Black God: v. 2 (Black God) by Dall-Young Lim
| Black God: v. 2 (Black God) by Dall-Young Lim | |
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| Category: Graphic Novels | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: This issue leads up to a huge fight in a very gentle way, and still packs a most different kind of punch with the ending. Best for people to read the opening volume first, but almost recommendable even if you haven't. | |
| Buy? Maybe | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 224 | Date: February 2008 |
| Publisher: Yen Press | |
| ISBN: 978-0759528413 | |
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A lot has happened in the world of comics and manga since I reviewed the first volume of Black God. Heck, even Captain America managed to die ('not too great a loss', I hear you knowledgably mutter). So coming to this second book after turning many a page of many other conflicting and diverse comic worlds since reading the first is a little like coming to the series anew.
It took some time for me to remember that this is the series with the boy somehow having the arm of a demonic fighter spirit in girl form, or something, but I don't think characterisation is exactly the main reason for any manga opus. And indeed the book here builds and builds to an extended fight sequence, albeit in a nice and subtle way (well, as subtle as the genre allows), where you really don't need to know anything about anyone.
I will provide a kind of crib sheet here, though – the combatants are two female spirit demon things, each linked in some way with a human male – to the extent that their fighting prowess is even on a par with the man's bravery, stamina and whatnot. A third female is the subject of the combat, and is featured strongly, as are three nerds in a subplot of having their computer game developed. There is also an ending which has a great suddenness, and unexpectedness, which allows me to say nothing else about it.
However it must surely be a third of the book that covers the fight scene – at least if you include the initial verbal bickering, which soon disappears to some very nice manga pages. All the swoops are kinetic, some impacts are very hard to decipher, the girls all have unfeasible hairstyles for great fighting, and the sound effects are still too easy to ignore, being in the original Japanese pictograms. I would dread to think what the fight could have looked like, however – this one is done very well, tying in the people concerned, the whole mythology behind their relationships, and the different styles of combat and moves each female specialises in, with great concentration also being spent on the pictures and framing. The artists have also credited one of the brawlers with a most lovely bra, as well.
But take away the fight, and it's pleasing to say you still have a worthwhile manga to investigate – the build-up, pacing and lack of exposition do all make it a little awkward if you haven't invested in part one yet, but the climax here makes interest in part 3 a matter of no debate whatsoever. It's not the most brilliant book out there, but manga fans will appreciate the artwork, lettering and whole style of the piece, the way the demon fighting world dovetails with the computer nerds, and the token girly nudity towards the end.
I of course can remain far too sniffy about all that, but am still finding a return to the Black God world an appealing prospect. We Bookbaggers would like to thank Yen Press for sending a copy of part 2 for us to read.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Black God: v. 2 (Black God) by Dall-Young Lim at Amazon.com.
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