Jing: King of Bandits—Twilight Tales

(Tokyopop, 2004-2005)
™ and ©1999 Yuichi Kumakura
foil enhanced cover; read right to left; graphic novel; b&w

The adventures of “the thief who steals everything” and his frenetic avian friend Kir first appeared in Japanese manga racks in 1995. A successful 7-issue run led to an anime series, a video game, and this is the first volume of a second series from creator Yuichi Kumakura. The four chapters include one complete story line and the start of another; in the two–part “Les Enfants du Paradis,” the mayhem begins when Jing steals a jewel from a coffin at a notorious crime lord’s funeral. As the rest of the “Tovarisch” clan chase him through the streets and caverns of Czarine, Jing heads toward a gigantic crystal that allows communication with the dead. In the third and fourth chapters, “The Patchwork City” and “God’s Brain,” Jing searches through the city of Rusty Nail for the aformentioned artifact at least until he runs into the minions of Bloody Caesar. Kumakura includes alcohol–themed in-jokes (the locales are named after mixed drinks), and Kumakura calls the chapters “belts from the bottle.” Though the plot does seem to stagger wildly at times, it always remains fun.

— Joe Trela

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