MONSTER (VOLUME 10)

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MONSTER (VOLUME 10)

April 4th 2010 23:28

Category: Graphic Novels/Comics

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Story & Art by: Naoki Urasawa
English Adaptation: Agnes Yoshida
Translation: Sumiko Katsura
Touch up Art & Lettering: Steve Dutro
Cover & Interior Design: Courtney Utt
Cost: AU $16.95/US $9.99

It’s not often that you see a manga dotted with gushing, enthusiastic comments from various pundits or mention of the slew of awards which it has received or the fact that its creator is described as Japan’s master of such and such. In fact I’d have to say that this is the first manga that I have come across where this has been precisely the case; created by Naoki Urasawa who is dubbed Japan’s Master of Suspense Monster is a very interesting read indeed. It was something I picked up off the shelf in my local library, always a good source for such works, to give me some reading pleasure over the Easter long weekend. It’s always a drag when you reach a long weekend and you’re unable to find anything to read; whenever that is the case I often find myself wandering around aimlessly like Banquo’s ghost hoping for the long weekend to end as soon as possible.

Fortunately this long weekend I didn’t have to wander aimlessly rattling chains and moaning, I had this work and others to peruse and keep me occupied. Now as this is volume 10 I have somewhat jumped in at the deep end of the overall story here; very much media res as it were. Still this didn’t prove too much of a problem I was able to pick up on the general tone and theme of what was occurring and very swiftly let the whole thing embrace me. One thing that did pique my thought processes as I was reading was that it sounded a little bit like the seventies film, the Boys from Brazil starring Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier. No doubt you are perplexed as to why I would make such a reference, but fear not it will become apparent as things progress.

Apparently the main focus of this series is the quest by its primary protagonist, Dr Kenzo Tenma, a brilliant Japanese brain surgeon to bring an end to the machinations and killings of the titular character, the Monster, a young man called Johan, a young man whose life Dr Tenma once saved. Unfortunately in his quest to put an end to Johan’s schemes and machinations Dr Tenma fails to realise that quote from eminent German philosopher Nietzsche, that those who hunt monsters beware lest they become monsters. Throwing away a career as a surgeon to track down Johan the good doctor finds that his life is taking a turn for the worse, that what he once had is very much gone and may never be able to be retrieved. Still despite this he knows perhaps in his heart of hearts that at some stage he is responsible indirectly or directly for the killings that have occurred in saving the life of Johan, this act which he thought was one of charity and kindness has backfired horribly. As cynics are wont to say – no good deed ever goes unpunished in this world and that seems to be the case here.
In this volume though Dr Tenma plays only a supporting role, instead the main character for much of the drama is a former East German freelance journalist, Grimmer. Grimmer seems like a rather cheerful, everyman kind of individual who has a dislike for bullies and bullying as well being capable of taking any setbacks on the chin. He was a character that I liked straight away; there was a certain charm to him. When we first meet Grimmer he is in the city of Dresden conducting some research into child abuse in orphanages run by the East German government, in particular one such institute run by the Internal Affairs ministry. The particular orphanage he seeks to investigate is known as Kinderheim 511, a facility located in the former East Berlin.
What could be so special about this place that Grimmer is looking into? It seems that as the story unfolds Kinderheim 511 was not just an ordinary orphanage; it was one where an experiment was being carried out on the children who dwelt in that place, although it seems that the initial experiment was contaminated by the introduction of a single young boy into the mix. The former director in charge of the institute reveals this fact after being pestered repeatedly by Grimmer in his quest to get to the bottom of things. What had been going on at this orphanage was an effort to create well adjusted young people who could emerge from the trauma of their life, the loss of family, parents etc, and become model citizens without any psychoses or mental hang-ups. But the director who oversaw this program was replaced and the focus changed – instead of producing model citizens Kinderheim 511 became devoted to producing a new breed of soldier ready to fight for the regime. And into his mix was added the young boy known as Johan, a young boy who caused the whole program to go pear shaped.
Kinderheim 511 was never closed down as such, instead its ‘inmates’ destroyed the place at the behest of their ‘leader’ Johan. Naturally the whole thing was hushed up by the East German authorities and files destroyed; a process that was accelerated with the collapse of the wall and the eventual reunification. But the survivors from that tragedy made their way into the outside world and those who were behind the project would like to see its members reunited, especially with their ‘leader’ Johan at their head in order to fulfil their own sinister agenda. Grimmer picks up hints of this in his search for answers, answers that unwittingly uncover even more conspiracy and danger once his search takes him to Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. It seems that he is opening a literal Pandora ’s Box in his seeking and there might not be the means of putting what he unleashes back into said box. No doubt by now you can see where I’m coming from when I made my comparison between this manga and the movie, the Boys from Brazil which sought to resurrect Adolf Hitler via genetic engineering and environmental circumstances. Monster is compelling reading, although I suspect it will not be everyone’s cup of tea…

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