Mangaman

Name: Serina

Grade: College

Book: Mangaman

Author: Barry Lyga

Illustrator: Colleen Doran

In this bizarre book, East meets West when Ryoko, a Japanese manga character, falls through a rip into an American comic book. There, he is almost immediately disliked for his very feminine anime looks, and also for the strange powers he possesses, like being able to jump from one panel to another and easily defeating anyone that challenges him to a fight with his martial art moves that defy the laws of gravity. Since he cannot get back to his own comic book, he decides to attend the local High School, where he also has great difficulty fitting in. However, something good does come out of his tumble into the Western world, and her name is Marissa Montaigne, the most gorgeous and also one of the most popular girls in the school. Ryoko gets hearts in his eyes whenever he see her, which greatly creeps out his male classmates, and with a bit of luck, Ryoko is able to befriend her and describe his own manga universe to her, as well as teach her a few of his panel jumping tricks. But will his love for Marissa, and her possible love for him, be able to survive between their two very different worlds?

This graphic novel was very strange, funny, and actually quite satisfying to read. There were quite a few parts of it that were a bit dry or unsettling for me, but most of it was a very unique look on how manga and western comics are different, as well as how they are also the same.

I picked this book up because I had never seen anything like it!

I finished this book because I wanted to see what happened at the end.

I'd give this book to any fan of comic books, whether they are a manga fan or a Marvel fan, or both!

Rating: *** Liked it!