Platina, Vol. 1

If there is such a thing as postmodern manga, this frothy Korean import is a prime example. Plot elements seem familiar at first glance: gun-toting heroine, ultra-athletic hero, black-clad baddies, etc. The b&w art looks familiar, too, though somewhat more stylized than usual. The book appears to be collected installments of a serial about a young girl whose princess puts her in charge of a fox/boy who's trying to rescue his beloved from kidnappers while the two are also on a mission to fetch a bag of almond cookies for the princess. But the story meanders, digresses, circles back on itself and generally gives up any pretense to being even a parody of an action adventure while the characters complain about being in a comic, and the author frequently intrudes with gags and instructions for the audience. This does some have some positive results. Freed of narrative responsibility, each page can simply be a mass of clever design, so the book is a pleasure to look at. The effect is a bit like the anime epilogues in which li'l kid versions of the characters joke about the main action. Readers who can forget about coherence, let alone an overall point, may have some fun with it. (Mar.)