Review - Free Collars Kingdom vol 1-3
John Huxley, 30th Mar 08
OK, so we’ve got covered dogs already. Satomi Ikezawa’s excellent comedy/romance Guru Guru Pon Chan did canines proud, so I figure their feline cousins have got quite a bit of catching up to do in cat vs. dog manga stakes. And so the latest contender on the feline side comes from Tanoshimi; Free Collars Kingdom. Set in a downtown district of Tokyo, Free Collars Kingdom introduces us to Cyan, contented pet cat of his beloved master Kokoro. But when Kokoro falls ill, his mother abandons the cat in the basement of the aptly named Nyan-Man (nyan ap...

Review - Othello vol 1-7
John Huxley, 30th Mar 08
If you’ve read my review of Satomi Ikezawa’s Guru Guru Pon Chan, you’d know that I wasn’t exactly expecting much when I first picked it up. Put that down to my preconceptions if you like, because I actually ended up enjoying it a whole lot. In fact it was one of my favourite comedy manga of recent years. So Othello faces a completely different challenge. Now I’m familiar with the considerable talents of the author, my expectations are massive. And unless it delivers in a way that’s somehow differentiates it from Guru Guru Pon Chan (maybe I s...

Review - Dramacon Volume 3
David Rasmussen, 24th Mar 08
All good things eventually come to an end. That includes the much beloved Dramacon series. After all this time Volume 3 (a few months late from it’s supposed October 2007 release) hit’s the bookshelves and we are treated to one final romp over at Yattacon. Featuring the best grouping of main/secondary cast of the three years, and the best plot twists and complications of the entire run, we return to Yattacon one more time to find that this year is going to be something special (and by that I don’t mean just because the raccoon from Volume 1 ...

Review - Pirates vs. Ninjas II #7 to #8
David Rasmussen, 24th Mar 08
You know something? I’d honestly love to say I’m going to miss this title. No, really, I would. Now that we are at the end of the story arc (again) it looks like we’re about to see the series close up shop for good (once again) and, well, I’d miss it. I’d miss it if not for the fact it looks like there’s a fair chance that this is going to spin off into a third run with Pirates vs. Ninjas III (if rumor holds true, allegedly) so I guess there’s not much to miss here… since it’s, you know, coming back and all. So since we’re not missing anyt...

Review - Prince of Heroes #1 to #2
David Rasmussen, 24th Mar 08
Like rain, the malfunctioning crossing guard light that switches itself green from 2:30PM to 5:30PM, and FIXED NOISE toxic ramblings, there are some things you can rely on (even if you never really want to rely on the third and the second only applies to a street corner in Kamuela HI between the Post Office side and the Chveron gas station… you know the light, state, you periodically have people monkey with the controls but never ever seem to fix it. Like those things, and more, when it comes to amazingly beautiful, awe inspiring visions of fan...

Article - Best Manga of 2007 Voting
David Rasmussen, 27th Jan 08
Here we go again! (NOTE - If the category has the word WINNER on it it means that category has already been resolved. No need to vote on that one.) PM me here to vote for Best of 2007, or e-mail me at darkeraven07@gmail.com! (Header - Best of 2007 Voting) Deadline is the weekend of the Academy A...

Article - The Best & Worst of Manga & AmeriManga 2007
David Rasmussen, 19th Jan 08
Once again another year has come and gone, time to see what was the best and worst of the year. First off AmeriManga, and the best and worst…. Starting with the worst. Worst AmeriManga of 2007 Antarctic Press’ Final Girl To the least effective horror title of 2007, with the lea...

Article - First Look at Archangel (The Comic and the Controversy)
David Rasmussen, 29th Dec 07
It took a little looking, but thanks to Reuters News Service from New York and Fixed Noise… I mean FOX News… here’s your first look at the controversial anti-sex predator comic “Archangel”. If you were to tell me that the New York Roman Catholic Archdiocese were using a comic slash coloring book ...

Article - Who Wants To Be A Superhero? Featuring Feedback
David Rasmussen, 27th Aug 07
Oh, bah humbug. Sci-Fi Channel is dipping back into the comics again. Or at least I think they’ve been doing it again. I haven’t been in the mainstream much so I have no idea if Sci-Fi Channel is even trying to do anything in comics since… since… well I haven’t seen anything I really had a lot to s...

Article - An Open Letter to ADV
David Rasmussen, 25th Jun 07
Yes, technically speaking between 2005 and 2007 ADV didn’t vanish off the face of the Earth. It might as well have though if you happened to have been one of the fans of such and such a title that went on “permanent hiatus” between the two years. Aria, Gunslinger Girl, Desert Coral, whatever. Of c...