slr2moons | First chapter reviews!

I've managed to read three more first chapters in the past couple weeks, and so I am pleased to bring you all the 2nd set of my first chapter reviews project. ^^

@Large, by Ahmed Hoke. Vol 1 of 3, published by Tokyopop. Main Character is apparently an older teen or in his early 20s, and...actually, I'm not sure what else. O.o He declares at the very beginning he's going to take over the world, but we don't know why or how. A friend wakes him from where he was napping on the street against a wall(!) and drags him along to a club where a big rapper is being featured, they meet with more friends..and...nothing really happens in the 1.5 chapters I read. *perplexed expression* A search on B&N reveals 3 volumes, so apparently Tokyopop did finish publishing this series, which means something DOES happen at some point and enough people bought it for them to finish publishing the run. Huh. Anyway, the art is usually graphically pleasing. The panel layouts are vibrant though tend to be confusing at times, both due to the heavy graffiti influence. Unfortunately the dialogue is very phonetic and already feels old. This one isn't going to age well. I am not the target audience for this manga in every way possible, so unsurprisingly, I have no desire to read more. But I did like the art! :B

The 9 Lives, by Bayou (art and story) and Rachel Manija Brown (story). Vol 1 of ?, published by Tokyopop. Two words for this one: Persecuted Catboys. Seriously! In an AU world, "9 Lives", AKA catboys and catgirls, are not considered real people nor allowed to be free. they have to be owned...like a ~~slave~~ pet. D= Main Character is a younger teen catboy of the cute variety, he's free and always ducking the 9 Lives control guys. Adult Bishounen saves him from a pinch, MC suspects Adult Bishounen wants him as a ~~slave~~ pet, Adult Bishounen continuously insists he does not. Of course MC doesn't believe him and turns stalker, breaking into the man's apartment while he's at work and exploring Goldilocks style. Naturally Adult Bishounen catches MC sleeping in his bed upon returning home. Art-wise, the human figures and expressions are rather flat, which leads me to say it's at the higher end of fanart average. It's drawn with typical western heavy line work and solid anime-style toning. Those last two things and the co-author's name makes me suspect this is an Original English Manga, which is doesn't bode well for the release of future volumes. (Tokyopop consistently let their OELs fizzle with no end.) The premise is rather disturbing, but the story and characters lured me into reading the first two chapters. The BL overtones are amusing, and I'd like to read more for crack value, but I won't be buying this one. *shrug*

20th Century Boys by Urasawa Naoki. Vol 1 of at least 6, published by Viz. Four childhood friends declare they will save the world and make a secret symbol for their gang. 30 years later, that symbol appears on a mysteriously abandoned house, some odd propaganda figure named "Our Friend" is stirring things up, and one of the friends has vanished and possibly been murdered. Sounds odd and convoluted? It is. I read the first two chapters, and I'm quite lost. This manga is clearly setting up a huge, super-involved plot with a large cast shown at various ages in various settings. To make things even more confusing, the story is told with a disjointed style that jumps from scene to scene and era to era. Flashbacks within flashbacks and even some flashforwards to really mix it up. O.o The art is shounen old-school, meaning it's plain but drawn well and certainly does the job. (Other examples of this drawing style are Akira and Yawara.) I want to read more of this one. The murder mystery, the wonderment of just who "Our Friend" is and what he(?) wants, not to menion the lure of a super-convoluted story. Hmmmmm.

Past first-chapter reviews can be found on the Master Index Page