Comics / Manga

Recast: Volume 1

By Leroy Douresseaux
December 4, 2006 - 09:59

JD is a teenaged boy raised by his grandfather, Grifford.  JD is also an apprentice wizard and always under the watch of his Professor Celine.  What JD doesn't know is all of his grandfather's secrets, like the fact that Grifford has cast something over JD called a "recast" spell.  Or that grandpa isn't as old as he looks.  Or that the two of them come from the Fourth World.  JD and Grifford now live in the Fifth World, which is sandwiched between the world where the Gods live, the Sixth World, and the world of demons and evil gods, the Fourth World.

When bounty hunters from the Fourth World, called "puppets," begin to attack JD and Grandpa, the secrets come out and their entire village is endangered.  The most dangerous of the puppets is the destructive Du Mascara, who arrives on the Fourth World determined to kill JD.

Recast is an action fantasy Manga with a splash of Harry Potter and some high fantasy.  The story starts off slowly, mainly because of all the arcane mythology that makes up the concept.  One example is that magic exists in "boxes," from which magicians must draw energy to cast spells.  There are just so many ideas and so much terminology to learn that it makes the book initially a bore.  However, once actually conflict is injected into the plot, the narrative instantly jumps into high gear and never slows down to its cliffhanger ending.

The art in terms of panel grids looks like American comics, and closer to superhero comics than Manga.  However, writer/artist Seung-Hui Kye excels at drawing action scenes, especially turning even a small fight into an epic battle that bursts from the constraints of the panel borders.  The costume and creature designs are stunning, beautiful, and imaginative; one on page 101 is a breathtaking doozy of a pinup.

Recast, Vol. 1 hints that the later volumes will be even better, and seeing more of Kye's designs makes future issues worth waiting for.

7/10

 

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12