Mashima (Rave Master
) is back with a brand new series about the juvenile delinquents of wizardry and magic, set in a mythical world of small towns, steam engines and horse-drawn carts, where magic is mainstream, young wizards follow glossy magazines that profile popular wizard guilds and everyone has hidden magical abilities. Fire-eating wizard Natsu initiates young and sexy Lucy, a celestial wizard, into his oddball guild, Fairy Tail. Soon we meet the womanizing Loke; the ice wizard Gray Fullbuster, who is often found wandering around in just his boxers; and the heavy-drinking Cana, who is never far from a barrel of wine. It’s goofy fun and playful troublemaking—minus any sort of criminal element. Mashima sets a careful balance between showing the Fairy Tail wizards’ troublemaking mentality while still establishing that the heart of each wizard is the heart of a hero. With a violence that harks back to the Looney Tunes where all combatants suffer heavy blows but always come out alive, albeit with some scratches, the story is more akin to Bugs Bunny than Harry Potter. But fans of both will be pleasantly entertained. The first two volumes of this series are being released simultaneously. (Mar.)
