Reviewer

Alexander Hoffman

Alexander Hoffman is more often than not, studying for his latest exam. A student in Ohio Northern's six-year Pharmacy program, what time he has that isn't spent learning the ins-and-outs of the human body and the drugs we use on it, is spent on comics, Magic: the Gathering, and games of all types. Alex got his start in writing through short fiction and poetry contests, and began writing about games in the Spring of 2005 at Magic Deck Vortex. He started his blog, Manga Widget, in the Fall of 2008 to talk about comics, and he's been writing almost full-time ever since.

http://www.amazon.com/Stray-Little-Devil/dp/1597960438/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227801037&sr=8-3

Stray Little Devil Volume 1 (Written and Illustrated by Kotaro Mori)

DrMaster Publications

Age Rating: 16+

Genre: Comedy/Supernatural

Price: $9.95

In Stray Little Devil, Pam is an ordinary junior high student, but when she tries to summon a "kind devil" her grandmother once fell in love with, she ends up being transported to a world where devils and angels coexist, and humans are a fairy-tale. Transformed into a devil, she is told by a mysterioius Remy that if she can become a full-fledged devil, he can send her home. A mix of action, comedy, and a few yuri leanings combine as Pam acquires a familiar, and learns to accept her new home in the devil world.

Stray Little Devil has an interesting cast; devils and angels have split their world down the middle, and aren't allowed to help each-other. Despite this, Pam meets an angel Linfa who looks exactly like a friend from junior high, and ends up saving her (causing no end of torment and bad luck on Pam's part). It's clear that as the series continues, these two girls will learn to be friends, and the first volume hints that there may be more than friendship in store for the two.

The writing in this manga is okay, but its real strength is in the art. Characters are expressive, and the action scenes are well conveyed.

The only real detraction this manga has is its production values. DrMaster included a full color page which was wasted on a title screen and a table of contents. The paper is low quality, and very yellow, and sometimes washes out the art. The biggest thing to note is that the book is almost a whole 1/2 an inch shorter than a regular manga. Hopefully the production values get better with the next book in the series.

Summing Up:

An interesting premise and good character interaction make this fantasy manga worth reading, but production values hamper its ability to tell its story.

Contact Information:

DrMaster Publications Inc.

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