By: Kenichi Sonoda Publisher: Dark Horse Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Dark Horse Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 184 Publication Date: October 01, 1997
Book Description: Renegade bomber Ken Taki re-emerges, but the only thing he's looking to blow up is his relationship with the syndicate. He wants to walk -- they'd rather see him carried out. Can the Cats get him out in one piece?
Collection #2 of Kenichi Sonoda's Chicago crime series First things first, this collection of Gunsmith Cats is probably the weakest of the entire series. with that said, it's only because it's the end of one series of stories and the beginning of another. So from a plot stand point it feels like a bunch of odds and ends. If anything it's a midpoint of a trilogy of books "Bonnie and Clyde", "Misfire" and "Return of Gray".
But what do you get in this book? It starts off with a bang, literally. Sonoda introduces Gray, a top man in a criminal syndicate and the lead villain of the next book. We also get our first real appearance of Bean Bandit, the expert transporter who becomes a regular character in later adventures. This first set of stories gives us some nice background on Minnie May as well. The next two stories are pure fun, stand-alone tales. "Jamming" pits Minnie May and Rally in a little argument that gets out of control (and takes some goofy burglars along with it. "Muzzle and Edge" introduces Misty, the knife wielding thief. Misty becomes an important character in later books and her intro to Rally is classic. The conclusion of the story is a bit weak and ends the stand-alones on a whimper.
The real meat of the book kicks in with Gray returning and getting his hands on Minnie May and Becky. This was the beginning of the first full adventure and Gunsmith Cats and it showcases Sonoda's skill with action, car chases and one-uping finale's. Gray is a tough customer and really makes things difficult for the girls. The story gets cooking and then... ends?
"Misfire" is a strange book. It's got great material and you need to read it if you're going to enjoy the next book. My favorite chapters are probably "Jamming" and the car chase that erupts in "Sight In" and carries on till the end of the book. From an art point of view, things are improved on from the first book (but our leads still look a bit different from the way they look in later books, especially Becky). The action is easy to follow and carries from panel to panel with ease. Only the stuttering nature of the story brings it down and I end up only reading it if I'm willing to do the first three books back to back. So as part of the trilogy it gets higher marks, but as it's own book, it's average.
*** A Note *** Hey, those burglars from "Jamming" look familiar. That's right, some of the same crew shows up at Rally's house again in the anime version of "Gunsmith Cats". Were these guys too stupid to stay away after getting shot up the first time? In addition am I the only one that thinks that Misty looks a lot like a younger version of Priss from the original Bubblegum Crisis series. Misty could be her kid sister. Sonoda loves using the similar character designs (they show up again in "Cannon God Exaxxion".
The Great Action Continues The action continues in the second volume of Gunsmith Cats.
Someone is planting bombs and making demands. The work looks familiar to some of the more experienced police officers, but things may not be as they appear to be. Plus, Rally makes someone a little mad, and now he wants to kill her. During all of this, some friction developes between Rally and Minnie May. Their gun shop gets broken into too. Yep! I'm being vague, but this is a review, not a spoiler.
Ken Taki shows up, and we learn where Minnie May learned some of her skills. This is the first appearance of Ken, and he's only in a small part of this volume even if a large chunk of the plot involves him. We also learn just how young Rally and May really are.
This is not for kids as the very first sentence in the book should tell you. There is mature content. You have all of the elements of a good quality, R-rated action movie. The sexual material is more suggestive here than in the first volume. You saw the outline of things there. Here it's mainly suggestive comments and a few things taking place just outside of the frame.
I would recommend this to any fan of action movies. This is the second volume of the series. It might work on its own, but there is more to the story which is continued in the next volume - Return of Gray.
Fast Action, Slick Fun, and Witty-ness up the Wazoo Okay.. so my title description says it all. The Gunsmith Cats series is pretty seriously gripping unlike almost ALL the other comics I've ever read. It has irony (which I like), some very cool plots with indescribable artistry that redefines two dimensional action in a comic. You'll be hooked.
1 Good Book! If girls,guns,car chases and bombs are your thing the check yhis one out
man it rules! it's one heck of a show. everything in it looks good. i wish other cartoons are like these.
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