The tale of a young boy whose name means "scarecrow," his dog Toto, and a girl named Dorothy. Gee, that sounds awfully familiar...

204 pgs. B&W; $10.95

(W / A: Yuko Osada)

Kakashi may be just a scrawny little kid condemned to a boring existence on a tiny backwoods island, but he's always dreamed big. His latest dream, however, is his biggest: to see the world. See, Kakashi's father was a famous explorer, and the only thing the poor lad has of the father he never knew is a journal of his adventures that ends with a simple, cryptic message: "The world is vast." Soon, Kakashi (whose name means "scarecrow" in Japanese) is off on the adventure of a lifetime, with a plucky young puppy named Toto at his side, where he meets a cute young girl named Dorothy who is on her own quest to reach the Emerald City.

Sound familiar? Sure, the elements are all familiar, but a rote retelling of L. Frank Baum's classic Oz stories this ain't. Here, Toto may be a cute little puppy but he can transform into a hulking monster when his master is threatened. Dorothy's still a sweet girl from Kansas, but she's also a martial arts master skilled in the way of the tornado (wink-wink-nudge-nudge).

But before getting to the sideways Oz retelling, you'll first have to wade through the bulk of the volume, which follows Kakashi's escape from a banal rural existence aboard a zeppelin that lands by chance in Kakashi's Podunk hometown. There, he runs afoul of the horribly named Man Chicken gang, who have hijacked the dirigible to take it and its treasure trove of cargo back to their secret hideout. There's an unspoken connection between the boy and the leader of the gang. Author Yuko Osada practically beats you over the head with foreshadowing during their conversations, heavily implying that said leader might be, could be, and probably eventually will be revealed to be Kakashi's father. Granted, it could be a red herring, but given the straightforward, kid-friendly nature of Osada's storytelling and the ham-fisted way in which that element is executed, that seems unlikely.

Where the plot stumbles, the art soars. Osada characters come to life in a rubbery, dynamic style reminiscent of Yoshiyuki Sadamoto's designs in the anime FLCL. The action sequences (of which there are many) are slickly executed, using camera angles that exaggerate and stretch the characters in a dynamic and exciting way.

But as exciting as the art is, the story just can't keep up. Kakashi's quest is still incredibly vague at this point, and most of the side characters are still completely undeveloped. Young readers will probably pull great enjoyment from the likeable young lead and the non-stop action, but anyone creeping into high school age likely won't find enough meat here to make them eager to pick up the next volume. | Jason Green

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