The Blog Fantastic 019: Warbreaker review

Warbreaker is my first Brandon Sanderson book. I’ve known about him and his work ever since he was announced as the writer who will finish writing Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time series. It’s taken me a long time to get to read one of his books because all of his novels I see in stores are either second or third volumes in a series or the Wheel of Time books (readers will know I’m only three the prequel and the first two of that series). Sanderson has been at the top of my list of fantasy authors to discover for a few years and when I included him in my list of authors and series to read in my introduction to The Blog Fantastic project, I specified A Way of Kings. I’m a little ashamed to admit it’s been sitting on my shelf since then. Still, maybe reading Warbreaker will motivate me to pick up and read the giant ass first volume of The Stormlight Archive.

I found Warbreaker at my local used bookstore. It was the only Brandon Sanderson they had. I’m not sure if that’s because he’s still relatively new to the genre (his first book was published in 2005) or if people consider his books very good and do not wish to trade them or sell them. Either way, I’m glad there was at least one book of his that I could actually read. All in all, my first Sanderson reason experience was a very good one. The man lives up to his reputation, particularly in the magic department.

The story isn’t anything earthshattering. Over three hundred years ago, at the end of the Manywar,

the kingdom has been divided in two. The port city of Hallandren, once the kingdom’s capital, has remained in power but is now under the rule of the God King and the Returned. They are all rich in Breaths and the people revered them for their BioChroma. The royal family has retreated to the northern province of Idris where their faith in the unseen god Austre has led them to despise the heretic practices of the people of Hallandren. Twenty years before the beginning of the novel, a treaty was made between the rivals in which the King of Idris agreed to marry his daughter to the God King, hoping to bring peace between the two nations. Two of his daughter eventually make it to Hallandren and there they do all they can to prevent the war with Idris. Most of the novel is about the characters attempts to prevent or encourage the war.  

Breaths and BioChroma in Warbreaker:

Magic is the star of the show. I would not be surprised to find out if the novel’s origins followed the creation of the magic system. As such, the story can sometimes feel like a frame which allows Sanderson to be organized in his presentation of BioChroma. The story is structure in such a way as to allow Sanderson to regularly insert additional information regarding the magic. His approach to magic is very original and it’s so detailed as to make the magic feel somewhat scientific but it works. The problem with complex magic systems isn’t the system itself, it’s the author’s explanation of the system and how it’s handled. Complicated explanation or ham-fisted exposition will render any interesting magic system into something incomprehensible and boring. Sanderson avoids that in part because his writing style is clear and simple without being unrefined. I certain that it’s more difficult to do than it sounds. As I’m about to show, BioChroma is complicated and to explain it so effectively as Sanderson did without patronizing the reader is impressive.

Right at the prologue, Sanderson assaults the reader with his world building and the magic system of the story. You actually don’t fully understand the evens of the prologue until you’ve read more of the book, but the building blocks are all present in the first few pages. BioChroma is a magic that takes its power from humans souls which the inhabitants of this world refer to as Breaths. Every person is born with one Breath but they can accumulate any number of them. This of course is difficult to do since Breaths cannot be stolen from others, they can only be given. To further complicate things, when someone gives Breath away, they cannot control the number of Breaths they give. It’s an all or nothing deal. Breaths power BioChroma which can give the owner powers even if no magic is performed. To have one or multiple Breaths will affect how the individual views the world around them because having a certain number of Breaths will give you special abilities. There are ten levels of different abilities, the more Breath you have the higher the level, or Heightening, you are at. Owners of 50 Breaths attain the First Heightening which grants them Aura Recognition: the ability to sense and see other’s auras.

Owning Breaths is also the first step to being able to use magic, or to Awaken objects. To Awaken an object is to give them life by giving them Breaths. Not all objects can be Awakened, metals and other objects made of non-organic materials. Plants or objects made of plants are the easiest to Awaken because plant-based objects were once alive. This makes it easier to suffuse life into those objects. It’s also easier if you shape the object you wish to Awaken into a human shape. These Awakened objects can then perform tasks based on specific Commands you give them. In order to effectively Awaken, you need another component: colour. Colour is the fuel that powers the spell. Thus, in order to Awaken, you require an object to Awaken, a Command for the object, Breaths to give them object and colour to power it all. Awakeners often carry around colourful handkerchiefs to prevent their clothes from discolouring to grey when using magic. I forgot to mention that you need to have physical contact with the object you wish to Awaken as well as the source of colour you’re using. But that can vary based on your level of Heightening.

See what I mean about the magic system? It’s very complex! I’m only scratching the surface, too. There are far many more things that can be done with BioChroma and parts of what make up the city of Hallandren are intrinsically related to magic. The use of Lifeless armies is but one additional example. Like the story, Sanderson built the world in which the story takes place entirely around the existence and the use of BioChroma.

Everything is influenced by magic, from the characters’ world view as well as their actions. Their actions then inform the reader about how magic relates to their day to day lives. Everything comes full circle and it makes for a very satisfying reading experience. The better you understand the magic, the better you understand the characters and their motivation.  Magic is so ingrained in their cultures that it forms governments, destroys kingdoms and affects everyone in some way or another. From the social-economic, the political and the religious. BioChroma plays a role in everyone’s life, even if they aren’t magic users themselves. Because Breaths can be interchanged like a form of currency, those who have many likely bought them from the poor who are left with very little in return. Having many Breaths make it easier to acquire more which can cause some pretty serious divides in social strata.

Character Study and Further Development of Magic:

Sanderson isn’t just adept at developing magic, he’s also pretty good at developing characters. He uses them to provide expository explanation of BioChroma, of course, but more importantly it’s through his characters that he develops the theme of identity. Sanderson has two main types of characters in Warbreaker: some that appear to be something are really the opposite of what they appear to be and others who embody contradictions by having two opposing identifiers to who they are. The sisters, both princesses of Idris, are the first kind of characters. Who they were at the beginning of the novel is radically different than who they are by the end of it. Seeing their development as characters is one of the highlights of the book. Particularly Vivenna, the eldest, who annoyed me at first but grew so much as a character that I came to like her in the end. Really though, I liked all four point of view characters. Siri, the youngest sister, who has to learn to navigate the complicated politics in the Court of Gods in an all or nothing effort to prevent war between Hallandren and Idris. There is also Lightsong a god who doesn’t believe in his own godhood and the mysterious Vasher and his equally mysterious sword, Nightblood, who are roaming the streets of Hallandren doing who knows what (thankfully we find out by the end of the book).

My favourite character was Lightsong, Lord of Bravery. He’s one of Hallandren’s gods, a Returned. He died a bold and heroic death which resulted in him being returned to Hallandren. As a Returned he has a very powerful Breath, strong enough to grant them the powers of the Fifth Heightening. Theologists say that Returned have come back from the other side of the Incandescent Wave in order to accomplish something. Their priests and servants keep them alive by finding candidates to give them Breaths. They're also busy trying to help their gods remember why they came back and what they wanted to accomplish. Their memories are shattered by the forces required to send then back to life. Once they're accomplished their goal they're encouraged to use their Breaths to heal or help one of the common people. Daily petitions allow for commoners to plead their cause. 

Lightsong is a god who doesn’t believe in his own godhood. He’s clearly Returned but he’s still very critical of the religion that is tied to those who have Returned. He’s a godly equivalent of a person who is smart but incredibly lazy and incredibly unmotivated. HE feels bad about having so many priests and servants devoted to him and it pains him that so many people suffer simply to maintain his lavish lifestyle and to prevent him from dying again. He’s like a manga and anime character in many respects. He’s a slacker with amazing abilities. He’s very capable but lacks the motivation

to really do anything of worth. He reminds me of Spike Spiegel (from Cowboy Bebop), Vash the Stamped (from Trigun) and Shikamaru Nara (from Naruto). He's an unusual character for fantasy novel and that's why it works. He's constantly asking his high priest what the point of it all is but he doesn't do it in an existential way. He's just lazy and bored. It takes something out of the ordinary to stimulate him and once he's properly stimulated he because a force to be reckoned with. It's actually very exciting to see him become interested in something because you know hems capable, even if he hasn't shown it.

The sisters from Idris are interesting but I don’t like them at the beginning of the novel. I like them much more about midway in the book where their characters are less like templates. They have depth to them and that’s what makes them interesting. I enjoyed seeing their growth. Susebron and Vasher are also interesting mostly because of the mystery to them. I really liked Vasher but the book didn’t have enough of him in it. Sanderson has talked about doing a sequel some day and if he does, I really hope that Vasher and Nightblood play a larger role in the story. I would also enjoy having the sisters continue to play a big role because they’ve been well developed and it would be unfortunate for them to be left behind.

Sanderson skilfully balances big and complex ideas with a simple and clear writing style. The story moves at a leisurely pace which clashes a bit with the ever-present threat of war. It’s necessary though because Sanderson needs to juggle the explanation and development of the magic system with the advancement of the plot. I think it’s great how explanation for BioChroma are spread out from beginning to end but it also results in slower plotting. It’s worth it thought because all of the pieces fall into place and it leads into a pretty grand finally that is sure to surprise most readers.

The magic system is truly fantastic. It’s the part of the book that separates it from other modern fantasy novels. Like some of the best fantasy writers, Sanderson develops a world where you need to learn the words and the expressions in order to fully appreciate and understand the story. You have to immerse yourself completely and he aids the reader by building a world that is rich and full of detail. His ability to mesh that with a clear and sometimes wise authorial voice is what made Warbreaker and excellent read.  

Note: Sanderson shared Warbreaker in it’s entirely on his website before it even got published. He wrote it and published t one chapter at a time and later reworked and revised it as he went along. I liked his perspective on it and I think you should check out his website where he discussed his decision to share Warbreaker (here).

Johnny Hiro volume 2 – The Skills to Pay the Bills review

I wasn’t expecting another volume of Johnny Hiro so soon. Mind you, I’m not complaining. I’m actually quite thrilled. The first volume was published in the summer of 2009 by AdHouse Books and republished more recently as Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hiro in the summer of 2012 by Tor Books. I remember thinking while reading the first volume that it would be unlikely that another volume would be released since I hadn’t heard of any new stories about Hiro other than that one volume. Apparently I wasn’t paying attention because Tor Books released a second volume in October. What a nice surprise it was. I hope this means Fred Chao is hard at work on yet another volume of this very enjoyable comic.

Johnny Hiro: The Skills to Pay the Bills is slightly more serious in tone than the first volume. It still has its fair share of funny moments and chaotic big city energy even when scenes take place in confined areas such as Gracie Mansion. That’s not to say that the stories have changed, but just like their main character, they’ve grown up a bit. The same can be said for Chao who tells more challenging stories about Hiro and Mayumi’s struggle for a better life in New York. Another difference between the two volumes is that Chao develops the rest of the cast. We learn a considerable amount of backstory on Hiro’s boss, Mr. Masago; so much, in fact, that The Skills to Pay the Bills is as much Masago’s story as Hiro’s.

In the first volume we were introduced to Hiro and Mayumi, a cute young couple living in New York. They were just trying to settle in then and by the end of the book, they had a chance to do just that. The second volume is about Hiro’s existential crisis. Chao doesn’t keep the focus squarely on Hiro, he uses it as an opportunity to show that Hiro isn’t the only character that’s questioned the meaning and direction of his life. A couple chapters deal with Masago’s past ranging from his first job as a chef to his first partnership. It also deals with the betrayals and difficulties of his previous life in Japan and how that hardened him and left him the cold owner of a sushi restaurant in New York. It’s interesting that Masago and Hiro being in two different parts of their lives are having a similar period of growth as a result of their emotional turmoil.

I might be wrong when I say the book shifts in tone. There were elements of the more serious faux-slice of life type of narrative in the first book. There is a definitive sense of reality to the whole thing such as Hiro and Mayumi’s rather serious inability to afford a place to rent even though they’re both working full time or Mayumi having to potentially move back to Japan if she can’t renew her work visa. Many young adults have faced that same situation. You’re constantly working but somehow you’re just not making ends meet. You can feel the weight of adult responsibility on Hiro’s shoulders. Add to that the surrealist monster attacks on New York and things can get very complicated for the couple. It can seem like a difficult subject to write and it is which is why I’m so impressed by what Chao’s created with Johnny Hiro. It’s at times very funny and then it shifts gears into something that is borderline depressive because of how real the character’s struggles are. I can empathize because less than a year ago I was in a similar situation as Mayumi and Hiro. I want them to succeed to dearly that it makes for an emotionally powerful read.

After thinking about it, I don’t think my first statement was wrong. There is a shift in tone but it’s driven by the progression of the story which is why it works. Chao still took the time to write stories that were closer to the tone of those found in the first volume. The first story in The Skills to Pay the Bills is one of those stories. Mayumi wants Hiro to meet one of her friends only to find out her friend and Hiro once dated . . . well, not exactly dated. The conversation is interrupted by a King Kong like ape who grabs hold of Mayumi’s friend and runs away with her. Hiro and Mayumi run after the ape, Mayumi doing it in platform sandals which Hiro notices and comments on (aren’t they the cutest?). Chao even takes the time to address some of the sillier aspects of the first volume such as Mayumi having a job as an editor despite speaking in fragmented English. It turns out she has excellent reading and writing skills but the dichotomy between written and oral remains. It’s not explained, simply pointed out. It also got me thinking about the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis about how your ability to communicate something is directly linked to your understanding of it.

Once I was passed the halfway point of The Skills to Pay the Bills, I started to read more slowly. I didn’t want the book to end. I wanted the experience of reading it to last longer so I took my time and savoured each page. Johnny Hiro is a pretty special comic. It speaks to me in a way that surprises me. I feel like I’m slightly ahead in my life than Hiro and Mayumi are but I can still relate to them because their situation is still fresh in my mind. Fred Chao really starts to explore the characters and he does so in a fascinating way, not by focusing on one character at a time but my juxtaposing the development of one character and the past of another. He is able to simultaneously show the reader what has happened and how and what will happen and why. Now we know how Mayumi and Hiro met and we know how the rivalry between Shinto Peter and Masago started.

Despite Hiro’s existential crisis, the comic ends on a positive note. Hiro learns that no matter the difficulties you face, you have to make time to enjoy things because if you don’t, it will one day be too late . . . and even then that might not always be the case. You’re the master of your own destiny and by working hard and persevering; you can change things for the better. Masago acts as a cautionary tale for Hiro but he’s also serves as an example that it’s not always too late to change. The Tor Books website lists The Skills to Pay the Bills as the second volume of three. I’m sad to find out that there will only be three volumes but at the same time I’m very glad to know that there will be at least one more volume of Johnny Hiro.

Mad skills, Mayumi.

The Blog Fantastic 002: New Spring: the Novel

New Spring, the Novel by Robert Jordan

Published by Tor Books

New Spring: the Novel tells the story of highborn Moiraine Damodred who is studying magic in one of the largest cities in the known world. There she is learning to ways of the Aes Sedai while also dealing with prophecies, politics and power. Outside the walls of Tar Valon there is a war going on. Many people are rushing to the city in order to escape the ravages of the war, all the while oblivious to the powerful struggles taking place inside the White Tower.  

I was a bit hesitant to start reading The Wheel of Time with New Spring because although it’s a prequel, Jordan wrote it more than a decade after the first novel was published and, from what I’m told, the series becomes very complex (or maybe simply complicated) as it progressed. I was worried that New Spring would be difficult to understand for new readers. I decided to start with it for two reasons. The first reason is that I’ve read it before not quite ten years ago. I don’t remember a whole lot other than liking Moiraine, the fact that she’s in school, some warrior guy with bells in his hair and a few minor little details that stuck into my head. I’ve forgotten a lot and in my defense, I got a bachelor since the last time I read this and all the reading I did for school has pushed out most of New Spring out of my brain. The second reason is that I decided to simply trust Jordan. By the time he got around to writing the prequel novel he had demonstrated that he’s an accomplished writer. If he was happy sending out New Spring into the world as a prequel to his expansive fantasy series, then I should be happy reading it as my introduction to the series. Then again, maybe that’s not the case and Jordan is being quite restless in the afterword knowing that my introduction to The Wheel of Time is being made by way of his prequel and not the first novel proper: The Eye of the World. The fact remains, I started with New Spring and I’m looking forward to truly beginning reading The Wheel of Time. I have to admit though, that I hope I’m up to the task. These books are huge!

The most interesting thing about Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series is the world building aspect. He puts so much detail in every facet of the book that it’s nearly overwhelming. The flip side of that, like most fantasy books where world building is as important as plot and character, is that if the reader takes the time to understand the world, the story and characters become increasingly more interesting. The problem I have with fantasy series that make the world building aspect so important to the series is that there can be such a thing as too much detail. There are things about the world I don’t need to know and are better left unsaid. Often times some elements would better serve the story if they were only hinted at as opposed to written out in explanatory pages filled with seemingly never ending descriptions. It’s a fine line to walk and few have done it successfully.

It’s clear to me that Jordan doesn’t shared Ursula K. Le Guin’s economy of writing and where she would have written one page, Jordan would have written two or three. I’m not implying Jordan isn’t as good of a writer as Le Guin, it’s simply a difference in style and they both have their own rewards.

In Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea, she also creates a rich and interesting world. The difference with Jordan’s world is that while Le Guin created it using sparse detail, Jordan relishes in the intricacies of his world. The more detail the better! I would not always agree with that statement but Jordan has a way of making all the details feel natural and, in many cases, logical. There is a lot of detail, yes, but it’s easy to remember. As the story progresses, Jordan adds layer upon layer, dolling it out in small and regular doses and it makes it quite easy to learn about Moiraine’s world. Essentially, what I’m trying to say is that Jordan doesn’t bore the reader nor does he bog down the story with all the detail. He lets it flow naturally and his story is richer because of it. Le Guin used a very similar technique in her novel. She provides detail and embellishment to her fictional world when the story requires or permits it. It’s not detail for detail’s sake. I’m certain that when I read the next Earthsea novel there will be new elements added to the world of Earthsea. I expect the same for Jordan’s Wheel of Time.

The advantage of Jordan’s style is that I can lose myself in the book for an extended period of time. Of course, that’s only an advantage to the reader if they like the book. In order to do that Jordan must write an engaging story and have interesting and diverse characters. Unfortunately, while New Spring had lots of detail, the story as a whole felt slight. I admit that at more than one occasion the only thing that kept me reading was Jordan’s characterization of Moiraine and Siuan. The book also became more interesting one Jordan resume writing chapters in Lan’s point of view (after the initial first chapter).

Magic in The Wheel of Time:

The One Power is source of all magic. Women, only a select few, are the only ones who can channel the One Power and wield magic. They do so by controlling all five elements, Fire, Water, Earth, Air, and Spirit, and weaving them together to form a seemingly infinite number of spells. Spells are called weaves since the elements are channelled in the form of threads and must be woven together in various combinations and in different order.

Women who have mastered the use of the One Power are called Aes Sedai. Young women who can channel are brought to the White Tower in the city of Tar Valon where they will train for several years in the hopes of graduating and attaining the shawl of the Aes Sedai. Aes Sedai are divided up into several Ajahs. These Ajahs seem to group together women who have similar personality traits and each Ajah is known for excelling at certain tasks.

In order to wield their magic, Aes Sedai have to left the One Power flow into them. It’s a technique which they must do in order to be able to perform their magic. They summon saidar, the female form of the One Power, and once filled with its power they can weave the various elemental threads. It’s a very interesting type of magic and Jordan maintains a certain element of mystery as to the exact details of all its inner workings. Quite strange when you consider the level of detail found in all other aspects of the book. This feeling of being filled with saidar, the female half of the One Power is dangerous. It gives the user a feeling of pure bliss but by harnessing too much saidar, the user can be severely harmed, maybe even fatally so.

One of the prominent elements of Aes Sedai is their ability to join themselves, mind and spirit, to one or several men called Warders. Aes Sedai can have more than one Warder (sisters of the Green Ajah are known for having many Warders) but Warders can only bind with one Aes Sedai. This ability of the Aes Sedai reinforces one of Jordan’s themes regarding a primarily (and forcefully) female led society. The White Tower, the Aes Sedai school, is a not only the center of magic but also a political stronghold. Magic, or power, leads to force and the usage of force in the defence of particular interests. The Aes Sedai can make a Warder submit to them and link them (permanently?) to themselves. I shouldn’t get ahead of myself though. Jordan does establish that the link between a sister and her Warder isn’t one sided. They’re a team and work together. In fact, now that I really think about it the theme might be more the duality of humanity, one part male and one part female, which together becomes an imposing force. The white flame of Tar Valon is half of what appears to be a Yin Yang. Perhaps males are the other half? Not only that, but there is a prophecy of a man who will be able to wield the One Power effectively and his fate will play a deciding role in the fate of the world at the Last Battle. There’s definitively something interesting here that will undoubtedly play a large role in the series. It’s clear to me now that balance in an important theme to The Wheel of Time.

 

Destiny in New Spring: the Novel:

There is a strong element of Destiny in The Wheel of Time. The Will turns and weaves the lives of all individuals. Sometimes, when looking at individual people and their actions, it’s difficult to see or understand why certain things are being done, it’s hard to see the wisdom. Sometimes, a thread’s importance to the whole will only be revealed much later and perhaps never be revealed at all. The way Jordan phrases while speaking of the politics of the White Tower: “The Tower was no less implacable in its weaving than the Wheel of Time itself. In both cases the threads were human lives, and the pattern they made more important than any individual thread.” It’s quite eloquent and its message carries quite a bit of foreboding for the characters and the series as a whole.

There also seems to be a tiny bit of hope in that description of the ways of the universe. The Aes Sedai are able to channel the elemental threads of the One Power to weave magic that affects the things around them. To what extent I’m not sure. There magic does seem to be limited to controlling the elements to create objects or to affect existing objects, which is not to be underestimated. With the gift of being able to weave together nearly endless combinations of elemental magic, the Aes Sedai are unquestioningly tapped into a source of immense power—if only they have the knowledge and the skill necessary to do this power. There seems to be hope however since the Wheel of Time is not alone in weaving the destiny of all. Aes Sedai are, in all their limitations (whatever they may be) also able to weave certain threads.

My favourite Wheel of Time Characters:

I’m told The Wheel of Time has many, many characters. Just for fun, I’ll pick some favourites from each book I read and talk about why I like them. In New Spring, Moiraine Damodred was the obvious choice. She’s my favourite character in the whole book and rightfully so, it’s all about her. That’s a bit unusual for me though as I have a tendency not to like the main character in books, comics and TV series. Moiraine is quite loveable though and she’s also pretty awesome. I’m actually quite surprised that a male author could write such a strong female lead. I have to keep in mind that by the time New Spring was written Jordan had already finished writing and published the nine or ten volumes of The Wheel of Time. I’m quite certain there are many, many other characters in the series by that point. The fact remains, Moiraine has a prequel novel that focuses on her and none of the other characters do.

The book didn’t focus entirely on Moiraine, but a significant and sustained part of the story was about her. There is slightly more than half the book that concentrates on Moiraine's training in the White Tower. The second half concentrates on Moiraine interacting with other character, primarily Lan, and discovering an evil plot. The book itself doesn't have much of a plot until this second part. Jordan keeps our interest by developing the world of the Aes Sedai and the politics and customs of the White Tower. He kept my attention by writing a strong character with Moiraine as well as writing a believable and interesting relationship with Siuan. The book becomes more interesting in the second part once they start interacting with others. The book also becomes more difficult for new readers of the series because Jordan seems to grow tired explaining and clarifying well established elements of his series to make New Spring a good starting point for new readers. This makes the exhaustive world building a negative element to my enjoyment of the book. It's difficult or even uninteresting, to follow the politics and machinations of noble families and cities of which I know next to nothing. It’s unfortunate that Jordan doesn’t take the time to make the parts of the story taking place outside of Tar Valon as easy to understand for new readers as he did for the story that took place in the White Tower.

Still, Jordan provides and satisfying introduction to his Wheel of Time series as well as a fitting conclusion for the novel. I admit that he makes me want to read the rest of the series and that’s about all you should ask of a prequel. I’ll continue my read of The Wheel of Time with the actual first novel in the series: The Eye of the World.

Johnny Hiro: Half Asian, All Hero review

Johnny Hiro vol. 1 Half Asian, All Hiro tells the story of Johnny, a busboy, and his girlfriend living somewhere in New York. Simple, right? But it’s much more than that. This story has surprising depth and philosophical meanderings about life. Johnny’s life with his girlfriend, Mayumi, is constantly being interrupted by odd and supernatural events which Johnny has to overcome after which he often comes to a realization about his life.

Written and drawn by Fred Choa, Johnny Hiro tells a done in one story every issue but it has story elements that continue from one chapter to the next. In the first story a giant lizard monster, à la Godzilla, breaks into the Asian couple’s bedroom and kidnaps Mayumi, the daughter of Ami Murakami a member of the Super A-OK Robot team who defeated the monster when it attacked Japan in 1978. As it can be expected, it’s up to Johnny to rescue his girlfriend but in the end she’s really the one that saves the day with her savvy New Yorker knowhow. It’s a pretty dense first story but Chao keeps it breezy. During all this giant lizard chasing action, Chao also establishes the relationship between Johnny and Mayumi, adds an appearance from Mayor Bloomberg, makes a metatextual comment on the ridiculousness of living in a New York in which superhero catastrophes happen on a daily basis such as in the Marvel Universe and sets up one of the main plot elements that pops up in nearly all the following chapters.

Fred Chao does an excellent job with his characterizations. Johnny feels a bit lost and confused. He’s searching for something, he’s trying his best to work towards making a better life for Mayumi and himself. Mayumi is absolutely charming. She’s very capable and even though she has her own thoughts regarding her future with Johnny, she’s there to support Johnny throughout all his challenges.

The book is sweetly funny. There are no lough out loud moment but there was a lot quiet laughter and little smirks on my part while reading the book. The whole comic had a comforting feel to it. Perhaps it’s because I relate to what Johnny and Mayumi are going through.

Johnny Hiro reminds me of Scott Pilgrim and to a lesser extent Sharknife. Johnny Hiro is more down to earth than the other two but not because of the contents of the plot (see above) but because of the tone. More than anything, Johnny is trying to be responsible and seems to almost force himself to mature whereas Scott Pilgrim is a young adult being forced to mature. The similarities with Sharknife has more to do with rival restaurants then it does with the plot and themes of Johnny Hiro but there is still something I can’t put my finger on that links the two in my mind. It's important that I point out I'm a very big fan of all three series and that I'm not comparing them in order to rank them, simply to point out some of the similarities and differences.

Chao’s art separates his book from the other two. IT doesn’t have the same manga influences in both the story telling, the bouncing line work and the heavy inks. He uses thin lines which gives his drawings has a light and airy quality to the art. He doesn’t use many lines. It’s very clear and Chao seems to have a desire to use as few lines as possible but in a way to keeps the art simple but without using a minimalist style. The best way I can describe it is that he’s precise with the lines that puts on the page. For a seemingly simple style, there is a surprising fluidity to the character’s movements. This fluidity and kineticism is aided by Chao’s inventive use of panels during certain scenes bet it introducing Mayumi to their new apartment or running around in back alleys of the Lower East Side while being chased by cooks from a rival restaurant.

Johnny Hiro  is about doing what is right, it's about working hard so that you can give the people you love what they want the most. As a hero, Johnny is selfless. All the samurais, giant fish, prize lobsters, rival restaurants, back alley and rooftop chases just happens to be a colourful way to portray everyday tasks that shape a young man into a young, responsible but still fun, adult. In short, Johnny Hiro  is about life and growing up and you should give it a read.