xxxHOLIC

    (Del Rey, 2004)
™ and © CLAMP
Black and white graphic novel series; read right to left.

Even those familiar with the Japanese creative collective Clamp will be taken aback by xxxHolic, with its clever premise. The story involves the way in which the law of conservation of energy might apply to magic usage.

It includes a visit to the shop of the sultry witch Yuko, who’s in the heart’s desire business. There, customers may buy whatever they wish, for if they can pay the price—and not in the “Monkey’s Paw” way, which has become something of a cliché in today’s fiction.

It’s an altogether thoughtful and contemporary take on the subject. (One customer, for example, wishes to be cured of her Internet connection.) The tale avoids simple solutions and is done up in an oddly impressionistic art style that cunningly plays with negative space.

As if that’s not enough, this is also a crossover with Clamp’s just–released Tsubasa manga, in which some familiar Clamp characters make guest appearances. And, as is the case with all the other Del Rey manga, it’s loaded with entertaining bonus features.

— S.A. Bennett
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