Written and Illustrated by YU Yanshu; Translation: J.Gustave McBride; Lettering: Terri Delgado
I confess to an unfamiliarity with Mr. YU’s prior output, but this was certainly a fine way to start. Dynasty Tang centers around Mr. Han, a professional vampire hunter who, in Hannibal King fashion, also just happens to be a vampire himself. He is raising an orphan vampire: the borderline adorable Dynasty Tang, who resembles a young girl. The plot moves briskly from one episode to another, including Han’s clash with an albino bloodsucker called Mr. Dracula, an encounter with a shape-shifting demon weredog, and a fable told involving an anthropomorphic fox girl.
For some reason, the art reminded me of that of Kia Asemiya, a terrific manga artist who pulled a short but stellar stint on Uncanny X-Men several years ago. Their rendering isn’t the same per se, but the vibe is similar at times. YU’s work is much more frenetic, and like the best manga, boasts very strong sequential storytelling. I especially enjoyed YU’s panel layouts and word balloon design, the latter presumably retained from the original Japanese edition.
I highly recommend STEP to aficionados of the broad range of vampire-themed manga, from Vampire Hunter D to Vampire Princess Miyu and beyond (sadly I’m rather behind on my modern manga), though STEP is much more madcap in tone than those oldschool classics. STEP is an energetic and inventive romp through YU’s unique vampire universe and I eagerly await Volume 2.
