ZOMBIEPOWDER: CAN’T KISS THE RING (OF THE DEAD) (VOLUME 2)

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ZOMBIEPOWDER: CAN’T KISS THE RING (OF THE DEAD) (VOLUME 2)

January 2nd 2011 20:54

Category: Manga

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Story & Art by: Tite Kubo
Translation: Akira Watanabe
Touch up art & Lettering: Stephen Dutro
Design: Sean Lee
Cost: AU$12.95/US$7.99

The second volume in the debut work of Tite Kubo; the mastermind behind the hit manga/anime sensation that is Bleach. So what exactly is it all about then? Well it would be easy to say that it’s a typical shonen action manga; or that it’s a manga with a heavy ‘Western’ influence or even that is an adventure story certainly all of these elements are applicable but for my mind Zombiepowder is very much a journey story, an epic quest. Now no doubt you’re wondering what kind of epic quest could it be and frankly it’s the most quintessential kind of quest there is in any kind of storytelling medium – the quest for immortality no less.

It all revolves around a particular item known as a ring of the dead, find twelve rings of the dead and you have the means to gain a substance called zombiepowder. With this powder you can either bring the dead back to life or gain eternal life for yourself – it’s the last objective that the series key protagonist; Gamma Akutabi is aiming for. He has become a ‘powder hunter’ as those seeking the rings are called for this very reason. Known as the Man with the Black Hand and a dangerous S rank criminal Gamma Akutabi is the kind of character you do not want to cross by any means. His left arm is covered in jet black armour and he frequently uses it combined with his nigh inhuman speed to catch or stop bullets. He also carries around with him as his weapon a chainsword; a comination chainsaw and sword which he uses to deal out some serious carnage.
Fearsome stuff indeed, although the interesting thing about Gamma even though he’s effectively a one man army in his own right and could probably devastate a small country he isn’t above seeking help. Partnered with the mysterious CT Smith, a man every bit as deadly as Gamma, and who looks like a merchant banker he is making some headway in his quest. He has also taken on board the young former pickpocket and knife thrower Elwood as part of his team as he makes his way towards collecting the requisite number of rings of the dead. When this particular volume we see the three of them in the hideout of the Ash Daughters gang who had taken both Elwood and Gamma prisoner; mistakenly believing that the professional like CT Smith was a hired gun in their employ – in reality he was a double agent, working for the gang under the orders of Gamma in order to get him into the hideout so they could get the gang’s rings.

Using his prodigious swordsmanship and his mastery of Karinzanjutsu, a legendary sword fighting technique, Gamma manages to pull off the heist as well as save numerous hostages taken by the Ash Daughters gang. Pretty impressive stuff indeed – and not without its moments of humour. But it is all but one more step on the road to getting the twelve rings required for making zombiepowder. From the bandit’s hideout the fearsome trio move on to the township of Alcantara, the next stop on the quest. Apparently Gamma has got the word that somewhere in this dusty flyspeck of a town there is a ring of the dead. Naturally though he isn’t the only one though who has this info, there are two others who also know the same fact, one of whom is scornful of the whole zombiepowder shtick the other who isn’t but isn’t a hundred per cent certain that the ring is where it’s claimed to be.
The first person is the Journalist of Justice, Wolfgangina Lalla Getto or Wolfina for short. She is a roving muckraker who roams the streets exposing the misdeeds of the insidious and villainous for exposure in the pages of various tabloid publications which causes much humiliation for her targets. Unlike the gutter press of the real world Wolfina targets those who deserve such treatment; corrupt politicians, gangsters etc. She doesn’t believe in the rings of the dead and their potential for zombiepowder, it’s as far as she’s concerned a fairy tale. The other figure is the circus troupe leader and mystic, Balmunk the Mystic, a man whose appearance is very similar to Mandrake the Magician from newspaper strips. Balmunk believes that the ring of the dead is located in the local hospital and he is willing to do whatever it takes to seize the ring. What he doesn’t know is the location within the hospital or the fact that Wolfina who has thwarted his previous attempts has a rather intimate connection to the location of the item he so desperately desires.
Amidst all the action, the magic tricks, the humour and the drama we are also given an insight into the precise nature of the rings themselves. It seems that there is a lot more to the rings of the dead than first appears; sure they look like the kind of accessory you would wear on your finger, give to your girlfriend and as an engagement ring etc. And certainly they’re not your ordinary piece of jewellery what with being able to bestow potential immortality or raise the dead...but that isn’t the half of it. The rings themselves are actually alive, they consume the life force of anything whose bare skin they touch and in the case of people and animals they seek to burrow their way into them – constantly consuming them from within. The victim falls into a coma, a coma where they can continue to exist if fed intravenously and they’re aware of being eaten away by the ring inside them. When Gamma follows Wolfina to the hospital and witnesses her confrontation with Balmunk he puts two and two together and realises that within the hospital there lays a patient who is probably a victim of one of the rings. Included in this volume is the bonus story Ultra Unholy Hearted Machine, the story of a mercenary and his android companion who rain down some serious carnage on a criminal cartel responsible for manufacturing a decidedly insidious narcotic known as ‘Divine Breath’. It’s an interesting little bonus.

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