Orfina Volume 1

From the tbr shelf. Not sure where I got this one.

Title: Orfina
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2005
Publisher: CMX
Writer: Kitsune Tennouji
Artist: Kitsune Tennouji
Editorial Director: Jim Lee

A young soldier fleeing the forces of an advanced militant nation is taken in by the royal family of a peaceful kingdom, and it's discovered that the soldier appears nearly identical to that kingdom's princess. The princess and the resistance fighter become best friends from the moment they meet, but the forces of the invading nation, Granze, are closing in, unleashing destruction with guns and fire dragons which the armies of Cordia have no defense against.

The story in this opening volume turns grim pretty quickly as the folk of Cordia fight a brave, but losing battle against the invaders and Princess Orfina and her "twin", Fana, must flee for their lives.

There was some good character development, particularly in the relationship between Orfina and Fana, and lots of room for future plot complications. This was a solid start, and the artwork was lovely.

Rating: 7.5/10

LiLing Po Volume 1

Found at a Little Free Library in Yarmouth MA USA in October, 2024.

Title: LiLing Po
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2005
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Ako Yutenji
Artist: Ako Yutenji
Letterer: Yoohae Yang
Editor: Julie Taylor

LiLing Po is an infamous thief who is released from prison to help his government recover a set of stolen magical treasures.

This quickly turns into an episodic kind of thing where LiLing Po and the government agents working with him investigate people who have been influenced or changed by the wish-granting powers of the mysterious eight treasures. While this provides some nice structure, I found the characters hard to relate to and the dialogue dense. This could have benefited from slower pacing and a bit of breathing room to get to know everyone before plunging into a sort of monster-of-the-week mode.

Rating: 4/10

Unearthly Volume 1

From the books I unpacked out of storage.

Title: Unearthly
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Date: September, 2005
Writer: Ted Naifeh
Artist: Elmer Damaso, Paolo Aguasin
Letterer: Nicky Lim
Editor: Jason DeAngelis, Adam Arnold

This is set up as a high school love triangle romance, and very quickly turns into something else entirely. Bookish student Ann has a crush on Jem, a sensitive boy who also has the attention of volleyball captain Rae.

Enter Star, an alien shapeshifter on the run. A fair amount of mayhem ensues before we get a final shift into space opera mode.

I liked that the characters are deeper and more complex than they first appear, especially Rae, the popular girl/jock. She's loads of fun with a surprising emotional range and a more real vibe than I expected when she was introduced. She's the real highlight of this initial volume, but I enjoyed the interactions between Ann and Jem as well.

The second volume looks to have a very different flavor, and I'm interested to see where the story goes.

Rating: 7/10

Soul To Seoul Volume 1

From the boxes of books I had in storage.

Title: Soul To Seoul
Issue: Volume 1
Date: 2005
Publisher: Tokyopop
Writer: Kim Jea Eun (English adaptation by Ellen Choi)
Artist: Kim Jea Eun
Letterer: Eva Han
Editor: Julie Taylor

This was a mix of romance, family drama, and crime drama about Korean teens living in New York City. There was a lot going on here in terms of character interactions, and the first volume just scratches the surface of all of the potential drama.

At the center of it all are rapper Spike and wannabe-gangster Kai. Kai meets Sunil, a young woman recently arrived from Korea, and Kai is willing to give up his playboy ways to date her. Meanwhile Kai's cousin arrives to disrupt the dynamics of his already complex and tension-filled family life.

When Spike gets arrested, Kai takes his first step down a dark path for the sake of bailing his friend out of jail.

This felt a bit choppy as it jumped between different plot threads and conflicts. The writer clearly had a lot to introduce in the first volume and was determined to get everything in. Some of it, possibly the character JJ's backstory, might have better been saved for a future volume. Still, the story set up a lot of intriguing elements, and ended on a strong note.

Rating: 6/10

The Legend of Drizzt Book I: Homeland

Borrowed from a friend here in Shanghai, who recently brought the first four of these graphic novels here from the US.

Title: The Legend of Drizzt
Issue: Book I: Homeland
Date: 2005
Publisher: Devils Due Publishing
Writer: R.A. Salvatore, Andrew Dabb
Penciler: Tim Seeley
Inker: Andrew Pepoy, Marco Galli, Derek Fridolfs, Dennis Crisostomo, Serge LaPointe
Colorist: Blond
Letterer: Steve Seeley
Editor: Mark Powers

Adapting the first novel in R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy. Set in the Forgotten Realms (D&D campaign setting) underdark city of Menzoberranzan, the story is essentially the origin of Drizzt Do'Urden. In the original prose novels, the drow elf Drizzt was introduced in the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and was then given his own story, starting with Homeland. In this graphic novel series, the stories will appear in chronological order, with the Icewind Dale adaptations to follow the Dark Elf trilogy.

This volume gives the story of Drizzt's birth and childhood through his days at the infamous Melee-Magthere combat academy where he trained to become one of Menzoberranzan's greatest warriors, even as he began to have his doubts about the brutal nature of drow society.

The original Homeland is a richly-detailed novel, and a lot had to be cut in order for this to flow smoothly in the graphic novel medium. Script writer Andrew Dabb did a remarkable job, especially with the complex web (see what I did there?) of political intrigue that binds the drow noble houses. While not all of the descriptive worldbuilding could be included, the art team led by Tim Seeley manage to capture much of the mood of Menzoberranzan in the visuals.

The drow society as presented in these stories has always felt like it could have used more nuance, but the conflicting motivations of the characters are handled well. The story felt complex, but not to the point where it was hard to follow. Drizzt himself comes off as a bit less broody than the prose version due to the limitations of space, and the emphasis on actions over words helps move the story along.

The Dark Elf Trilogy were not really favorites of mine as I look back on them, but this edition got me sufficiently nostalgic and never overstayed its welcome.

Rating: 7/10

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #187

From the Random Stack of Unread Comics.

Title: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
Issue: 187
Date: March, 2005
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Shane McCarthy
Penciller: Tommy Castillo
Inker: Rodney Ramos
Colorist: Tony Avina
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Bob Schreck, Michael Wright

This is part three of a story arc called "Riddle Me That", with the Batman being manipulated through a complex series of puzzles and traps by the Riddler, while the Riddler's past is explored in flashback sequences.

It hadn't occurred to me until I read this, but I know pretty much nothing about the Riddler's origin story, which is surprising to me considering what a longstanding and iconic character he is. I've even cosplayed him! And I still know nothing about his background.

So for that alone, I found this a really intriguing issue. It's a pretty transitional piece of the overall story arc, so the present-time action doesn't really amount to all that much, but the bits of Riddler backstory were enough to get me interested in reading more.

Rating: 6.5/10

Ex Machina Volume 1: The First Hundred Days

Catching up because I didn't have access to google while traveling.

I got this from the book sale room at the Plymouth MA public library last summer.

This is my last comic read in 2019.

Title: Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days
Issue: Volume 1
Date: February, 2005
Publisher: DC Comics / Wildstorm
Writer: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Tony Harris, Tom Feister, J.D. Mettler

Fun superhero story that serves as the background for an excellent political drama.

Public Works employee Mitchell Hundred gains the power to control machines. His attempt at becoming a superhero is full of mishaps and mistakes, so he decides he could do more good by running for mayor of New York City.

His unlikely political victory leaves him with a whole new set of challenges to face.

A really strong supporting cast of characters and a solid grasp of politics help keep this story interesting while weaving a complex array of subplots and twists. There's a good mix of humor and tragedy, and excellent use of flashback to slowly reveal the events behind the main storyline.

This volume collects the first five issues, including one of my all-time favorite ending splash pages at the end of the first issue.

Rating: 8.5/10

Dark Signs

From the randoms stack of unread comics. I got busy with work stuff over the last few days, so I've fallen behind on my goal of finishing the stack by next Friday. I'll need to pull double-duty a few days in order to get it done, or else have one marathon day of reviewing this weekend. We'll see what fits in around the packing and paperwork.

Title: Dark Signs
Publisher: Against Studios / No Name Press
Date: 2005
Writer: Tom Lin
Artist: Tom Lin

This is a cop story set in a world with a problem of people spontaneously turning into monsters, and starring a couple of slacker detectives whose job it is to find the monsters and kill them.

They have a robotic boss with man-eating car and a very nasty incentive program. And their new mission involves a couple of psychics who can see the future well enough to know that the cops are coming for them.

I didn't find the two lead characters all that likeable, but things did improve in the last few pages with some additional characters and the potential for more interesting interactions.

The art style takes a bit of getting used to, but it works well for the chaotic world in which the story is set.

Rating: 5/10

Astonishing X-Men #10

From the random stack of unread comics, as chosen by the Kiddo. This is the first of two issues from this title that I've got in the to-read stack.

Title: Astonishing X-Men
Issue: 10
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Date: May, 2005
Writer: Joss Whedon
Artist: John Cassaday
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Mike Marts, Sean Ryan, Nick Lowe

So, the Danger Room AI has become not just self-aware, but also righteously pissed off, and she (she appears in a vaguely female shapeshifting robotic form) proceeds to mop the (Danger Room) floor with the X-Men.

The team in this case consists of Cyclops, Emma Frost, Wolverine, Colossus, Kitty Pryde, and Beast. Joss Whedon (you know, that guy from Buffy and firefly; the director of the film version of The Avengers) is writing, and in a moment-by-moment sense, this is all good. Danger Room knows all of the X-Men's tactics and weaknesses, and so she takes them apart with relative ease, only having a couple moments of trouble when they make some attempts at breaking their normal patterns.

Unfortunately, as well executed as it is, it just didn't feel all that original or interesting, and Danger Room's constant talking about how she's fought  the X-Men thousands or times and knows them better than they know themselves and whatnot does not help the cause. By the time I was half way through this, I wanted the X-Men to win, not because Danger Room was such a horrible threat, but just because of how annoying she was.

Also, would someone please give Danger Room a name so that I don't have to keep referring to her as Danger Room?

A couple of the characters are apparently killed by the time it's all said and done, but this is the Marvel Universe (and as we have said many times, there is dead, and then there is dead-in-the-marvel-universe, and those two things are not particularly related), so there isn't a whole lot of emotional punch to those scenes.

I did like the ending line. Joss Whedon has always been great with the one-liners, and this one works nicely. I wish it had been saved for a better story.

Rating: 4.5/10

The Stardust Kid #1

From the random unread comics pile, picked out by the Kiddo. I am guessing I originally bought this because you really can't go wrong with Mike Ploog's art.

Title: The Stardust Kid
Date: May, 2005
Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: J.M. DeMatteis
Artist: Mike Ploog
Colorist: Nick Bell
Letterer: Dave Lanphear

The Stardust Kid tells the story of Cody, a boy about to turn 13, and his friend Paul, a boy who is, well, not what he appears to be.

This was a really nicely-written urban fantasy with a strong cast of characters and a take on ancient magic that was both familiar (evoking J.M. Barrie and Lewis Carroll) and refreshingly original.

Almost all of this issue was setup and introduction of characters, and it got a bit wordy in places, but it was looking to build a strong foundation, and I felt it succeeded. It will be very interesting to see where things go from here.

Mike Ploog's artwork is always brilliant, and this was just another example of how great he is. He has a flair for both the ordinary details that bring out personality in characters, and the large-scale fantasy images the deliver the sense of woner.

Rating: 7.5/10

Scott Pilgrim Volume 2: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

The school where I work has a relatively small library, but it's got a surprisingly good selection of graphic novels. I bought the first volume a couple of years ago (review here), and had been meaning to continue this series.

Title: Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Issue: Volume 2
Publisher: Oni Press
Date: 2005
Writer: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Artist: Bryan Lee O'Malley
Editor: James Lucas Jones


Musician and slacker Scott Pilgrim is dating two girls, and he needs to make a choice.

And furthermore, if that choice is to keep dating Ramona Flowers, he must still defeat the remaining six members of the League of Ramona's Evil Ex-Boyfriends. And next up on that list is Lucas Lee (not to be confused with Luke Wilson, apparently), a former pro skateboarder turned bigtime Hollywood star.

Meanwhile, Ramona meets Scott's friends, and becomes friends with Scott's sister. She also gets to meet Scott's other girlfriend, Knives Chau, and, well, Scott is not the only one with a fight scene in this volume.

There is also useful tourist information for Toronto-area sightseeing spots, and a recipe for vegan shepherd's pie. Plus a flashback to Scott's high school days.

Scott is grating at times, but that is part of the point. The story is frenetically paced and endlessly quirky, with great interplay between a diverse supporting cast, and a nice sprinkling of video game references.

Rating: 7.5/10

Oddly Normal #1

Back from Arisia and Back to the backlog!

Title: Oddly Normal
Issue: 1
Publisher: Viper Comics
Date; March, 2005
Writer: Otis Frampton
Artist: Otis Frampton
Editor: Jim Resnowski

Oddly Normal is the name of this series. It's also the name of the lead character, a young half-witch who has discovered that having green hair, pointed ears, and an aversion to water does not exactly translate into popularity at school. Her parents, a witch from Fignation (the world of everything imaginary) and a normal guy from Earth, can be a bit clueless about what Oddly is going through.

But when a botched birthday party leads to a wish-gone-badly-wrong, Oddly will finally get the chance to journey to her mother's homeworld, and that's just the beginning of her adventure.

This was fun. The opening laid on the school angst a bit thick, but there were some really great details and brief but fun deconstruction of The Wizard of Oz. Once the plot gets going, Oddly is shifted over to Fignation fairly quickly, but we don't get to see very much of her new home before we come to the end of this book. What we do see looks pretty intriguing, though.

Good lead character, and a plot that is off to a clever start.

Rating: 7.5/10

Teen Titans #28

Continued from my previous review: This is the second of a two-part Teen Titans story arc that Joe McGlone, artist for the webcomic Entripor, passed along for me to take a look at.

Title: Teen Titans
Date: November, 2005
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Rob Liefeld
Colorist: Matt Yackey
Letterer: Comicraft
Editor: Jeanine Schaefer, Joan Hilty

Kid Flash makes it onto the cover this time, but still no Beast Boy.

We skip a bit from last time and cut right to Robin wallowing in the team's trouncing at the hands of Kestrel, even though it was more of a hit-and-run than a real trouncing. Kestrel has captured Raven's soul-self and fled back to his realm with the two third-rate villainesses he recruited last time, conveniently leaving a gaping-open dimensional rift for the Titans to follow him through.

I don't know much about Kestrel, but I can't help but wonder whether he came about because somebody demanded that DC have a character with claws that are EVEN BETTER THAN WOLVERINE'S!!! I can see the conversation now:

DC Editor #1: "Wolverine's claws are made of adamantium! They can cut through anything! How can we ever top that?"
DC Editor #2: "I know! We'll make up a guy with claws so sharp they can cut through the FABRIC OF TIME AND SPACE!!!"

So, it's off to find Kestrel in his home dimension (a fairly generic version of Hell). I did like Beast Boy laughing at the "mirror that shows our greatest fears". Clever.

Kestrel sends his new recruits into battle throws his new recruits to the wolves. Fight scene ensues. Server Aja kinda gets lost in the shuffle for the second time out of two fight scenes she's appeared in. I'm beginning to suspect Liefeld doesn't like drawing her. Probably because she's wearing clothing.

So this scene basically boils down to a fight between Cross Christina and Wonder Girl, although fight isn't really the word for it as that would imply some level of competitiveness. Christina eventually realizes that hitting Cassie's fists with her face is not really getting her anywhere and surrenders.

Meanwhile, Robin, demonstrating that he's the tactician of the group, has decided to sneak off to fight Kestrel on his own. This is after repeatedly warning everyone last issue that Kestrel is so dangerous that even their combined powers might not be enough to beat him.

They do some mindgame stuff with an illusion of Tim's dad (they've got a Father's Day theme going on here, remember?), but that quickly gives way to brawling, and they actually start to do a pretty cool thing. You see, Kestrel, an agent of chaos, uses a chaotic and nearly-impossible-to-predict fighting style. And Robin is all about training and discipline. I loved Tim's line "Let's show him the dangers of the orderly mind." Brilliant.

Unfortunately, though, they feel the need to get back to the full-scale team brawl, so Kestrel regains the upper hand just in time for the rest of the Titans to show up and save Robin.

More fighting follows, and then a "shocking" twist that I could see coming a mile away. We quickly move into epilogue mode.

Oh, and Liefeld manages the seemingly impossible feat of drawing Starfire wearing even less than she usually wears.

That being said, I do have to give props for the final page, which is a genuinely sweet and tender scene between Cassie and the wounded Raven. More of this next time, please.

And less Kestrel.

Rating: 5.5/10

Teen Titans #27

Joe McGlone, artist for the webcomic Entripor, recently gave me a couple of issues of Teen Titans to review. Well, as it says on the cover of the first of these (Issue #27): Come on... You KNOW you want it!

Title: Teen Titans
Date: October, 2005
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Gail Simone
Artist: Rob Liefeld
Colorist: Matt Yackey
Letterer: Comicraft
Editor: Jeanine Schaefer, Joan Hilty

So, all of the creative team here are listed as "guests". This is the first of a self-contained two-part arc, but other than that I have no idea how or if this fits into the grand continuity scheme of things. I also don't know all that much about the Teen Titans. They're not something I read all that much of. This looks like a pretty classic version of the team, though: Robin (Tim Drake), Cyborg, Wonder Girl (Cassie), Raven, Kid Flash (not on the cover for some reason), Beast Boy (also not on the cover) and um... Hawk and Dove (on the cover!)? Except that they're both women. Okay, whatever.

Some super-powered jobbers have hostages on the roof of a building, and we're off and running with a fight scene that starts out as a good old fashioned WCW jobber squash, then gives us a brief hope spot for the heels (yes, I do realize that it's normally the babyfaces that get the hope spot, but that's really what it looked like) before the tables get turned and the Titans go back to squashing the heels. There's also a brief cutaway to the Lords of Chaos and some villain.

Interesting detail: Robin takes a jumping kick from the supposedly super-strong Cross Christina (no, really, that's her name; she slightly resembles Domino from Marvel except that she wears even less). Robin then hits back with pretty much the exact same kick for the KO. Boy. Girl. Same kick. Girl is the one with the super strength. Girl hits first. Boy gets back up. Girl is knocked out. Sexism? Or just sloppy fight choreography? These days at DC it can be so hard to tell.

Best line of the comic: "Cyborg's hand, smelling slightly of liquid polymer and molybdenum." Really? Robin can smell the distinctive odor of molybdenum? I want THAT power! I wonder if it smells better or worse than tungsten. Or yttrium.

So, as it turns out, it's Father's Day, so it's back to HQ for some parent-themed character development and bowling. Look, I may not be taking this scene seriously, but they're the ones who are bowling.

Oops! We interrupt this comic for a seven-page Bionicle comic. Here's the first line of dialogue:

"The time is drawing near. Almost all of my threads have been spun. And I wait only for my prey to rush headlong into the trap. Always remember this, Little Hordeling... Though I am not a Visorak, I too can weave a web."

The remaining six pages are pretty much just like that line. The artwork is pretty difficult to figure out, and the characters are all generic-looking lego robots. But, apparently, the thrilling conclusion of this can be found in the October issue of Sports Illustrated For Kids. This is getting more surreal by the moment.

Meanwhile, back in the DCU, some heavily-armed cops are transporting the previously-captured villains. Excessive violence follows. Some off screen and some on. The actual villain (Kestrel) makes his presence known. We rush right into fight-mode and end on a cliffhanger.

Kestrel is pretty much everything that's wrong with like 90% of DC villains these days. All sadism and viciousness with no actual personality or any kind of complexity. The Titans are more interesting, and I did really like the little glimpse we got of this version of Hawk & Dove.

The story felt rushed and choppy. Liefeld's art was decent. A bit exaggerated, but that's what you expect from him. Simone's writing managed to ratchet the intensity up to 11 by the end, but the path getting there could have been a lot better.

Rating: 4.5/10

Plastic Farm #12

Continuing through the Plastic Farm run.

Title: Plastic Farm
Issue: #12
Date: December 2005
Publisher: Plastic Farm Press
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Rafer Roberts
Copy Editor: Nan Roberts

Chester Carter visits a fortune teller and gets all the answers. He just doesn't get to keep them. The final chapter of the first part of Plastic Farm doesn't wrap everything up, but it does give the reader some better insight into where Chester fits in all of the strangeness around him.

The dialogue is really strong in this issue, and the story has a nice even flow to it, as it concentrates mostly on a single narrative (with the framing story of the older Chester telling his tale at the snowed-in airport.

Rafer Roberts handles the art solo this time, and provides some really strong visuals, including a very nice final splash page.

A good breaking point, if not an actual conclusion.

Rating: 7.5/10

Plastic Farm #11

Another issue of Plastic Farm, part of the haul from the SPACE convention.

Title: Plastic Farm
Issue: #11
Date: September 2005
Publisher: Plastic Farm Press
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Rafer Roberts, Dave Morgan, Danielle Corsetto
Copy Editor: Nan Roberts

Five in-continuity short stories here, plus a Rafer Roberts backup story that's outside of the Plastic Farm universe.

Lots of cannibalism this issue. Plus some connections established between previous chapters, and some new characters and situations introduced.

Artist Danielle Corsetto's work on the love-gone-wrong story "The Flavor of My Love" was a perfect fit for this disturbing bit of black comedy.

I thought the other segments fell short of providing the kind of connections that I was hoping for this issue, although Roberts did manage to tie in one of the most obvious unconnected threads from a previous issue, and he revisited another.

I also really enjoyed the bit of poetry that is read by one of the characters in the opening scene. It's a nice bit of character development, and holds its own pretty well as a poem.

The final backup story was a a pretty amusing piece, mostly for its use of language, and the protagonist gets some firsthand experience in becoming "wooby".

Finally, worth noting in this issue is a two-page letter from Dave Sim with advice on distribution and marketing of independent comics. It's a bit dated at this point, but still worth a look as Mr. Sim goes into considerable detail on his perceptions of the challenges of distributing to the retail market and the question of when to move to a trade paperback offering.

Rating: 7/10

Plastic Farm #10

Back to the pile of comics from SPACE. I'm slowly making my way through it!

Title: Plastic Farm
Issue: #10
Date: June 2005
Publisher: Plastic Farm Press
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Dennis Culver
Copy Editor: Nan Roberts

Detective Jake Goner investigates the bombing that killed two of his fellow cops. At the funeral, he makes a promise to one of the widows to find the killer, but the investigation soon grinds to a halt amid a mass of red tape. It seems that powerful people in the police department want this case to remain unsolved.

Detective Goner is unable to shake the need to find the truth, even when his continued investigations cost him his career. But that price, it turns out, is only the beginning.

Rafer Roberts goes back to the straight-up hardboiled detective style for this issue, and crafts a disturbing tale that features the capable illustration talent of Dennis Culver.

Rating: 7/10

Plastic Farm #9

Title: Plastic Farm
Issue: #9
Date: March 2005
Publisher: Plastic Farm Press
Writer: Rafer Roberts
Artist: Wendi Strang-Frost
Copy Editor: Nan Roberts
Backup Story By: Scott Cristian Carr, Jeff Westover

This issue delves into the origin story of Raoul the baggage handler, a tale which begins with a man hiding from his bill collectors and quickly spirals into bizarre experimentation and government conspiracies.

What I really liked in this issue was all of the minor details that were brought in from previous issues and strung together. Rafer Roberts is telling a complex tale here, one in which everything is connected even though things to not at first appear to be.

Backup story was "The Continuing Adventures of Fat Man and Little Boy", a post-apocalyptic comedy by the team of Scott Cristian Carr and Jeff Westover. I liked the post-apocalyptic culture they have created, and the distorted take on what life was like "afore the war".

Rating: 7.5/10

Tenjho Tenge Free Preview

Title: Tenjho Tenge Free Preview
Date: 2005
Publisher: CMX (DC Comics)
Writer: Oh! great
Penciler: Oh! great
Inker: Oh! great
Editorial Director: Jim Lee

Preview of CMX's reprint of the 1997 Shueisha manga by Oh! great. A bit of research on Wikipedia reveals that there was a big kerfluffle over the content editing that was done by DC to make this title acceptable for US bookstore distribution.

This preview minicomic doesn't feature any adult content, and there's not a whole lot of plot here either. Apparently the setting is a high school where "education takes a back seat to brawling as warring clubs wreak havoc in the hallways and chaos in the classrooms, all vying to be the baddest team around". All of which makes it sound a lot like the school I worked at before my current day job.

So apparently, there's one group of students, the Juken club, who are attempting to stem this tide of violence... By beating people up, of course.

Like many manga, this one does look like it has the potential to rise above its goofy premise. First of all, the artwork by Oh! great is, well, great. The introduction of the character Aya, a katana-wielding schoolgirl, is absolutely gorgeous, and does a great job of conveying the love-at-first-sight moment that takes place when Aya first appears. The character interactions also look like they have potential, and the preview hints at some complex relationships, romantic and otherwise.

There really isn't enough story in this mini to get a good sense of the manga, but it is certainly a pretty book, and there are some flashes of brilliance in the dialogue.

Rating: 6.5/10

X-Men #175 Wizard World Boston Edition

Title: X-Men
Issue: #175 (Wizard World Boston Edition)
Date: 2005
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Peter Milligan
Penciler: Salvador Larroca
Inker: Danny Miki, Allen Martinez
Letterer: Virtual Calligraphy's Cory Petit
Editor: Mike Marts

This is a special edition featuring a variant sketch cover and the Wizard World Boston logo.

The story centers on an outbreak of animal mutations in Africa that brings an X-Men team to investigate. With Logan, Ororo, Havok, Polaris, Iceman, Rogue, and Gambit on the team (and Emma Frost calling the shots from back home), the mutant crocodiles don't stand much of a chance.

Ororo really takes center stage here as her return to Africa opens the floodgates of mixed emotions. Logan, meanwhile, is just being Logan.

This was fast paced, with some good character development for Ororo, and at least some basic attempts at character development for the rest of the team. The surprise ending isn't all that shocking, but it at least serves the thicken the plot.

Rating: 7/10