The Dark Hunters Volume 1: Story by Sherrilyn Kenyon; Art by Claudia Campos

Author Sherrilyn Kenyon is known for the romantic fiction series The Dark Hunters, which is the basis for this new manga series. Set in New Orleans, The Dark Hunters Volume One sets the story about Amanda Devereaux, an accounting student, who is in denial of her super powers. All of her sisters have embraced their special abilities, but she longs for normalcy and does everything possible to make it happen. She even dates boring men, including Cliff, with whom she was engaged until her magical family freaked him out and he broke things off.

One day when she reluctantly visited her twin sister’s house to let out her dog, Amanda is hit over the head and abducted. She awakes to find herself handcuffed to a gorgeous, blonde hunk of a man, who introduces himself as Hunter. He’s a vampire- kind-of. Really he is a Dark Hunter, who are the good guys in the world of vampires. Dark Hunters fight daimons, who are the bad guys and suck out people’s souls. Amanda and Hunter find themselves united together beyond the hand cuffs they share when one of the deadliest vampires comes after them. Together they must save themselves and the rest of humanity. Along the journey they discover things about themselves and fall for one another.

The story is loosely based on ancient mythology with a vampire twist. There are gods, tough warriors, spells, psychic dreams, and visits from the undead. Volume One of The Dark Hunters acts as an introduction to Kenyon’s story and characters. At times the pages are text heavy, but this seems necessary in order to fit in the weighty story line. Claudia Campos’s illustrations capture the manga style, but unfortunately are forced to compete with the text throughout the story. Kenyon leaves the reader wanting more, but Volume 2 won’t be published until March 2010. In the mean time, if you enjoy this book, check out the original Dark Hunters series. Readers who love romance and vampires are sure to be satisfied while waiting for the release of the next book in the manga series.

Based on a book...

Howl's Moving Castle

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki
(DVD HOWLS)

Original Book by Diana Wynne Jones
(YP FIC JONES)

Howl's Moving Castle (released in 2004) has become a popular DVD in our library. And with good reason. For those of you new to Anime, Miyazaki is an amazing director and storyteller. He was also responsible for the animated classics Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away (for which he won the Oscar), and one of my favorites, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Howl's Moving Castle was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature Film category.

For the English translation, some of Hollywood's best actors and actresses give voice to the lively characters. Christian Bale does a wonderful job capturing the wizard, Howl, in both his petulance and selfless courage. Lauren Bacall plays the Witch of the Waste, and Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons share the task of bringin the heroine, Sophie to life. Billy Crystal is perfect as the fire demon, Calcifer. The art and scope of the animation is beautiful. The way all the various parts of the castle move and then slump down when they come to a stop is amazing. I really can't say enough good things about this movie, and our patrons obviously agree since the DVD is seldom on the shelf. However, when I stop and talk to people about this wonderful movie, they almost never know that the movie was actually based on an equally wonderful book.

Howl's Moving Castle, written by Diana Wynne Jones, was originally published in 1986. Sophie is the oldest of three sisters. Sophie knows from all the old stories that the eldest sister seldom does well in life, and so she expects very little. Day in and day out she creates hats in her family's shop. When her younger sisters are apprenticed, one to a bakery and the other to a witch, Sophie stays behind putting all of her suppressed feelings into the hats that she makes. Then one evening as she is about to close, a woman enters the shop demanding the perfect hat. The woman turns out to be the Witch of the Waste, and for no reason that Sophie can understand, the witch turns Sophie into an old woman. Part of the curse is that Sophie can't tell anyone what has happened to her, and so realizing that she no longer has anything to lose, Sophie goes out into the world. After some effort she finds the moving castle of the land's most famous wizard, Howl. While Howl is still gone, Sophie hires herself as his housekeeper and sets to work. Life is never the same for either of them again.

While both the movie and the book begin the same, about half-way through, the movie's plot/events change quite a bit making the two endings somewhat different. Naturally, the book has a lot more detail, especially about Sophie's family life, and extra characters, which make many of the details and events in the movie more clear. Sophie is a fun and plucky old woman. Seeing her boss everyone around, including Howl, is definitely the high light of both the book and the movie.