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Title:
 Revolution Baby vol 1

UK Distributor: Sweatdrop Studios

Author: Sam Brown (aka Subi)

Suggested Retail Price (SRP): £5.99

Number of Pages: 140

ISBN: 1-905038-05-4

Reviewed: 15th May 2006

Reviewer: Tom (Webmaster)

 

Anime rules!  Literally.  In Revolution Baby the UK is ruled by a party which enforces a law that 'all citizens shall exhibit behaviour to characters in anime and manga at all times.'  Sounds great doesn't it - women clad in skimpy clothing fancying all the average guys?  That's ok, but the random robots, killings and censored genitalia may make you think again!  As you have probably guessed, Revolution Baby is a satire of anime/manga, and being created by a UK artist, the UK scene as well. 

After reading just the first chapter it is clear that this is not just an 'anime inspired' comic, but rather a uniquely British take on the genre with plenty of British humour thrown in.  The humour does not just satirise anime, but also makes the humour deadpan in a way that only a British person can.  This makes Revolution Baby a refreshing change to the usual manga humour of relying on bizarre situations and is much more laugh-out-loud funny.  All this is done with an affection for anime/manga though, never a dislike.  Brown clearly enjoys the ludicrous non-realism of the medium which is lampooning, and this just serves to make the humour in his manga (e-mail me here to complain about describing a UK comic as manga) even sharper.  His jokes revolving around the obsessions fans have with their favourite shows are also well observed, but to go further into this would ruin the plot for you. 

As I mentioned before, Revolution Baby satirises many shows and genres, as well as a few British shows as well.  The references are numerous so there is no space to list them and it would only ruin your enjoyment of this excellent manga.  The only flaws that can be levelled at it are the lack of background and detail occasionally, but this is simply Brown's style and the characters still look great.  Some of the references made by the manga may also alienate newcomers to anime, but this should only encourage them to find out what those references are. 

Overall I loved the humour of Revolution Baby and it is the most enjoyable manga I have read so far this year. 

Extras:

Revolution Baby, surprisingly, contains more extras then most of the bigger titles!  An introduction from the artist/author, an art gallery of the characters (including fan service!) and a small article charting the 'evolution of revolution'.  A special mention must go to the cultural notes though as they are very funny!  A lot of the background gags will be missed and they are listed here.  Well worth reading. 

For more information on Revolution Baby visit the website by clicking here.  It can be purchased by visiting the official Sweatdrop Studios site by clicking here.

Ratings

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