Tamura, Yumi. Wild Com.

TAMURA, Yumi. Wild Com. Viz. 189p. illus. 1-591-16559-8. c2004. $9.95. SA

In this new manga from Viz, the author manages to produce three stories that mostly avoid the usual cliches. The main character of "Psychic Squad Wild Corn" is Ozeki, a young woman who has always been drawn to fire. When the bus Ozeki is in flips over, she stops the vehicle from bursting into flames. This leads to her visiting Wild Com, a team of psychics whose cover is a pizza parlor. When disaster strikes, the members of Wild Com doff their little black bowties and vests and use their powers to aid humanity. Ozeki declines their invitation to join because of guilt; she believes she set fire to a house years ago and killed all the occupants. The most memorable thing about "The Beasts of June," a tale about a hit man working for a shadowy organization, is that the man in question enjoys sleeping in junked cars. "The Eye of the Needle" is a nasty little horror tale about a male model who is being stalked, involving cigarettes and eyeballs.

If manga is a focus of your collection, Wild Com is worth a try. This graphic novel has some weaknesses: Tamura's characters tend to look alike, and there is no real connection between the three stories. The first story, featuring the psychic group Wild Com, has great potential; I would have liked more stories about them. Wild Com contains violence and intense situations, and is recommended for libraries with large manga collections. George Galuschak, YA Libn., Montvale PL., Montvale, NJ

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code help librarian and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.