MEGATOKYO (VOLUME 1)
December 2nd 2008 01:33
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics.
Production Team: Fred Gallagher story/art, Rodney Caston story/co-creator & Dominic Nguyen shirt guy dom comics.
Cost: AU $15.95/US $9.95.
Well the year is almost over, Christmas fast approaching and New Years swiftly following up behind, time certainly does fly when you are having fun or at least involved in doing what you are doing. So a month or two ago I was browsing in my newsagents looking for something to read or possibly even review and in doing so I came across an issue of Fiend, an Australian Goth magazine that caught my attention. I forked over the few quid that was being asked for it, took it home and had a perusal of its contents. Now I am no Goth, although I do have a penchant for dressing in all black, steel toe capped boots and there the resemblance ends. Why do I mention this magazine? Well it was in its pages that I heard about this particular manga Megatokyo. There was an interview with the artist Fred Gallagher about his creation and how it all came about, curiosity piqued I just knew that I would have to get my hands on a copy of this.
So as I was pondering some deep thoughts the other day mainly what was I going to have for dinner and should I think about getting some amber fluid; not exactly existentialism but hey who but Sartre is into that nowadays anyway, that Megatokyo arrived on my doorstep courtesy of the local postal delivery team. Actually every time I see the phrase Megatokyo I just cannot help thinking about Akira or Doomed Megalopolis (which I havent seen) which has nothing remotely in common apart from geography with this manga. Now I cant explain why these links spring to mind other than via some strange geographical association phenomena still suffice to say that even though this manga is nothing like either of the other works it is nonetheless enjoyable.
Originally the whole MT (Megatokyo) shtick began as a collaboration between Gallagher and Caston with Caston apparently nagging Gallagher to do a web comic and the latter eventually putting together something and then letting sleeping dogs lie so to speak. From such humble beginning it seems that greatness springs, when I ordered this volume I noticed that there were at least five other volumes in publication and the original website www.megatokyo.com is still going strong. Not only that but Gallagher is apparently working on MT fulltime having quit his job as an architect, not bad for something that eventually started out as a little side project. There is also a fredart.com website which has various artworks created by Gallagher and it was here that he had initially pondered doing a single frame web comic.
Now even though MT is a manga work it due to its being originally created in English follows the standard western style format of publication. In fact there is a little note at the traditional end of the manga saying something along these lines and that you should start from the front. In this way the format is precisely the same adopted with Tokyopops Sorcerers & Secretaries that I reviewed a while back on the Lantern. It is also like that manga in that its premise is heavily real world based although there seems to be some elements of the supernatural and fantastic that has crept into the story.
Taken as a whole Megatokyo 1 is what could be called a slice of life genre manga, it is essentially about a point in the life of the two protagonists Largo and Piro commencing at the E3 convention in downtown LA and ending up with them being marooned in Tokyo, Japan. It is a tribute to the work of the creative team behind the whole project that what initially began as a series of one shots intended as a purely web based thing has evolved into an ongoing storyline focusing on this mismatched duos adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun. Along the way we meet various other characters who people this rather unique version of Tokyo which has as much resemblance to the real Japanese capital as to various fictional incarnations in various manga and anime down through the years. There is Dom and Ed, friend of Largo and Piro, both come across as gun toting homicidal maniacs, Junpei the Ninja, Yuki Sonoda an ordinary Japanese school girl, Miho the enigmatic looking Goth (or is she a Queen of the Dammed?) just to name a few of the cast that emerges in the pages of this volume.
It appears that in creating this particular manga the team have based the two protagonists; Largo and Piro on the two driving forces behind the effort (Rodney Caston & Fred Gallagher) and even the character Dom is based upon the other participant in the series; Dominic Nguyen. So there is the trace of an autobiographical to the series as some of the events of the creators real lives have given inspiration to some of the elements in the unfolding tale. Very amusing is the scene where the duo meets up with Piros Japanese friend Tsubasa and he shows them they can pick up snacks from the vending machines as they make there way to his place to crash. It is here that Largo discovers what could be seen as the ultimate vending machine; one that sells the amber nectar of the gods Beer! One wonders what the alcoholic content of vending machine beer would be? Maybe one day Ill find out
So essentially after leaving E3 as the result of drunken rant on behalf of Largo he and buddy Piro find themselves in Japan, swiftly end up spending their hard earned cash and not having the readies for a ticket back home. Its a real comedy of errors and one that effectively sees them stranded in Tokyo, a place that the pair of them probably have only ever experienced via the mediums of computer games, anime and manga. But then again perhaps this is all that theyll need in order to survive as it seems MT is not as ordinary and mundane as the real version would be. Pretty much the bulk of this volume is essentially introducing the reader to the cast, the predicament of the two primary protagonists and how they intend to deal, or in Largos case not deal, with it. It certainly made for an entertaining afternoons reading possibly something to enjoy over a refreshing ale or two at your local.
Production Team: Fred Gallagher story/art, Rodney Caston story/co-creator & Dominic Nguyen shirt guy dom comics.
Cost: AU $15.95/US $9.95.
Well the year is almost over, Christmas fast approaching and New Years swiftly following up behind, time certainly does fly when you are having fun or at least involved in doing what you are doing. So a month or two ago I was browsing in my newsagents looking for something to read or possibly even review and in doing so I came across an issue of Fiend, an Australian Goth magazine that caught my attention. I forked over the few quid that was being asked for it, took it home and had a perusal of its contents. Now I am no Goth, although I do have a penchant for dressing in all black, steel toe capped boots and there the resemblance ends. Why do I mention this magazine? Well it was in its pages that I heard about this particular manga Megatokyo. There was an interview with the artist Fred Gallagher about his creation and how it all came about, curiosity piqued I just knew that I would have to get my hands on a copy of this.
So as I was pondering some deep thoughts the other day mainly what was I going to have for dinner and should I think about getting some amber fluid; not exactly existentialism but hey who but Sartre is into that nowadays anyway, that Megatokyo arrived on my doorstep courtesy of the local postal delivery team. Actually every time I see the phrase Megatokyo I just cannot help thinking about Akira or Doomed Megalopolis (which I havent seen) which has nothing remotely in common apart from geography with this manga. Now I cant explain why these links spring to mind other than via some strange geographical association phenomena still suffice to say that even though this manga is nothing like either of the other works it is nonetheless enjoyable.
Originally the whole MT (Megatokyo) shtick began as a collaboration between Gallagher and Caston with Caston apparently nagging Gallagher to do a web comic and the latter eventually putting together something and then letting sleeping dogs lie so to speak. From such humble beginning it seems that greatness springs, when I ordered this volume I noticed that there were at least five other volumes in publication and the original website www.megatokyo.com is still going strong. Not only that but Gallagher is apparently working on MT fulltime having quit his job as an architect, not bad for something that eventually started out as a little side project. There is also a fredart.com website which has various artworks created by Gallagher and it was here that he had initially pondered doing a single frame web comic.
Now even though MT is a manga work it due to its being originally created in English follows the standard western style format of publication. In fact there is a little note at the traditional end of the manga saying something along these lines and that you should start from the front. In this way the format is precisely the same adopted with Tokyopops Sorcerers & Secretaries that I reviewed a while back on the Lantern. It is also like that manga in that its premise is heavily real world based although there seems to be some elements of the supernatural and fantastic that has crept into the story.
Taken as a whole Megatokyo 1 is what could be called a slice of life genre manga, it is essentially about a point in the life of the two protagonists Largo and Piro commencing at the E3 convention in downtown LA and ending up with them being marooned in Tokyo, Japan. It is a tribute to the work of the creative team behind the whole project that what initially began as a series of one shots intended as a purely web based thing has evolved into an ongoing storyline focusing on this mismatched duos adventures in the Land of the Rising Sun. Along the way we meet various other characters who people this rather unique version of Tokyo which has as much resemblance to the real Japanese capital as to various fictional incarnations in various manga and anime down through the years. There is Dom and Ed, friend of Largo and Piro, both come across as gun toting homicidal maniacs, Junpei the Ninja, Yuki Sonoda an ordinary Japanese school girl, Miho the enigmatic looking Goth (or is she a Queen of the Dammed?) just to name a few of the cast that emerges in the pages of this volume.
It appears that in creating this particular manga the team have based the two protagonists; Largo and Piro on the two driving forces behind the effort (Rodney Caston & Fred Gallagher) and even the character Dom is based upon the other participant in the series; Dominic Nguyen. So there is the trace of an autobiographical to the series as some of the events of the creators real lives have given inspiration to some of the elements in the unfolding tale. Very amusing is the scene where the duo meets up with Piros Japanese friend Tsubasa and he shows them they can pick up snacks from the vending machines as they make there way to his place to crash. It is here that Largo discovers what could be seen as the ultimate vending machine; one that sells the amber nectar of the gods Beer! One wonders what the alcoholic content of vending machine beer would be? Maybe one day Ill find out
So essentially after leaving E3 as the result of drunken rant on behalf of Largo he and buddy Piro find themselves in Japan, swiftly end up spending their hard earned cash and not having the readies for a ticket back home. Its a real comedy of errors and one that effectively sees them stranded in Tokyo, a place that the pair of them probably have only ever experienced via the mediums of computer games, anime and manga. But then again perhaps this is all that theyll need in order to survive as it seems MT is not as ordinary and mundane as the real version would be. Pretty much the bulk of this volume is essentially introducing the reader to the cast, the predicament of the two primary protagonists and how they intend to deal, or in Largos case not deal, with it. It certainly made for an entertaining afternoons reading possibly something to enjoy over a refreshing ale or two at your local.
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Comment by Tom
on That Which Should Not Be...
The Green Lantern
Hopefully the more discerning comic fans will heed my warnings and avoid this work like the proverbial.