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Story and Art by Kishiro Yukito
Copyright © 1997 Kishiro Yukito
English Language Version copyright © 1998 Viz Comics
Published by Viz Comics
Monthly
B&W, 32 pages
$2.95
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"From the World of BATTLE ANGEL ALITA!" proclaims the bright red lettering
underneath the title logo. On the inside cover, readers are told, "Alita is
gone, but her world lives on!" Obviously hoping to ride the (metaphorical)
coattails of ALITA into success, Viz is trying to get a lot of mileage out
of this next Kishiro title.
Snev is the protagonist and he is a "Motorballer," although what that really
is remains unclear even after reading the first issue. Apparently Motorball
is a cross between demolition derby and racing that is held on rocket
skates. However, readers learn during the course of the issue that the game
used to be about skill and winning and lately it's become about the
violence. The audience craves violence, and that's what sells.
Snev is a young racer, but he isn't very good at all. In fact, in the six
months he's been on the circuit, he has never completed a race. He has
crashed every time. This leads the company he works for to terminate his
contract, despite the protests of the wizened little Mr. Holmegolud, who
sees something special in Snev. But he's not the only one. The beautiful
Berretta does a card reading for Snev and assures him that he'll be back on
the Motorball circuit.
Holmegolud and Snev meet and he tries to recall his first race, but his mind
is a blank. Slowly, though, the memory comes back, and he begins to
remember his first race and his first accident. Unfortunately, just when
things get interesting, the issue ends abruptly.
The art style has been billed as very much like that of Frank Miller; this
description is quite accurate. The use of heavy black lines and the stark
contrasts between the black and white recall Miller's SIN CITY. The stark
detailing of the backgrounds makes heavy use of black and white, filling
panels with an intensity that one can almost feel. In short, while this may
be Alita's world, it certainly doesn't look like it.
The story is off to a slow start. Readers have picked up on the fact that
Snev is kind of a loser when it comes to Motorballing because he just
doesn't have the drive. In fact, it seems that he's apathetic about almost
everything. Maybe that's part of his charm, but I for one am getting tired
of apathetic main characters. Maybe he'll grow a backbone, or get a
portable strap-on one, but so far all he's done is react to what happens to
him. And the reactions are all too similar — a sad look and a few words.
Most of the more interesting characters in the book only get a cursory
introduction in the first issue. Hopefully, the motives and backgrounds of
Berretta, Holmegolud, and the mammoth Motorballer Dolagunov will be revealed
in future issues.
Some may find this most recent foray into Alita's world to be entertaining,
but so far the first issue is different enough in story, art style, and
atmosphere that some fans may find themselves wondering what it has to do
with ALITA to begin with. Given a chance, and a couple more issues,
however, this faith may be
justified.  |
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