Questor Mangamania #3

I went out to look for a copy of Hainaku! #3, and came back to the office with the third issue of Questor Extreme Mangamania instead. The sister-magazine and manga anthology of the best-selling local manga and anime mag Questor, QEMM comes with four stories of varying genres; the bishoujo-type (girls' comics) romance-comedy-drama Free Spirits by Benedict Bartolome(story) and Vincent John Bernales(art); the comedy-action romp Sidesweepers by Bebert Lacuna, Igor Cabbab(story) and Roland Amago(art) which follows the adventures of futuristic sanitation police force; the supernaturally-themed Cante Ista, with story by David Hontiveros and art by Franklin Quano and Peter Go; and last but not least, the sequel to the well-known Voltez V, the mecha action title Camp Big V by Benedict Bartolome(story) and Kriss Sison(art).
As before, my comments are that it's often hard to distinguish where a story ends and begins, thanks to the light grey tones of the pages. Other than that, the stories appeal to me depending on my interest- Free Spirits, despite being light on action and fan service, is interesting once I get to read it. Cante Ista has great art, but the arcane text and terms lose me... it's vague, but may be rewarding eventually. Right now, it's just too mental. I have to say that I was never a big fan of Voltez V (HERETIC!) but I am interested in seeing how Questor handles this 'sequel' (IS it really a licensed story? No one seems to know yet...). I find the shift from a dramatic action series to a light, humor-filled show ala Gatekeepers is pretty jarring. Anyway, the art is good, with cute faces and well-done mecha designs. Finally, Sidesweepers strikes me as the messiest (which is ironic given that it's about sanitation experts) in terms of art, panelling, dialogue and story. Oh well.

Can't wait for Hainaku to hit the shelves. Want to do more manga. Draw more art. Write more stories. More. MORE. MOOOOOREE!!!! Sigh. Gotta get back to Angel soon...