Manga Madness Week 1: First Impressions

Alright before we begin we need to get one thing straight. I have never read a Manga before in my life, yes I have read a comic book in fact it could really be said that I have read an unhealthy amount of american comic books over the past few years of my life. However as far as the far Japanese cousin to the medium I love so dearly goes I don’t know my Shonen Jump from my TOKYOPOP. That being said in honor of the now seizable amount of Manga now available on comiXology I have decided it is high time to see what all this craziness is about, thus my decent into the world of manga readership begins, I’ve selected the books and will be keeping track of my progress. Here are my first impressions.

Book 1: Blood Sucker Legend of Zipangu: A Vampire story by Aki Shimizu and Saki Okuse it boasts a Parental Advisory warning on it’s front cover and must in fact be read from right to left luckily there proper instructions for just how this Manga should be enjoyed. Needless to say I’m excited.

Book 2: Princess Ai: A fantastical coming of age romance story about “A diva torn from Chaos” and “A savior doomed to Love”. this one seems interesting. Sporting a talent team consisting of Misaho Kujiradou, D.J. Milky  and…Courtney Love!? I can honestly say I’m a little scared of this one.

Book 3: Hetalia Axis Powers Vol. 1: So this is the first book of it’s kind currently available on comiXology  and naturally it makes the list. A comedy about the Axis powers of World War II personified by a dashing trio young soldiers. Again this is a right to left styled manga, which comiXology’s Guided View reader will make a little easier to read for stubborn western sensibilities.

Book 4: Buddha Vol 1: The Wild Card of the bunch, a book recommended to me in the past by more than one person and one I’m hoping will add a little diversity to the current list. Written by Manga Godfather Osamu Tezuka this 2004 Eisner Award winner looks promising, how will it compare with the others? only time will tell.

So there you have it. Four books in five days, will they be enough to sway this die-hard mainstream american comic book reader to the Manga side of life? Or is there perhaps a more worthwhile title missing from the list above. I am open to suggestions feel free to add them in the comments section. Next week I’ll be back full reviews and a new list of manga titles!

Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got some reading to do.