Subject: Manga Reviews: Gon, vol. 1 | Author | Messages | Billy Aguiar
Posts: 84
 | Posted: 9/17/2007 8:45:10 AM | Gon, vol. 1
CMX Manga
$5.99, b/w, 148 pages, Available Now!
By Masashi Tanaka
Reviewed by Billy Aguiar
2 stars
Gon was originally released by DC through its Paradox line starting in the mid 90s, but since then manga has grown more popular in the US, so DC is re-releasing Gon as part of their CMX line. The previous version of Gon was flipped and had its volumes organized around themes so in contrast the new CMX version will have the original unflipped pages and be presented in the original publication order. Gon has had a good reputation, being heralded as an interesting experiment in wordless storytelling, but when I read Gon I wasn't impressed. Despite the back cover text portraying Gon as the protector of the weak, at least in this volume he comes across as a bully. He pushes around other animals because he needs them to do something for him or wants what they have, not because of any intrinsic sense of fairness on his part. Sometimes his actions seem only to harm innocent bystanders, not the truly guilty. And after the first storyline, where it is revealed that Gon is basically indestructible and super-strong despite his small size, there is no tension at all whether or not Gon will succeed or survive, only in what darkly comedic way that Gon will do so. The only story that really showed growth was the last one, where Gon and a nest of eagle chicks bond, forming a surrogate family and helping each other. The first volume, while an interesting experiment, is just not very engaging.
This is a weekly manga review here on the CBG site, but don’t forgot to check out my other review site, Prospero’s Manga for more manga reviews.
www.cmxmanga.com
Vol 1. ISBN: 1-40121-273-5
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