Ninja Scroll #1
	Story Title: 'Jigoku' (Part 1 of 3) Writer: J. Torres Artist: Michael Chang Ting Yu Colorist: Wildstorm FX Letterer: Nick J. Napotilano Asst. Editor: Kristy Quinn Editor: Ben Abernathy, Scott Peterson Published by: Wildstorm Productions
	Reviewed by: Bruce Logan

Usually I don’t get too much into anime or manga or anything like that. Not anything against it, heck, I have had my share of Dragon Ball Z, Yu Gi Oh, Inuyasha etc watching, but all of them have had one thing in common – they were in the video format. As far as anime based/style comics are concerned, the closest thing I have to them in my pull list are/were the Marvel Anime minis (and the various one-shots related to them) and Spider-Man loves Mary Jane (and that too is ‘Americanized’ version and not the true honest-to-Japan one). So, even though I haven’t watched the Ninja Scroll cartoon or am a big anime reader, why am I here? Well, for one, I am trying out every new title from Wildstorm (and have even picked up quite a few of them), and secondly, after last week’s read of Wetworks #1 I decided against adding that title to my list and hence have some extra funds available to…uhm, splurge.

First of all, the visuals and even though the cover says out aloud ‘anime’, the artwork isn’t in the usual ‘eyes the size of footballs’ style. In fact, it is very grown up and even though reading this isn’t going to get me to watch the cartoon, it would be nice if the same style is followed there. This isn’t so much Japanese anime as it is art with characters and settings from medieval Japan.

The main protagonist here, Jubei Kibagami is a solitary wanderer and this issue is a setup story for him. Starting with him resting under the shade of a tree and ending with the showing up of three rather nefarious characters (including a babe with just a snake for clothing), it is all Jubei. In between he runs into an old woman, or someone who thinks (and who looks) to be the same. He helps her by protecting her from a tri-pack of wolves and in return, she provides him with food and bed for the night…only to disappear by the time he wakes up.

Conclusion: As starts go, a much better experience, both story and art wise, than what I had last week (with Wetworks). Might pick up an issue or two more before deciding whether to add it (to my list) or let it go.

RATING: 8/10 (Almost 8.5)