MISC. MANGA, Tasty Bullet

Ever wonder what would it be like if Gatorade tried to take over the world? That's what Tasty Bullet attempts to show in this one-shot graphic novel. As part of Image Comics' Shadowline line of books, this came out right at the end of the big "Amerimanga" boom that companies like Tokyo Pop were cashing in on. This was a manga-styled story written by Johnathon Vankin who had previously worked on Vertigo's Vertigo Pop line, and co-written and drawn by Arnold Pander whose work also included Image's manga-themed Accelerate mini-series.

The Bullet Corp. company has a sexpot named Tamar acting as the "Tasty Girl" spokes model for their new energy drink, Tasty Bullet. However, this new product has a serious mystery behind it that has Tamar questioning her loyalty. All the stunts she has to perform are taking their toll, and she seems to becoming more addicted to Tasty Bullet, plus she seems to have no real memories prior to being hired by Bullet Corp. She threatens to quit, but the company needs her to help pimp their drink, so they make her acting CEO. This allows Tamar to look into the company, and finds Zak, the patient zero of Tasty Bullet. He also has gaps in his memory, and together they try to find out more about the company. An underground organization kidnaps Tamar to show her the truth behind the drink, and manage to get her off the drink cold turkey. She then sets her sights on the mysterious Mr. Six who controls everything.

This was a fair manga-styled comics, although it does get a little more over-stylized than it needs to like having lots of traditional big eyes and speed lines. It's worth a read for sure, at least to add to your own personal digital library.