MJ Review: Poison Candy Volume One

[Eric]

Title: Poison Candy
Volume: One
Author: David Hine
Artist: Hans Steinbach
Genre: Sci-fi, OEL (Original English language)
Publisher: Tokyopop
Price: $9.99 USD
Rated: 16+

In a world not so different that it could be our own, the mysterious SKAR virus has ruthlessly cut down a fraction of the world’s adolescent population. Though terminal, the disease is also capable of unlocking a latent gene within these kids, granting them super-human abilities like telekinesis, extra-sensory perception, and creepy/cool nose bleeds every time they use their powers. (Think Drew Barrymore’s dad in the 1980s movie, Firestarter.) When Sam Chance, a sixteen-year-old from L.A., is infected with the virus and subsequently discovers his hidden powers, he’s hunted down by two organizations. While one seems interested in finding a cure for SKARS and helping Sam through a cryogenetic process, the other group would rather see the young man and his family dead.

The premise sounds pretty awesome doesn’t it? There are so many possibilities in the plot for kick-ass action, excitement, and teenage angst. Unfortunately, that’s the nicest thing to say about Poison Candy: it has potential. But starting from page one, David Hine and Hans Steinbach do everything humanly possible to make this read more poison than anything else.

As cool as the storyline itself promises to be, the script and dialogue are a chore to muddle through. Most of the character interactions are stale, or border on cliché. A punk who tries to beat up Sam actually threatens, “Say your prayers, pretty boy. You’re about to lose your looks.” Oooh, scary! Not. I’m no expert on the LA gang scene, but I’d bet a million bucks that any thug who has the gall to say something so stupid would be pounded on by his own buddies in no time flat.

The goofiness continues with a nerdy friend of Sam’s whose constant sycophancy and fondness for spit curls and leather jackets makes me wonder what the hell the David Hines was smoking when he created the character, or all of the characters for that matter. Not a single one out of the cast -- which includes Sam’s girlfriend, his parents, the researcher Raven and Sam himself -- shines as being even remotely interesting. They’re all odd -- and I mean that in a strange, not-quite-fully-developed way.

There are also funny quirks in the story that rub me the wrong way. Sam’s mother and father are introduced as having marital problems, and this is shown to the readers by having them argue about…mushrooms? Then near the end of the book, the nameless bad guys show up to deal with Sam and start a killing spree throughout the neighborhood where even a poor dog gets butchered. Wouldn’t it have been easier for these evil assassins to sneak into the house quietly and go after their target instead of racking up all this collateral damage, possibly drawing the attention of, oh, the cops? Not that it matters -- the sounds of gunshots and screams fill the neighborhood, but Sam and his folks don’t even notice.

Utterly ridiculous.

But a story riddled with imperfections is still forgivable as long as the art is good. No luck here. Hans Steinbach is a veteran global manga artist from A Midnight Opera, but his work shows a painful amount of amateurish traits in Poison Candy that makes one cringe every other page. Characters are drawn off model, out of proportion, and downright ugly. There’s not a single character design I actually find appealing, male or female. Worse, the visual storytelling is weak at best. Granted, manga can get away with looser pacing than Western graphic novels, but there are panels where I have absolutely no clue as to what’s going on. For example, there’s a brief love scene with Sam and his girlfriend -- at least, I think it was supposed to be a love scene since a few condoms appear in one panel. The rest of the section consists of amorphous body shots that convey absolutely no romance.

Another huge peeve of mine with the art is the inconsistency of style. Hans Steinbach can’t seem to decide whether this is supposed to be a Western comic book or a manga, and the waffling shows up on paper. In one panel, characters will have realistically proportioned facial features and body structures, but in the next, they’ll be chibified or given teeny, tiny little mouths that barely manage to cling to their chins. It’s inconsistent and annoying, almost a caricature of what the artist thinks the style should look like.

Overall, Poison Candy is a prime example why manga fans are not very warm to OELs: it’s crap. As cruel as that sounds, the fact remains that this is a sketchy, poorly drawn piece of work with weak characters and flimsy writing. I couldn’t recommend this book in good conscious to anyone, and it baffles me that Tokyopop would even publish such an amateurish product.

Reviewer: Anne
Proofer: Jiji
Editor: Jiji