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Dark Angel #4
Dark Angel: Book Four
Dark has fought and won despite the odds against him. An unlikely Phantom Saint of the Red Phoenix, he keeps getting lost and can't even spread his wings at will, but there's something about him that keeps winning him allies. Now he's got an immeasurable desert to cross before he can get to Oukoku, where his destiny awaits. What mysteries await him and just who or what is the danger known as the Gairana?
184 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1996
2 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Kia Asamiya
446 books23 followersKia Asamiya(麻宮 騎亜, born in 1963) is the pen-name of a popular Japanese manga artist whose work spans multiple genres and appeals to diverse audiences (1990s).
He is well-known for using influences from American comics, television, and movies in his work, and describes himself as a big fan of both Batman and Star Wars. One of the most widely-published Japanese manga-ka, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English. His two most successful and popular manga series to-date are Nadesico and Silent Möbius.
Prior to becoming a manga artist, Asamiya graduated from the Tokyo Designer School, and then worked as a character designer for a number of anime series, and even designed models for some of the later Godzilla movies (1980s). For this career, he used a different pen-name, Michitaka Kikuchi (菊地 道隆), and maintained the two professional identities separately for many years. Several of the anime series that he worked on were very popular both inside and outside of Japan, most notably including Sonic Soldier Borgman. Even after focusing primarily on his manga career, Asamiya continued to do character designs and creative consultation on anime series based on his stories, occasionally under the Kikuchi name.
In the early 2000s, Asamiya has shifted his focus from teenage and young-adult stories to stories designed for children and for an American audience. In the former case, he credits his young children as a motivation, but in the latter case, he points to a long-standing desire to work with his favorite American characters. To that end, he has worked on projects with Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, as well as developing a manga adaptation of the movie, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".
While many Japanese artists (and artists in general) are quite reclusive, Asamiya often makes an effort to be available to his fans. He maintains a website with news and information about his studio, Studio TRON (named after the Disney movie TRON). He also aids and assists his Official Fan Club by sending them regular announcements and limited-edition merchandise. Despite these actions, he shunned all public photography, and had the often-hilarious habit of depicting himself with a placeholder sign for a face. It has become a trademark feature of his books that instead of a picture of the artist, there is an elaborately decorated rectangle sporting the words "Now Printing".
He is well-known for using influences from American comics, television, and movies in his work, and describes himself as a big fan of both Batman and Star Wars. One of the most widely-published Japanese manga-ka, nearly all of his stories have been translated into other languages, including English. His two most successful and popular manga series to-date are Nadesico and Silent Möbius.
Prior to becoming a manga artist, Asamiya graduated from the Tokyo Designer School, and then worked as a character designer for a number of anime series, and even designed models for some of the later Godzilla movies (1980s). For this career, he used a different pen-name, Michitaka Kikuchi (菊地 道隆), and maintained the two professional identities separately for many years. Several of the anime series that he worked on were very popular both inside and outside of Japan, most notably including Sonic Soldier Borgman. Even after focusing primarily on his manga career, Asamiya continued to do character designs and creative consultation on anime series based on his stories, occasionally under the Kikuchi name.
In the early 2000s, Asamiya has shifted his focus from teenage and young-adult stories to stories designed for children and for an American audience. In the former case, he credits his young children as a motivation, but in the latter case, he points to a long-standing desire to work with his favorite American characters. To that end, he has worked on projects with Image Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics, as well as developing a manga adaptation of the movie, "Star Wars: The Phantom Menace".
While many Japanese artists (and artists in general) are quite reclusive, Asamiya often makes an effort to be available to his fans. He maintains a website with news and information about his studio, Studio TRON (named after the Disney movie TRON). He also aids and assists his Official Fan Club by sending them regular announcements and limited-edition merchandise. Despite these actions, he shunned all public photography, and had the often-hilarious habit of depicting himself with a placeholder sign for a face. It has become a trademark feature of his books that instead of a picture of the artist, there is an elaborately decorated rectangle sporting the words "Now Printing".
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 13, 2013
Ignore the fact that volume 3 ever happened - we're now back with Dark. The first story is a stand alone, Dark falls asleep in some ruins and has a dream/vision in which he meets a human girl who's village is attacked by tanks. He wakes and we get the it was all a dream cliché, but finds the necklace she gave him. Whilst unoriginal, the artwork is really nice. The 2nd half leads us on an adventure as Dark's fairy gets kidnapped and he goes on a rescue mission meeting up with some of the dragon warriors. Largely uninteresting I did rather like the bag guy's fortress being built on the back of a giant tortoise.
There is very little here we haven't seen before done far better, even the characters are derivative. It is worth checking out for the art however, which is rather nice.
There is very little here we haven't seen before done far better, even the characters are derivative. It is worth checking out for the art however, which is rather nice.
Displaying 1 of 1 review