Good As Lily

Overall Rating: A
Synopsis: Written by Derek Kirk Kim with art by Jesse Hamm, Good As Lily follows Grace Kwon, a young woman who is Korean-American, and a senior in high school. At the beginning of the book, Grace is is about to graduate, and go to Stanford, and it's her 18th birthday. The evening of her birthday, she is visited by herself at ages 6,29, and 70. The older versions of herself have no memory of this happening when they turned 18 (or of the pináta that hit Grace on the head earlier that day).

Grace has to balance the arrival of her other selves, the school play she's in falling apart, her crush on the drama teacher, her 29-year-old self's crush on the same teacher, and her parents expectations. A bit more than the average 18-year-old.

I have enjoyed all of the Minx Comics that I have picked up. Minx is an imprint of DC, and they publishes comics focused on young women. I've reviewed "Clubbing" and "Re-Gifters" in the past, and have enjoyed all three. I particularly like both "Re-Gifters" and "Good As Lily", and I highly recommend both. They aren't technically manga (though I suppose that depends on your definition of manga), but they are excellent reads with realistic female protagonists. Give them a chance, I doubt you'll be disappointed.

Re-Gifters

Overall Rating: A
Synopsis: The series is created by writer Mike Carey and artists Sonny Liew and Marc Hempel for DC Comics' Minx line. It follows Jen Dik Seong (or "Dixie"), a high school girl from a poor Korean American family. Dixie's passion is training in the ancient martial art of hapkido. The only problem is that her training keeps getting messed up, because she has a HUGE crush on a boy in her class, Adam. In order to impress him, she buys him a very expensive statue of one of the first Hapkido warriors with the money her parents gave her to enter a Hapkido tournament.

Now, Dixie has to figure out how to get into the tournament, and win Adam's affections.

I really enjoyed this book. Hell, I could almost just leave it at that. Re-Gifters is a fun, cute book with realistic characters and a well-done plot. It reminded me a little of the Karate Kid, if the main character was a young Korean American girl, and the story was a lot better. Oh, and Daniel-san had a crush on "Sweep the Leg" Johnny. Check this one out.

Bombos vs. Everything Volume 1

Overall Rating: F
Synopsis: Created by Maximo V. Lorenzo, the series follows the titular Bombos, a paperboy who talks and fights too much. In the series, paperboys are a guild that involves a lot of strange challenges and fighting, and very little paper delivery. In the world of Bombos, there is only one goal, to get out of the backwater town he lives in, and move to the "totally awesome" city of Bokonon. To accomplish this goal, Bombos must win the mysterious (and somehow at the same time uninteresting) Qualifiers, overcome the bizarre challenges his editor-in-chief throws at him, defeat his annoying rival Veng, and dealing with his feelings for his friend Addy.

I like checking out American manga to see what's being done in that style these days, so I tried checking out Bombos vs. Everything. This book was a big disappointment for me. The art looked cool, and I was hoping for something in the vein of Scott Pilgrim or Black Metal, but the series is trying too hard. Maybe it will get more interesting in Volume 2 (apparently the series is a trilogy), but I can't recommend this one. If you're looking for good non-Japanese manga, pick up Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley, East Coast Rising by Becky Cloonan, Black Metal by Rick Spears and Chuck BB, or King City by Brandon Graham instead.

Scott Pilgrim Volumes 1-3

Overall Rating: A³
Synopsis: Created by Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim is an action/comedy/romance comic/graphic novel/manga depending on how snobby you want to be about those sorts of things. At the beginning of volume 1, Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life, Scott is 23 and dating Knives Chau (a 17-year-old). He's in between jobs and in a band called Sex Bob-omb. He is awesome (if a little sketch for dating a 17-year-old. The story is set in Canada, and Scott is living with his gay roomate, Wallace Wells. All pretty normal, right? Then Scott meets and falls in love with Ramona Flowers, she's a delivery person for Amazon.ca, can travel through sub-space, and has seven evil boyfriends. In order to date Ramona, Scott has to defeat her ex-boyfriends. Somehow, this isn't that weird.

I can't remember when I first heard about Scott Pilgrim or why I ended up picking up the first volume, but I wish I could travel back in time and high-five whomever or whatever caused me to do so. I've devoured the first three volumes and am eagerly awaiting the fourth. The book is hilarious, differently awesome, and makes me laugh out loud.

If you have not read the first volume of Scott Pilgrim, do so now. Now!

CLUBBING

Overall Rating: B
Synopsis: CLUBBING is an original graphic novel written by Andi Watson (Geisha, Paris, Skeleton Key) and illustrated by Josh Howard (Dead @ 17) and done in the manga format (size, style, etc.). The story follows Charlotte "Lottie" Brook, a rich kid who lives in London, is into goth music, and platform shoes who lives a life of luxury. Then she gets caught with a fake i.d. and is "exiled" to her grandparents country club in the middle of the English countryside, which is to say, the middle of nowhere as far as Lottie is concerned. However, everything is not as it seems, as murder is afoot at the country club. Will Lottie save the day? Will she fall in love with the groundskeeper?

Murder mysteries involving golf courses would normally not interest me, but the cover of the book drew me in. I'm a sucker for goth girls, and I love Andi Watson's writing. CLUBBING is also the third book from DC's female-friendly Minx> line of comics, and I was interested in seeing what it was like. So, I flipped through the book a little, and decided to pick it up.

The book is a fun read, and worth the cover price if you enjoy all things gothic. The humor value of a club kid out in the English countryside is hilarious enough, but throw in the satanist goths she meets out there, her hapless grandparents, an evil cult, and you've got a pretty good book. Unfortunately, the story is a little too predictable, but if you're not looking for something too deep, check it out.

East Coast Rising Volume 1

Overall Rating: A
Synopsis: Becky Cloonan writes and draws East Coast Rising, a story about punk rock pirates in a world where New Jersey is submerged in water.

East Coast Rising is one of those books I have been meaning to pick up for awhile, but for one reason or another, I haven't gotten around to it. Fortunately, I finally picked up the first volume, and am glad I did. Becky Cloonan has created an alternate universe full of punk rock pirates (my favorite kind).

The series follows Archer, a young pirate whose ship is destroyed at the beginning of the first volume. He's rescued by Cannonball Joe, the Captain of La Revancha, and Archer soon joins the ship as a cabin boy. Along with Joe, the La Revancha is home to Deathsnake, a man who loves trouble, Deathsnake's adorable niece El, and Abby (she's crazy good at fishing).

The crew is in search of a legendary treasure, but they have a number of obstacles to overcome. Not least of which is Lee, the reckless and vicious captain of the Hoboken, whose crew runs most of New Jersey. Punk rock may be dead, but it's a pirate's life for me.

The first volume is charming and fun, and the second volume is scheduled to come out in October.

Black Metal Volume 1

Overall Rating: 666 (the equivalent of an A+)
Synopsis: Black Metal, by Rick Spears and Chuck BB, follows twin brothers, Shawn and Sam, who are a little...different from the other kids. To start with, these brothers are totally brutal, and are seriously metal. Their favorite band is Frost Axe, and their parentage is mysterious to say the least - though their foster mother is hilariously normal. Soon we learn that they may be the reincarnation of the demon Roth, and they have to fulfill the dark and totally grim prophecy of the Hell Baron.

Ok, so Black Metal may not be manga in the strictest sense, but that all depends on your definition of manga. That's a discussion for another day, but I will say that Black Metal is definitely manga sized if nothing else. So, I'm reviewing it, and there's not much you can do about it. Except go out and buy the book, because it's bad ass.

I picked up the first volume of the series at Comic Con this year, and I knew it was going to be good, because I got a free guitar pick of someone throwing the horns. I read it all that night, and then ran into Rick and Chuck at the con the next day. The book kicked ass and the guys were awesome. I bought a totally grim poster from them, and they gave me a cd by Satyricon.

One of my favorite parts of the book is when the boys' foster mother takes them shopping for school clothes. Looking around the store, they comment that "this store is ripe for the apocalypse". If you've ever been the weird kid, and especially if you're into metal, goth, punk, etc., you will love this book. The second half of the book follows the boys as they learn of their brutal heritage, and the prophecy they must fulfill. Part mythology, part high adventure, and all hilarious, Black Metal is totally necro!

Manga Review - Dramacon Volumes 1 & 2

Overall Rating: C
Synopsis from Tokyopop: Dramacon is a romantic dramedy about a romance that blooms over the course of several years at an anime convention.

Christie is a budding writer who is attending an anime convention for the first time in her life. She and her artist boyfriend, Derek, get a table in the artist alley to promote a self-published ashcan comic that she wrote and he drew.

Derek is a little too taken with the attention all the female cosplayers are paying him, which upsets Christie and forces her to deal with the player side of Derek that she had ignored up until now. Things quickly become more complicated, especially after she bumps into Matt, a handsome -- but shy -- cosplayer.

Svetlana Chmakova's Dramacon plumbs the depths of the emotional attachments that spring up in the superheated world of fan conventions - topics near and dear to the hearts of all true otaku ...

Normally, I try to write my own synopsis, but for Svetlana Chmakova's "Dramacon", I used Tokyopop's. The reason being that this is what made me pick up the first volume at Barnes & Noble, and check it out. Unfortunately, this one doesn't live up to it's description. The characters aren't very well fleshed out, and they seem to jump around a lot. For example, Derek goes from being kind of a jerk as far as boyfriends go, but an ok guy, to trying to rape Christie. Pretty big change if you ask me, and the reasoning behind it doesn't quite add up for me.

That said, I have to admit it's a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. The first two volumes are out, and I read them both in B&N's cafe one night. I think it has to do with my love for conventions and other people's drama (which go hand-in-hand). I think the series has a lot of promise, but is missing the mark. Hopefully, the third book will improve the series, and I can indulge more in some vicarious drama.

Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes Volume 1 - Comic / Manga Review

Rating: A

Synopsis: Hana is a little girl who is spending her life as a hermit. She barely talks to her parents, and at school she refuses to say even one word. The only way Hana spends time with people is by talking to her imaginary friend, Avril Lavigne, and by creating personas online to interact with the people she knows in real life (Bryan, a boy she likes, is into videogames, so she finds him online and talks to him while claiming to be another guy working on game designs). She is miserable in her life, and sees an odd online ad that promises a free mystery gift - she orders it and a small demon arrives promising her five wishes. (Volume 2 available July 3, 2007)

I read this comic assuming that it would be horrible. I was surprised by the dark story, and the rich artwork. The plot resembles a children's story from Neil Gaiman. I was also pleased at how little of the story actually involved Avril Lavigne - Hana likes Avril's music a lot, and created an imaginary friend that resembles Avril. This imaginary Avril acts as Hana's conscience, but her helpful advice is slowly being drowned out by the promises coming from the wish-demon.

As usual, any story involving free wishes has some lessons for the main character to learn. Hana's first wish turns out ok. She wishes that Bryan, the boy she likes, will notice her in a good way and she'll end up in his arms. This wish is fulfilled by her tripping near him in school - he catches her, asks if she's ok, and complements her eyes. Unfortunately, she makes her second wish without clarification and ends up destroying the only congenial relationship she has. As the first book ends (it's the only one out right now) she has made her third and fourth wishes, and the next book will see how they are fulfilled.

The wish-demon even comments on the different lessons Hana is learning, and it is difficult to tell exactly what kind of trickster we are dealing with. He begins to use Hana's computer to destroy the online personas that she has created to interact with her schoolmates. It's hard to tell if the wish-demon is intent on wreaking havoc for fun, or if he's actually on the good side. I suppose this will be revealed in the later books.

Like I said, I didn't expect to be giving a good review to this book at all. The down side of this book is that while it is lavishly colored and illustrated, it is relatively short in relation to other manga books, so you're getting less pages for your money. That being said, I would still recommend at least reading it. Hopefully the upcoming books will keep the standards as high as this one did.

Avatar Fandom is a Little Fuzzier

Good news for Avatar: The Last Airbender fans - they've finally introduced the new stuffed animal versions of Appa and Momo! They're not available online yet, but you can purchase them at Paramount Parks (and they're appearing on eBay, of course).

So, if you're at one of the many Paramount Parks this summer, you can snag your own flying lemur or air bison!