963 and depicts the terrorist bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.

By the fall of 1963, the Civil Rights movement has found its way into the consciousness of the American people.  As the chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), John Lewis is one of the people that have made this happen.  SNCC continues to force the nation to confront its own blatant injustice, but as the movement grows more successful, its enemies grow bolder and more dangerous.  The supporters of segregation and of Jim Crow use everything from courtroom tactics via friendly judges to intimidation via violence.  Even more worrying, racists like the Ku Klux Klan and segregationist become more violent and seem to deal out death with impunity.

However, the Civil Rights movement, with Dr. Martin Luther King as its leader and most famous face, decides that in order for black Americans to be truly free and equal, they must be able to vote as freely as any white American.  It is time to end the voter suppression that silences so many Americans.  The cry becomes “One Man, One Vote!”  Lewis and an army of young activists launch their nonviolent revolution with innovative campaigns such the “Freedom Vote” and “Mississippi Freedom Summer,” and with an all-out battle for the soul of the Democratic Party waged live on national television.

There are new struggles, new allies, new opponents, and an unpredictable new president (Lyndon B. Johnson – the 36th) who might be both an ally and an opponent at the same time.  Even SNCC begins to fracture.  For 25-year-old John Lewis, however, there is no turning back as he and his fellow activists risk everything on a historic march that will begin in the town of Selma, Alabama.

I never doubted that March Book Two could be as powerful as March Book One, but then, I found that Book Two surpasses the first book in terms of intensity.  So, would March Book Three be the typical trilogy fail – the week final entry in a storytelling triplet?  Never fear, dear readers; there is no failure here.  Book One depicts the awakening or the full rising of Civil Rights tide.  Book Two took the readers into the trenches and to the front lines of a non-violent war in which one side uses peace and the other employs senseless, ceaseless, and wanton acts of violence.

March Book Three depicts many infamous acts of violence against Civil Rights activists.  The Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing; the kidnapping and murder of three Civil Rights workers (Mickey Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney), and “Bloody Sunday” are some of the most infamous acts of violence, murder, and mayhem that occur against the movement from the Fall 1963 to Spring 1965.

However, Book Three gets into the details and process of forcing change through politics and political action.  The emphasis is the movement's focus on the federal government, particularly on the Presidency of the United States and the U.S. Department of Justice.  The narrative of this book focuses more on political wrangling, with violence often as backdrop, and there is a sense that something is coming to an end.  Gaining the right to vote for Black people nationwide feels like the end of one story, the close of an iteration of the Civil Rights movement.

Whatever comes next for the movement will be different, but for now, there can be some joy in what is gained by the end of March Book Three.  That is the best thing about March Book Three; Lewis, Aydin, and Powell convey the sense of hope, and no matter what happens next, the victory of the 1965 Selma to Montgomery, Alabama voting rights marches offers hope no matter how good or bad things get from that point going forward.

On the last page of March: Book Three, Congress John Lewis and Andrew Aydin give us a depiction of the two of them talking about that “comic book idea.”  Lewis says “We'll have to find a great artist – someone who can make the words sing.”  Lewis and Aydin's words have the depth and detail of prose and convey the lyrical flow of poetry.

Well, they did find the great artist who could make their words sing in the person of Nate Powell.  Comic books are a storytelling medium that uses graphics to convey, communicate, and tell a story, and Powell makes the words sing “Hallelujah!”  That boy can sang!  In the end, Powell, with pencil, pen, and brush, creates a comic book that lifts him, as well as the readers, to the heights.  None of the greats – not Crumb, not Kirby, not Moebius, not Eisner, not Los Bros., not Wood, not Kurtzman; none of them are above him.  Now, he is their equal.

Nate Powell has marched on up to the mountaintop, and he sits on high with the masters, old and new.  John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, Dr. Martin Luther King, and the named and unnamed of the American Civil Rights movement deserve nothing less in the comic book artist who would tell their story.

10 out of 10

For more information about the March trilogy, visit here or at http://www.topshelfcomix.com/march

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Volume 3: Century: 2009

THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, VOL. III: CENTURY: 2009
TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS/Knockabout Comics – @topshelfcomix @KnockaboutComix

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Alan Moore
ARTIST: Kevin O’Neill
COLORIST: Ben Dimagmaliw
LETTERER: Todd Klein
ISBN: 978-1-86166-163-3; paperback – 6.625" x 10.125" (June 2012)
80pp, Color, $9.95 U.S., £7.99 GBP

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen created by Kevin O'Neill

3: Let It Come Down

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century is the third comic book miniseries starring Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill’s Victorian superheroes, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LoEG).  The series is written by Moore; drawn by O'Neill; colored by Ben Dimagmaliw; and lettered by the extraordinary Todd Klein.

A three-graphic novel set, Century finds the League as a new team in a new century.  Century #1 “1910” and Century #2 “1969” focuses on the Leagues attempt to stop occultist Oliver Haddo from realizing his dream of creating an anti-Christ called “the Moonchild,” which would bring about an apocalypse.  The League's surviving members, the three immortals:  Orlando/Roland (the eternal warrior), Mina Murray (Count Dracula's shorty), and Allan Quatermain (great White B'wana and British adventurer) believe they stopped Haddo's plans after a battle in Hyde Park and in the “Blazing World” during the year 1969...

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century #3 “2009” (“Let It Come Down”) finds Orlando doing what he does best.  He is living eternally and slaughtering eternally, this time in Q'Mar, where a war of attrition drags into a fifth year of blood and devastation.  Orlando is back in London when she gets a sudden visit from Prospero, Duke of Milan, who informs her that Haddo's Moonchild has already been born and that the apocalypse is nigh.  Now, Orlando must reform the League in time to stop this anti-Christ, but where are the last two surviving members?  They may be immortals, but one is a homeless heroin addict and the other is currently a resident of a mental institution.

I like Alan Moore's dark, famous, and acclaimed comics of the 1980s.  Watchmen is a legendary comic book to many American comic book creators, fans, and industry types.  V for Vendetta is a bold and idiosyncratic vision (misunderstood by many of its readers and admirers).

Still, I prefer Moore’s more surreal and slyly humorous comics, such as The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  More so, I think that LoEG, like Watchmen and Moore and Eddie Campbell's From Hell, is an extraordinary work because it is the creation of a comic book writing genius and comic book drawing genius.  I may be one of the few people who think that Kevin O'Neill is a genius, but his striking graphics and his visual sense of composing a story via a comic book page are matched by only a few comic book artists over the last three or four decades.  He can convey pathos, drama, humor, satire, parody, and surrealism within a single page and, on occasion, within a single panel.  Also, O'Neill's comics often trade in both the mundane and the scatological.

So that's my review.  Moore was first declared a genius over 30 years ago, and I am now officially declaring O'Neill a genius.  The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century #3 “2009” is a great comic book because it is the work of genius times two.  Everything about it is unconventional, although its structure is conventional comics, and the story is full of convention – by reference and allusion.

The final battle between the League and the Moonchild is neither climatic nor anti-climatic.  It is something different, waiting for a different kind of heroine to take it in another direction, even if that direction has been taken before her.  I wish there were The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Century #4.

9.5 out of 10

www.tppshelfcomix.com
www.knockabout.com

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: KENKA BANCHO OTOME: Love's Battle Royale Volume 2

KENKA BANCHO OTOME: LOVE'S BATTLE ROYALE, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Chie Shimada
TRANSLATION:  JN Productions
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9911-3; paperback (July 2018); Rated “T” for “Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Original concept by Spike Chunsoft; video game developed by Red Entertainment

A series of video games that debuted a decade ago for the Playstation Portable, Kenka Banchou follows the efforts of a male “bancho” (delinquent) to beat up other delinquents.  Manga creator, Chie Shimada, created a manga, entitled Kenka Bancho Otome: Girl Beats Boys, based on the game, but it focused on a female character as the lead.

VIZ Media is publishing that manga under the title, Kenka Bancho Otome: Love's Battle Royale, which focuses on Hinako Nakayama, an orphaned girl.  She is about to start her first day at the all-girls school, Kotobuki Girls' High School, when she accidentally bumps into a teen boy whose face resembles her face.  His name is Hikaru Onigashima, and he is her long-lost twin.  Hikaru demands that because Hinako has hurt him, she must disguise herself to look like him and take his place at his new school, Shishiku Academy, an all-boys school of delinquents – who fight all the time!

Kenka Bancho Otome: Love's Battle Royale, Vol. 2 (Chapters 5 to 8) finds Hinako-as-Hikaru the boss of the first and second year classes.  However, she is in for a surprise when she meets Houou Onigashima, the real Hikaru's older brother, and that means she also has a big brother.

Meanwhile, Hinako is so happy to finally have friends.  She grows closer to Totomaru Minowa, Rintaro Kira, Takayuki Konparu, and Yuta Mirako.  Totomaru and Kira are secretly rivals for Hinako's affections, but it may all end when one of her friends is being forced to leave the school

The Kenka Bancho Otome manga has a familiar premise, as it reminds me of the recent shojo manga, So Cute it Hurts!!, from mangaka Go Ikeyamada.  Kenka Bancho Otome, however, will not run as long at the latter manga did.

Kenka Bancho Otome: Love's Battle Royale Graphic Novel Volume 2 is the final volume of this series.  It is a nice volume as it solidifies the relationship dynamics so that readers can recognize Hinako's immediate circle of friends.  I don't know if there will be more of this series, but this second volume makes me think that there is more story to tell.  In the meantime, I recommend this to fans of gender-switch manga.

B+
7 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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