5 Ronin #1

This was a surprisingly impressive read. True, the five characters are not technically "ronin," but it's still a good read. It's a bit violent here and there, but the muted artwork (which is likewise impressive throughout) shifts the focus away from the violence and toward the general artistry of the entire piece. I'm not the biggest Alternate Universe fan, but this isn't trying to be anything shattering - it's a simple "imagine if..." tale dallying with Honor, Justice, and Purpose. Can these ideas be found in Revenge? How much is one's identity defined by one's societal role? Each of the 5 ronin-like characters represent different life paths, different defining choices - yet they all commingle around a series of related events. All of their stories are tales of reaction, how they respond to the life-altering decisions of others (specifically, the daimyo who administrates their land). Eventually, almost all the ronin desire to kill the daimyo for different reasons, and their encounters with each other make them ask questions similar to those enumerated above: do I truly want to kill the daimyo? and if so, what happens after I succeed? Every chapter is intriguing, but the Psylocke chapter is the most open-ended, as we are left wondering where Psylocke's true animosity lies. Each character is revealed in creative ways, sometimes deceptively simply, sometimes overtly and vigorously. They aren't the 616 characters you know, but they are just familiarly akin enough to make the similarities that much more appealing. Each chapter has its unanswered questions, of course, and not every detail is wrapped up in the conclusion, but enough of the significant elements are resolved (though not in a way that will please every reader) to make this a satisfactory read. Sometimes asking the questions is more important than finding the "right" answers.