Good, fun series

ComicsOne was a distributor of licensed English-language manga whose company went belly-up, with all of their catalogue going to Dr. Master Publications. Unfortunately, much of said catalogue went out of print. Fortunately, the titles still available can be obtained for VERY low prices.

One such title is this fun little three-volume series. Junk Force, a post-apocalyptic sci-fi/comedy/adventure story with an eerily plausible premise (given the way our technology is advancing, I could see something like this actually happening one day. Hopefully long after I'm dead), follows a single boy, Louis, and his three beautiful female companions: Liza (who is actually the leader), Wooty (a big-busted babe with one hell of a kick) and Mill (the soft-spoken one who can't cook). In this future version of Earth, water is a treasure more precious than gold, and lead ingots are currency. Liza, Louis, Wooty and Mill, the titular Junk Force, travel this world in their armored trailer looking for scrap to use for parts and stuff to sell to get by.

Things get complicated when, during a visit to a town, Louis gets caught up in a woman's desperate flight from a bounty hunter. The hunter wants the woman's daughter, Mamet, a quiet girl with a major secret. Louis only meant to do a little shopping and not embarrass himself in front of Liza and Wooty, but before they know it, the Junk Force find themselves doing whatever they can to keep Mamet from being captured. As this is only a three-volume series, there isn't very far to go, but I'm really looking forward to it. The elements of the story and comedy are very familiar and a bit predictable, but they're still a lot of fun, and the lively writing and great art certainly help. The characters get into some situations with rather interesting problems, and they way they ultimately arrive at their solutions is part of the series' charm. It's just too bad this was never adapted as an anime series, considering how perfectly suitable it would be.

8/10