March 15, 2007
Members of the Bleak family are not remembered for their illustrious lives but for their infamously gruesome deaths. Until his assuredly spectacular final encounter with the Reaper, Finney Bleak is serving time as an underling to the zombies, golems, witches, and vampires that fill the upper echelons of Mephisto Prep. Finney receives a brief reprieve from his lonely, outcast existence when he visits a traveling fair and meets Jenny, who shares his taste for irony and the bizarre. After experiencing the best day of his life, Finney must return to his dreary existence in Purgatory Falls after Jenny misses their appointment to meet. However, he may yet glimpse paradise when Jenny returns in an unexpected form. As a loner placed in a fantastic graveyard of conformity, Finney is a likable and admirable hero about to experience the ironies of true love. Wight has worked on several well-known cartoons, including Batman Beyond, in graphic novels (The Escapist), and as the "ghost" artist for the O.C. This cartoonish style, with definitive thick inks and occasionally ethereal brushes of gray, will surely capture the attention of knowledgeable readers. Tokyopop has also identified this OEL manga as number one on a top ten list of anticipated titles for early 2007. Based on the first volume, this series is strongly recommended for young adult collections.Christine Gertz, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton
Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 2, 2007
As the youngest member in the long and unfortunate Bleak bloodline, Finney has few pressures that weigh more heavily upon him than his impending, and most likely, cataclysmic death. The Bleak family is notorious for its members meeting their demise: Margaret Bleak, a magician's assistant was literally sawed in half, and Archibald Bleak, a zookeeper, was smothered by manure. Downtrodden and consumed by his fear of death, Finney attracts nothing but trouble at his high school and pines for his lost love, Jenny. Finney and Jenny met many months ago at a traveling carnival where they shared time on the Ferris wheel, were bored by a puny roller coaster and fell in love on the Bucket of Blood. How will Finney find his lost love and what will he do when he realizes that, like most of his extended family, Jenny is quite dearly departed? This is the first series created by Wight, who is best known for his work on the television showThe O.C. Wight has an uncanny knack for capturing the ferocity of teenage emotions in both ink and words. His artwork is poppy (assuredly the most enjoyable aspect of this book) and the fast-paced story will appeal to teenage readers.