Two-in-One Review: Cinderalla Wicked stepsisters, a life of servitude and a charming Prince... Sounds like a Cinderella story, but it's actually Junko Mizuno's bizarre Cinderalla. Don: Ah, time for another look at the latest Japanese import from Viz Comics. Looks like it'll make for cute, light reading. But then, looks can be deceiving. The creator takes the familiar story of Cinderella and warps it into something else altogether. The promotional material refers to this as "post-pop, post-feminist." I'd definitely agree with the latter, but I think a more accurate description would be enticingly weird. Randy: Of course, we're only getting part of the effect here, because when Cinderalla is released in July, it will be a full color graphic novel, and what we have here is a black and white 53-page sample. However, there's more than enough here to get a general sense of the project. Cinderalla published by Viz Comics written, illustrated & lettered by Junko Mizuno English adaptation by Yuji Oniki Don: Saddened by her father's death, Cinderalla finds new joy when he returns from the dead as a zombie and joins his daughter once again in running the family restaurant. But coming along for the ride are a zombie stepmother and two zombie stepsisters, whose constant demands for food -- and bras -- never allow Cinderalla -- who does her chores topless -- a moment's peace. Yes, you read that right. "Does her chores topless." Cinderalla is a sensual book, but its sensuality is unsettling, not titillating. Simple fairy-tale concepts are side-by-side with dark, surreal ones. It's a twisted read, but in a disturbingly attractive sort of way. Randy: Interesting. I expected you to be more put off by the gratuitous nudity than I was. Just two pages in, we're greeted by a double-page spread of a nude Cinderalla, and I immediately began to wonder if the same pre-pubescent sexuality that has put me off so much manga would become overwhelming here. It didn't exactly put me off, but I did think that Cinderalla's constant state of undress or half-dress wasn't necessarily germane to the larger story, and I found it distracting. Don: As I began to read and hit the bit with the zombies, the art and script initially struck me as being weird just for the sake of weirdness, but there's an atmosphere that Mizuno is fostering that stands out as the book's most unique and intriguing quality. Though there's definitely a Japanese flair at play here, I was reminded of the dark, organic and bizarre storytelling of Western comics storyteller Renee (Marbles in My Underpants) French. Randy: I can see where you're coming from, but the promo material also mentions the ever-popular Powerpuff Girls, and I can see the saccharine parody stylings of that coming through in Mizuno's work as well. Cinderalla, for all her trials and tribulations, is always bubbly and happy, almost psychotically so, and it makes for some very funny moments. Upon seeing her father arisen as a zombie, Cinderalla exclaims "I'm so happy! But a little terrified... but mostly happy!" and it's hysterical. The fact that she takes the strangeness of her surroundings in stride makes the weirdness a little easier to swallow. Don: Mizuno is always throwing the reader off balance. Cutesy manga art and the fairy-tale origins of the story put one in mind of more innocent times, but gratuitous nudity and rotting flesh conflict with that brighter, simpler tone. It's in that conflict that the book derives its bizarre appeal. Perhaps Mizuno is tearing apart the notion of motherhood as servitude -- Cinderalla is forever taking care of everyone... a frustrating role as she doesn't feel particularly maternal. Maybe that's the point... I honestly don't know. But I was surprised that by the end of this only-partial preview, I was curious, not put off, by the bizarre tone of the story and characters. Randy: I'm not as drawn in here as I was by the last partial graphic novel we previewed (Phoenix: A Tale of the Future), but there is something undeniably hypnotic about Cinderalla. With the right kind of psychedelic colors, I could see the finished product appealing as much to fans of Jhonen Vasquez as it will to fans of Akira Toriyama. For more information on Viz Comics, visit www.viz.com. And to see a preview of Cinderalla, visit http://www.pulp-mag.com/manga/cinderalla/. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.