Dai Dark vol. 3

The last time we saw Zaha Sanko, he had just been mind-controlled by the still-living remains of Hajime Damemaru, whose English name translates to “First Failson.”  Hajime had been kidnapped by the Lighthead Order, the cult from which the galaxy-wide megacorporation Photosphere grew out of, and thought that he could use Zaha as a distraction to get himself out of his current situation.  True to his name, his efforts only resulted in Zaha getting snatched by the Order.  Now it’s down to Avakian and Shimada Death to get their friend back while also figuring out why this cult has been poking its head into death-related matters such as this.

I wouldn’t say that the direction of “Dai Dark” has firmed up substantially in this third volume, but we get some indications that the events here are part of a larger story.  The existence of the Lighthead Order is one such thing as its pseudo-religious links to Photosphere are interesting, as is the fact that religious cults haven’t changed much in this far future.  Then there’s the case of what they worship, which turns out to be linked to something at the heart of the universe.  Nobody knows what’s there, but they know that something is.  It’s quite vague at this point so it could be anything from the explanation as to why everyone wants Zaha’s bones to where Jimmy Hoffa’s corpse eventually wound up.

Feelings about the general direction of the series aside, this third volume also continues to offer up more of the weirdness which has made this series so enjoyable up to this point.  Much of this comes from Hajime’s situation which starts off as a bunch of barely-animated remains before evolving to something more substantial, and then becoming a mostly-animated corpse because his whole deal is that he makes the worst decisions.  He’s an interesting addition to the crew and I’m looking forward to seeing how his presence mixes with the overall dynamic of the group.  Maybe he’ll even manage to avoid getting killed in the next volume, too.