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BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL: ON SILENT WINGS I & II TPB
The ON SILENT WINGS comprises the fourth and fifth collections of the ongoing series that translates Hiroaki Samura's work. It collects the Dark Horse issues 19 through 28, which includes the two part RIN'S BANE precursor. This is a series I gush about. I don't want to gush all over your screen here, lord knows the mess THAT would make. So I'll just point you to the previous reviews by myself and by Brandon Blatcher, so you can get an idea of what we think of the overall work [Editor's Note- View the related links section at the bottom of this review.]. Now, this is important to you, because we here at PopImage are the ultimate authority on every good and beautiful thing in the universe. Well, except I'm not at PopImage (they refuse to send me their address, and there's some odd bit about a restraining order, but who can really understand those wacky Canadian customs), and your universe is probably configured a bit differently. That's not my concern, though, because my universe has BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL being published in translation on a monthly schedule, and it makes me so happy that I no longer need the meds. Instead I get to gush on you.
I mention all of this because this is the core of ON SILENT WINGS. In this arc, which is split into two trades, and is really two arcs, Rin encounters two of the enemies who killed her father. In both cases, they challenge her desire for vengeance. I don't want to give much of the plot away, because I don't like to read reviews that just hash out plot details when I'd rather be surprised by them. But, given the nature of this comic, you can expect Manji to come along at some point and fight. So, where do I go from here? Let's start with RIN'S BANE. This is a key arc in the overall story, and introduces a complexity to the villain that shakes Rin deeply, coloring her thoughts for the next 20 issues (so far). The arc can be broken into three key elements: graceful art that paints using weapons as ballet, turning the motions of the body into idealized aesthetics, and two conversations Rin has. The first, with Manji, touches on the nature of the art of swordplay obliquely, and centers more on Rin's own feelings of worth, a constantly recurring issue the book addresses. The second, with her foes, also hints at the intentionally idealized beautiful way which Samura portrays swordplay, it's art, and form. And Samura pulls it off, because his art is delicious. The conversation itself questions the fundamental basis for her entire quest, and demonstrates the moral ambiguity involved vengeance. It's well done, demonstrating an ease of conversation that I'm presuming is coming from Samura, and shining through the translation. It's also subverting, and beguiling, as there aren't an easy answers to be found. Not content to do this just once, Samura replays the entire dilemma again in the longer ON SILENT WINGS arc. In this case, Rin meets another of her enemies, one whose very acts have caused her some of the worst grief of her life. Her immediate impulse to kill is quelled by the appearance of his son, and the effect that his son has had on his character. The son's existence, and his potential reaction to his father's death, horrifies her, because she could not bear putting anyone else through the hell she's been through. This conflict fuels the story, and colors the three main characters' actions throughout the arc. As if that weren't enough, Samura throws in some more depth about facades and the idealization of parents by their children. All of this, and then more notions of morality and altruism. Along with, yes, a nasty sword fight, that he brews slowly, building to it all the while in steps of incremental politeness. The art, as always, is astounding, and there are several sequences/panels that are gut wrenching. I just reread the issues, and my gut still isn't un-wrenched. I don't know of an artist alive that can capture the powerful, quiet beauty of inimical tension. His characters are often shown in diffused light, shadowed, posed powerfully, and these "still life" illustrations make the subsequent breaking action even more gripping. Samura can put on page that moment before Eastwood draws, when there's only the wind, the eyes, the enemy, and the potential of the coming storm. Now, the flaws. I'm hiding them down here because I figured you'd stopped reading after that last bit. For all the complexity of the characters, there is a standard format to BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL that has to be adhered to. There has to be a fight. This reduces things somewhat. Also, there are some action sequences that are hard to follow, and one in particular that leaves out several things, replaced by an interlude, that, for me, took several rereadings to fully comprehend. But I forgive Samura. And I am getting tired of Rin crying all the time. But, in all, I'd say these two trades represent the strongest of those published thus far by Dark Horse. And, while the subsequent issues aren't quite as good (as of yet), they aren't that much worse either. Please go read them, buy them, and worship them. If you do so, I'll be able to stop writing reviews about them [Editor's Note: Damon is working off a debt to society, and will be back in future issues to review book 6: Dark Shadows, and book 7: Heart Of Darkness.]. Highly Recommended
Damon Crumpler is an irregular contributor to PopImage. They can't keep him away, no matter how hard they try.
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To repeat myself, in brief, from an earlier review: "I think it's the best manga being published in the States today. I'm telling you to go buy all of them; all the trades, and devour them with wild abandon and helpless jealousy. You get the basics in Brandon Blatcher's reviews: immortal ronin, mission of vengeance, etc. etc. The first collection is the simplest of the bunch, in that it reads as a more straightforward sword-fighting comic. At some point in the first few issues, though, the story expands. It shifts its focus from character to morality; in other words, it expands from the examination of the person to the examination of the personal environment. "
