MISC. MANGA, *Avigon

Possibly, you might remember a one-shot prestige format one-shot comic from a while ago titled Avigon. It was a strange but wonderful sci-fi gothic fairytale. Now, its back in an expanded graphic novel called Avigon: Gods & Demons.

Taking place in an alternate reality, mechanical creatures known as Clockworks are used for human amusement. One of the best makers of these is Pulsifer. One of her latest creations is the humanoid one Avigon. Although she sometimes makes creations which appear to be crossovers with animals like a sphinx, Pulsifer usually adds a hint of emotions and sometimes free will to her clockworks. She usually creates for the elite rich, and even her country's young empress.Avigon though longs to be free on her own. She runs away from Pulsifer's castle, and heads for a nearby town. She meets a young student there who mistakes her for a human. But when Avigon asks him what he thinks of clockworks being truly alive, she becomes disappointed, and runs away again. She ends up in a small town at the end of the tracks where a novice mechanic finds her and totally wound down. He forges a new key for her and revives her. This leads to an altercation between the two when he tries to force himself on her, and inadvertantly activates her self-defense program. Avigon then runs back home, only to find that she's been sold by Pulsifer to the Empress herself. After a while though, Pulsifer's new creation Daemon challenges her to the right to be the Empress' personal clockwork. After loosing, Avigon is then given back to Pulsifer. Once back in her castle, Avigon then realizes she was truly happy to be there to begin with.

This comic is what Chobits would be like if it we done by Tim Burton. A fine moody piece that is an instant classic taking you to a new world of what it means to be human, and how someone can see themselves as being truly alive.