Tokyo+Zombies=Rock!

Tokyo Zombie

by Yusaku Hanakuma

One of my pet peeves is the "Is Manga a Genre?" debate. The answer is in the question, as manga (comics from Japan) are as diverse as comics and graphics novels released in the English-speaking world. Speed lines and SD sweat drops do not a manga make. I have have been very happy to see an increase in titles that expand the envelope for English-speaking readers of manga in recent years. Last year's Tekkon Kinkreet: Black and White by Taiyo Matsumoto is one fantastic example of a "non-traditional" manga that is also an amazing mind-scramble (and went on to win a well-deserved Eisner Award).

Tokyo Zombie is probably not on the short-list for an Eisner but it is on my short-list for Best of 2008. Not only does Tokyo Zombie blow the doors off what manga can be, it is a succinct and kick-ass comedy horror story that defies any reviewer not use profanity at least three times in his review. (1 out of 3 covered.)

At least to me, Yusaku Hanakuma's Afro and Hage characters are best known from their appearances in the monthly magazine Eiga Hiho (or "Cinema Treasures"), basically the Japanese version of Fangoria. Tokyo Zombie is his first long-story usage of the the two quirky buddies, and the results are both shocking and satisfying.

Our two main characters are factory workers by day and martial arts aficionados by night...or during the day, too. An untimely trip to Dark Fuji, a garbage heap of a mountain full of as many discarded corpses as dead computers, leads to witness of the the beginnings of the Tokyo zombie invasion as the dead rise to do what zombies do.

These opening scenes are rather brutal (and don't let up), and the impact is only slightly softened by the sketch-book style of the artwork. This style is called "heta-uma" or "skillfully shitty" (2 of 3 swear-words tagged), but it is all Hanakuma's and wouldn't work at all if it wasn't matched with the dark and dry humor that peppers this apocalyptic tale.

There are some surprising twists, and eventually we are presented with Tokyo where the humans live in a secure fort surrounded by blood-sucking zombies trying to get in, but the need to entertain themselves fuels the actions of the still-living and wealthy. This is no "28 Days Later" or "I Am Legend" zombie apocalypse. Think professional wrestling with zombies in a Gladiator or Thunderdome setting, and you can begin to imagine the jaw-dropping audacity some selfish humans have, even in a world of chaos.

Simple on the surface, Tokyo Zombie satisfies on several levels. From flying heads and genitalia chomps to wicked twists and not-so-subtle social commentary, this one-shot does a lot in its 150ish pages.

Simply put, Tokyo Zombie is the shit (3 out of 3 profanities complete).