Master Keaton, Vol. 5

A couple of the stories in this volume are longer which makes the series better can't wait for volume 6

Indiana Jones for the alternative man.

The Master Keaton series has hit its stride at this point, now that the title character has settled into a groove as a globe-trotting adventurer. He mentions, at times, his theory of culture development or his love of academia, but he now seems resigned to his investigation work, where his skills as a former special forces soldier come into play. Some of the stories have also gotten longer, which allows for more development of characters and plots, a welcome change.Volume 5 opens with a particularly intriguing two-chapter tale, one that involves the Bride of Frankenstein movie and a monster mask used for murder. In “Memories of Elsa Lanchester”, an abandoned movie theater is never not creepy, and the opening silent stalking sequence is beautifully staged, of course, by artist Naoki Urasawa.The message is to never cross, even accidentally, a professor studying the psychology of fear, because he’ll use his knowledge to really creep you out. The grounds aren’t entirely laid fairly for the twist ending, but the story is certainly a page-turner, with double-crosses among the faculty and a mysterious missing woman.A single-chapter flashback to young Taichi tackles the racial bias and abuse a young mixed-Japanese child faced in England. Even when struggling, there are still natural beauties — in this case, the color of the ocean — to experience and knowledge to share to protect one’s life.Additional chapters solve an assassination of an East German in the West by investigating scents; bring a thief to justice in spite of his accomplices threatening Keaton; and portray former soldiers hunting each other over drug deals and missing money. That last one has a depressing undertone of how badly war (in this case, in the Falklands) damages people, even the ones who survive.The longest story (five chapters! almost half the book) sends Keaton to Baghdad to rescue an undercover duke being hunted by the Iraqi Army. The royal unfortunately is lacking important medicine, which forces a time limit on the mission. This adventure is set in the context of Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait (1990), so it’s a bit spooky how that region of the world is still part of the news these days.Some of these stories show their age, but others could easily be mapped to any time people resent or fear or are jealous of others (so, any time). The real appeal is how skilled Urasawa is in drawing emotion and telling comic stories through layouts and moment breakdowns and panel choices. His work is so smoothly illustrated that the reader can focus on the events and characters without ever hitting a snag in their reading. It’s cinematic, as though we’re watching the cast move before our eyes, with just the right pause to emphasize emotional moments. (Review originally posted at ComicsWorthReading.com.)

Nice comic that combines detective work and adventure. Condition as promised, no complaints.

I was planning to read one Keaton every three weeksThis manga touches upon sad aspects of history, and a happy ending is not guaranteed. Nonetheless, this manga has earned a wide audience in Japan because of Keaton’s unflinching courage to deal with iniquity and his compassion.Cannot wait for the translation of Volume 6 to come out.