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Reviews and commentary by Tony Isabella
"America's Most Beloved Comic-Book Writer & Columnist"
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TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
for Tuesday, February 8, 2005
You ever have one of those mornings where you woke up and the world just came flying at you? Yeah, I thought so.
Let's see what I can come up with to get us through it.
******
CHEEKY ANGEL
Hiroyuki Nishimori's CHEEKY ANGEL [Viz; $9.95 per volume] is a current favorite. Megumi Amatsuka was a boy who wished to become the manliest of men. Granted a wish by a magic clown, that's what he asked for. Instead, he was turned into a girl, the most womanly of women. Meg is now a beautiful teen and life just keeps getting more and more complicated.
Throughout the series, Meg has sought to be transformed back into a male. In the third volume, that seemed a possibility as she once again encountered the clown who switched her gender all those years ago. The bad news...it wasn't an accident.
The half-pint clown is as malicious as they come. He delights in granting people the reverse of their wishes. Then, when Meg and her smitten suitors tick him off, he unleashes a curse on...well, no one knows for sure.
Is Meg cursed or are those around her cursed?
Ultimately, that may not matter. Her friends won't allow her to face dangers by herself and she won't stop looking out for their safety as well.
Gender-bending comedies are old news for Japanese comics, but CHEEKY ANGEL finds some new angles to it. Meg is as tough as they come, but also breathtakingly feminine. She professes no interest in her ardent suitors, but she is clearly moved by their love for her and, as is also becoming clear, she's attracted to at least one of them. Naturally, it's the bad boy of the bunch.
Genzo was a delinquent until meeting Meg. Ever since, he has tried to be a better man. Although he wants to be far more, he is as loyal a friend as Meg could have. He helps her find the clown, even knowing she wants to become male again. In the fourth volume, when she tries to protect him by offering to date him if he doesn't follow her into danger, he foregoes his greatest desire to stand by her against a group of Yakuza killers.
Yakuza killers?
That's another reason I like CHEEKY ANGEL. I never know what will be coming next. A comical situation turns dark when the true nature of the clown is revealed. A group of seeming dweebs who are enamored of Meg prove to be capable and courageous. A quick trip to Osaka gets the gang involved with a lovely-but-cynical burglar and the assassins. Running through it all are what seems to be the big questions of the series:
Will Meg finally accept being a girl?
Will she truly fall for Genzo?
CHEEKY ANGEL rarely misses a beat. The only truly discordant note is Megumi's lecherous father, who is so creepy that, when Meg goes to Osaka with him, she brings along a girlfriend to make sure there aren't any problems. I realize dirty old men are something of a tradition in Japanese comics, but not every tradition is worth preserving. Unless Meg's dad is destined to play a pivotal role in future volumes, I would be okay with Viz leaving his future scenes on the cutting room floor.
CHEEKY ANGEL is rated "T" for "Older Teens"...and I'm betting Meg's dad was a deciding factor there. Regardless, and with proper parental supervision, I'd still recommend the series to readers of all ages. On our scale of zero to five - see the explanatory chart elsewhere on this page - CHEEKY ANGEL received the full five out of five Tonys. You go, girl!
******
THE MAN WHO COULDN'T SLEEP
One of the reasons mornings seem to come at me so hard of late is that I'm not sleeping well. I'm talking an hour here and maybe two hours there.
Being as how I am the poster child for side effects, I'd like to find a non-pharmaceutical remedy for this problem. Please send any and all suggestions my way.
I've already ruled out this one:
To give credit where credit is due...
The MYSTIC #9 cover comes from Greg Gatlin's wonderful ATLAS TALES website [www.atlastales.com], which has become a daily online stop for me. The cover was drawn by Joe Maneely, though the trees and tombstones might have been added by Carl Burgos. The issue is dated June, 1952.
The "tasty pastries" photograph is from ENGRISH.COM, a guilty pleasure of mine. The website describes "Engrish" as "the humorous English mistakes that appear in Japanese advertising and product design." It's a hoot-and-a-half.
I hope no reader takes offense at my enjoyment of ENGRISH.COM. I have great admiration and respect for the Japanese, their works, and their sometimes kooky love for American things. Were I able to visit any country of my choosing, Japan would be at the very top of my dream vacation list.
******
HE SPEAKS
Befuddled wretch that I am today, I have failed miserably in my attempts to get a decent scan from the flier I received just a few short hours ago.
Here's what it said:
O, Lordy! It Speaks!
HARLAN ELLISON LECTURE:
"A Scattered Interlude
with Harlan Ellison"
Case Western Reserve University
in The Ford Auditorium (inside the Allen Library)
10900 Euclid Avenue (corner of Euclid & Adelbert)
Cleveland, Ohio 44106
Tuesday 1st March 2005 4:00 pm
For further information: parking, directions
(To both the campus and auditorium), confirmation etc.:
Call (216) 368-2424 or go to: www.cwru.edu
Free and open to the public
Harlan is a friend and one of my heroes, so I can guarantee my presence at his lecture. It's likely I'll be getting together with him and his wife Susan sometime during his visit to my neck of the woods, but such plans have yet to be made.
However, if any of the loyal legions of TOT readers are also coming to Harlan's lecture, please drop me a line with your plans. Depending on what's going on, we might be able to hang for a while before or after the lecture.
After all, how often do they let *me* run free?
******
TONY POLLS
It's Tuesday and that means we have new TONY POLLS questions waiting for you at:
www.worldfamouscomics.com/tony/poll
This go around, you're being asked to choose which of several books, comics, or magazines you'd most like me to review...and also to give your thumbs up or thumbs down to recent genre movies and TV shows. Voting is fun, free, and, unless you're voting in a library or another public place, clothing optional.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.
Tony Isabella
<< 02/07/2005 | 02/08/2005 | 02/09/2005 >>
Discuss this column with me at my Message Board. Also, read Heroes and Villains: Real and Imagined.
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THE "TONY" SCALE
ZERO: Burn your money before buying any comic receiving this rating. It doesn't *necessarily* mean there's absolutely nothing of value here - though it *could* - but whatever value it might possess shrinks into insignificance before its overall awfulness.
ONE: Buy something else. Maybe I found something which wasn't completely dreadful in the item, but not enough for me to recommend it when there are better comics available. I only want what's best for you, my children.
TWO: Basic judgment call. I found some value, but not enough to recommend it. My review should give you enough info to decide if you want to take a chance on it. Are you feeling lucky today, punk? Well, are you?
THREE: This denotes something I find perfectly respectable. There are better books out there, but I wouldn't regret buying this item. Based on my review, you should be able to determine if it's of interest to you. Let the Force guide you.
FOUR: I recommend anything earning this rating. Unless you don't like the genre, subject matter, or past work of the creators, I believe you'll enjoy this item. Isn't it uncanny how I can look right into your soul that way?
FIVE: Anything getting this rating is among the best comicdom has to offer. You should buy/read this, even if the genre/subject matter doesn't appeal to you. It's for your own good. Me, I live for comics and books this good...but not in a pathetic "Comic-Book Guy" sort of way.
Please send material you would like me to review to:
Tony's Online Tips
840 Damon Drive
Medina, OH 44256
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