Attack on Titan Volume 7

Bought at Barnes & Noble, Middletown RI USA.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 7
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Ben Applegate

With the abnormal female titan immobilized, the survey corps tries to force the titan to release it's human controller, but the titan fights back with new powers that the survey corps has never seen before.

This leads to an absolutely epic battle between the female titan and Eren in titan form that goes on for over 30 pages of this volume. The artwork is spectacular in this sequence, and the aftermath does a good job of conveying the emotional toll of the outcome on the survey corps.

There's also the setup for a major new plot complication in the final pages, as well as significant continued deepening of titan lore.

Rating: 7.5/10

Attack on Titan Volume 6

Bought at Barnes & Noble, Enfield CT USA.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 6
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Ben Applegate

This was action from start to finish when an abnormal female titan, possibly a human in titan form wreaks havoc on the Survey Corps expedition. The result is a frantic battle/chase sequence that keeps the tension high for the entire issue. Eren has to decide whether to trust his teammates or go against orders. The one break from the action we get is a flashback sequence that gives a bit more insight into how Eren's transformation power works.

The character development in this issue is subtle because it happens in the midst of all of the action, but it's effective. The artwork on the chase and fighting in a forest setting is great, although the scene transitions can be a bit abrupt.

Rating: 7/10

Attack on Titan Volume 5

Bought at Barnes & Noble, Enfield CT USA.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 5
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands

In spite of having won the day in humanity's first major victory against the titans, Eren finds himself imprisoned and put on trial for his life. There are many among the powers that be who feel that Eren would be most useful to humanity if her were killed and dissected. Fortunately, Erwin Smith, Commander of the Survey Corps has a different idea.

Eren finds himself on a major expedition outside the walls in the hope of recovering vital information about the Titans, information that my be found in the ruins of Eren's own home.

In addition to some key plot developments for Eren, we also get to see Eren's training comrades make their final choice of whether to join the Survey Corps or the Military Police. This issue also deepened the mystery of the Titans, kicking things off with an encounter with a titan who could speak, and ending in a battle with a dangerously intelligent abnormal titan. In between, the character of Squad Leader Hange, who is driven to learn all she can about the titans, to the point of conducting gruesome experiments on captured titans.

Although Mikasa and Armin continued to be mostly in the background, this volume did a great job of adding complexity to the titan concept, and ended with some excellent action sequences.

Rating: 7.5/10

Attack on Titan Volume 4

Bought at Double Midnight Comics in Manchester NH USA.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 4
Date: 2013
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands

Volume 4 of this series resolves the cliffhanger from the third volume as humanity gains its first, very costly, victory over the Titans. From there, the story flashes back to Eren in training.

A lot of new characters are introduced here, and there is the potential for lots of really fun interactions as the story moves forward. There were also some good insights into the training process and the dynamic between the recruits. Most of the best recruits want military police duty, which means the fighters most capable of bringing down titans are the least likely to face them.

Armin is a major part of the opening scene, but he and Mikasa fade into the background a bit as the new characters get the spotlight. There were places where it was a little bit hard to keep straight who everyone was, but the new characters had enough interesting details and quirks that this should become easier as the story progresses.

Rating: 6.5/10

Attack on Titan Volume 3

 

Bought from the used book shelf at the Merrimack Public Library in Merrimack NH.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 3
Date: 2012
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands
Editor: Ben Applegate

Through some unknown mechanism, Eren has somehow become a titan, or, at least, has the ability to change into one. Now he has a new problem: His fellow soldiers want to kill him. It's up to Armin to convince them that Eren is still loyal to humanity and that his new abilities can help in the war against the titans.

But a hastily-thrown-together plan to seal a breach in the wall and take back one of the attached walled "towns" runs into immediate problems when Eren's untested powers prove uncontrollable.

This third chapter raises a lot more questions than it answers, and plunges the story into a new cliffhanger. Armin gets the best moments here, and this was a nice spotlight for him. It also introduces a couple of intriguing new characters from the military hierarchy, including the unorthodox Commander Pixis.

The pacing continues to be great, and the complexity of the worldbuilding continues to be built up steadily.

Rating 7/10

Attack on Titan Volume 2

 

Bought from the used book shelf at the Merrimack Public Library in Merrimack NH.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 2
Date: 2012
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands

The story really picks up in the second volume, with a major backstory reveal showing the tragic circumstances of how Mikasa and Eren first met as children and how Mikasa became part of Eren's family.

From there's it's back to the action as a large group of titans swarm a military supply depot, trapping some soldiers inside, and leaving those outside without the ability to replenish the gas they need for their vertical movement gear.

Mikasa, unaware that Eren may already have been killed in action, leads a desperate attack, but help suddenly appears in a most unexpected form.

This was nonstop action with lots of surprising twists and some good character development, particularly for Mikasa.

Rating: 7.5/10

Attack on Titan Volume 1

Bought from the used book shelf at the Merrimack Public Library in Merrimack NH.

Title: Attack on Titan
Issue: Volume 1
Publisher: Kodansha
Creator: Hajime Isayama
Letterer: Steve Wands

Far in the future, the remnants of humanity live in a single city, behind a series of protective walls designed to keep out the titans, nearly indestructible man-eating giants that have overrun most of the world.

When a wall is breached after nearly a century without attacks, a group of young recruits must join the suddenly desperate battle against the titans, which have now produced a colossus capable of breaking through the city's walls.

This was a good introduction to the scenario and I enjoyed the developing relationships between the characters, especially the dynamic between the fiercely protective Mikasa, and the ambitious Eren.

The action sequences are great, the titans more horrifying than you might anticipate, and there is a reasonable attempt to make sense of a scenario of people fighting against human-eating giants.

Rating: 6.5/10