| 22 December 2005
Overview
While at Barnes & Noble catching up on the issues of Hellsing that have come out since the last time I checked, I saw a graphic novel with a rather cute girl holding an equally rather cute cat-like critter. As if that wasn't enough, the title of said novel was Vampire Game, making it something to automatically reach for, as I browsed through the isles. Now, admittedly, at first I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the copy that I grabbed. However, as is always the case when I visit a book store, the stack of potential books to purchase were quickly stacking up - and by quickly, I mean that by the time I actually found the graphic novels that I'd come for, I had about seventeen books, and only $40 to spend. A few minutes of sorting and deciding later, I'd cut myself down to just Hellsing, and this little gem.
| 21 December 2005
Overview
Now, some people would take one look at the gimmick of this series, and move along to something else, and I suppose that I couldn't blame them. After all, here in the States, cross-dressing is something of a touchy subject, ranging, depending on who you ask, from being just plain weird, to being a sin against God's greater plan. Personally, I'm rather ambivalent about the subject. It's not something I'd do myself, but I've also known a few guys - and one girl, actually - who did it and they never struck me as anything other than normal, albeit with lipstick. For me, I picked it up through a subtitler group, long before it was licensed here in the States, and so had no idea that the rather cute babe on the screen shots was in fact a cross-dressing guy. I'll admit that I probably wouldn't have taken a look if I'd have known - it's not that I'm close minded, just that transvestite-ism isn't my thing. Never the less, I did pick the series up to take a look, and I'm quite glad that I did.
