Manga Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion Comic Tribute

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Comic Tribute
Authors/Artists: Listed below
Editor: Young Ace Magazine
Dark Horse Comics
156 pages

If you thought Evangelion's characters have a tough time in the anime, wait until you see what happens when some of Japan's most unhinged manga artists get their ink-stained hands on them! Neon Genesis Evangelion: Comic Tribute is an officially authorized one-shot anthology of parody stories assaulting Evangelion from all directions. Inside, Mine Yoshizaki (Sgt. Frog) leads a band of manga pranksters including Hideki Ohwada (The Legend of Koizumi), Yun Kouga (Loveless), Nawoki Karasawa (Sake Jock, Super Cruel and Terrible Tales of Manga-ka), Yoko Sanri (B Gata H Kei: Yamada's First Time), ComiPo! mastermind Keiichi Tanaka, Rui Takato (Cynthia the Mission), Astroguy II (Queen's Blade Struggle), Kotaro Yamada (The Sacred Blacksmith), Sessyu Takemura (Domin-8 Me!), Jun Abe (Portus) and Tony Takezaki (Space Pinchy. A.D. Police). Also contains contributions from normal people, like Rikdo Koshi (Excel Saga). (Source: Dark Horse.com)

I never thought I'd be reviewing a doujinshi collection but that is exactly what Dark Horse Comics has presented us: a collection of doujinshi shorts centered around Neon Genesis Evangelion, written and illustrated by a wide variety of established manga-ka (although most of them are better known in Japan than in the United States). Dark Horse seems to be the place to go for Evangelion spin-off manga since Viz has the actual manga firmly in its grasp for eternity. Honestly, as far as short collections go, it's not the worst but it certainly won't appeal to everyone, especially casual fans who aren't tuned in to every reference and in-show nuance of Evangelion's ever-growing canon.

Graphic Novel Review: Avatar TLA - The Promise Part 1

Avatar: The Last Airbender: The Promise Part 1

Author: Gene Luen Yang

Artist: Gurihiru

Dark Horse Comics

76 pages

Spoiler warning: Review contains spoilers for the Avatar: The Last Airbender series up to the point of The Promise.

This series of digests rejoins Aang and friends for exciting new adventures, beginning with a face-off against the Fire Nation that threatens to throw the world into another war, testing all of Aang's powers and ingenuity! The continuation of Airbender and the link to its upcoming sequel, Legend of Korra! (Source: Goodreads)

You have just finished the final episode of book three of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, and are excited for more stories featuring the Aang Gang. You think Legend of Korra looks cool, but you wish there was a story that would link together these separate stories and justify the canon time skip between the end of ATLA and the opening of Korra. Something with your favorite characters, going on adventures and staying best friends in a post-war world.

So you end up months later with the first volume of The Promise in your hands, book one in a three book series, and you wonder if this is what you asked for. The answer to that question, like a lot of things, is mixed. This is not to say that The Promise's premiere volume is a total wash, but for me it was not the successful comic I was looking for as a long-term ATLA fan to satisfy my Aang and friends cravings. Although if you come into it just for Toph, you will not be disappointed.

Graphic Novel Review: Green River Killer: A True Detective Story

Green River Killer: A True Detective Story

Author: Jeff Jensen

Artist: Jonathan Case

Dark Horse Comics

234 pages (hardcover ed.)

The story of one of America's most notorious killers is revealed in this true-crime comic unlike any other! Throughout the 1980s, the highest priority of Seattle-area police was the apprehension of the Green River Killer, the man responsible for the murders of dozens of women. But in 1990, with the body count numbering at least forty-eight, the case was put in the hands of a single detective, Tom Jensen. After twenty years, when the killer was finally captured with the help of DNA technology, Jensen and fellow detectives spent 188 days interviewing Gary Leon Ridgway in an effort to learn his most closely held secrets-an epic confrontation with evil that proved as disturbing and surreal as can be imagined. Written by Jensen's own son, acclaimed entertainment journalist Jeff Jensen, Green River Killer: A True Detective Story presents the ultimate insider's account of America's most prolific serial killer.

I never expected to read about the story of the Green River Killer in graphic novel form, but here I am, doing exactly that, from the mouth of the head detective's son himself. As someone who was born in 1990, the case is a rather distant one for me; I barely remember the news coverage that broke out when Gary Ridgway was convicted of his horrific crimes. What I found in Jeff Jensen's account of his father's work was a blood chilling tale of murder and violence without reason, and the story of a man consumed by this single man's acts even to this day. Told in a stark, detailed style, this graphic version of the Green River Killer's case, it's a book that is hard to simply walk away from at the end; even now, it lingers in my mind long after I've read the last page.