The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact -- Maniax #2
Reviewed by Kat Avila - Sequential Tart
Publisher : DrMaster Publications, Inc.
Reviewed by Kat Avila - Sequential Tart
Publisher :
DrMaster Publications, Inc.
Credits
Creators: Wing Yan / King Tung
Grade: 7
At the end of volume 1, several King of Fighters characters were relaxing at a poolside party before the start of the Mephistopheles Fighting Tournament in South Town, U.S.A. Hyena and "The Gorgeous Assassin" Lien Neville interrupted the festivities. Volume 2 pops open to the beginning of a major cat fight between Lien and "The Beguiling Ninja Babe" Mai Shiranui.
Rock and Athena Asamaiya try to help Mai, but Lien's incredible speed enables her to dodge Rock's overhead kick and Athena's psycho ball attack. There is a nicely done panel where the confused Athena is surrounded by muted-color afterimages of the fast-moving Lien.
To show she means business, Lien strips down to a bronze leather bikini. Readers are treated to a full-page virtual beauty, the same image on the cover. It's visually jarring to go from a flat 2D image to a 3D model. Does it work in this context? Yes, because it makes the tall, blonde, and buxom Lien all the more stunning to look at. The effect is like a girl dropping her robe to reveal she is totally naked underneath.
In the meantime, cutesy Mignon has been following silent-type Iori Yagami, Kyo Kusanagi's mortal enemy. First, it was Kyo, now it's Iori. Mignon is up to something.
3D fighters appear on the front and back covers of The King of Fighters: Maximum Impact -- Maniax series, which is read right to left like a manga. A bonus page featuring a virtual fighter and his/her stats is included in the back; for volume 2, the spotlight is on Lien Neville. If you like fighting games, this comic is for you.
Written: November 26, 2005
Published: December 1, 2005
