Fred Patten Reviews Dramacon, Vol. 1

Dramacon, Vol. 1
Author: Svetlana Chmakova
Publisher: TOKYOPOP
ISBN 10: 1-59816-129-8
ISBN 13: 978-1-59816-129-8

Christie Leroux is a high school student and anime fan attending her first anime convention, with her boyfriend Derek, to sell their amateur comic book – she writes it, he draws it. This 172-page young teen comic tells what happens to Christie during the three days at her first convention; but it is less about the chaos and traditions of big fan conventions – although that is certainly captured here authentically and hilariously – as it is about the emotional turbulence experienced by a sensitive teenager on her first solo outing from home.

How will she and Derek react in the “artists’ alley” to the fan public’s response, and to the criticism of professional cartoonists, to their amateur comic book? Is Derek just being friendly and a good salesman to attractive girls who look at their comic, or is he flirting with them? What should she and Derek do when their school roommates/chaperones stay out all night, leaving the two alone? Christie realizes that both she and Derek are immature, but how much self-centeredness should she tolerate from him? When Christie meets Matt, a sophisticated college student from across the country, she is torn between an instant attraction (is this just adolescent hormones or True Love?) and loyalty to Derek – but does he deserve it? “My first anime convention… did not go smoothly. But all things considered… I can’t wait to go back.”

Svetlana Chmakova is the young Russian-born commercial artist and anime fan who is one of the leading creators of what fans call “American manga” or “OEL (original English language) manga” – original American comic books written/drawn/published in the traditional Japanese manga style. DRAMACON reads front to back and left to right like standard American books; otherwise it is almost indistinguishable from a Japanese comic book. The art is black-&-white, presented in a thick paperback format. The style varies sharply from realistic when the characters are acting seriously to grotesquely “squashed” when they are acting silly. The art is heavily shaded and toned to compensate for the lack of color, and romantic scenes are full of the “shojo sprinkles” such as hearts & stars that Japanese romance cartoonists put into their art. The dialogue is full of fan slang such as “cosplay” and “J-Pop” .

DRAMACON Vol. 1 was published in 2005, and is currently in its fourth printing. Each volume takes place at the fictitious annual anime con, and shows Christie a year older with both her personal and creative relationships more advanced. It is a success both as a romance comic book, and as a primer for what to expect at your first anime convention. Vol. 3 will be published this December 10th.

Fred Patten Reviews Vampire Hunter D, Volume 1

Vampire Hunter D
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publisher: DH Press/Digital Manga Publishing
ISBN 10: 1-59582-012-4
ISBN 13: 978-1-59582-012-9

This Japanese novel was known to anime fans for twenty years as the basis for the popular 1985 anime movie, one of the first American anime releases. Kikuchi became known as the author of a large series of Vampire Hunter D novels and short stories, but none were available in English until DH Press began publishing translations by Kevin Leahy in 2005.

Kikuchi has synthesized the American pulp genres of science-fiction, adventure fantasy, horror, and Westerns. In 12,090 A.D., civilization is slowly rebuilding after millennia of destruction by global atomic war and terrorism by mutated monsters, followed by dominance by vampires who formed a ruling class of immortal Nobility until they became decadent. Human townships are now throwing off the rule of their local vampire lords, often with the help of wandering mercenary Vampire Hunters.

Doris Lang, a young woman near a frontier town trying to run her late father’s farm, is bitten by vampire Count Magnus Lee. Lee is amused by her proud spirit and intends to make her his latest wife instead of a common mindless bloodthirsty vampire. Doris is also threatened by both her own townspeople, who want to kill her before she becomes a vampire, and Count Lee’s haughty daughter Larmica who tries to eliminate her rather than suffer the humiliation of gaining a human stepmother. Doris’ plight is desperate until a lone stranger rides into town on his horse; the mysterious Vampire Hunter known only as “D”.

Kikuchi’s writing style is awkwardly both stilted and florid, possibly in a deliberate emulation of 1930s pulp fiction, or World War I-era French thrillers such as Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera. Here Count Lee is talking with his daughter after they have temporarily trapped D under their castle:

“Last night, when you returned from the farm and spoke of the stripling we just disposed of, the tone of your voice, the manner of your complaints – even I, your own father, cannot recall ever hearing you so indignant, yet your indignation held a feverish sentiment that was equally new. Could it be you’re smitten with the scoundrel?”

Unanticipated though her father’s words were, Larmica donned a smile that positively defied description. Not only that, she licked her lips as well.

The setting is colorful, though; an original blend of horror stereotypes and decayed futuristic s-f technology. And old-fashioned pulp writers still have many fans. Kikuchi’s style may not be for everyone, but more than just anime fans will enjoy this first Vampire Hunter D novel.