cover image Earthian

Earthian

Yun Kouga, . . BLU Manga, $9.99 (408pp) ISBN 978-1-59816-006-2

Angels began observing the Earth five billion years ago from a base on the moon. Now, disturbed by the corruption on Earth, the Archangel Michael has decided to eradicate the "Earthian" (as the angels call us) if he counts more than 10,000 "minuses" while measuring Earthian behavior. Mutant angel Chihaya demands to be allowed to count up pluses to balance against the minuses Michael's agents find. Chihaya winds up paired with Kagetsuya, a by-the-book angel who likes to cook in his spare time. As the pair try to sort out the pluses and minuses of human behavior, they encounter a female astronaut, a crime family's dragon priestess out to avenge her murdered brother, and a photojournalist vacationing in Hawaii who sees Chihaya using his wings (a no-no for angels). And of course, because this is a yaoi, or "boylove," manga, they have to battle simmering sexual tension, because among angels "homosexuality is a crime." Yun's story is a messy epic, taking the "walk the Earth like Caine from Kung Fu" formula and setting it against a backdrop of bickering homoerotic angels. The art is perfectly serviceable, with Yun handling the androgynously pretty boys familiar in the genre quite well. (Nov.)