There has been an Afro Samurai-sized hole in the animanga space for over a decade now. There was never a second season to the mostly well-received show from 2007; there was never even thought about giving the 2009 movie a sequel, with the final nail in the coffin being the canceled video game sequel in 2015. But, slashing its way into the Afro Samurai-sized hole is First of the New Lands by Boston-based mangaka D.B. Supr.
There has been an Afro Samurai-sized hole in the animanga space for over a decade now. There was never a second season to the mostly well-received show from 2007; there was never even thought about giving the 2009 movie a sequel, with the final nail in the coffin being the canceled video game sequel in 2015. But, slashing its way into the Afro Samurai-sized hole is First of the New Lands by Boston-based mangaka D.B. Supr.
Fist of the New Lands is set in a world where "a catastrophic war ravaged the Earth for over half a century," an event which led the remaining world governments to ban the use of firearms: No more pistols, assault rifles, and bombs. This new initiative leads to the end of wars and finally, humanity lives peacefully in a perfect utopia... psych! Those who seek power return to "the old ways of hand-to-hand combat as an alternative means to oppose their rivals." In this new world, there is one warrior who stands above the rest – our main character, the Walking Vengeance. He is a man of honor who only confronts when confronted, and boy when he is confronted, things do not go well for his challengers. The Walking Vengeance is our vehicle through a world that is violent, funny, and immersive.
“Immersive” is truly the word that encapsulates Fist of the New Lands. The title page of the manga has “Fist of the New Lands” jutting out of the side of a cliff in a Mt. Rushmore manner, catching your eye while adding to the establishing shot without removing from it. Lettering like that effectively relays information while still being artful throughout the whole manga. The regular dialogue has letters that vary in size to give it a handwritten feel, which D.B. Supr does all throughout. Deepening the immersion even further are the sound effects by Taniplus1. Each sound effect is in the Japanese Kanji that corresponds to the relevant onomatopoeia while also taking the form of the origin of the sound. What I mean by this is when a rock blows up and goes "Ka-boosh!" the kanji is not only accurate, but it takes the form of rocks. Like the title card, this thrusts you into the action even more, making noises feel loud and impactful while being a part of the art, not an outside addition to it.
Speaking of art, as I said above, D. B. Supr kills it! The action is on amphetamines due to how dynamic and full of life the art is. There are multiple spreads where D. B. Supr flexes his artistic muscles; one features a beautiful landscape, the other sees some guts explode viscerally, and another sees some cybernetic attachments disassembled in the most beautifully violent fashion.
The characters are all well-designed. Amidst the flying blood and guts, it becomes evident that Footlocker is thriving in the New Lands. The Walking Vengeance rocks a pair of Jordan IXs, while the other characters we meet are rocking Air Max 97s. The Walking Vengeance wears a roningasa on his head as a sign of his ronin status while wearing a kimono with the mark of his dojo on the back – a mark which carries a great bounty. The kimono is a clever way of showing us that he did not always walk alone.
The other characters are henchmen, so they wear a uniform similar to that of the standard Jonin uniform in Naruto. D.B. Supr does make sure that their hats, cybernetic enhancements, and dialogue make them easy to distinguish. One of the henchmen speaks in an Australian accent, shouting, "Oye! It looks lak you f'got bout me mate!" It keeps the writing fresh and immerses you further rather than having you robotically glance over basic vernacular. The characters represent a world that has so much hidden interest beneath the surface, which is great for a first issue. I caught myself asking all the right questions. Where is the Walking Vengeance’s dojo? Why do people want to kill him? Are all the criminal organizations in the world there?
The only downfall of Fist of the New Lands is that it, at times, prioritizes the world over the characters. There is even a double-page spread that details how the New Lands came to be, which is wordy in a way that does not need to be. I understand that this is a first issue, and the exposition has to be somewhere, but it feels misplaced.
The information here is a lot to take in when you first open the book. Instead, it could have been tied into a character's history. Could it be a flashback from The Walking Vengeance's life? We could see an old master telling him not to forget the past and how it informs the present. Something of this sort would relay how deeply the society values the past and the current laws, and we would see a little bit more of our main character.
Unfortunately, The Walking Vengeance is eclipsed by the world. Though he lives by a code, is great at combat, and uses Eastbay catalogs (RIP) for his shoes, we don't get too much more about him. I really can't tell you what makes up The Walking Vengeance as a person. We don't get too much dialogue outside of his confrontation, and a lot of that seems very standard and generic for a fighting scene.
The other characters we meet are really expendable; they are basically extensions of the world as bounty hunters, which means that The Walking Vengeance is the only recurring character we really meet. This is a shame, considering the foundation to make The Walking Vengeance more than generic and standard is already there. The man chooses to fight in a pair of Jordan IXs as he roams the New Lands, so it would have been interesting to see him cleaning them or reflecting on what the shoes mean to him. Little things like that would make him more than just cool but relatable as well. D.B. Supr is a fantastic writer, so it seems like an oversight that none of that writing comes through The Walking Vengeance. I am sure as the series progresses, more light will be shed on the human aspect of the New Lands outside of the violence.
Fist of the New Lands is ultimately an enjoyable read. The art and the lettering blend together well to give an immersive experience of the world D.B. Supr creates. Though there isn't much to go off as far as characters and plot are concerned, it is a lot of fun, and I have high expectations for the rest of the series. We now have our new Afro Samurai.
