“Assassin Child is a species who clone themselves via asexual reproduction. They’re known for the ability to parasitize the brain and control the body in multiple purposes. One day, their spaceship made an emergency landing on the planet Gwun. The planet was in a great danger, and the protection god/the gnarly dragon was about to help this situation.”

Assassin Child is available from Hollow Press

This edition of “Assassin Child” boasts an unorthodox presentation, which makes for the most notable draw to the work. This comes from the printing choice of using silver ink with black paper as the backdrop, making the art of Tetsunori Tawaraya take on a shifting spotlight across each page as light plays across each panel, with each page being presented on 34×24 cm paper. It is easy to get lost in the details as the details become highlighted depending on the angle. Overall, it is a unique approach that works well with the visual style.

Tawaraya’s art style is difficult to describe or compare, with the closest comparison coming via another artist with some of their work published through Hollow Press, Daisuke Ichiba. Both these artists present work that feels like the product of years of scribbling in art books from a young age, with a particular interest in textures and movement by utilizing (seemingly) frenetically drawn lines. However, there are some key differences in content as Tawara’s work is more sci-fi focused and less focus on the grotesque. There is also some variation in a sense of movement, with Tawayara’s texture and motion blending together, making it hard to discern where the transitions lay. It is a disorienting style, but one that works in favor of further immersion into the art, as it becomes easy to get lost in examining the illustrations. This style may not vibe with all readers’ aesthetics, but to those who can appreciate the chaotic aesthetic, the work will resonate.

There is a plot within the manga, but unfortunately it is not memorable or bound to communicate any deeper meaning with its audience. In part, the inkwork which highlights the art in such a glorious way, works against the text, as it can obscure the written words. The text, in spite of the added depth of art in playing with light, has a tendency to make the text unreadable unless under a good light source. Ultimately, the book is a great bedside read in reflecting on the art only. However, this is a very minor critique, as the dialogue is still entertaining when read in proper light and gives center stage to the true draw of this pressing.

“Assassin Child” conjured up a certain degree of childhood wonder, that you get when you come across a new visual art style you would have not seen before. Perhaps the equivalent for myself would be in the first holographic cover on a teen novel, or seeing my first ‘magic eye’ book, and although those are both very dated references, it is the closest I can come to conveying my sense of nostalgia and excitement within the pages. Reading it by lamplight and moving the pages around to see the reflection dance across the panels, in constant flux, marked the most enjoyment I have gotten from a printed work in a very long time. The visual style of Tawaraya certainly elevates the level of wonderment in presentation, with a visual aesthetic that feels unequivocally his own. Once again, Hollow Press offers a one of a kind publication of exemplary quality, a great addition to any comic book fan’s collection.