BASTARD SAMURAI 1: Samurai Noir
Michael Avon Oeming, . . Image, $12.95 (112pp) ISBN 978-1-58240-283-3
Celebrating the triumph of style over substance, these authors succeed in making something out of almost nothing. An underground sword school raised Jiro as a martial warrior and now uses the young man in death matches staged on Manhattan rooftops for the entertainment of visiting Japanese businessmen. Jiro is utterly focused on perfecting his combat skills until one night he realizes the opponent he just beheaded was his brother. Suddenly convinced he's been misled, Jiro takes up his sword to hack the whole rotten samurai system apart. Much slashing ensues, and that's about it for plot. Keeping the story simple isn't a bad idea since, especially in the many combat scenes, the art's vigorous stylization makes it difficult to know exactly what's happening. This collection of the comic's first three issues finishes a brief story loop, including three associated short stories, without any unfinished business or many survivors. Still, despite the lack of human interest, it's an attractive book. The overall design is streamlined, like
Reviewed on: 07/14/2003
Genre: Fiction