by Randy Lander

MARVEL MANGAVERSE: NEW DAWN #1 Recommended (7/10) Marvel Comics Writer/Artist: Ben Dunn Colors/Letters: Guru eFX Editor: Brian Smith Price: $3.50 US/$5.25 CAN Dunn straddles the line between manga stereotypes and super-hero stereotypes, and I find myself wondering if fans of either one won't find this a little bit watered-down for their tastes. For my part, however, as a burgeoning fan of manga and long-time fan of super-heroes, I found a lot to like, and only a little bit that seemed over-the-top ridiculous. There's definitely a satirical bent to this book, though, even if Dunn plays the plot as relatively straight. His reinventions of various Marvel characters are a lot of fun, and in the end, this reads as a particularly interesting "What If?" story. Visually, this book is a treat, full of little details in the background or redesigns for a lot of familiar Marvel characters. While some are kept relatively true to their basics, such as Nick Fury, Dunn does some nice redesigns on a lot of them, a few of which are better looking than the mainstream Marvel characters. I especially enjoyed his take on Dr. Strange, who reminds me a bit of The Authority's Doctor, and I thought his teenaged Ant-Man was a riot. Also, Dunn has done something with the Mangaverse that I always thought would be interesting, namely the incorporation of super-technology as more of an everyday thing. Stark Island is a beautiful design and a really neat idea, and it allows us to see what kind of technological paradise Stark's genius could build if it were unfettered by continuity constraints. And unlike Big Town, which promised the same sort of thing, Mangaverse shows us a very different universe as a result of these changes. The plot itself is fairly run-of-the-mill, as a rebuilt weapon threatens the world and a variety of forces come together to stop it. The genius of this plot, however, is that it allows Dunn to call in characters from a variety of different places, and it's an ideal choice for a "fifth-week event" such as this. There's no getting around it; Marvel Mangaverse: New Dawn is fairly goofy, and if you like your super-heroes or your manga with a more serious bent, you'll probably be pretty disappointed, maybe even offended, by the mockery of both that is going on in Dunn's writing. However, those who are looking for a light and fun read, complete with some over-the-top action, gratuitous cheesecake and some corny dialogue should find this to be right up their alley. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.