Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 7, 2015
Price: $10.99
Creator: CLAMP
Format: 192 pgs., Black & White, 5"x7", Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-6165-5595-5
Age Rating: N/A
ICv2 Rating: 4 Stars out of 5
This story is a direct sequel to CLAMP's Legal Drug series, just re-released by Dark Horse, the new American home of these legendary manga creators. The subtitle of this new series is "A Drugstore with Medicine and a Danger." That odd phrasing, along with a cover illustration that only be described as bizarrely unrelated to the story, quickly drags readers into a world where the seemingly mundane quickly turns into the weird and strange. Restocking retail shelves mixes with peculiar vampirism and a host of other strange things as the story progresses. The artwork makes everything seem normal, and almost romantic, even when things are grim and dangerous. It's an intriguing blend.
That said, this story is not a good jumping-on point for readers new to CLAMP material, because it references not only Legal Drug but their other series, xxxHolic and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. Readers of those series will be panting for the second volume of this series.
What will attract readers are the storytelling style and artwork of this manga supergroup. They use every visual cliché in the book, but executed so well that you can see how the cliché originated, and why it works.
Recommended for teens and up.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.