Vaizard: Volume 1

Two centuries ago, battling forces nearly destroyed a world of ancient tombs and their priceless riches, while seeking to control magical weapons and monsters. Now, there's an alliance to protect these treasures, and the Vaizards—a kind of freelance security guard agency—are their operatives. They help archeological researchers, maintain seals on the tombs and battle treasure hunters. One Vaizard, Soma, is young for the job, but he's being groomed for a special fate. On his first day at work, he's distracted by what he thinks is a random hot chick. She turns out to be Asuka, an archeologist who was deserted by her team. Soma becomes Asuka's only help in investigating a ruin, and they're up against a bald, cigar-chomping bad guy who wants to get there before Asuka in order to gain control of the magic weapon within. When Asuka is kidnapped, Soma and the rest of the Vaizards look incompetent. Losing control of the ruins means lots of chances for fight scenes, as Soma struggles against legions of mummies, zombies and other fantastic foes. While there are hints of a larger conspiracy, most of this first volume is setup and action. Yoshida's art is lighthearted, in keeping with the freewheeling, action-packed story line. (Nov.)