Saga: Volume 1

by Brian K. Vaughan (story) and Fiona Staples (art), 161 pages

A generations-long war between the winged race of the planet Landfall and the horned race of the moon Wreath has spread well beyond the limits of the latter's orbit around the former.  Then one day fate brings an unruly winged soldier named Alana face-to-face with a tired horned prisoner of war named Marko on a muddy little planet called Cleave.  The two argue, bond over a trashy romance novel, come to realize they have the same view of this endless war, and run away together.  Only their respective home-worlds won't let them off so easily.  With bounty hunters and zealous soldiers perpetually on their heels, it's a wonder they have enough time to bring a daughter into the universe, but they do just that before setting off across the stars in hopes of giving her a future free of the death and destruction that is all they've ever known.

Ooh, this is quite lovely and different and unafraid to be either.  It's also violent and unsettlingly graphic, but the unpleasantness is sadly part of everyday existence for these people.  Happily, so is snark.  I love that this series isn't just about the romance or the adventure--it's about family and hard work and life and death and all those ongoing things that are the reality usually ignored by "happily ever after."  Alana and Marko's daughter, Hazel, provides intermittent commentary from some unknown point in the future as we watch her parents struggle to keep her and each other alive through labor and firefights and "haunted" forests and unexpected visits from her grandparents.  Just like in the real world, the politics are crazy (there are winged-race-aligned royals with computer monitors for heads who, like royalty anywhere, don't seem to have much control of their own lives).  And the bounty hunters and other pursuers are scary but complicated, themselves.  I've been looking forward to reading this for many months and am excitedly awaiting the next trade paper installment.

Sailor Twain: or The Mermaid in the Hudson

by Mark Siegel, 400 pages

Over a year ago, the steamboat Lorelei's well-liked owner disappeared without a trace, leaving his careless, erratic brother Dieudonné in charge, much to the worry and frustration of her conscientious captain, Twain, whose humble, capable hands seem to be the only thing keeping the company above the waterline.  But when he finds a beautiful injured mermaid clinging to the empty, fog-enshrouded deck, Captain Twain's orderly, familiar world begins to slip deeper and deeper into the murky depths of the Hudson River.

This is a lovely, creepy, haunting mystery that wraps the reader in its hazy, otherworldly atmosphere from first page to last and beyond.  The characters are exaggerated and cartoonish figures visually, but their intense, complicated personalities and motives bring a sense of realism that pairs unsettlingly well with what would normally be goofy features to further blur the line between fantasy and reality for the reader as much as the inexplicable events of the story do for the characters.

Banana Fish: Volume 2

by Akimi Yoshida, 189 pages

It's out of the frying pan and into the fire for Ash, as he goes from the hospital to prison thanks to string-pulling by his enemies.  If he was in danger out on the street, he's doubly so on the inside.  Luckily (?), he's got an unexpected connection of his own on the wrong side of the bars--if he doesn't kill the guy first.

Ha ha!  Poor Eiji.  I guess that's one way to secretly pass on a message--though the lengths hardened Ash is willing to go to set such a plan in motion are pretty extreme.  The fact that he doesn't seem to think anything of it if it saves his life in the end just makes him that much more pitiable.  But then there are more party shirts!  Shunichi's the worst offender, but even hip young Eiji must have been unduly influenced by his senior's questionable fashion sense.  I don't think Ash would be caught dead in a giant pineapple print, though.  *snicker*

Blue Exorcist: Volume 8

by Kazue Kato, 183 pages

As Yukio faces off against a silver-tongued demon, his brother Rin battles to find the heart of an amorphous plague while simultaneously protecting his friend Suguro, who's desperately trying to keep the poisonous clouds from spreading.

Yukio!  So much for being the "normal" twin.  I'm happy to see him finally show a little of his birthright, but I hope he's self-aware enough to avoid the emotional pitfalls that threaten to carry him over to the dark side.  He'd better start by having a real heart-to-heart talk with his brother so neither of them loses his footing.  Once the whole deathly plague thing is taken care of, of course.  And Kuro had better be ok, too.  Kitty!

Kekkaishi: Volume 27

by Yellow Tanabe, 185 pages

Karasumori is under attack, but by whom, exactly?  Masamori has an intense conversation with a prominent council member as Yoshimori fights for his home town, his friends, and his life and tries to focus on what's most important in the chaos erupting around him.

With enemies on two fronts and innocents caught in the middle, Yoshimori's going to have a lot on his plate for the foreseeable future.  I like that others on his team are chiming in to keep him grounded, with even struggling yet resolute Soji unconsciously earning confused support from a previously vocal detractor.

Kekkaishi: Volume 26

by Yellow Tanabe, 187 pages

Tensions are running high in the Shadow Council following the assassinations of a couple of members, and the resulting finger-pointing puts the pressure on Masamori to track down the truth and prevent disaster before the blame falls at his and his family's feet.  Back at Karasumori, Tokine has an uncomfortable cup of tea with an unpredictable and deadly enemy while Yoshimori must decide what to do with the assassin living under his roof.

Tanabe keeps adding substance and personality to her characters, with Yoshimori making a decision the reader doesn't see coming but that fits him so perfectly she can't imagine him doing anything else.

Kekkaishi: Volume 25

by Yellow Tanabe, 187 pages

As Yoshimori attempts to master the art of clearing his mind at will, he also tries to introduce enigmatic Shoji to things that might nurture emotion and human bonds not based on a master-and-tool relationship.  Meanwhile, Masamori prepares to finish the job he started against a powerful foe while other mysterious conspirators make their own preparations.

Oh, Shoji, the poor thing.  I love how Yoshimori's little influences register in the other boy's emotionless but observant eyes.  He may not know what to do with all this new information, but he's holding onto it and trying his best.  We just hope Yoshimori's example ultimately turns out to be more powerful than Shoji's master's cold conditioning.  Tanabe's inching toward making both Yoshimori and the reader care as much about Shoji's welfare as that of the lost friend he resembles.