The Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal

Rating:
Summary: "Grand Mal" Lives Up To Its Name
Review: A "Grand Mal" is actually a type of severe seizure, one of which I almost had when I read this story. The literal Latin translation is "Big Bad," which is also quite adequate to describe this trashy little thing. This is camp in the extreme. The story (if there is one) relies on sheer stupidity and lunacy to drive itself along. Without spoiling the comic, suffice it to say that its explanations for events before, and pertaining to, the "Bubblegum Crisis" series are lame, biased, and unbelievable, at best. The only redeeming value is that it features a series that has a startlingly small number of comics with it. The art is sort of lacking, too.

Rating:
Summary: Come now, it's not THAT bad.
Review: Being a huge BGC fan, I can definitely say that this graphic novel was ....different. In the first place I like seeing anything BGC-related, especially in comic form. But it isn't difficult to see that Adam Warren took many liberties with the BGC world. Perhaps he was under the assumption that BGC was not as well known and then tried to put his own spin on it to expand the scope for new readers, much like how he redid his best-known work, the Dirty Pair. Unfotunately, Warren's biggest fault is that he tries to sound too smart. This isn't meant to imply that we readers are idiots -certainly not!- but anyone who is familar with Warren will have to agree the man is learned. He seems to know a great deal about physics, theology, sociology, cultural anthropology, and a whole bunch of other -ologies too numerous to mention. Unfortunately, this vast knowledge seems to get in the way of the most important thing: having a fun story. True, the world of BGC is many-layered with many overlapping themes, but nothing is more important then the characters, whose development Warren seems to only touch upon. Grand Mal was not a horrific effort though, it was an interesting INTERPRETATION of the BGC we all know and love. But we should look upon it as that, only one man's interpretation, and not judge it TOO harshly. I thought Warren posed a few interesting ideas here and there. I hear he's working on another BGC story, and I hope he can loosen up a little this time.

Rating:
Summary: Bubblegum, American-Style!
Review: GEN 13 writer and creator of the English DIRTY PAIR comics Adam Warren gave of us this sweet slice of colorized manga heaven in this U.S. interpetation of Keichi Sodana's "babes in armour". This 4-part mini-series is actually a prequal to the original BUBBLEGUM CRISIS video series, but taking place after A.D. POLICE FILES. A runaway Boober threatens to destroy Megatokyo, and the Knight Sabers assemble to take care of him. This was one of Warren's best anime off-shoots and he did a brilliant job of colorizing it. The action is hot hot hot, and Priss is even hotter than that. If you liked either the BGC OVA or the BGC: 2040 remake, then you must try this out for size!

Rating:
Summary: Bubblegum, American-Style!
Review: GEN 13 writer and creator of the English DIRTY PAIR comics Adam Warren gave of us this sweet slice of colorized manga heaven in this U.S. interpetation of Keichi Sodana's "babes in armour". This 4-part mini-series is actually a prequal to the original BUBBLEGUM CRISIS video series, but taking place after A.D. POLICE FILES. A runaway Boober threatens to destroy Megatokyo, and the Knight Sabers assemble to take care of him. This was one of Warren's best anime off-shoots and he did a brilliant job of colorizing it. The action is hot hot hot, and Priss is even hotter than that. If you liked either the BGC OVA or the BGC: 2040 remake, then you must try this out for size!

Rating:
Summary: Poor.
Review: Grand Mal is awful, fans of the anime series [Bubblegum Crisis] will be up in arms and for those who aren't fans the comic is rubbish and not worth buying. The reasons why it is so poor are manifold but several things stand out: The characters are crude and drawn (literally as well as metaphorically) with thick black lines, the plot is confused and boring, with several obvious loop-holes, the writer tries to provide an explaination for several things that occur in the anime series but he makes reference to things that don't exist in the series at all... And most damning of all the author tries to write poetry in parts which comes across as silly because he is not a good poet, nor a good writer.

The list goes on... In short Grand Mal is a waste of money which neophytes will find confusing, fans will hate and comic collectors won't want because it isn't collectable. This one for the completist only.

Rating:
Summary: I liked it alot.
Review: I bought this book and have to say I enjoyed it alot. It was a cool and original story with fantastic artwork. The story gets kind of shaky at times with complicated and confusing panels thrown in, but overall it was enjoyable and I do recommend it to any Manga fan.

Rating:
Summary: Well, I Liked It. So There.
Review: I must admit, I am more than a little confused by the somewhat violent and decidedly unpleasant reaction others have given this graphic novel. I actually rather enjoyed the thing, and I believe the main reason for that is this: I never saw ANY of the "Bubblegum Crisis" animes before I read "Grand Mal." Science fiction fans, on the whole, are a rather obsessive and unforgiving lot. I should know, I'm one of them. However, my obsession with all things sci-fi has not left me so closed-minded that I will not accept any variations on some favorite characters of mine. A fan of the original "Star Trek" first, I stll gave "Next Generation" a chance, and ended up liking it better. Here, unfortunately, the BGC fans who have read this comic do not appear to have given it a chance, which is exemplified by the somewhat angry remarks I have seen, which were colored by this. For point of clarification: the story is good sci-fi, and the artwork is a good example of Adam Warren's "middle-period" drawing style. Now, as for whether or not this is good "Bubblegum Crisis," I still can't say. However, on it's own, I can say that this is a good comic.

Adam Warren is somewhat well known for his deeply sarcastic, satire-ridden, dark humor-laced writing style. Interestingly, he does not do much of that in "Grand Mal," which has to be the darkest and most serious of all the stories he has worked on(and I've read them all). However, some of that satire is still present, particularly in the depiction of the media, and in the "poetry" seen in the story, which is a blatant humorous imitation of the incredibly pretentious urban street poetry of New York, Paris, London, and yes, probably Tokyo.

The story itself is nice little piece of "cyberpunk"-class science fiction, involving an attempt by a brain-damaged, seizure-prone, and decidedly suicidal ex-mercenary to complete his final mission, two years after it originally failed. The "Knight Sabres," the main characters of "Bubblegum Crisis," just happen to be in his way, which is likely why so many BGC fans were miffed. The mercinary is the true main character of the story, and everything centers around him. Personally, I find it interesting when one can see known characters through the eyes of a third party, so I see no reason why a BGC fan wouldn't like this story.

The artwork: yes, it's a bit lacking compared to some of Warren's other work from the period, but there is a reason for that. This was the first comic Warren ever did in color, and an artist must alter their style accordingly to go from black and white to color. Warren didn't quite catch on here, but did make the proper shift eventually with "The Dirty Pair: Fatal But Not Serious" the following year, which looks excellent. Even so, the artwork is still clean, and nice to look at, and as I've said elsewhere, bad Warren art is still good art by most sandards.

So, "Bubblegum Crisis: Grand Mal" may not be ideal BGC, but it is still a good book. Personally, I like variations on a theme, and I thusly enjoy all four incarnations of "The Dirty Pair," especially Warren's version. Any long-time "Bubblegum Crisis" fan should have no problem enjoying "Grand Mal," so long as they keep an open mind. Highly recommended to sci-fi fans, manga fans, Warren fans, and yes, BGC fans. After all, there really isn't much BGC manga out there in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: OTAKU-TYPE MANGA OF THE HIGHEST ORDER
Review: Otaku is Japanese for "dedicated fan." American Adam (Dirty Pair) Warren is definitely a dedicated fan of manga legend Kenichi Sonoda. For Bubblegum Crisis:Grand Mal, Warren draws inspiration from the characters originally created by Sonoda to weave an exiciting sci-fi tale. BACKGROUND:The Great Kanto earthquake left scars on the city that can't be hidden underneath the new veneer of urban repair. Even as the glorious Genom tower rises higher, in its shadow creeps a new wave of crime, a sign that beneath the growing prosperity and recovery is an undercurrent of discontent . . . a world on the brink of exploding. And if the Armored Defense Police can't prevent that explosion, then the Knight Sabers will have to stay the rising tide of chaos!

Rating:
Summary: Avoid at all costs
Review: This comic is terrible, in fact that's doesn't go far enough. The story is rubbish and puts in details that are not supported by the OVA series. The charaters are bland and boring and in some cases the spelling of their names has been changed. Adam Warren cannot, no matter how hard he tries draw otaku manga, he should give up and try something else. And he can't write neither.