| Page 1 | Page 2 |
 |
Corporate Ninja issue 1, by Matt Mocarski, 2005, Slave Labor Graphics The entire concept of a corporate ninja, someone who uses his ninja skills and ninja powers for general business purposes, is totally absurd. Luckily, the creator of this book totally realizes the absurdity of the concept, and runs with it. The plot of this issue revolves around a company that makes snack crackers shaped like fish. They have always made them blue, and a competing company is making the same thing in red, and the Blue guys are getting desperate because all the women are buying the red fish. Because they are red, I guess. It isn't really explained. However, the company knows that "female consumers" are their enemy, and it is up to the corporate ninja to handle the situation. As with any good ninja story, people get sliced up. The Blue fish people have their intern sliced up, and one of the board chairmen gets his legs cut off. Oh, and some lady who fights to Corporate Ninja in the name of women's rights (or something) has her little boy decapitated. All of the violence is super cartoony, however, so you can't actually take it seriously. Weird, but if you have spent any significant time in a corporate environment, especially one that had to deal with marketing, you will catch the full brunt of the humor, even if it is totally ridiculous. In the end, I may pick up more issues of this series (it looks to be quarterly), and I may not. It is an interesting take on office humor, but the senseless violence is somewhat of a turn-off for me. |
 |
Cromartie High School volume 1, by Eiji Nonaka, 2005, ADV Manga This book is hilarious. The basic situation is that Takashi Kamiyama has enrolled in Cromartie High School in Tokyo. While Takashi might be a normal guy, everyone else at Cromartie is either a total badass or just plain wierd. On top of it all, everyone (including Takashi, it turns out) is a total idiot. The entire book is really just a series of short episodes involving the students at Cromartie. These include a contest to determine who is the toughest amongst them, trying to figure out the mystery of "Freddie," trying to figure out if Takashi and his friend are the only ones who realize that Mechazawa is actually a robot and not a high school student, and stuff like that. None of it really makes any sense, but eveyrone is so earnest that it works out great. Really, really funny. If you demand actual plots in yout comics, then this book isn't for you. If, however, you enjoy absurdist comedy, then you should definitely check this out. |
 |
Just Imagine Stan Lee's Catwoman, by Stan Lee and Chris Bachalo, 2002, DC Comics I saw this book in the back issues boxes at my local store while looking for something else. It looked interesting (I am a known sucker for "alternate character" books), and I've always liked the basic Catwoman character (especially the one from the original animated series), so I figured I would check it out. It ends up being a good gamble on my part, as the book was enjoyable. This time around, Catwoman isn't just a top-notch cat burglar, but someone who actually gets hit by a weird bolt of lightning while holding her cat, and thereby gains cat-like powers, including retractable claws. She then becomes one of the good guys and fights crime, rather than causing crime. Oh, and the whole slinky body and painted-on cat suit is handled in a believable way, as Stan Lee makes Catwoman a supermodel who (due to her fashion world experience) is also an excellent seamstress. I can actually believe that, except that super models are supposed to be rail thin, not voluptuous. Still, that is nit picking on my part. Art-wise, the book is good. I didn't like everything, but Catwoman looks especially great when saving the people trapped in the burning building. Those action sequences were really well done. I didn't really care much for the bad guy, but his thugs looked appropriately grungy. So, good marks overall, with the exception of the ending story. Yes, there is a related but independent story in the back. Take my advice, and don't waste your time. The rest of the book is worth the cover price, though, so check it out if you like Catwoman. |
 |
Chun Rhang Yhur Jhun volume 1, by Sung-Woo Park, 2006, Infinity Studios While I read a fair amount of translated manga, this is my first book of manwha (Korean comics) that I have read. The cover stuck out at me, and the production values of the physical book are absolute top notch. With a $11 price tag, you get a very nice dust-jacket, a small poster that you could remove from the book, and almost 250 pages of comics in a form-factor that is about an inch bigger in both height and length than the current industry standard. With such a great looking book, I was really hoping to get a nice, entertaining martial arts tale. Unfortunately, I was ultimately disappointed with this book. The promised martial arts action was there in all of its glory, but that is the only thing present in this book. There is almost no character development, and I have no reason to care about any of these characters. In fact, some of the characters introduced in this book also get killed in this book, and I had no reason to care because I knew nothing about them. Seriously, the book starts with a fight, and then after a brief interlude there is another fight, and then another one, and then another one, ad nauseum until the end. Maybe this kind of thing goes over well in Asia, but I must admit I don't get it. |