Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Volume 1

Kenji works in a convenience store now, but when he was young, he spent his time dreaming of a grand and successful future along with his friends Yoshitsune, Mon-chan, Maruo, Otcho and Donkey. When they were young, they were kings of the street, as long as Yanbo and Mabo weren't around- the most evil, cruel twins in history.

One summer, Kenji and his friends made a clubhouse in an overgrown field of grasses, tying them together to make an area inside where they could meet, read comics, and just be themselves. And that summer, they became something more- in an effort to make their own time capsule, they put in their most treasured possessions, along with a flag Kenji made to represent them. They buried it in the field and later lost their clubhouse when the field was reaped.

Now, years later, some of the gang have grown apart, and Kenji, who used to dream of going to the moon, is stuck working in his family's convenience store and raising his sister's out of wedlock daughter while his sister is gone. But news of the death of a professor comes when the Police come to question him. Kenji delivered Liquor to the Professor, and now the whole family is missing, and the liquor bottles were left in the alley behind their home. When Kenji goes to pick them up, he sees a drawing on the wall that shocks him, because that is the image his gang used to represent themselves.

He asks the others he used to hang out with about the symbol at the wedding of their friend Keroyon, but nobody but him seems to remember it, or remember it beyond very vaguely, but it troubles him. Who else would know about their Headquarters, and who knew enough about them to remember their flag, which they buried in the time capsule and apparently promptly forgot about?

Worse than that for Kenji is that the symbol keeps turning up at the murders of people. Sometimes people that he knew- like Monkey, who went on to become a science teacher- and sometimes just prominent people. And it is the symbol of a new movement dedicated to empowerment- and is headed by a shadowy figure known as "Friend". Who is this man, and how could he know so much about the activities of Kenji and his friends so long ago? And what do he and his organization *really* want?

This manga isn't one of the usual fantasy or historical fantasy manga- it's more a science-fiction horror manga mingled with slice of life about growing up in Japan in the late 1960's, early 1970's. The mystery and possible horror builds slowly, but it is certainly set up effectively. By flipping back and forth from modern day to the past and then back, the sense of mystery builds slowly, and the glimpses we get of the friend, whose face is always in shadow, are chilling.

Because of the slow build, the story does seem to meander, especially in the past, but each trip into the past provides backstory for the present day, from who Monkey was to the genesis of the image that so haunts Kenji when it keeps showing up at the site of a murder. All that may happen during this book is that Kenji enlists his old friends in discovering who might be using their old symbol, but no one but him is so very invested in solving the mystery.

This is an interesting and disturbing book that sets up an effective mystery from the very first page. The drudgery of Kenji's current life is contrasted strongly with the hope he had when he was young, and points out the uncertainty of who the modern-day "Friend" could be lingers long after you close the book. I will be interested in seeing where this book is going. Recommended.