The Cycle of Water

I picked this up randomly at the local comic book store for one reason, the cover. It immediatley caught my eye. The artwork is simply amazing. I will say this though, buy the Trade paper back version of this comic. I checked out the single issues of this and and they are quite dull. The glossy prints of the TPB bring out the many rich vibrant colors of this comic. The story centers around a wondering ronin, a masterless samurai who fails to kill themselves upon dishonor or thier masters death, named Okko. Noburo, a giant who is the brute force of the group and who looks like a ancient Oni or demon. Noshin, the boozehound monk with the ability to summon ancient elemental spirits. And finally Tikku who becomes becomes life-endebted to Okko. Tikku's older sister, Little Carp, is kidnapped while with Noburo by a gang of attacking bandits along with many other young girls. Not having anyway to go after his sister Tikku begs Okku and his gang to help him, in return Tikku will give his life over to Okku. thus begins a fantasic tale that was translated very well from French into English. The group travels from island to island, gambling houses, island shrines, ogre infested islands and deal with a multitude of foes, ranging from giant mechanical wooden puppets, samurai thugs, and some really ugly floating head vampires. Like i posted a the beginning the art work is just top notch. It is super detailed and the color is rich, lush and bright. I don't have much information on the Artist/writer Hub, as I said I picked this up on a whim. I am not going to babble on about this part because it speaks for itself. One thing that also stands out is the realm, the world of the story, itself. I have been reading the Tales of the Otori and like those books the creator has envisioned a mystic medieval Japan full of depth and character. This comic is very easy to get into and it's great to kow that there is a new volume out in the end of December. I highly recommend this someone who ejoys Japanese fantasy and beautiful artwork.