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| Thanks to barnesandnoble.com for the image. |
BOMBOS VS. EVERYTHING, VOL. 1
TOKYOPOP
CARTOONIST: Maximo V. Lorenzo
CONCEPT: Andrew Helms
ISBN: 978-1-59816-698-9; paperback; Rated “T” for “Teen-Age 13+”
192 pp., B&W, $9.99
Bombos Vs. Everything, Vol. 1 is set in a sort of low rent dystopian future in which young combatants train for the chance to go to the legendary city of Bokonon. One of these fighters is Bombos, a combative boy built like a fire hydrant. He lives in the boonies – a place named Thessel.
Bombos trains for a chance to take on the Qualifiers, which isn’t an event but a group of warriors. If he beats them, he gets to go to Bokonon and possibly become a greater fighter. His main competition is another diminutive boy-child fighter named Veng. Both of them train under Elder Quake, who once lived and fought in Bokonon, and the duo also works for him as paperboys. The questions is whether they will survive their boss’s heavy hand to fight the Qualifiers.
[This volume includes a preview of new OEL manga title, We Shadows.]
THE LOWDOWN: Bombos Vs. Everything has kind of a Tank Girl vibe, but without Tank Girl’s creators’ talent and skill. Cartoonist Maximo V. Lorenzo certainly has desire and energy, and that comes across in this volume. The book has a wild, frantic energy and a belligerent spirit that is embodied in its self-assured title character. However, quite a bit of this comes across as material found in a self-published indie book, not a graphic novel from one of the world’s largest and most respected publishers of comics, manga, and related publications.
Still, Bombos Vs. Everything has potential, and it would be interesting to see where this goes.
POSSIBLE AUDIENCE: Readers who dedicate themselves to the indie, D.I.Y. aesthetic might get down with this.
C+
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