King City

So every once in a while a comic book is more of an experience than a good read, and I recently read once such tome. The book is King City, by Brandon Graham, an OEL manga from Tokyopop.

First off, I'm not sure why these 'original English language' books Tokyopop is putting out are called manga -- in the case of King City, and my favorite book from last year "The Abandoned", the only thing these really have in common with manga is the format. No distortions, no Japan, no nothing. So I'm not sure why they're called manga, but I sure do like them! Go Tokyopop! (Even though you cut off all the pages on "The Abandoned", and aren't going to print any more issues of it.)

As for King City, I came very close to not ordering this, in fact, it wasn't even on my original list, so I must have added it at the last minute. And thank goodness for that. I think I was initially going to pass due to the art, which ironically, is now what I like best about it. Initially, the art looked too graphitti-esque for me, but, upon reading it, realized there was much more to it than that. The art is very dynamic and really helps tell the story. Some of the sequences were so beautiful I found myself staring at them and re-reading them several times.

The story is great as well, Brandon has created a strange universe that does not feel 'out-there' when you read it, rather, it reads as completely normal for the inhabitants of that world. My favorite concept in the book is the drug 'Chalk', but there are so many original concepts in the book that I could have easily chosen any number of others.

And of course the cat; the cat rules.

Thanks Brandon, can't wait for the next issue.

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