Short Takes: Biomega, not simple, and 20th Century Boys

Call me a cynic, but I’ve never been big on Valentine’s Day. In theory, I’m not opposed to the idea; I’m a sucker for chocolates, and relish an excuse to bake red velvet cupcakes and watch The Philadelphia Story or How to Steal a Million for the umpteenth time. In practice, however, the month-long build-up to the day leaves me grouchier than Oscar; since when did a nice idea become such a nakedly commercial enterprise that we need coaching on what to buy our significant others? So I’m taking a stand on behalf of all of us who can’t stomach another “Jared the Galleria of Jewelry” ad and offering some V-Day counter-programming. On the agenda: three recent additions to VIZ’s Signature line, including volume one of Biomega, volume seven of 20th Century Boys, and not simple, a done-in-one mystery.

BIOMEGA, VOL. 1

BY TSUTOMU NIHEI • VIZ • 220 pp. • RATING: MATURE (18+)

Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire, or at least of summer blockbusters and graphic novels, I hold with those who favor viruses. (I don’t know about you, but I found 28 Days Later and The Andromeda Strain pretty persuasive.) Biomega, yet another entry in the virus-as-agent-of-the-apocalypse genre, starts off as so many stories in this vein do, with the hero investigating a local outbreak. Zoichi Kanoe, motorcycle-riding agent of a mysterious corporation, is dispatched to 9JO, an island where the population has been infected with an alien pathogen that turns them into slow-moving cannibals. His mission: locate Eon Green, a so-called “accomodator,” or person who’s developed an immunity to the N5S virus. While prowling the back alleys of 9JO, he runs into Eon — literally, with his bike — but before he can hustle her out of the city, or ask her if she’s OK, he comes face-to-face with a bear. Wielding a shotgun. And talking.

And that’s exactly the moment when Biomega won me over, the moment when the book stopped seeming like a grim but stylish rehash of I Am Legend: Escape from New York and started developing a personality of its own. I won’t spoil the story by divulging what happens next, but suffice to say that Tsutomu Nihei has the artistic chops to pull off some outlandish stuff, including a rooftop chase scene that borrows a few pages from Bullitt and a spooky Martian prologue that would do John Carpenter proud. Nihei also has the good sense to exercise restraint — if one can describe an apocalyptic zombie scenario with pistol-packing grizzlies as “restrained” — revealing key bits of information only as the characters learn them. The result is a lean, fast-paced shoot-em-up that has just enough thought behind it to make it plausible but not so much that it seems ham-fistedly allegorical. Recommended.

not simple

BY NATSUME ONO • VIZ • 320 pp. • RATING: OLDER TEEN

At the outset, not simple appears to be a Michael Clayton-esque thriller in which we begin with a bang — in this case, a murder — then jump back in time to reconstruct the chain of events that precipitated it. In an added wrinkle, this extended flashback turns out to be a fictionalized account of what led up to the murder, a novel called not simple that was inspired by the interaction between Jim, a reporter, and Ian, the waif-like victim. The extra framing device neither adds nor detracts from the overall work; if anything, it seems more gimmicky than integral to the story, as Ono doesn’t use the device to offer alternative versions of events we’ve heard about from the characters. The other notable feature of not simple is Ono’s distinctive artwork. Some readers may find the awkward proportions, spidery linework, and spare settings ideally suited to the story, suggestive of the characters’ emotional isolation and vulnerability, while others — myself included — may feel that the characters spend too much time telling us things that should be readily apparent from the artwork. (Like, if someone is pretty. See Johanna Draper-Carlson’s review of Ristorante Paradiso for additional thoughts on the subject.)

The real problem with not simple is that Ono confuses letting things happen to her lead character with actual character development. Ian endures abuse and betrayal at every turn, yet he remains a cipher throughout the book, a vessel into which other people pour hatred and spite. The supporting cast is filled with characters who are supposed to be edgy and real, but come across as one-note players, cruel and indifferent to Ian’s plight primarily for the sake of the plot. As a result, not simple reads like a medieval martyr play, a grim catalog of one saintly individual’s bodily and emotional suffering. In a phrase: not recommended.

20TH CENTURY BOYS, VOL. 7

BY NAOKI URASAWA • VIZ • 224 pp. • RATING: OLDER TEEN (16+)

Have you seen The Wrong Trousers? The climax is a doozy: Gromit, a canine inventor, pursues a jewel thief through his living room while riding a model train. When the thief sends Gromit careening down an unfinished spur, Gromit furiously begins laying down track, blazing a new route that eventually allows him to catch the culprit. I mention The Wrong Trousers because the model-train scene is an apt metaphor for how Naoki Urasawa writes: every time 20th Century Boys seems headed towards a dead end, Urasawa uncorks a plot twist or introduces a new character, thus averting a collision and sending the story in an unexpected direction that nonetheless feels like we’re still moving ahead with the main plot.

In volume seven, for example, Urasawa adds a new character to the mix — a schoolgirl intent on writing about Kenji the “terrorist” — and follows the exploits of Shogun and Kakuta as they escape from Umihotaru Prison, an Alcatraz-like facility in Tokyo Bay. Both subplots are really just a set-up, however, for an extended flashback to December 31, 1999 in which we get a ground-level view of what actually happened when the giant robot started rolling through the streets of Tokyo. It’s a little disappointing to see Urasawa fall back on the “Let me tell you a story” gambit several times in volume seven, but the intensity and drama of the final chapters more than compensates for the few patches of narrative creakiness leading into these scenes. Volume seven ends on a cliffhanger so good it begs the question, can 20th Century Boys be put on the same release schedule as One Piece? Five volumes a month would go a long way towards satisfying my need to know what happens next. Just an idea…

Review copy provided by VIZ Media, LLC. Volume seven will be released on February 16, 2010. For a review of volumes one through six, click here.