By: Adam Warren Publisher: Dark Horse Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Dark Horse Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 112 Publication Date: September 15, 1995
Product Description: Mega-Tokyo, 2031. The Great Kanto earthquake six years earlier has left scars the city won't soon forget. Even as its glorious Genom tower rises higher with repairs, in its shadow creeps a new wave of crime, a sign that beneath the growing prosperity and recovery is an undercurrent of discontent . . . a world on the brink of exploding. And if the Armored Defense Police can't prevent the bubble from bursting, then the four-woman vigilante unit known as Knight Sabers will suit up for action!
To all those who hated this. If any of those below had bothered to do their research, or had the original paper back of this book, they would have known that Kenichi Sonoda approved this manga. Who is Kenichi Sonoda? Only the creator of Bubblegum Crisis, no one special. Characters were true to form with an Adam Warren twist. Sonoda was very proud of this comic, and the fact he didn't have to draw anything in it. ~ Highly recommended.
Bubblegum, American-Style! GEN 13 writer and creator of the English DIRTY PAIR comics Adam Warren gave of us this sweet slice of colorized manga heaven in this U.S. interpetation of Keichi Sodana's "babes in armour". This 4-part mini-series is actually a prequal to the original BUBBLEGUM CRISIS video series, but taking place after A.D. POLICE FILES. A runaway Boober threatens to destroy Megatokyo, and the Knight Sabers assemble to take care of him. This was one of Warren's best anime off-shoots and he did a brilliant job of colorizing it. The action is hot hot hot, and Priss is even hotter than that. If you liked either the BGC OVA or the BGC: 2040 remake, then you must try this out for size!
I liked it alot. I bought this book and have to say I enjoyed it alot. It was a cool and original story with fantastic artwork. The story gets kind of shaky at times with complicated and confusing panels thrown in, but overall it was enjoyable and I do recommend it to any Manga fan.
Well, I Liked It. So There. I must admit, I am more than a little confused by the somewhat violent and decidedly unpleasant reaction others have given this graphic novel. I actually rather enjoyed the thing, and I believe the main reason for that is this: I never saw ANY of the "Bubblegum Crisis" animes before I read "Grand Mal." Science fiction fans, on the whole, are a rather obsessive and unforgiving lot. I should know, I'm one of them. However, my obsession with all things sci-fi has not left me so closed-minded that I will not accept any variations on some favorite characters of mine. A fan of the original "Star Trek" first, I stll gave "Next Generation" a chance, and ended up liking it better. Here, unfortunately, the BGC fans who have read this comic do not appear to have given it a chance, which is exemplified by the somewhat angry remarks I have seen, which were colored by this. For point of clarification: the story is good sci-fi, and the artwork is a good example of Adam Warren's "middle-period" drawing style. Now, as for whether or not this is good "Bubblegum Crisis," I still can't say. However, on it's own, I can say that this is a good comic.
Adam Warren is somewhat well known for his deeply sarcastic, satire-ridden, dark humor-laced writing style. Interestingly, he does not do much of that in "Grand Mal," which has to be the darkest and most serious of all the stories he has worked on(and I've read them all). However, some of that satire is still present, particularly in the depiction of the media, and in the "poetry" seen in the story, which is a blatant humorous imitation of the incredibly pretentious urban street poetry of New York, Paris, London, and yes, probably Tokyo.
The story itself is nice little piece of "cyberpunk"-class science fiction, involving an attempt by a brain-damaged, seizure-prone, and decidedly suicidal ex-mercenary to complete his final mission, two years after it originally failed. The "Knight Sabres," the main characters of "Bubblegum Crisis," just happen to be in his way, which is likely why so many BGC fans were miffed. The mercinary is the true main character of the story, and everything centers around him. Personally, I find it interesting when one can see known characters through the eyes of a third party, so I see no reason why a BGC fan wouldn't like this story.
The artwork: yes, it's a bit lacking compared to some of Warren's other work from the period, but there is a reason for that. This was the first comic Warren ever did in color, and an artist must alter their style accordingly to go from black and white to color. Warren didn't quite catch on here, but did make the proper shift eventually with "The Dirty Pair: Fatal But Not Serious" the following year, which looks excellent. Even so, the artwork is still clean, and nice to look at, and as I've said elsewhere, bad Warren art is still good art by most sandards.
So, "Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal" may not be ideal BGC, but it is still a good book. Personally, I like variations on a theme, and I thusly enjoy all four incarnations of "The Dirty Pair," especially Warren's version. Any long-time "Bubblegum Crisis" fan should have no problem enjoying "Grand Mal," so long as they keep an open mind. Highly recommended to sci-fi fans, manga fans, Warren fans, and yes, BGC fans. After all, there really isn't much BGC manga out there in the first place.
Avoid at all costs This comic is terrible, in fact that's doesn't go far enough. The story is rubbish and puts in details that are not supported by the OVA series. The charaters are bland and boring and in some cases the spelling of their names has been changed. Adam Warren cannot, no matter how hard he tries draw otaku manga, he should give up and try something else. And he can't write neither.
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