The loss and gain of power, taking what and who you
want...
The stories in "Anthology 04" predominantly tells of
stories about conflict, power, and the need to claim
of dominance over another. The effects of time hold no
barriers in this series; contemporary to gothic - it
is all about who holds what power over whom.
Prince of Pit
Once upon a time, there was a prince of androgynous
beauty who led a solitary life. His name was Alec and
he shared his life with his faithful stead and his
only companion, Merriweather. One day, whilst he rode
his regal horse across the land, Prince Alec was met
with a barrier of villagers. They warned of venturing
any further, for danger was ahead. He ignored their
efforts, instead guiding Merriweather to take great
leaps over the crowd so he may continue his ride. But
alas, the villagers insistent precautions should have
been heeded. A gaping hole in Alec's path caused a
terrible fall and Merriweather died upon impact,
leaving a wounded Alec alone to grieve for the loss of
his loyal friend.
A dark-haired man then spoke to Alec. His voice was
familiar for he had been one of the villagers that had
tried to warn Alec before of his potential peril.
Checking upon Alec's injuries, he stated he intended
to keep Alec as his wife and took him to his house.
This did not make Alec a happy prince and while he
voiced his displeasure at the turn of events, his new
husband seem unfazed. Though he did want something
from Alec...breakfast.
>From there it's a light story, despite Merriweather's unfortunate
demise. The drawings were consistent and there was
quite a bit of detail throughout the pages. The
borders surrounding the individual images were changed
often; some basic while others had curls and curves,
that of a more of a storybook feel. I think it served
to making the format more visually interesting.
This may make be sound a tad morbid but the scene of
the fall depicted Merriweather's blood underneath his
head and I like how it is portrayed. Stark and abrupt;
it effectively gives a feeling that a great impact had
taken place due to its sharp, thin lines.
Jonothan looks like Satan to me - the pointed ears
sealed the deal! - and physically contrasted with Alec
very much. A fairytale marriage that weds an angel and
the devil, love confirmed by a man's healthy appetite
for flapjacks.
Once thing is certain.
"Prince of the Pit", while quite a few things,
definitely supports the idea that the way to a man
heart is through his stomach. ^_^;
Rifts: The Lost Chapter
A kidnaped slave leads his master, Lord Blair, down a
path of rage and fury, his wrath taken out on
vampyres. One of Blair's slaves observes this turn of
events, pondering as to why he was not sent to find
the missing pet.
A cigarette smoking man stands on a building that
overlooks the city lights. His mind is full of angry
thoughts, wondering how long he has been away but
also knowing he was sold out due to his master's
pride. Yet he cannot help but thinking of Blair's
touch. It lingers in his head, haunting him.
Very cool drawing style and I like the use of
silhouettes and shadows. Interesting layout at certain
points as well. I enjoy the end as well and I think a
love scene between Blair and his pretty pet would
prove intense.
Avis
A male prostitute lays in a bed, beaten and bruised. A
young man enters the bedroom, awakening him with his
presence. The man slowly apologizes for his violent
actions of the night before but is cut off.
The prostitute, David, is told to stay during his
recovery and would be paid one hundred dollars a day.
Uncaring of the money, David asks to make a phone call
with some privacy. The other man hands him a cell
phone and leaves. David calls up his roommate, Trip
and tells him what happened to him. After some yelling
and a bit of sympathy, the call ends and David sleeps
for a time.
I think the way that the characters speak in this was
well done. It seems realistic to me. The drawings are
attractive and the plot intriguing. I was not sure
about the appearance of Sylvia, because her role did
not seem particularly significant to me. However, she
may prove to be more vital in the future and she does
carry a slight enigmatic quality that may reveal
something in the future.
I would certainly like to see the continuation of this
story.
Illusory
Gabriel is married to an attractive woman, but as he
makes love to her, he cannot quiet his thoughts. As
he closes his eyes, his fantasies change. In his mind
, feminine charms are slowly replaced with the
masculine beauty of a man that will not leave his
thoughts. Unable to continue his amorous activities,
Gabriel leaves his distraught wife and takes a walk.
His steps take him to a library where the object of
his desires is sitting quietly with a book.
I liked this story. Its plot was straight-forward yet
still provocative. The drawings were nicely done as
well but I favored the words most, the end especially.
I can just hear the attitude in which the sarcastic
tone in which the words would be said.
In your dreams, Gabriel! Ryan isn't going to be your
uke! Haha!
Well, probably not quite like that...
Yet I do hope "Illusory" has a sequel because I would
actually like to see what is going on inside Ryan's
head about the whole situation.
Captive
A routine drug bust of a small band of dealers leads
to a revelation. There is too much money found for the
amount of drugs that were being peddled. This
discrepancy gives cause for an investigation. As the
detective searches the place for an answer, he comes
across clues that lead to sales of a very different
sort. Hearing a loud noise that emanated from the
other side of the wall, his eyes fell to the bookshelf
that stood there. Finding traces of blood on a novel,
he pulled at it to reveal a hidden room.
I enjoy Ashura's drawing style, especially the way she
draws hands so the main page of one hand grasping
another is a glamour shot for me. :)
The plot seems like something out of on old movie, one
that predated talkies. I can just see the detective on
a grainy screen as he jumps at a large noise,
summoning up scary music and a screen that shows us
his thoughts. The twist at the end is interesting and
it does make you wonder as to just why the prisoner
would want to claim the detective.
There were occasions when the scope of perspective
seemed a little off, but it is not inherent throughout
the story. It is a worthwhile read and the crazy
little spin at the end leaves you wondering about the
future of our helpful detective, the new captive.
Immortal Love
A young man named Ai-Di is made to be Emperor, gaining
his position due to the death of the former ruler.
Despairing over his new status as he weeps in his bed,
his new personal servant by the name of Dong Xian
introduces himself to Ai. Stating with formality that
he will protect the new Emperor with his life, Ai
becomes upset and tells Xian to just call him Ai. They
kiss. The story progresses from there...
To be honest, the plot could use some strengthening. I
felt that Xian and Ai came together as a couple far
too quickly. They meet and kiss right away? I know
it's not an entirely unlikely scenario but the setting
is that of a much older, traditional time and I would
think there would be a least a little hesitation about
developing a relationship, or about if Xian was even
interested in Ai romantically.
Theirs is an enduring love though, which is very
sweet. I am glad that they do find each other once
again, though it is a shame that it is in death.
--reviewed by
Tracy
There is a certain danger in reading Anthology 4 by Umbrella Studios.
The reader might find themselves hopelessly addicted to the artists work
and unable to concentrate for want of another story from them. It's a
compilation worthy of any comic or manga enthusiast's collection.
It begins with the delightful and elegant fairytale "Prince of the Pit" by
Pluto. The tale is so whimsical and charming that you might find yourself
looking for a child to read it to. The layout, story and artistic style
were impressive and worthy of a professionally published work. She
follows with a never seen in print chapter of Rifts. The Prince of the
Pit omake afterwards was cute and hilarious. Followers of "Rifts" will be
dissapointed to know that Pluto's having a difficulties taking the series
seriously but anyone who doesn't understand her reasons should go check
out Pluto's Attack Secretaries comics. It presents Jamie and his history
in a whole new light.
Neko M. graces us with "Avis" chapter 2. The reader need not have the
first chapter to understand this part, but will most likely want it as the
characters and story are rather engrossing. Neko M. has a wonderful way
of portraying her characters thoughts and emotions thought their body
language and facial expressions.
"Captive" by Grace Ho is a rather mysterious addition. The reader is left
with a cliffhanger ending, uncertain as what to has occurred in the story,
or as to the future fate of the initial character Detective Vincent. The
fascinating introduction coupled with Grace's gorgeous art style will make
the wait for the next part a grueling one.
"Immortal Love" by Jeanette Brown is a complete short story. A new
emperor has been named, and for some reason the title is a premature death
sentence for him. There's a love story between the young emperor and his
servant as well. The story was interesting, but a little confusing. I
wish it was clearer as to the reasons for the premature death, and the
wing sprouting. The art is kind of SD (superdeformed), but once one gets
accustomed to it rather cute.
In the aptly named "Illusory" by Dee we see a man named Gabriel and how
his desires for a male friend hinder not only his relationship with his
wife, but the male friend as well. I rather liked how Ryan, the object of
Gabriel's lust deals with his come-ons. It's a brief story made the
better in that it deals with a situation that could be all too real in
real life.
The art for this Anthology is all excellent, it's a wondrous experience
from front to back. For the first time buyer, or a collector of quality
comics, this anthology is highly recommended.
--reviewed by
Jan Otaku
This is a collection of stories by many authors with different art styles
and was very enjoyable.
All the art was quite lovely, with nice clean
lines, contrasts, good examples of perspective, some detailed backgrounds.
I was happy to see pretty art throughout from all the artists. The cover,
which have always been gorgeous and in glossly pretty colors, was drawn by
Neko M. It's hard to give a review on such a collection of stories without
spoiling the readers.
"Prince of the Pit" by Pluto is a humorous and sweet story of a Prince who
proudly doesn't heed warnings and winds up in a mess when he's captured by
a kindly man. I liked the creative backgrounds and actually I found the
story itself was creative. The mood is light and one can almost see Pluto
chuckle as she drew this.
"Rifts, The Lost Chapter" by Pluto, is an extra chapter of Rifts that was
never shown to the public until now in Anthology 04. I've never seen or
read Rifts, so for me, it was a teaser making me want to seek out the rest
of the story. It's about a Vampire and his missing pet. It had a dark feel
to it, so much different in mood than "Prince of the Pit".
"Avis", chapter 2, by Neko M follows the story of male hooker who was beat
up by his customer in the last chapter. Now his customer is offering him a
place to stay to heal, but I can't help but wonder about the relationship
between him and his partner in prostitution and await the next installment.
"Captive" by Grave Ho, is about a drug bust gone bad with an unexpected
twist at the end when a detective believes there is more to the story than
they uncovered, and unfortunately finds it.
"Immortal Love" by Janette Brown, is the bittersweet story of a young ruler
who just assumed the throne and his protector, who vows to protect him
forever, despite the interference from the older Empress.
"Illusory" by D. Cheng features a story of a married man who has been
pining for a relationship with a friend from his past.
As usual, a collection of entertaining stories with varying moods and feels
was included in this Anthology with a mixture of one time and continuing
stories. If you own the previous three, you will enjoy this one very much.
And if you don't already own the previous three, you will order them soon.
--reviewed by
Rence
ANTHOLOGY 04
