I have to be honest. I don't think I've ever read a manga in my life. I've certainly watched anime adapted from manga. But the art form isn't something I'm particularly familiar with. I'm not opposed to it, I've just never sought it out or been exposed to it. So I'm not sure how objective I can be trying to review one in that style. But I'm a student of storytelling, comic books especially, so I have no problem giving it a shot.
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JAZZ: Juggernauts Against Zealous Zealots is a fairly straightforward story similar to Pacific Rim. Or I should say, its premiere chapter is. It starts with action right out of the gate as a large monster has an incursion into our world. The army tries to stop it but is unsuccessful. Enter JAZZ. They are a rebel group of superpowered individuals wanted by the military, but they considered themselves good guys and engage the giant monster. The chapter is more or less jam-packed with action that moves swiftly and never lets up until the fight is over.
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That action is no doubt the driving force of the story. The various characters were entertaining and engaged in the fight showcasing their unique abilities. The art was pretty on point, as well. It fit perfectly with the tone of the book and made the action dynamic in a way westernized comics often fail to do. But that doesn't mean the chapter was perfect. There were some lettering errors, and the dialogue could have used an editorial pass to tighten it up. Plus, I'm not sure if it's a manga trope to have large chunks of text introduce characters, but I wasn't a fan of it. The readers should be introduced to a character naturally through the narrative. Overall though, this was a great introductory chapter that provided fun action while serving as a gateway to the world and its characters. It's hard for me to speak of fans of the genre considering I'm not one, but I can't imagine they would be disappointed by this opening.
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