MISC. MANGA, *Rion 2990

In what could be viewed as the first genuine attempt at creating an original American manga-styled comic, Rion Productions created this 4-issue mini-series. Blending in styles of Osamu Tezuka and Leji Matsumoto, Rion 2990 came out in 1986 just prior to officially licensed manga like Mai the Psychic Girl and Legend Of Kamui were being released, so this was a trendsetter in its own right. It was first going to be printed in the pages of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic from Mirage Studios, but they were conditioned to self-publish it, along with a one-shot titled Boogieman.

An advanced alien race of humans decides to send some consultants to Earth in order to help them out of their violent ways. Their ambassador is the altruistic Lord Auron, along with his robotic/cybernetic son Rion. However, their craft is shot down by the U.S. military fearing the aliens to be hostile, and Auron dies in the crush. Rion manages to rocket-boot his way out of the wreck, and takes on the remaining military forces. This coincides with a young Earth girl who seems psychically connected to Rion, plus a mysterious criminal organization has plans for Rion's power.

Even though this was slated to be a 4-issue series, seemingly only 2 issues were actually printed, at least according to most back issue comic book catalogs. It was done in black and white art by Ryan Brown who also worked on other TMNT comic titles, and written by Doug Brammer. Rion 2990 is worth looking up if you come across it in a used comics bin somewhere, at least for a look at the mid-80s anime fanzine set.