[.uk] Bizenghast Volume 2 (ISBN 1595327444)

A Visual Nightmare ( and not the kind that was intended ):
There has been considerable hype surrounding Bizenghast ever since it was announced that Marty LeGrow had been contracted by Tokyopop to release an original comic after placing in their Rising Stars of Manga contest. The fact of the matter is, the hype is not warranted. Bizenghast 2 picks up where Bizenghast 1 left off. Dinah, Vincent, and Edaniel are still unlocking the mysteries of the crypts - riddles that give the reader no chance to actually interact. With word bubbles taking up a large portion of each panel that they occupy, and more text than necessary, LeGrow's writing manages to ruin the spooky mood that she's attempting to create. One of the most talked about features of Bizenghast is its Gothic-styled art work. However, I myself can not seem to understand why so many people praise the art. When LeGrow placed in the Rising Stars of Manga, her line work was beautifully haunting. However, as time has gone on, it seems as though LeGrow's art has gotten worse. Bizenghast 1 exhibited very sloppy work. While the occasional panel was beautiful, the overall feel of the book was that it was rushed and haphazardly drawn. Little has changed as we now move into the second volume. The lines are still haphazard, the anatomy is still sub-par, and the toning looks as though it was simply scribbled in, rather than being thoughtfully executed. Any shading done with hatching is scribbled in, and those "details" that everyone seems to be so crazy over look as though they're nothing more than scribbles of her pen. At that, there are raging inconsistencies within her details. In one chapter, Dinah's little crown changes from looking as though it's made of feathers, to looking like it's made of flowers. It doesn't only change once or twice, though... no... the crown rotates between flowers and feathers for the entire duration of the time that Dinah wears it. Overall, it looks as though it was drawn by a very dedicated beginner in the comics field, and certainly not by someone with a BFA in Sequential Art. What's interesting is that, at the end of the book, there's an extra section that exhibits LeGrow's beautiful costumes. Perhaps, if she spent less time on making opulent costumes, and more time on drawing her comic, the art would not look as thrown together as it does. Overall, I personally am very unimpressed. I'm baffled by how popular the comic has become, because when one thinks about manga, especially Gothic & Lolita style manga, one is lead to believe that the artwork should be beautiful. Bizenghast does not meet these standards. The story premise sounds so promising, but the innumerable problems that exist in the execution simply make the book not worth picking up.

Uber Nifty Spookiness:
Bizenghast volume 2 brings us back to the creepy Massachusettes town that shares the name of the title. Bizenghast one introduced us to the masoleum and the main characters. Now that the basics are out of the way we can delve more into the relationships between the characters and good old fashioned ghost hunting (problem solving?) Fans will be happy to know that Bizenghast volume 2 rises above it's predecessor. With the minor hiccups (and some editor troubles along the way) behind her, Marty has taken her story to knew heights with even more Edward Gorey, Alice in Wonderland and gothic style imagery and architecture and lots more monsters and quirky riddles to solve. A great read for anyone who's into gothic manga (or OEL for anyone truly banal on the subject), horror fans, and especially cosplay afficionados. It's more refined than The Abandoned, creepier than The Dreaming. Reccomended for anyone who was skeptical about the first book. Sincerely yours, Rokuichi (Who's NOT a chick)

More riddles to solve:
The second volume of Bizenghast has all of the strengths of its predecessor and unfortunately, many of it's weaknesses as well. Luckily for us, its strengths seem to balance out its weaknesses. In the second volume, young Dinah and Vincent are working hard to solve the Mausoleum's riddles. As they meet ghost after ghost, they also find themselves running into more personal challenges that are perhaps, even more difficult. The gothic artwork is at times stunning, and at other times, far from it. It's particularly frustrating to see a beautifully drawn panel right next to one that appears haphazardly drawn. One gets the impression that the manga-ka was either too rushed or bored to finish certain panels. This is a shame because when M Alice is at her best, she's better than ANY OEL manga artist that I have seen come out of Tokyopop. Hopefully in the next volume, she'll pay a little more attention to those weak panels. At the beginning of the volume, the storyline seems to follow the pattern of the first. We see ghost after ghost as Dinah and Vincent are put in increasingly creepy situations. Although these situations are inventive and interesting, they're really not that important to the reader. You'll find yourself remembering certain creepy situations, like Dinah having to put a corpse together, but struggle to remember why the characters were there in the first place. Edaniel plays a larger role so we get more comic relief, but there's not much special going on. Near the end of the manga we get signs that things are going to change. We get some nice character development and the introduction of a new character. This makes me interested in seeing what the third volume will be like. I'm not sure that I'm interested enough to pay full price on it though. I guess it all depends on how it looks! As a nice bonus, at the end of the volume we get to see the real life renditions of some of the outfits that Dinah wears in the series. All of them are beautiful made me wish that I could sow. As a result of this, I would raise my rating of this to three and a half stars if possible.

Another Visual Treat:
This second book of the Bizenghast series by artist/author Marty LeGrow continues the story of Dinah and Vincent and their quest to free the lost souls trapped in an eerie old New England mill town. The art work in Book Two is as enchantingly detailed as in Book One, but with an increasing maturity and confidence of technique that promises even greater things to come from this artist. Fans of LeGrow's visual style will love the gothic elegance with touches of an almost Pre-Raphaelite otherworldly ambience. The menace of the mausoleum is even ghastlier, the developing storyline more coherent and twice as chilling, while the wisecracking creepiness of eDaniel alone is worth the price of the book. Devotees of Bizenghast 1 will find even more to love in Bizenghast 2!

Tis book is great!:
im 13 and when i read the summary in the back i was like whoa! this book has to be gret. i read it in the library and i checked it out again to read it at home! i read it over and over. the book is just so good!i really like Dinah's style and how Edaniel is so funny! Vincent seems to be pretty brave too. i cant wait to buy the second one. i just have to look fo it! the next one (2)is left off where Dinah (because of her contract) doesnt want to give it to Vincent and they are once again still trying to set the ghost free.