On an extended trip to Japan with his mother, Japanese American Ichiro's mixed-race heritage makes him feel like an outsider. In this satisfying and thought-provoking graphic novel, Inzana investigates the human tools of war-mongering and propaganda by interweaving mythological and historical examples. The fluid, expressive brushwork brings both the real world and the mythical Japanese creatures to life.

A young American teen, son of a Japanese immigrant and an American soldier killed in combat, goes to Japan with his mother for an extended visit and begins to grapple with sophisticated cultural complexities. The graphic novel opens with a familiar Japanese legend about a shape-changing tanuki trickster spirit. The story cuts to New York City, where Ichiro and his mother prepare for their trip. Ichiro has been very close to his American grandfather, who has schooled him in the worst kinds of American jingoism. First his mother, then his Japanese grandfather began to share the legends and history of Japan, both positive and negative, with Ichiro. A nighttime pursuit of a persimmon-thieving tanuki turns into a surreal odyssey that takes Ichiro deep into the mythic realm of Japanese folklore. Inzana's graphic style is, at first glance, far more Western than Japanese-influenced; there is no look of manga in his figures. But his compositions and his brushwork, particularly exquisite transitional spreads between episodes, echo classical Japanese art, and his depiction of the Japanese Otherworld will seem familiar to anyone who has seen a Miyazaki film. Ichiro's realistic and mythic journeys combine to give both him and readers a better understanding of the importance of both understanding and overcoming history. Beautiful and thought-provoking; questions unanswered will linger in readers' minds. (Graphic novel. 12 & up)

Gr 7 Up-Ichiro is the son of a Japanese mother and an American father, a soldier who died years ago. The boy's identity seems fragmented and incomplete when readers first meet him. Ichiro was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and acts like a typical American boy. He misses the father he barely remembers, and is obsessed with reading his soldier's handbook to reconnect with his memory. He knows very little about his Japanese heritage, but when his mother takes a job in Tokyo, he gets an immediate immersion in Japanese culture. The story of Ichiro's move to his grandfather's home is slowly interwoven with legends about gods and shape-shifters, and halfway through the book reality and legends merge into one. Ichiro is pulled into the world inhabited by the gods and creatures that his family had been telling him about, and he needs to rely on his wits in order to survive. Inzana's illustrations combine several modern and ancient artistic styles, reflecting the time shifts of the story. The eye-catching cover, depicting Ichiro wearing a Brooklyn sweatshirt; a Tanuki shape-shifter in its raccoon form; and the looming figure of Hachiman, the god of war, perfectly encapsulates the essence of this story. Like Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese (Roaring Brook, 2006), this is a graphic novel that explores the Asian American experience by blending modern, ancient, and fantastic elements. Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

Brooklyn-raised, Fox News watching, Soldier's Handbook reading Ichiro idolizes his soldier father, killed in some unspecified conflict (probably Iraq). He is apprehensive about joining his mother on a business trip to Japan, especially when she leaves him in the care of his grandfather. There, Ichiro's pro-war ways evaporate after visits to Hiroshima Castle and Peace Park open his eyes to human cruelty and suffering. His education about destruction, conflict, and war-time paranoia continues in Ama, the spirit realm, where the all-too-flawed gods battle the residents of Yomi, the land of the dead, over a simple misunderstanding. Beautiful, full-color art abounds in the folkloric scenes, which sharply contrast with the black-and-white and occasionally sepia-toned reality of Ichiro's day-to-day activities, in which dashes of bright color punctuate the action. Inzana brings home another powerful post 9/11 fable, directed this time to a younger audience than he targeted with Johnny Jihad (2003). Ichiro asks the hard questions for readers but challenges them to arrive at their own conclusion.

Inzana uses his talents for expressive nonfiction-last seen in the comics adaptation of Studs Terkel-s Working-and to investigate cultural identity through a mix of fiction and documentary. Ichiro, raised in America by his Japanese mother, is left with his grandfather in Japan during his mother-s business trip. Though they-ve rarely been together, the visit is treated as an opportunity to bond and a way for grandfather to introduce Ichiro to the history and culture of his homeland through a series of day trips. Inzana fashions his literary hybrid by moving between grandfather-s lectures about the sites and Ichiro-s personal drama, bringing the wider strokes of history and religion into a personal realm. Framed by a mythological backdrop, Ichiro-s story collides with fantastic tales of Shinto gods and goddesses that begin to engulf his own and offer a reason to fight his way back to a life of day trips and lectures with grandpa. We are all the summation of our personal and cultural histories, and Ichiro reveals how these strands twist together in any of us. Through it all, Inzana mixes the mystery with the matter-of-fact in his lively artwork, creating a mood of enlightenment throughout and offering an insight into Japanese culture with a maximum of imagination. (Mar.)