Hiyama: Vol. 1

If you fancy yourself as an author, probably the worst genre in which you could cut your teeth would be the comic book/graphic novel as fans can be very obsessive and dismissive of anything sub-par. In this case Gruff79 is particularly brave, writing Hiyama because someone suggested it rather than because it was a burning ambition of his. Conversely, whilst the world of comic books has colossi like Alan Moore and Frank Miller, it is still the sort of marketplace where new artists' work will be read as there are many different types of comic books and graphic novels, from the superheroes of Marvel and DC, the real-life novels like Palestine, American Splendor and Maus to the violent dystopian Sin City, Transmetropolitan and V for Vendetta.

It is in this latter category that Hiyama will fit: crime has reached epidemic proportions and the forces law and order are corrupt. Fortunately, many years ago, an alliance was forged between an honest lawman and his friend Kitano Hiyama to punish those the law cannot or will not reach. This agreement has been passed down to their sons with the martial arts expert Chen Hiyama receiving a file from Assistant Commissioner John Torrent, tracking them down and then stopping their criminal activities without ever resorting to murder. When something happens to the Hiyama family and the untouchable Connor Gang are responsible, Chen meditates whilst his daughter Mei decides to take matters into her own hands showing much less restraint than her father.

This is a remarkably accomplished book by Gruff79, despite a couple of typos (probably due to lack of editorial oversight), and is a real page turner. The story is thoroughly involving - though it's a little light on the socio-political themes - and the style varies throughout to keep it interesting (though this may be more by accident than design) with no shortage of gore and violence within the monochrome colour scheme.

Apparently written in his spare time, this is nevertheless very impressive and if Gruff79 decides to become a fulltime comic book artist with an editor, he has a promising future and the quality of his output will only improve. However if he continues to write and illustrate on a part-time basis, as it seems he intends to do, his publisher (who had no creative impact on this volume) will provide valuable oversight and experience.

Whilst not the finest graphic novel you'll ever read, this is a thought provoking and interesting read with echoes of Batman (the relationship between Chen Hiyama and Assistant Commissioner John Torrent is similar to that between the Dark Knight and Lt. Gordon) and I look forward to reading Volume 2 and seeing how the story progresses though the six instalments.