King of Thorn by Yuji Iwahara
Yes, yes, technically I was supposed to have been reviewing everything that I’ve read this year thus far, but I’ve sorta forgot what I wanted to say about those other books which can be found here; you’re stuck with this as my first review of the year. Will all of you, waiting with baited breath I’m sure, get the other reviews? Maybe, but for now, let us discuss King of Thorn.
Shizuku and her twin Kasumi are infected by the Medusa virus, a terrible little bug that results in a painful, petrified end as the cells in the human body, well, petrify. Kasumi and 160 others are chosen by lottery to be put into cryo-sleep and awaken when there is a cure to the awful plague.
Kasumi and several others awaken to a world covered in thorns and filled with mutations? Dinosaurs? I don’t know, but they look hella cool.
Now the cryogenics facility that Kasumi was chilled (if that is the proper world for it) at is in/at a weird castle, built by an eccentric rich man, on an island. The rich man founded the whole cryo thing. We get now, the feeling that this is an episode of Lost except instead of polar bears, there are dinosaurs and giant killer bat-lizards. I think this is why I enjoyed this particular manga. It has that Lost vibe. Stranded strangers with a huge, puzzling, at time awkward, life threatening mystery to solve. Anyone who can take survivors on a deserted island and make it simultaneously more ridiculous than Gilligan’s Island but still keep it an enthralling drama has my attention.
Yuji Iwahara’s art has a sort of bleak despair about it. The characters are rounded, as are many elements of the background, and yet, despite its lack of angles, there is a starkness to the panels. This adds, not necessarily tension, but a sharpness of dimension that helps the soft characters feel endangered. I didn’t have to read and re-read panels like I usually have to because everything flowed so nicely. The balance of black and white done beautifully here. The art in my mind remains overwhelmingly dark, but the white spaces acted as a void that felt, at times, like the characters were going to step into and never come out of. I normally don’t notice these things. I’m not really picky about the art in a comic/manga I’m reading, but in an effort to be thorough, I paid attention. Hooray, me.
Anyways, King of Thorn has an interesting set of characters. Our heroine, Kasumi, is likeable and quiet. And brave. I love the quiet brave types. There’s a sleazy senator type, young, motherly woman, the cutest little boy ever, a man who may be black or Hispanic (it’s hard to tell, and he hasn’t been named yet) and a geeky guy with glasses. And then there is the big guy with the wicked tats. His name is Marco Owens. He looks like he belongs in Oz, but we are told he is a hacker. A good one. And unlike anyone else in the facility, he does not have Medusa. Dah dah duuuuuuuuuuh. In this first volume of the series, we’re given great insights into their future character development (although except for Kasumi and the guy with tats on the cover, no names), and, I think, glimpses into the conflicts that they will have with themselves and each other.
Overall, t’was a splendid little read, entertaining and engrossing. Recommended for those who like Lost, survival horror video games, and adventure books like The Land That Time Forgot.
