by Randy Lander

BASTARD!! #2 "Wizard!! Part II of II" Neutral (3/10) Viz Comics Writer/Artist: Kazushi Hagiwara Translator: Kaori Kawakubo Touch-Up/Lettering: Susan Daigle-Leach Editor: Jason Thompson Price: $3.95 US/$6.50 CAN Just as I don't enjoy all comics, I don't necessarily enjoy all manga, and Bastard!! falls more into the Dragonball camp, rather than reading like manga I enjoy, such as Eagle or Akira. It's intentionally goofy, a little heavy on the relationship between a pre-teen girl and her sort-of related love interest and full of heavy metal references that I get but just don't find very funny. Bastard!! does what it sets out to do quite well, being an homage to 80s cheesy metal and role-playing games, but it's got a violence and sex quotient that belongs to an older audience with a sophistication that doesn't seem aimed at anyone over the age of 13. I'm sensing a pattern to Bastard!!, and it's another familiar element to add onto what seems like a formula book. The plot seems to revolve around Dark Schneider being released to fight a greater evil, and while he does so, the surrounding people gnash their teeth about what he's going to do to them when he's done while Yoko struggles with her feelings for Lucien, Dark Schneider's host. This allows for a lot of melodrama, explosions and nifty magical effects, but not much in the way of characterization or plot development. I'm only two issues in, to be fair, but it doesn't seem like Bastard!! has a story that's really going anywhere. In fact, Bastard!! reads largely like a video game. Dark Schneider uses a variety of special moves, often named after cheesy 80s metal bands, and blows up the bad guys, only to escalate to facing tougher bosses. Then he is reset back into his host form until the next time they need to "power up" and defeat their adversaries. There's nothing particularly wrong with this sort of empty calorie, bubblegum approach to comics, but it seems to be the type of thing that will captivate younger audiences. Unfortunately, the violence and gore, as well as the sexualization of Yoko and Lucien, doesn't seem appropriate to those younger audiences, at least not by American standards. Where Bastard!! really succeeds is in the art department, as Hagiwara delivers any number of imaginative monsters and villains for Dark Schneider to face. Whether it's giant hydras, armored warriors or humanoid monsters, the various villains are always impressive, as are the pyrotechnics used to blow them up. In addition, though Bastard!! features some of the familiar manga stylistic touches, such as big eyes, speed lines and unrealistic proportions, Hagiwara wisely resists the urge to give pre-teen Yoko the proportions of a supermodel. What it comes down to for me is that Bastard!! does what it means to do very well, with kinetic action, beautiful artwork and over-the-top goofy humor. However, my interests in comics lie elsewhere, and I'm just not interested in the style of comic that Bastard!! represents. This comic book was not part of this week's new releases. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.