''Bizenghast'' is a debut
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
series written and illustrated by
M. Alice LeGrow
Mary Alice "Marty" LeGrow (born 1981 in Olathe, Kansas, United States), better known by her pen name M. Alice LeGrow, is an American alternative comics artist, best known for her Gothic fiction, gothic, dark fantasy graphic novel series ''Bizengh ...
. The first seven volumes were published by
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
, with the final volume released in late April 2012.
After placing in Tokyopop's
Rising Stars of Manga
''Rising Stars of Manga'' (RSoM) was an English-language comic anthology published by TOKYOPOP from 2002 to 2008, and a contest held by the same company. It was originally semi-annual, but switched to annual beginning with the 6th volume.
Each vo ...
competition with her short story "Nikolai", LeGrow successfully pitched the series to Tokyopop's editors. She worked on the series from 2004 to 2011. Set in the haunted New England town of Bizenghast, the story follows Dinah, an orphaned teenager who is tasked with returning each night to an ancient
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
to free the ghosts within the building.
Several adaptations of ''Bizenghast'' have been released, including a novel by Shawn Thorgersen, animated episodes, and a
tabletop roleplaying game. Critics praised ''Bizenghast'' for the gothic atmosphere and art, but noted the traditional elements and varying quality of the series.
Plot
Set in the fictional New England town of the same name, ''Bizenghast'' focuses on fifteen-year-old Dinah Wherever. Her parents' car crash leaves her orphaned at a young age, and as a result, she moves in with her aunt. Dinah can see the ghosts which haunt her aunt's house, which was a
hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
and later a
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
; however, her aunt and doctor believe that she has
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...
. One day, she and her only friend, Vincent Monroe, sneak out of her aunt's house to search for materials for his garden. They stumble across an ancient
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...
, and after Dinah reads aloud from a plaque, she discovers that her name is written on a contract which binds her to return to the mausoleum every night to free the ghosts. If she succeeds, she will win her freedom and a reward. If she fails, she will die and stay in the mausoleum as a corpse.
For every ten ghosts appeased, Dinah and Vincent get a tower guard to help with their task. Over the course of the series, they meet two of the guards: Edaniel, a grinning cat-like creature, and his brother Edrear, who secretly likes Dinah. Vincent dies while in one of the vaults, causing Dinah to become
depressed. Later, the hooded angel, which normally guards the entrance to the mausoleum, appears as two stones that talk to Dinah and help her overcome the depression which resulted from Vincent's death.
Dinah continues searching the vaults and discovers that Edaniel and Edrear's sister, Eniri, is missing, and that the seed of the mausoleum—its link to the Host in the afterlife—has been stolen. Additionally, Edaniel and Edrear's other sister, Elala, is found dead. After Edaniel and Edrear lock down the mausoleum, they send Dinah home and she discovers that Maphohetka, a girl hanged for witchcraft and who now as a ghost can control minds in the real world, is manipulating Eniri and the townspeople. Unsuccessful in her attempt to stop her, Dinah flees to the mausoleum and receives a special outfit melted from the gold tolls that she and Vincent paid to gain access to the mausoleum. Returning, she confronts Maphohetka, who then orders Edaniel to kill her.
In the ensuing battle, Dinah faces off against her former friend, accidentally decapitating Edaniel in the process. An enraged Edrear attempts to kill her, but eventually halts when Dinah points out that he's crying for his brother, something that he's normally unable to do and that's being caused by Maphohetka's influence. Knowing that he's been compromised, Edrear stabs himself with his own sword, leaving Dinah to mourn him and share one kiss. Maphohetka, taking the opportunity, destroys Dinah's scythe (the only thing she had that could potentially kill her) and ends up mutating into a large monster. After Dinah is captured in Maphohetka's body, she happens upon the entity's core, which is Maphohetka's decayed corpse. Using Eniri's bracelet to see into the monster, she finds that a piece of the cross Maphohetka was stabbed with during her hanging is still lodged in her chest, allowing Dinah to conclude that the piece is what keeps the evil spirit anchored in the living world. Dinah removes the cross shard, causing Maphohetka to fade away.
Wanting to seek help, Dinah stabs herself with the crucifix piece, allowing her to temporarily ascend into the afterlife. There, she encounters her mother, who gives her another mausoleum seed that Dinah takes back to the living world. Dinah uses the seed to revive everyone killed in the incident and her armor melts into coins that flow out of the fountain. But in the end, Dinah opts to remove the crucifix piece, killing herself.
Dinah walks through her own funeral, bidding her mourning aunt goodbye before wandering outside. On the way, she encounters Vincent, but the two don't recognize each other until they find the hidden graveyard. Dinah and Vincent become two mausoleum guards alongside a revived Edaniel and Edrear (two young women who happened onto the graveyard having been contracted to the mausoleum). The series closes with Dinah on top of one of the towers beside Vincent, commenting how "she's starting to like this town."
Development
![A girl with a lolita fashion](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/A_girl_with_a_lolita_fashion.jpg)
As a young girl, Mary Alice LeGrow was not interested in comics since she grew up in Weisbaden, Germany where comics were not readily available.
In her freshman year of high school, she discovered comics and anime.
She heard about Tokyopop's
Rising Stars of Manga
''Rising Stars of Manga'' (RSoM) was an English-language comic anthology published by TOKYOPOP from 2002 to 2008, and a contest held by the same company. It was originally semi-annual, but switched to annual beginning with the 6th volume.
Each vo ...
competition from a friend at the 2003
Otakon
Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. It stands for Otaku Convention. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved to ...
, an
anime convention in
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
;
the stort story LeGrow submitted won a runner-up place in the competition and was published in the 2003 Rising Stars of Manga anthology.
She successfully pitched ''Bizenghast'' to the Tokyopop editors, and became the second Rising Stars of Manga winner to have an original series published by Tokyopop.
LeGrow worked on the series from 2004 to 2011.
She began ''Bizenghast'' when, for an art class assignment, she drew an open door and added the hooded angel statue in another class. In her initial designs, Dinah had simple features and short black hair, and Vincent was one of Dinah's friends. LeGrow later removed the other friends from the story.
She later lengthened Dinah's hair and depicted her dressed in
Lolita fashion—clothing influenced by the
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
and
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
s. Other changes included Dinah's hair being altered from straight to curly and the addition of an
exoskeleton
An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...
-like armour to Edrear.
Tired of thin female characters in comics, LeGrow designed Edaniel's girlfriend, Nareesha as "super full-figured".
When deciding on names for her
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
, LeGrow considered Molly, Charlotte, Moira, Sally, and Diana before choosing Dinah
—a reference to the pet cat of the protagonist of
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...
's novel ''
Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
''; the 1984 comedy film ''
Johnny Dangerously
''Johnny Dangerously'' is a 1984 American crime comedy film, and a parody of 1930s crime/gangster movies. It was directed by Amy Heckerling.
The film stars Michael Keaton as an honest, goodhearted man who turns to a life of crime to finance hi ...
'' inspired her last name, Wherever.
Vincent Monroe takes his name from
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
and the actress
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
.
Jane, Dinah's aunt, shares her name with LeGrow's sister. Edaniel takes his name from the name Daniel in a middle school yearbook which LeGrow picked at random;
she noted that the editors let her keep him in the story although he appeared a risky character to them. Edrear was initially named Mordred after the
character from Arthurian myths.
The name of his sister Elala comes from the character
Lala Orange of ''
Rainbow Brite
''Rainbow Brite'' is a media franchise by Hallmark Cards, introduced in 1984. The animated ''Rainbow Brite'' television series first aired in 1984, the same year Hallmark licensed Rainbow Brite to Mattel for a range of dolls and other merchand ...
'', an animated television series.
The minor character Prince Ironbound takes his name from the city
Ironbound, New Jersey
The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering approximately of well maintained streets and homes. Historically, the area was call ...
, while
Lalibela
Lalibela ( am, ላሊበላ) is a town in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia. Located in the Lasta district and North Wollo Zone, it is a tourist site for its famous rock-cut monolithic churches. The whole of Lalibela is a large and important site ...
, a holy town in northern Ethiopia, inspired Bali Lali's.
Another minor character, Dr. Morstan, takes his name from
Mary Morstan,
Dr. Watson
John H. Watson, known as Dr. Watson, is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Along with Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson first appeared in the novel ''A Study in Scarlet'' (1887). The last work by Doyle fe ...
's wife.
"марионетка", the Russian word for marionette, inspired the name of the
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.
Etymology
The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...
Maphohetka.
LeGrow comments that the series "is about life, death and fabulous outfits (not in that order)" and notes that there are "a lot of religious themes" present.
The town of Bizenghast "represents a world cut off from that sort of constant access
f technology"
The series was initially written to span about fourteen volumes and be divided into three seasons: the first seven volumes would make up the first
story arc; the second season, volumes eight through eleven, would center on the mausoleum's relationship with the other guilds; and season three would focus on the afterlife and consist of the last three volumes. LeGrow also considered writing a
spin-off
Spin-off may refer to:
*Spin-off (media), a media work derived from an existing work
*Corporate spin-off, a type of corporate action that forms a new company or entity
* Government spin-off, civilian goods which are the result of military or gove ...
based on ''Bizenghast'' with a guest artist, after she finished the first story arc of ''Bizenghast''. The spin-off would contain chapters not present in the original series, and after her other series was completed, she would continue ''Bizenghast''. LeGrow concluded ''Bizenghast'' at eight volumes.
Minor controversy
A minor controversy occurred over a statement published in the July 2007 issue of the Tokyopop publication ''
Takuhai'' and in the back of the first ''Bizenghast'' volume written by a former Tokyopop editor and not authorized by LeGrow.
It read:
LeGrow called it "worded in a way that I felt was offensive to me and to cosplayers" and noted that "none of it reflects my opinions."
Fan reaction to learning that the statement was inaccurate was generally relief since "they felt it didn't mesh with
erpersonality."
She stated:
Media
Graphic novels
Written and illustrated by M. Alice LeGrow, ''Bizenghast'' is published in North America by
Tokyopop
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...
. As of July 2010, seven volumes have been released. The first was released on 9 August 2005; the most recent was published 1 July 2010.
However, Tokyopop's North American branch stopped publishing on 31 May 2011; because of it, the final volume of the series is being released through a print-on-demand agreement with RightStuf.com. The series is also distributed in New Zealand and Australia by
Madman Entertainment, in Hungary by Mangattack, in Germany by
Tokyopop Germany
Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed ...
, in Finland by Pauna Media Group, and in Russia by
Comix-art
Comix-ART (russian: Комикс-Арт, ''Komiks-Art'') is a comics imprint of Russian book publisher Domino. It serves as a translator and the licensor of graphic novels, manga, manhwa and original English-language manga. Comix-ART, founded ...
.
Books
Three books based on ''Bizenghast'' have been released. On 13 February 2007, Tokyopop also released a 72-page
limited-edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
art book, ''Bizenghast: Falling into Fear'' (), which included stickers and pinup pages.
Running Press
Running Press is an American publishing company and member of the Perseus Books Group. The publisher's offices are located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with many of the corporate functions taking place in Perseus' New York City headquarters. I ...
published a coloring book based on the series, ''Color Me Manga: Bizenghast'' () on 12 November 2007. On 13 August 2008, Tokyopop published a novel adaption, ''Bizenghast: The Novel'' (), written by Shawn Thorgersen and with illustrations by LeGrow.
Other
Menfond Electronic Art adapted ''Bizenghast'' into animated short episodes or "iManga". The iManga episodes featured music by
Divine Madness
Divine madness, also known as ''theia mania'' and crazy wisdom, refers to unconventional, outrageous, unexpected, or unpredictable behavior linked to religious or spiritual pursuits. Examples of divine madness can be found in Hellenism, Christia ...
and Kissing Violet,
and premiered on
My Space in summer 2007. Overall, LeGrow praised the adaption. She liked the "kooky" background effects and Edaniel's voice actor, but disliked Dinah's "high-pitched" voice which she had imagined as "deeper...with a slight edge to it. Sort of like Mandy from ''
The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
''The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy'' is an American animated television series created by Maxwell Atoms for Cartoon Network and distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television. It follows Billy, an extremely dimwitted, happy-go-lucky boy, an ...
'', but without the sarcasm."
The episodes were also available on
Verizon
Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...
's V CAST.
The television network
iaTV acquired the seventeen two- to three-minute-long episodes as part of a "program acquisition deal and strategic ad sales partnership with Tokyopop."
A
tabletop roleplaying game based on the series was created by Clint Krause.
Other merchandise included posters, scarves, playing cards, a
plushie
A stuffed toy is a toy doll with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, stuffed animals, and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be cal ...
, postcards, a signed puzzle kit, and T-shirts. Additionally, a two-and-a-half-hour DVD commentary about the first ''Bizenghast'' volume, with Tokyopop editor interviews and bonus material, was planned to be released in mid-August 2010.
Reception
''Bizenghast'' was well received by English-language readers. The first volume debuted at the 79th spot on a list of the top 100 best-selling graphic novels of August 2005 with an estimated 1,434 copies sold. ''
Daily Variety
''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...
'' named ''Bizenghast'' one of Tokyopop's top ten biggest titles. In June 2010, the seventh volume sold 425 copies, ranking 294th on the list of the top 300 best-selling graphic novels.
''Bizenghast'' received positive reviews from critics. The September 2005 issue of ''
Teen People'' listed ''Bizenghast'' as the Hot Book of the Month. Sheena McNeil of ''Sequential Tart'' praised the first volume as "a highly enjoyable read".
Coolstreak Cartoons's Leroy Douresseaux described the series as "belong
ngto a fantasy subgenre sometimes referred to as 'pop Gothic' and relying on atmosphere and looks. Critics praised the art of ''Bizenghast'' as detailed, but did not see it as manga-styled. ''Anime Jump'' Chad Clayton called the series "heavily steeped in the gothic tradition" and commented that the series "successfully develops an inventive visual style all its own. It seems to owe more to classical art, gothic comics, and even artists like
Edward Gorey
Edward St. John Gorey (February 22, 1925 – April 15, 2000) was an Americans, American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist, noted for his own illustrated books as well as cover art and illustration for books by other w ...
than it does to manga."
Johanna Draper Carlson, a longtime reviewer for ''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'', found the art reminiscent "of classic fantasy indy comics" and noted "stock elements" in the story. Reviewers found Dinah's character design "striking" and with the potential to appeal to fans of the
Gothic Lolita fashion. Criticism focused on the writing, "uneven pacing", flat characters,
and the varying quality of the art.
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
's Zac Bertschy heavily criticized ''Bizenghast'' for the "slightly modified generic
monster-of-the-week
"Villain of the week" (or, depending on genre, "monster of the week", "freak of the week" or "alien of the week") is an antagonist that only appears in one episode of a multi-episode work of fiction. A villain of the week is commonly seen in Bri ...
cliché" plot, one-dimensional characters, and art.
David Welsh compared ''Bizenghast'' to "a
cosplay
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, ...
of a horror manga", and wrote: "It's got a handle on the cosmetics, but central elements of story and character are vague and underdeveloped."
In his review of the novel adaption, Mania Entertainment's Greg Hackmann disliked the large amount of description, the "inconsistent" narration, and felt that the novel was more of a "novelization in the most literal sense of the word, reading much less like an adaptation in the spirit of LeGrow's work than a 1-to-1 copy of the source material." Conversely, Sabrina Fritz wrote that the novel adaption was "well-written,
ndengaging" and called it "one of the best
light novels on the market". Another reviewer for Mania Entertainment, Danielle Van Gorder, enjoyed "
e detail and perspective in the architectural drawings" and "incredibly detailed costumes" of the art book ''Falling into Fear''.
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
*
''Bizenghast''at Tokyopop's website
*
Bizenghast iManga #1: Little Girl Lostat
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bizenghast
Horror comics
Tokyopop titles
Horror graphic novels
2005 comics debuts
2012 comics endings
Original English-language manga