Customer Reviews

Zombiepowder, Vol. 2 (v. 2)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first volume was lacking a story, it was fight fight fight and fight some more. This one introduced a new character and has a more complex story than the first one. There is still fighting, but it doesn't cover over half the pages in the book. There is also a lot more humor in this volume. Gamma and wolfina have a relationship similar to Ichigo and Rukia (Characters in Bleach). This volume has more drama to, what with wolfina trying to save her brother. Overall, I think this is an improvement to the first volume. There was however a random side store at the end that didn't make a whole lot of sense, but it was interesting.

Gamma is an S-Class criminal on the hunt for the legendary 12 Rings of the Dead, that when put together will make Zombie Powder, a substance made of pure life force which can bring the dead to life, or give the living immortality. This volume puts Gamma's sidekicks Elwood and Smith aside as Gamma gets caught up in the drama of the little town they've come to. It's here that he meets Wolfina, a young reporter/vigilante who guards not just the town, and especially the local hospital besieged with attacks from ring hunters, but her brother who is comatose inside, the victim of unprotected contact with one of the legendary rings.

In this volume we meet yet another great character who brings to the table new, disturbing information about the risk of ring hunting (other than the competition). The same pattern emerges, there are equal parts sketchy fight scenes and plot moving scenes. The confusing nature of the fight scenes could very well be implied heavy movement, but in still ink rather than animated form it comes off poorly. It's not difficult at the "pause" scenes to figure out what has happened, but having to in the first place will turn off some readers. The plot is quite enjoyable, with a real western flavor set into a background where feudal Japan has been replaced by all the wild gang types that one would expect from a manga. Recommended as part of public collections including manga, especially for it's cleaner nature. (Teen age range)

Contains: Implied rape, torture and other criminal activity, cartoon gore

This is a Tite Kubo manga, so it's not exactly surprising that there's at least one woman with impossibly big breasts.

But the second volume of the short-lived "Zombie Powder" has more than just a gutsy girl journalist in store -- it also reveals the true ghastly power of the Rings of the Dead, and unveils a new villain who's even rottener than the last. And through it all, Kubo fills the story with plenty of action, humor, and little spurts of horror.

Gamma, Elwood and Smith barely escape the exploding bandits' lair, courtesy of Smith's self-destruct device ("Don't measure the explosives by EYE!"). Soon they encounter Robin-Hoodlike journalist Wolfina, who has devoted her life and skills to destroying criminals and their organizations. Gamma saves her from an assassin, but she has a very odd reaction when he asks about the Rings.

Then the evil Balmunk the Mystic tries to take over a nearby hospital -- and after driving him off, Gamma reveals the true, horrific nature of the Rings. Turns out that one of them made their way into Wolfina's younger brother -- and now Balmunk is determined to get it out of him. And he isn't too concerned how it's done.

The biggest shocker in "Zombie Powder Volume 2" concerns the Rings of the Dead -- turns out they're evil little life-sucking monstrosities that sprout fat tentacular arms. It's symptomatic of the darker, slightly more nightmarish tone of this volume, compared to the straightforward bloody violence of the first.

But Kubo's style is still very much here -- lots of cocky characters getting into loud fights, long lanky bodies, over-the-top fights, punching and Gamma's fiery black sword techniques. But in this story, he starts weaving in more sinister overtones -- such as Balmunk's sadistic offer to let Wolfina lovingly take care of Emilio's headless body.

And he adds in some nicely creepy stuff, like the tentacle-hands and the bloodthirsty circus. But Kubo doesn't forget to lighten stuff up with some funny moments, such as Gamma going berserk at an assassin for knocking stuff off a bureau, or at Smith for building his own massive bombs ("DON'T MEASURE THE TIMER USING A SODA CAN!").

Wolfina makes a good addition to the cast -- she's strong, independent, gutsy and definitely no damsel. And Kubo does a great job building her character quickly, complete with bloodstained flashbacks. Smith and Elwood take a backseat in this volume, so that the increasingly quirky, increasingly powerful Gamma can gain Wolfina's trust. If she doesn't bludgeon him to death with her tripod of justice, that is.

This volume also has Kubo's first story, "Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine." It's about a man's personal and professional vendetta against a massive drug cartel, accompanied by a perky robot called Tinatina. It's an impressive piece of work considering that Kubo wrote it when he was eighteen, with nicely gritty action and some brilliant use of flashbacks -- though it's lacking his distinctive strong, angular faces.

The second volume of "Zombie Powder" expands the sci-fi/western style into mild horror, and introduces a nicely horrible villain. Too bad there's so little left to come.

Volume 2 opens with the aftermath of Gamma's battle and ultimate defeat of Ranewater Calder, the leader of the Ash Daughter Bandits, and owner of a Ring of the Dead. Calder left Gamma and the others a present before he died, namely of rigging the entire hideout to explode skyhigh! Then it's on to the town of Alcantara, where rumor is that a Ring of the Dead is housed at the local hospital. Of course, Gamma isn't the only person interested in finding the Ring. A powerful super villain named Balmunk the Mystic arrives on the scene to look for it, sporting magical abilities that let him go toe to toe with Gamma's armor encased limb. Adding to the mix is a crusading investigative reporter named Wolfina Getto who feels it his her duty to protect the hospital from Balmunk. She is a champion of justice, but she also wants to protect her comatose brother, who is housed there.

While not as polished or as funny as Bleach can somtimes be, White Powder is nonetheless an interesting and entertaining debut work from Tite Kubo. Wolfina has quickly become one of my favorite characters with her personality stolen from Captain America and boobs supplied by Dolly Parton. She also serves as good comic relief. The art style is nothing new to fans of Bleach even though the character designs are a bit boring in this series. Kubo makes up for this with excellent panel layout and carefully choreographed action sequences. This volume also includes Kubo's very first attempt at writing and drawing a manga, called "Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine". It concerns a mercenary hitman, uncleverly called a "deleter", and his android TinaTina (a young female right out of the 1980s) who are hired to take down a major drug cartel. That's about all I can tell you about Unholy since it was so dreadful, I didn't make it past the first few pages. One interesting thing about it was the art, which was much more generic and lacked the characteristic Kubo look.

I really like this series.I was hoping this one came out before Bleach at least here in the US.THis was Tite Kubo's earler work before Bleach.I like the character design, the plot , the characters are very intersting and comedy is not bad at all- about the same as Bleach.

Hope they make this into an anime.

In the first volume of Zombie Powder we learned of the 12 Rings of the Dead, the legendary source of zombie powder which can return life to the dead as well as give immortality to the living. Those who seek the rings are called Powder Hunters. Once such Hunter is Gamma Akutabi, a powerful martial artist with a black metal arm that is a terrifying weapon. Gamma is joined is quest for the rings by his partner, the gun-toting Mr. Smith, and the young boy Elwood. After defeating a group of bandits, Gamma has acquired the one of the twelve rings. We get our first hint at just how powerful these rings are when Gamma puts it on...the rings are literally alive and can suck the life essence right out of the wearer if one is not careful with its use.

The trio move on to another town where a ring is supposed to be hidden. Gamma soon finds himself in a battle with a group of thugs who are chasing down a crusading reporter named Wolfina who has been exposing their crimes. Gamma soon sees she can take care of herself, but has not problem assisting the very well-endowed Wolfina. Wolfina thinks the rings are nothing but myths and admits there is a rumor the local hospital is rumored to hide a ring. This is bolstered by the appearance of another powder hunter, the sinister magician/mass murderer, Baragne Balmunk!

Zombie Powder is an action/fantasy set in modern times that mixes in fantastically outrageous characters with lots of humor and outstanding art. Creator/Artist Tite Kubo's art is very crisp and clean and the action is very easy to follow. The characters really make the book. While Gamma is focused on finding the rings, he cannot help but play hero to everyone who needs his aid. Wolfina makes for a beautiful, sexy, and funny foil for Gamma.

This Manga from the creator of the hit Manga Bleach truly has it all!

Reviewed by Tim Janson

If you like comedy, humor, horror, and action then this title is for you!