The Innocent (Manga)
Publisher: Yen Press
Release Date: November 2011
Price: $11.99
Creator: Avi Arad (story), Junichi Fujisaku (script), Yasung Ko (art)
Format: 224 pgs; B&W; Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-0-31620-103-2
Age Rating: Teen+
ICv2 Rating: 3 Stars out of 5

Avi Arad is familiar to many as being the producer of many superhero films.  In this creative outing, he turns in a fairly good story, but one which leaves too many questions unanswered.  The premise has been used before, including several times in comics.

Johnny is unjustly executed, framed for a crime he did not commit.  So, the powers that be send him back to earth as a spirit, to prevent other unjust deaths.  That hardly seems like a fair compensation, and the unwritten rules are many.  He is sent a guardian angel to help guide him toward doing the right thing, but too often that conflicts with his own spirit.

The unanswered questions include: How can Johnny break so many of the supposedly unbreakable rules?  Where did the apparently supernatural hit man come from?  Why is the universe run by an apparent sadist?  These and other questions remain dangling by the end of this apparently finished story.

Still, the tale itself is exciting, and Ko's artwork adds a creepy flair to the fight scenes.  It will appeal to fans of crime drama or TV shows like Supernatural.

For adults and older teens, due to graphic violence.

--Nick Smith: Librarian Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.