I don’t know why, but I find myself immersed in samurais lately.  They’re everywhere!  Between Black Dynamite, 7th Sword, and even TMNT, everything is about katanas and honor.  Now, for those of you who have read my reviews, you’d know that in any samurai tale, I’d be a bad guy.  Here’s this bad guy’s view of the latest samurai tale I’ve read, Onna-bugeisha (by Frank Candiloro).

First, let’s start with Frank.  He’s done a ton of indie comics and some cool films.  I recommend (strongly) checking out his stuff here.  His art tends towards the simplistic: bold lines; angular features; and Mad-esque type style.  Unfortunately (for me), his art is such that it took me a little while to get into his comic; I couldn’t easily figure out who the characters were, and since they were trying to kill each other, that led to some confusion on my part.  I quickly figured out that Frank dresses his characters differently and ID’s them fundamentally via their eyes (each has different eyes), and it all worked out.  Just bear in mind that you’re not viewing the latest prodigal artist out of Marvel – realistic this is not.   That said, the art fits the tale very nicely. Once I got my feet on the ground, the art and dialogue went together just the way they should.  Oh, and the dialogue was not only well done, but Frank goes out of his way to let monologues explain what’s going on – so rubes like me can keep up.

What’s it all about?  It’s a typical tale of samurais and feuds and battles . . . which, in turn, leads to our fearless hero putting her honor at risk.  She has a Scrooge-esque experience followed by a pretty powerful twist and voila! There is the story.

Did I like it?  Yep – this is a fun read.  I strongly recommend it.  I think if our boy Frank wanted to create a gateway to his stuff, Onna-bugeisha is the way to go . . . as I’ve since read a few more things he’s done.  Basically, I read this comic, was intrigued, and now Frank has yet another fan in cyberspace.  So, should you read this comic?  Depends – if you have the time/inclination/desire to identify a new author/artist that you’ll follow and read consistently, then you should read this.  If you have no soul, no honor, and want to simply continue reading bubble-gum comics from the 2 giant publishers out there, then you shouldn’t read Frank’s stuff – and you should probably stop reading this review, too.

Hugs ‘n kisses,Simply Jack