Wayward, volumes 1-3 by Jim Zub and several others
Yay, mythology!
I'm not sure where I got the recommendation for this graphic novel series. There was some article I read about the 25 best comics this year, so it could have been there. Goodreads may have recommended it. Who cares, it happened and it's AWESOME!
We begin with Rori Lane. She's a teen like any other. Her mom and dad have been divorced and she no longer gets along well with Pops in Ireland, so she's going to live with her mom in Japan. As she wanders the streets in the days before school begins, she gets accosted by some street thugs. But these are no ordinary street thugs. These are yokai, Japanese fairytale creatures, specifically kappa. Rori has no idea how to defend herself until a girl named Ayane leaps out and begins to kick kappa ass. It's here that Rori's veneer of sameness falls aside and she finds she can see patterns, glowing red lines that lead her where she needs to go to accomplish what she needs to accomplish. She can also manipulate people's fates. It turns out Rori is a Weaver. Ayane's also not what she seems. She's a neko musume - a cat daughter - and she can change into a pack of cats to make her escape. Yep, the crazy cat lady legend began in Japan.
Along the way, Rori and Ayune meet other teens like them, whose powers are just beginning to manifest. They go to war with the old gods of Japan, the yokai, whose existence up until now has been hidden. Destruction and chaos ensue.
This is just an intriguing blend of mythology, Manga, and superhero genres. So something for every nerd, really. The author Jim Zub and his collaborator Steve Cummings live in Japan and they wanted to present the real Japan alongside the folklore of the country. This isn't pretty temples and cherry blossoms. It looks like downtown, because, guess what, Tokyo has a downtown too. Ever major city has its grubby sides, the parts the locals drive through quickly and try not to break down. The real and the fantastic blend here to make a really interesting story. Different sides are going to war; how will they manipulate these upstarts to help their side to victory? Will the kids every figure it out? It's going to be fun to find out!
I'm not sure where I got the recommendation for this graphic novel series. There was some article I read about the 25 best comics this year, so it could have been there. Goodreads may have recommended it. Who cares, it happened and it's AWESOME!
We begin with Rori Lane. She's a teen like any other. Her mom and dad have been divorced and she no longer gets along well with Pops in Ireland, so she's going to live with her mom in Japan. As she wanders the streets in the days before school begins, she gets accosted by some street thugs. But these are no ordinary street thugs. These are yokai, Japanese fairytale creatures, specifically kappa. Rori has no idea how to defend herself until a girl named Ayane leaps out and begins to kick kappa ass. It's here that Rori's veneer of sameness falls aside and she finds she can see patterns, glowing red lines that lead her where she needs to go to accomplish what she needs to accomplish. She can also manipulate people's fates. It turns out Rori is a Weaver. Ayane's also not what she seems. She's a neko musume - a cat daughter - and she can change into a pack of cats to make her escape. Yep, the crazy cat lady legend began in Japan.
Along the way, Rori and Ayune meet other teens like them, whose powers are just beginning to manifest. They go to war with the old gods of Japan, the yokai, whose existence up until now has been hidden. Destruction and chaos ensue.
This is just an intriguing blend of mythology, Manga, and superhero genres. So something for every nerd, really. The author Jim Zub and his collaborator Steve Cummings live in Japan and they wanted to present the real Japan alongside the folklore of the country. This isn't pretty temples and cherry blossoms. It looks like downtown, because, guess what, Tokyo has a downtown too. Ever major city has its grubby sides, the parts the locals drive through quickly and try not to break down. The real and the fantastic blend here to make a really interesting story. Different sides are going to war; how will they manipulate these upstarts to help their side to victory? Will the kids every figure it out? It's going to be fun to find out!
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