Ranma 1/2 Volume 4

From my books retrieved from storage.

Title: Ranma 1/2
Issue: Volume 4
Date: 1995
Publisher Viz Media
Writer: Rumiko Takahashi
Artist: Rumiko Takahashi

Ranma, a local martial arts prodigy, has a bit of a curse to deal with. He changes sex whenever he gets splashed with cold water. Hot water reverses the change.

Things get even more complicated when Ranma's old frienemy, Shampoo, shows up, along with her great-grandmother, who uses a secret pressure-point technique to make Ranma intolerant of hot water, causing Ranma to be stuck in girlform. From there, Ranma sets out on a series of schemes to get the great-grandmother to reverse this latest indignity. We end with a cliffhanger involving a shark.

This was goofy fun, a bit hard to follow in places, although some of that was just from jumping into the series at volume 4. The characters are more meant to be laughed at than to be sympathized with, which left me without much of a hook to care about the story beyond the slapstick antics. This was decent in terms of mayhem, but there wasn't much in the way of substance.

Rating: 4.5/10

Seven Ways Through the Woods

Title: Seven Ways Through the Woods
Date: 2025
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins)
Writer: Jenn Reese
Artist: Devin Elle Kurtz

Not a comic. This is a children's picture book.

Jenn Reese presents a series of adventurous kids looking for a way through the dark and mysterious woods. They each find their own way to cross, complete with Devin Elle Kurtz's absolutely gorgeous illustrations and a bit of helpful advice for each method of crossing. Don't try the crystal serpents if unless you enjoy their singing! The story ends with a bit of insight on the nature of the obstacles in our paths, and a very different seventh approach.

This was charming and delightful.

Rating: 9/10