Bizenghast, Volume 1

This review was originally written for the website ListerX.com, which is now defunct. It can also be found on my blog, The Graphic Librarian.

Cover
Absolutely beautiful! This cover does a perfect job of conveying the dark, gothic, slightly surreal vibe that surrounds this new ameri-manga. Antiqued sepia tones enhance the rich cover illustration which, on second glance, is a bit stranger than it appears. However, it's the young girl's eyes that are the real attraction, blazing a brilliant teal against the more golden sepias. The side bar and title font are well suited to the haunting central image, with a playful, yet creepy, spider-like quality very reminiscent of Tim Burton's work. The back is a separate design which, while no less show more appealing, detracts from the overall "completed" look by not staying consistent with the front's more neutral color scheme. It also appears that the artists forgot about the necessary merchandising information because a detailed portion of the border-like image is unfortunately lost behind Tokyopop's barcode and age rating.

Artwork
There are a lot of wonderful things to be said about this book's artwork; sadly, there are a few not-so-great things to mention, as well. When LeGrow wants her artwork to be good, it's fabulous - the proportions are excellent, the backgrounds are well-referenced, and the lines are smooth and fluid. However, the rest of the time the artwork appears rushed and/or unfinished - the proportions are off (especially in the older, male characters), the backgrounds seem poorly-referenced or non-existent, and the lines appear disjointed and irresolute. I don't know if it's laziness, lack of interest, deadlines, or something else, but the appeal of this ameri-manga suffers because of it.

There was at least one point where I found myself pondering the absurdity of a pose, thinking, "Are they on some other planet where gravity has different laws?" The character should have been flat on her face, yet instead was managing to perfectly balance herself in a way no human ever could. There are several other instances which similarly jolted me out of the story, but I really don't think I should spend a lot of time discussing them in detail. After all, M. Alice LeGrow is obviously a very accomplished artist, and I can think of several manga-ka who's first few volumes were a little rocky in places. Eventually they got the hang of things, and I have very little doubt that LeGrow will do the same.

Note: I highly recommend taking a look at LeGrow's web page. There's a lot of great Bizenghast artwork to peruse through and a link to her deviantART account, which contains even more of her amazing images.

Plot
**Possible Spoilers Warning**
While a tiny bit episodic, this gothic horror really grabbed my attention. The idea, which started out unimpressive, very quickly took several bizarre and unexpected turns, and now I think I'm hooked. It begins with a young, orphaned girl named Dinah who has been unable to convince those around her that she can see the lost souls that inhabit the decrepit estate she's living in. Her only hold on sanity is her best friend, Vincent, who is adept at spiriting Dinah away whenever she's in trouble. It's during one of these secret excursions that the pair come across an old cathedral and its adjoining cemetery. While exploring, Dinah accidentally activates an ancient pact, one which binds her soul to the cemetery and summons a strange spidery creature named Bali-Lali.

The odd creature explains that each night Dinah must free one soul from the graveyard or she will become one of the cathedral's Cleaners, a grotesque fate far worse than death. Dinah, although fearful, has no choice but to agree and with Vincent's help she begins her rather daunting task. To avoid too many spoilers I won't go into too much detail about the souls she and Vincent save, but I will say that each time the riddles seem a little harder to decipher, and each time what must be done to save the soul becomes a bit more troublesome to puzzle out.

After unlocking four different doorways, Dinah and Vincent are gifted with someone to help them on their during their nightly work. The odd little create is named Edaniel and he looks a bit like a twisted version of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland; he also has the personality of a slightly insane stand-up comedian. He gives the two friends some useful exposition on the cathedral and its inhabitants and shares some new information about Dinah's pact that leaves her with an important decision to make.

Content Warnings
Language = Yes, but VERY mild.

Violence = Yes. A bit of blood, some killing, and a few very creepy-looking monsters.

Nudity = None.

Sexual Situations = None.

Ratings
Cover - 8/10 - Beautiful, rich watercolors with only some minor flaws in the back cover design.

Artwork - 7/10 - There's some amazing work here, but a lot of it also seems rushed and/or unfinished.

Plot - 8/10 - Grabs your attention almost immediately and then feeds you just enough fresh info to keep you wondering and wanting more.

Overall - 8/10 - I'm very impressed with the originality involved and will definitely be picking up the next volume. show less

This was a pretty pleasant surprise. Dinah loses her parents, and as a result has to move with relatives in the New England town of Bizenghast. The doctors think the young girl may not be well, maybe due to the trauma of loss, but things are not as simple as that. And the town itself is not what it seems to be. Apparently, there is this cemetery that appears and disappears, and it has trapped souls in it. And Dinah is given the task of freeing them. With the help of her friend Vincent, she sets out reluctantly to do the task. There are various types of souls and spirits, not all happy or peaceful, and each requires the solving of some kind of riddle or puzzle as part of the task. Thus begins this series.

This is a light gothic ghost show more story. It has some horror elements, but they are certainly light so far. The riddles provide a poetic element, and the ghosts vary in their natures and fates. This looks like the start of an entertaining series with good art to go along with the story. And it is a very easy read. show less

I wonder what should I write about this one. I read comics all my life, from crappiest superheroes to modernist art of Fellini, Jodorowsky or brothers Hernandez. I'm realtively new to manga form - them being too expensive and all. But, since they started to publish manga (OEL and original) in my ocuntry for some kind of affordable price, I wanted to feel that universe too.

And now I'm at loss for what to say. I see gothic lolita imagerie, I see dementia and madhouses written all over it, I see nightmarish images of pure horror, misunderstanding and mystery that has yet to be unravelled. Underneath all of that I see underlying story of love and understanding, of romance begining and mysteries of childhood imagined in a certain weird kind show more of way that one should grow accustomed to. Putting asside all clichés of modern gothic art that appeals to all those girls with bleached faces and tight leather corsets beneath dark robes, there is certain kind of imagination present here - imagination that says - Alice Le Grow can write (and draw but that's beside the point). Being new to manga, especially to manga of this genre, I cannot say anything about cliched storytelling or any such thing, having read too little of this. All I can say is that, upon taking this volume, I was immediately transfered to world of Bizenghast, I lurked trough it's shadowed places, I traveled with Dinah in quest for my sanity, I wondered about dark mysteries that lies beneath all of it and in the process I enjoyed myself. Is it not the kind of thing any piece of art should be able to do to it's consumers? To immerse one into it's own world, and make him at home there.

Bizenghast did this to me, and I can only recommend it. Maybe my thought will change upon reaching the final volume, but that is yet to be seen. For now, adventure of travel and discovery is before me. show less

Stunning art with a gothic yet fun storyline and endearing main characters. Just as enjoyable as the first time I read this series as a young teenager.

The Bizenghast series revolves around a young girl, Dinah who has lost her parents, & is living with her aunt in a creepy converted house prior boy's reform school (& previously to that a mental institution). She is a bit mentally unstable (not surprising). She and her best friend Vincent discover a cemetary in the woods and she becomes bound in contract to return every night to the place & free the ghosts one at a time. Vincent helps her despite having no obligation to.
This is quite an engaging manga series with appealing artwork. I can't put my finger on why I like the series but I do and reccomend it. These books see the "trials" (freeing the ghosts) becoming increasingly diificult while other challenges develop.

Dinah is 8 when she is the only survivor of a car crash which kills both of her parents. The crash looks a little strange, but foul play is ruled out and she is sent to live with her maternal aunt who inherits substantial property in Bizenghast. The property is a series of buildings called St Lyman's School for Boys which used to be a mental hospital. Dinah's aunt is going to have it renovated into a house for them to live in.

A few years later Dinah is living with her aunt who treats her for mental illness and constantly trying to get her committed. Her only friend is local boy Vincent, and it is with him that she stumbles across an undiscovered graveyard in the woods around the town. They find an entrance into a mausoleum and upon show more entering a plaque. Dinah accidentally signs a contract casuing spider creature Bali-Lali to appear and fill in some of the details of the contract. Dinah now has to wake up 40 spirits that are trapped in the mausoleum by solving riddles and setting them free. If she doesn't fulfil the task or fails to return each night to the mausoleum she will die.

A gothic tale following a girl trying to overcome her fears of the unknown. She has never really settled with her aunt missing her parents fiercly. This is beautifully drawn and I really enjoyed it. There are fairy tale themes throughout the different ghosts tales. Recommended. show less

An interesting goth-flavored comic from Tokyo Pop by the tongue-tying title Bizenghast. While there are still some anatomy issues to be worked through by the artist/writer Alice LeGrow, and the work is at times uneven, there are also some gorgeous renderings and interesting visuals (a forest covered in string, or a young woman with a bird cage for a torso spring to mind), and the costume designs are wonderful. The premise is very Brothers Grimm, which I like, and it promises to get better as it goes along.