Rated “Bad" in our old book database. ( )

This book was mostly "ok." I had high expectations given it bills itself as a collection of alternative manga. Aside from a couple of stories that were pretty good and even made me think a bit, most of the stories in this collection are the kind of artist sketch that should have stayed in the sketchbook. They seem incomplete and often half-baked. As if the artist was having some kind of brainstorm thought, but then he never followed through. If this is what is defined as "underground," it can stay there. As I said, there are a couple of stories that are worth reading, but aside from those, most of the volume is pretty forgettable. This one is one to borrow, not buy. ( )

Ax is something wild and wonderful - not always consistent, and not always even interesting, the pieces in here are valuable nonetheless simply as a glimpse of the wider world of manga than an American reader might ever know of going by the sorts of titles that Tokyopop has been releasing in this country. The tone, style, and taste of each of the diverse pieces in these pages varies by an amazing degree, and if a number of the pieces depend a little too heavily on shock value, it's still a trip to read just to achieve the understanding that the art form has possibilities that may elude readers outside of Japan. ( )