Ghost Hunt, Vol. 1
Based on a popular series of Japanese YA novels of the supernatural, this manga outing is a glacially paced exercise. A ragtag group of teenage paranormal investigators, psychics and exorcists set out to document strange goings-on at a supposedly haunted Japanese high school with predictable results. The cast of characters includes a mysterious and handsome upperclassman, a haughty traditional Shinto exorcist, a Vatican-sanctioned exchange student, and two students with psychic powers. The group is rounded out by a female student who serves as the story's everyman. The script hints at ominous happenings looming on the horizon, but the minimalist artwork provides little suspense, relying on two-dimensional "zoom shots" and other would-be film techniques in an attempt to garner interest from the reader. The supernatural manifestations amount to little more than a chair sliding from left to right and a collapsing floor, while the characters stand around shouting alarmed dialogue. Those in search of real chills should look elsewhere.(Sept.)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.