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Eat-Man #2
Eat-Man, Volume 2: Second Course
Bolt Crank is known as Eat-Man for his ability to eat everything from guns to radios to swords with a chaser of gasoline and then transform the flesh of his arm into the things he's consumed. Not entirely a superhero, fantasy, or science fiction story, Eat-Man features the kind of genre-mixing wackiness found only in Japanese manga.
200 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 1998
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 7, 2024
When I reviewed volume 1, I said Eat-Man was akin to Trigun, but with the addition of magic as a thing in this world now, I think it's closer to Phantasy Star. Which isn't a bad thing by any means; I just wish I knew how anything worked.
There's no throughline to this world--things just happen because the story (what little of it there is) needs them to happen. Do mermaids exist? Uh...sure! Gods living in lakes? Why not! Guided teleportation? You tell me, man. You tell me.
And once again, there's nothing connecting any of these stories to one another either. And while adventure of the week types of stories can be fun, it still helps to be invested in the characters. This is two volumes now, and I really don't know anything about Bolt, except he can eat things and pop them out of his hands, and that he seemingly doesn't age...maybe? I wouldn't be surprised if the woman who recognized him from 10 years ago ends up never being mentioned again. Along with the three other women we've met so far who seem to be in love with him.
The thing is, I don't hate this series. The art is good, and the self-contained stories are usually worth a read, but it feels like we've gone quite a long way, without having anything to connect any of them. 2.5 stars, rounded down to 2, because of the lack of substance. I'll keep an eye on the shelves at Half-Price Books to see if I ever run across more of Eat-Man, but at this point, I'm not going to actively search it out.
There's no throughline to this world--things just happen because the story (what little of it there is) needs them to happen. Do mermaids exist? Uh...sure! Gods living in lakes? Why not! Guided teleportation? You tell me, man. You tell me.
And once again, there's nothing connecting any of these stories to one another either. And while adventure of the week types of stories can be fun, it still helps to be invested in the characters. This is two volumes now, and I really don't know anything about Bolt, except he can eat things and pop them out of his hands, and that he seemingly doesn't age...maybe? I wouldn't be surprised if the woman who recognized him from 10 years ago ends up never being mentioned again. Along with the three other women we've met so far who seem to be in love with him.
The thing is, I don't hate this series. The art is good, and the self-contained stories are usually worth a read, but it feels like we've gone quite a long way, without having anything to connect any of them. 2.5 stars, rounded down to 2, because of the lack of substance. I'll keep an eye on the shelves at Half-Price Books to see if I ever run across more of Eat-Man, but at this point, I'm not going to actively search it out.
July 23, 2013
The stories of Bolt Crank are largely episodic and stand-alone in nature (particularly in the first volume). So while it's best to read from the beginning there really shouldn't be an issue with starting here.
Eat Man was one of the first manga I ever read (along with Ranma 1/2) and it holds up surprisingly well. Bolt Crank has a "unique constitution": he can eat just about anything and reproduce it later. His unusual ability serves him well on random jobs as an explorer for hire, but there's always something to be careful of, including others explorers, monsters and other job hazards, and leaving leftovers...
As with volume 1 the five stories in volume 2 are all independent, "job of the week" style adventures, but we do get some possible hints on Bolt's history. There's not really an overarching plot but Bolt's character traits continue to be developed and cemented for the reader. His seeming indifference is well balanced with the way he approaches and deals with his jobs and those affected by his work. "Power Lunch" is perhaps the most intriguing tale, as it fills in some of Bolt's past and raises interesting questions going forward.
The art is on par with that of volume 1. My comments from that review: "The art style is somewhat dated but extremely well done. The backgrounds are interesting as they are plain in about half the panels, but incredibly detailed in the rest. The world is well designed and everything from buildings to monsters has a mechanical, cobbled together feel that gives the comic great atmosphere and style."
One thing to note is that the cover here was done by American comic great Jim Lee, so while a nice tribute it does not reflect the art of the collected manga inside.
Second Course is another fun collection of oddball adventures. Their self contained nature make this an easy recommendation even though this is unfortunately the last volume that was published stateside.
Eat Man was one of the first manga I ever read (along with Ranma 1/2) and it holds up surprisingly well. Bolt Crank has a "unique constitution": he can eat just about anything and reproduce it later. His unusual ability serves him well on random jobs as an explorer for hire, but there's always something to be careful of, including others explorers, monsters and other job hazards, and leaving leftovers...
As with volume 1 the five stories in volume 2 are all independent, "job of the week" style adventures, but we do get some possible hints on Bolt's history. There's not really an overarching plot but Bolt's character traits continue to be developed and cemented for the reader. His seeming indifference is well balanced with the way he approaches and deals with his jobs and those affected by his work. "Power Lunch" is perhaps the most intriguing tale, as it fills in some of Bolt's past and raises interesting questions going forward.
The art is on par with that of volume 1. My comments from that review: "The art style is somewhat dated but extremely well done. The backgrounds are interesting as they are plain in about half the panels, but incredibly detailed in the rest. The world is well designed and everything from buildings to monsters has a mechanical, cobbled together feel that gives the comic great atmosphere and style."
One thing to note is that the cover here was done by American comic great Jim Lee, so while a nice tribute it does not reflect the art of the collected manga inside.
Second Course is another fun collection of oddball adventures. Their self contained nature make this an easy recommendation even though this is unfortunately the last volume that was published stateside.
March 12, 2012
This is all twist endings and seinen cliches.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews