Hoshin Engi Vol. 1

In order to halt the efforts of the beautiful and evil Queen Dakki, a demon who wields a stranglehold over King Chu of the Yin kingdom, young demon hunter Taikobo must seek out 364 immortals living on the human plane and seal them away forever between the human and immortal realms. Defeating more than 300 demons is a tall order, so Taikobo teams with Hiko Cho, a superhuman fighter, to even the odds. If that sounds rather dense, it is. This is only the first volume in a sprawling fantasy epic based on a series of novels that were themselves based on Fengshen Yanji, one of China's literary classics, so there's no shortage of magical and martial arts action, lush landscapes and spectacular images. But it's slow going as the reader is bombarded with new characters and endless exposition, much of which is only nebulously explained. It's Fujisaki's art that made the original Japanese version a hit: a mix of old school dynamic storytelling with modern character designs for a compelling whole. (June)