Review by Katie McNeill
Published June 30, 2008

I've just finished the first volume of Nanae Chrono's new series Vassalord. Nanae is better known for his manga series Peace Maker which was turned into an anime that I just loved. I'm sure that Vassalord is headed in that direction as well.

Charley is a cyborg vampire, working for the Vatican. Johnny Rayflo is his vampire master and local playboy. These two live together with a cat and a dog in Los Angeles, fighting crime and each other. In volume one, the pair takes care of a vampire princess and solves the mystery behind some deaths at a Unitarian Church. It's part comedy and part drama with a strong lean toward fantasy.

Nanae Chrono's art is great. In my opinion, this is one of the better drawn first volumes that I've seen recently. The characters are unique and grab you right away, especially Charley. There is a great contrast between the light and dark, great action sequences, and the story moves quickly - a little too quickly at times.

You can tell right away that there is a lot of history between Charley and Rayflo, some of which is hinted at and I'm sure will be revealed in time. But the storyline is a little confusing because you are just dropped right into their story, relationship, whatever it is - it's sink or swim. Some scenes seemed disjointed, and I was blindsided by the introduction of a few characters. But I have a feeling that a lot of kinks in this first volume will be ironed out as the series continues.

Vassalord is rated 16+ for mild sexuality, violence, language, and moderate gore. Also, there is some tobacco use. Why a manga needs to be rated for that, I have no idea.

If you're looking for the next action series and don't mind a bit of cross-dressing and blood, then this is it.