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Reviewed by Charles Webb From the publisher’s description: “The N5S virus has swept across the Earth, turning most of the population into zombie-like Drones. Zoichi Kanoe, an agent of TOA Heavy Industry, is humanity’s last hop, and he’s not even human!” One would think a book with a gun-toting, talking bear would make more of an impression. Unfortunately, Tsutomu Nihei’s (Blame!) most recent work sort of blows over the reader like a gentle wind to be forgotten almost immediately. This action-packed, sci-fi horror vehicle follows its lead, Kanoe, an artificial man with the requisite frustrated AI companion and badass bike as he attempts to find a genetic key that will inoculate humanity against a virus that has converted swaths of the population into zombies. As opposed to creating a new approach to the zombie-pocalypse genre, the writer-artist has instead piled conceits on top of one another – from space-borne spores, to soulless corporations, to body horror, to weapon porn (seriously some of the guns are ridiculous). The plot trots out megalithic corporations with shady agendas with the strange, added twist of a moral imperative to their actions – the corporation is acting to create a new beginning, motivated not so much by greed as I suppose an odd sort of idealism about restoring the world. The lead character, Kanoe, makes less of an impression – this volume doesn’t give the reader any real indication of his motives beyond duty to his company and a vague sense of not wanting the whole world to be immolated in a nuclear holocaust. __THISRES__132577.jpg) The art in the book has a rushed quality to it as well with the line work possessing a sketchy, back-of-a-notebook style to it. Some of the character designs seem raw and underdone and the rhythm of some of the action is hard to follow with gaps in transitions and slightly weak storytelling throughout. Where the work is redeemed is in the frenetic nature of some of the action scenes, particularly those involving artificial person on artificial person violence. Likewise, some of the drone designs are visually striking in that sort of overdeveloped, Resident Evil boss sort of way. Plus, you know, there’s a gun-toting, talking Russian bear. Perhaps getting the first volume out setting up the action-heavy world-building will allow Nihei to focus on the character-building in the next installment. Note: this title will be available on February 2, 2010. Review copy provided by Viz. Think you could have written a better review of Biomega v1? Write us and we'll probably let you give it a shot! --EiC PC |
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