
Image Comics 2015
Written by Jim Zub
Illustrated by Steven Cummings
Coloured by Tamra Bonvillain
Colour Assist by Marissa Louise
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
Back Matter by Zack Davisson
The Nurarihyon, A liter an influencer within the Yokai, has found another teen with abilities named Segawa who controls electricity and data networks. He believe this boy maybe the key to regaining advantage against their young and unpredictable foes.
I think one of the things about this series that I like the most is the way Jim is able to take ancestral Japanese lore and modernize it for a new generation. Whenever you deal with Gods of an older culture there seems to be a disconnect with the younger generation and this series is able to kind of bridge that gap. Also as a member of the Western civilization is inherently interesting to see how the Far East deals with their past their culture and the yin and yang of both good and evil. There's also the struggle here between young and old new and established that we all seem to face within our own societies from generation to generation.
The characterization here is a prime example of just how we perceive different generations. The Nurarihyon and his attitude towards Segawa as we see in the opening really is the kind of stuff that we see so often today when we deal with younger kids. It's almost like there's a lack of self control or discipline or even respect in the current youngest generation to be running around that we as a society forget that every generation have had growing pains. Another incredible thing about the characterization here is what Steven does with his artwork demonstrating in the faces and in posture and in action how different these characters really are.
While we've seen Rori go through down this slippery path her friends have stood by her regardless and that's great to see. These kids have great power and are undisciplined don't understand what they're doing or how they're doing it and have no training but they're camaraderie their sense of family and devotion to each other is really something that makes this series stand out.Also I'm dying to see just how messed up they make things in the long run considering they don't really understand what it is they're fighting for or against.
Each issue seems to take us further and further into the mindset of the kids and their tanks and their teenage insecurities and coming to terms with their powers and who they are. All the while it's setting them up for this big confrontation with the elder forces or gods as they are so that we don't know if what they are doing is the right thing or the wrong thing and that kind of contradiction is just incredibly well portrayed.
Could you imagine just how scary these kids could be if they were better trained more organized and had an innate understanding of the old guard versus what they're trying to do? This issue brings us plenty of surprises introduces new characters and demonstrates just how vulnerable the kids are with her they know it or not.It also just reinforces why I think this series is one of the brightest to come out of the previous year.With stellar characterization incredible backdrops and a premise that most of the world doesn't even know about Jim, Steven and company really have introduced the world to something truly special.