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The
Last Leg:
Eagle: The Making of An Asian-American
President
Volumes 16-22
Viz
manga review by : Troy
Brownfield
Story
and Art by:
Kaiji Kawaguchi
More info: www.viz.com
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Volume
16: The General
Volume 17: Coming Home
Volume 18: Frame-Up
Volume 19: Fires on the Plain
Volume 20: Someone You Can Trust
Volume 21: End of the Trail
Volume 22: Father and Son
I've been fortunate enough to previously review Kaiji Kawaguchi's
Eagle, covering installments 1-9
and 10-15 in two chunks. Both times,
I pronounced the book a classic in the making. I felt validated
to see many other critics include the series on their own
"Best of" lists in 2001. The creator of Silent Service
did not falter, delivering straight on through to the surprising
and suspenseful ending. Eagle's genius is that it took what
could have been a didactic premise and turned it into a propulsive,
brilliantly paced masterwork of pure story.
A brief review: Japanese reporter Takashi Jo has come to America
at the invitation of presidential candidate Kenneth Yamaoka.
Yamaoka could be the first Asian-American nominee for president,
but he's hiding one mammoth secret: Takashi is his illegitimate
son. Takashi must balance his personal feelings about his
father even as he tries to cover the amazing events of the
campaign (not to mention dealing with a surprising romantic
relationship with Yamaoka's adopted daughter, Rachel).
The final installments of the series move with striking speed.
Several issues are probed with great forethought and insight,
including the impact of past military service, the "allegiance"
of a minority candidate, the role of unions, and assassination
attempts. Of course, that's merely set-up as the final mystery
behind the death of Takashi's mother begins to unravel. I
typically have an excellent knack for mentally nailing the
perp ahead of time, but even in this, Kawaguchi took me completely
by surprise. He deftly lays out at least three red herrings
before revealing his masterstroke. It's a shocker, and I'll
be damned if it doesn't make absolute sense.
Taken as a whole, Eagle is massive and amazingly successful
undertaking. Clocking in at more than 2200 pages, the sheer
size is an achievement. The fact that every ounce of story
and art holds up at sat a consistently high level in nothing
short of miraculous.
There are very few works that actually "redefine"
comics. It's not too bold a statement to say that Eagle belongs
in that upper echelon that names "Watchmen", "From
Hell", "Maus", "Sandman" and "Dark
Knight Returns" as some of its members. We have here
a classic, a uniquely American journey told from the point
of view of a man who dissects our culture with the objectivity
of an outsider and the precision of a surgical laser. "Eagle"
deserves every positive notice that it gets, and the series
demands your attention. Educate yourself.
Troy
Brownfield is the Editor-in-Chief of Shotgun Reviews. He hopes
that he lives long enough to see ethnicity vanish as a political
consideration. Email him at psikotyk@aol.com.
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