American Comiket

PROPHESY OF DESTINY 3

OUR REVIEWERS SAY:

The art is easy to look at, the story is strong, but what I really think is worth noticing in "Prophesy of Destiny" is the layout. From beginning to end, "Prophesy of Destiny" was like watching a movie more than reading a comic book, drawn so you can perfectly imagine scene changes or the focus of the camera moving from one character to the next. Action flows in this comic from panel to panel so the reader never questions what happened from one books to the next.

Of course, good layout would have done little without a story that flowed as easily. Even lacking the foundation that issues #1 and #2 may have set, "Prophesy of Destiny" #3 was quite easy to get in to. The diologue, for the most part, was natural and casual, and the story never once made me stop myself to figure out what was going on. The main characters were composed of one boy and two girls, Red and Nicole and Chrys. I found Red to be the expected hero-type, and as for the girls, I actually mixed them up a little at first. Although, towards the end, Chrys seems to become the younger innocent while Nicole takes on the role of the more mature and somewhat tougher one. Since this is early in the series, I'm curious how the author will let the story change and mold these characters. However, by far, my favorite person in the story was Renata, who sadly has a short lived appearance in the book.

Most of the problems I found with 'Prophesy of Destiny" were in technical areas. The choice of font used in the dream sequences were a bit jarring to see. It was almost too fancy to be easy to read. A wiser choice may have just been to italicize the comic book sans font that was used for the rest of the book. Also at times, certain characters blended into the darker backgrounds a little too well, but perhaps that was the fault of the copier and not the artist.

I look forward to seeing how "Prophesy of Desiny" continues on in the future.

--reviewed by Dee

A young man, Aiden, is dreaming. An image of a woman in a mirror is pleading with him, asking him why he put his friends in danger. Aiden does not understand what he has done and wakes up, disoriented. Memories of what had occurred come back to him - he is in Mexico with his friends, one being the daughter of his employer. Coming back to the present, he realizes that he is alone.

The plot is involving and intriguing, with points of occasional humor and romance - which I would love to see expand and grow...hint hint. The drawings are well-done and the artist seems unafraid of using variations in perspectives and viewpoints. I think "Prophesy of Destiny" is a very worthwhile read, despite its lack of yaoi relationships. ;) Sorry, but I had to say it!

Yet, I think the technique used for coloring the comic could be somewhat improved. Whereas the method looks very good in certain frames, there are occasions where it works against the actual drawing by way of light, darkness, or consistency.

Action, love, death, conspiracy; thus is a "Prophesy of Destiny".

--reviewed by Tracy (edited for spoilers by Pluto ;) )

The third issue of Prophesy of Destiny, a creation of Moonation, is a nice combination of good storytelling and lovely art. Written by A.N. Ferguson and drawn by Gina Maglio, it's an interesting blend of destiny, danger and political intrigue. There is also some guest and fan art and some interesting liner notes.

The story itself is incredibly fascinating, and I have a great respect for the storytelling style. POD has a fabulous sense of timing and pace, the story is never boring and you always feel like you're learning something important either about the characters, or the plot, which is incredibly difficult to do in a comic. The art is delightful and imaginative, almost taking on a movie-like feel. It also carries the story well, although in a few places it's a little dark and fuzzy to get clear view of facial features.

Prophesy of Destiny is an imaginative story with an impressively professional presentation. It's obvious they put a lot of time and love into this, and it is DEFINITLY worth more than the cover price. Go read it already!

--reviewed by Rae

I first heard of Moonation comics from a friend who recommended the series. Fast forward in time.. Shoujocon 2001. I approached the Moonation table, filled with copies of "Prophesy of Destiny" comics, and just bought all four issues in one quick swoop. *lol*

I'm a collector of Ameri-manga, particularly shoujo, and "Prophesy of Destiny" did not fail to grab my interest. Overall, I was very impressed with the improvement of "Prophesy of Destiny" in each issue, both art-wise and story-wise. Issue 3 seems to be an unique issue, in that the beginning half and the latter half reflects a degree of change and maturity in her artwork. Perhaps each part was finished at different times?

The story begins with a bit of slapstick comedy, starting with the main character waking up from an ominous dream, and discovering that his wallet has been taken by his fellow female companions for a spending spree in Mexico. The story plot deepens when the main character, Red wakes up (yes again) in a hotel room with a woman sitting on his back, pointing a gun at his head. From this point on, the story changes from comedy to mystery.

Gina's paneling is good. The shots and angles that were used for each panel works well with the dialogue. I am really pleased with the amount of depth Gina has given to each character, especially towards the latter half of the story. One particular thing that caught my attention, was her use of facial and body expressions, character interactions and interesting dialogues towards the end of the issue. It wasn't just a head shot with lots of text. The characters interacted with each other, and it was timed well enough to give the reader the right effect.

The only complaint I'd have for this issue is the production quality. Gina shaded her entire comic digitally, and it wasn't produced well by the printer at all. I can imagine that the comic would have looked great on the PC screen, since you can view the subtle PC gradations with no trouble. However, on paper, with a bad print job, the pages look smeared. Many of the special effects used for the comic, such as fading and blurring, fades away into the background. Some of the words and effects used on dark panels cannot be read, as the dark backgrounds bled into the words. Much of the panel backgrounds had gradations to emphasize darkness, but created the same problems of bleeding into the illustrations or word bubbles. I've also had trouble telling apart the characters Nicole and Chrys initially, since both had the same hairstyle and clothes.

Overall, I recommend this title because it's an interesting story that definitely improves with each issue. (Remember? I have all 4 issues! ^_^) For those who'd enjoy an interesting sci-fi shoujo story with romance and mystery, do give "Prophesy of Destiny" a try!

--reviewed by Ashura

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