AmeriManga is an interesting experiment. Though not the first time a Western company has published an anthology of home grown manga, AmeriManga is the leader in taking such a project mainstream. To those not into manga it might not seem that there is even an audience for such works. However, the growth and success of doujinishi (fan manga or comics) and flourishing original manga series like Lea Hernandez's Rumble Girls and Shutterbox by the husband and wife team Rikki Simons and Tavisha, prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Westerners have not only embraced it, but have done justice to this remarkable gift to global culture from Japan.

     AmeriManga's first issue appeared in December of 2002. Published monthly, the anthology features a combination of six to eight original short stories and serials, from shoujo to shounen, space epics to magical girls; all are represented!

     I was immediately impressed by AmeriManga, primarily due to the violently entertaining Kouseki and the shoujo series Soul Union. Kouseki is a Japanese medieval fantasy drama of demons and samurai in an all out battle for the Earth. At the heart of this battle is the Kouseki no Tachikara, a powerful force that protected Earth from the negativity of creation. During a celestial war between rivaling demon factions, the Swarm and the Chaos of Evil, it was discovered that six smaller powers controlled a larger seventh that gave anyone who possessed it unimaginable powers. However, this vye for power failed, and the six Koseki lied within the members of a lone Samurai clan. Now centuries later the Clan of Chaos has returned and the slaughter for the Koseki has begun. Though the plot is eerily similar to that of Rumiko Takahashi's Inu Yashua, the similarity ends there. As the characters and themes indulge in pure unadultered violence and mayhem, brave and likable characters are swiftly beheaded and gutted in the pursuit of the Koseki no Tachikara.

     The second anchor story Soul Union is about an orphaned human boy who after the death of his twin sister is adopted by a family of wolf people. The youngest of his pack, he constantly strives to become accepted by his adopted father while desperately trying to emulate his older brother. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the night before he sets out on a quest to find his manhood an angel intercepts him insisting that if he does not help her, she cannot rest, and that she will haunt him forever. Needless to say our young protagonist deeds are put on hold and an exciting adventure involving civilized beasts, rouge priests, and comedy ensue for all out fun!

     Yet, despite these two well-written stories and my general positive disposition for the AmeriManga project, a nagging doubt still persists. Many of the other shorts and series featured lacked a certain amount of professional quality equally in regards to art and story. A clear example of this is in the magical girl mini-series Magical Pageant, which is nothing more than a mix of all those wonderful, but, clichés, of such series. Thus many of these series lack clear themes, plots or characters, resulting in nothing more than many pretty pictures thrown together. And with Shonen Jump about the quarter of the size of a phone book and only $10.00, leaving AmeriManga with some steep competition in quality, size, and costs. AmeriManga is about a quarter of Shonen Jump's size and nearly equal in price at $7.99 .

     In ending would I say go and spend your hard earned money on this magazine series? Yes, because it has the potential, and is an example of interesting and otherwise unrated talent. Conversely, I would ask the publishers to take heed to the talent they sign. I mean after all, for the price of this anthology, people deserve their money's worth.

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to CosmicNerdGirl@ybfree.com.

Related Articles

• Comics-N-Manga: Rumble Girls
• Comics-N-Manga: Shutterbox
• Comics-N-Manga: Rumiko Takahashi's Major and Minor Works
• Comics-N-Manga: Inu Yashua
• Comics-N-Manga: Shonen Jump

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