Tuesday, July 03, 2007

Battle of the Bands

by Steve Buccellato
Published by Tokyopop



Slugline: Lightweight, slapstick action. Please check your brain at the door to avoid damage.

This book caught me at the wrong time, and I'm trying not to blame it for that. It's a silly romp through a world where punk bands battle more literally, but despite the katanas and light anti-tank weapons, nobody really gets hurt. Unless it's useful to the plot, of course.

I do have to call the writer on a detail that I bet he thought nobody would be old enough to catch: the climactic battle between our heroines in Led Salad and their dastardly French enemies, the Whores d'Oeuvres, is a rip-off (or a homage) of the the classic Duran Duran "Wild Boys" video. Gotcha!

The story felt rushed, as there's a lot to cram in for one volume... and I'm not a fan of the dialog. It gave me whiplash going from heavy, intellectual Deathnote to this much lighter fare, and that put me in a bad mood. But slapstick has its place and it can be fun, so fill your flamethrower with tar and feathers, and have at it.



Battle of the Bands, vol. 1 is also available from Right Stuf, Intl., an online retailer specializing in anime and manga.

- Miranda

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