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I was taken in
from the very start by the colourful title page, and odd backwards opening
of this book. It is original, one hundred percent, MANGA. This comic is read
from back to front, and right to left. No one else could put such vivid
imagination in text and illustrations quite like Aki Shimizu did in Qwan.
Human headed, tiger embodied demons lurk behind the darkness. Amazing
creatures and people of all kinds, walk the streets. I’m sure you will agree
that this is a book you can judge by its cover.
Qwan has the outer appearance of a young boy. This look, in itself, does not
do him justice. He is a youth with amazing martial art skills, the ability
to eat demons, and ingest their powers. Qwan, is soon accompanied by a lazy,
money crazed, man named Chikei. In the book they meet many more evil
monsters and new characters. The comic takes place in China during The Later
Han Dynasty. They travel in search of the Emperor’s palace, to find a verse
called The Essential Arts of Peace, hidden somewhere in the palace’s
elaborate structure. This verse, will tell him the purpose of his life, and
he will stop at nothing to get it. Although, he is the main character, the
story is written from more than just his perspective.
The drawings are amazing! I can look at the black and white sketch in front
of me, and see it moving in a colourful animation, playing inside my head. I
soon figured out, that from reading the text, the boldness and the different
captions all meant something. And that with every caption, there was a
descriptive picture to follow. The characters faces always reflect a new
emotion, this brings the initial annoyance, anger or sadness the person
felt, to life.
While reading, I realized this particular novel is very powerful. It uses
coarse language and graphic pictures, making it a great read for those who
are over thirteen years of age. All in all, the story line keeps you
captivated. You devour the pages quickly and before you know it the pages
are gone. Far too soon the familiar words …to be continued, float
across the page, leaving you in a frenzy for the next book in the Qwan
Chronicle.
A unique read, deserving of 5 shimmering stars. In my personal opinion, this
book is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Although it is a
Graphic Novel, it still has intriguing text. Graphics and verse work
together hand in hand, to give an extremely well told story.
RATING:  |
