Title: Jing: King of Bandits
Volume(s): 7
Creator(s): Yuichi Kumakura
Format: Unflipped; Right-to-Left
Publisher: Tokyopop
MSRP: $9.95
Genre(s): Fantasy
Rated: Youth (7+)

In the world of Japanese comics there are many stories to be told. Stories of teenage love (“Kare Kano”), stories of coming of age people (“Kodocha”), epic journeys with strange and wonderful creatures (“Dragon Ball”), and even stories of every day problems your basic teenage girl goes through (“Confidential Confessions”). And then you have your standerd sitcom series like “Jing: King of Bandits.” What is “Jing: King of Bandits?” Like some of my friends say after looking at the weird covers (Which show Jing and a big number/word on the covers), it's kind of like a mixture of “Pokemon” and “Dragon Ball Z.” That might not sound like much of an explanation, but that's really not too far off from the truth. The story revolves around Jing, who is called the King of Bandits because there is no treasure he can't steal, no situation he can't get out of, and there's no one who can bring him down. This is the reputation that is set up before we meet Jing, and as always a setup that sounds too good to be true usually has a drawback or two.

Well drawback number one is that Jing turns out to be a kid, and not a teenage kid around 14-16 years old, a kid kid that's around 10-12. And drawback number two is that after seeing the King of Bandits in action, you can't help but feel that the title he wears should maybe go to someone else. When you first meet Jing he's enjoying the scenery with his partner in crime, a girl loving bird named Kir. They are enjoying the sights when a pick pocket makes off with Jing's jewel bag. Well this is a big no-no, but Jing doesn't seem to care much, and without as much of a worry pulls out a knife, cuts the statue that's standing next to him, and stops the thief right there in his tracks. To make a long story short after this little incident to show how strong Jing is, Jing proceeds to the hide out of the bad guy who is keeping the treasure Jing is after locked up.

When it's time for Jing to take the treasure from the bad guy he makes a surprising move where he straps Kir on his arm, and use's Kir to shoot a large energy blast called “Kir Royal.” And after that we are off to see more adventures of Jing and Kir. The problem is this is about as complex as the adventures usually get, and these adventures tend to get boring after the third or forth chapter. Another problem is that after we are introduced to Jing we find out he isn't as complicated as we would like him to be. That “Kir Royal” attack may have been cool the first time through, however it won't be for long, as it's the only attack Jing knows. In fact, Jing himself is a pretty boring character. He walks around town without any worries or cares, meets the bad guys without worrying about the situation at all, puts Kir on his arm, and does the same attack that always works without fail. There are no real surprises, there is little to no tension and suspense, and the series is not so much about Jing, but it's more about when he's going to put the bird on his arm and take what he came for.

Now Jing himself may not be a very interesting character, but he's still a likable character. He doesn't curse much, he doesn't ogle every girl he meets (Which is a lot), he's overly optimistic, and he loves to help others. However this still doesn't stop him from being a dull one trick pony. There's something that's nice about characters who are easy going, but there still has to be more to the character otherwise we can never truly root for the guy. After all Jing is never worried about the outcome of the fight, and he's got no secrets what so ever. He just walks around without a care in the world, and that makes it quite a chore to get interested in Jing's life. In fact I think when Yuichi Kumakura created Kir, he created him for the sole purpose of including an interesting character. It would make sense since Jing just doesn't really do much in the comic. Kir would act as both the main weapon as well as give someone for Jing to play off on.

However with all that said Kir's personality is still far more interesting then Jing's. Afert all, Kir is not the first character in a Japanese comic to fall in love and oggle every single dispposable female walk in, and he won't be the last. Heck, his personality falls just below Brock (From "Pokemon") but just above Lupin III (From "Lupin III"). And since we're on the character's I should mention that the character design for Jing is also far from original. Jing has the “spike haired kid” design that many teenage boys in Japanese comics have, and his coat tends to mimic Vash The Stampede's coat. The design was considered so basic that when an animation company made a 13 episode cartoon of Jing, they redesigned the character, and the cartoon Jing looks much more original then the comic Jing. At this point you guys are probably thinking that this is D grade material, but there are some good things about “Jing: King of Bandits” that should be considered. Despite the fact that there are no surprises in this series, it still is a cute series that some people can learn to love with time.

Also the world that Jing lives in is quite original. It looks like a cross between the world of Spawn and the world of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” making this one of the more original and lively worlds you may find in a comic book. On top of which the humor tends to be spot on most of the time, and even though most of the comic tends to be quite dull, there were a number of times I either snickered or laughed at what was going on. Also by the time the third volume came out I was settled into the world of Jing, and I was ready to just enjoy the series for what is was after that. So all in all Jing is a pretty comic, just not a great one. It's an acquiring taste that you'll either love more as time goes by, or you'll never love it at all. I say you can do better then Jing, however you can also do much worse than. However if you ever want to read a “shut your brain off” series then Jing may be exactly what you need. Although there are also better "shut your brain off" comics that are still better then this so...

- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -