Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Part 1: Phantom Blood vol. 1

I was keeping my expectations low for this, and that turned out to be a good thing.  Much as I liked the “Stardust Crusaders” arc of this manga, it represented mangaka Hirohiko Araki settling into a solid groove in both art and writing after finding out what works and what didn’t in those earlier volumes.  Those growing pains are on full display in this volume which introduces us to Dio Brando before he became an immortal vampire and the nemesis of the Joestar family line.  Here, he’s just a scheming well-to-do teen who finds his way into the family after his deathly ill father tells him of the debt he is owed after the time he saved the head of the family.  Upon his arrival, the well-to-do teen makes a plan to secure the Joestar family name and fortune for himself and turns the young Jonathan Joestar’s life into a living hell.  One-upping the boy in manners whenever his father is around, putting the moves on his girl, kicking the boy’s dog right in front of him!  There is no depth to which Dio won’t sink to claim the fortune he believes he deserves because he’s that awesome.  However, it isn’t until years later and the secret of the strange mask in the Joestar household becomes known to him that Dio obtains the means to make his ambition a reality.

This is a… strange book when you consider what modern Shonen Jump titles look like.  Araki fills the book with burly, over-muscled men that look fairly ridiculous today, even if the Schwarzenegger style was very much in during the time this particular storyline was being published.  It’s also hard to imagine a manga that starts off in Victorian England with NO Japanese characters (so far) becoming as big a hit or lasting as long as “Jojo” has in the present day.  This volume does get points for its curiosity value in that regard, which is good because the story doesn’t have a whole lot to recommend it so far.  Even if treachery and scheming amongst the upper class in another continent over a century ago is a rare thing in American comics as well, the way things play out and the “frenemy” relationship between Dio and Jonathan doesn’t really offer anything we haven’t seen before.  The art also fails to impress as the stylization that makes these ridiculous-looking characters look ridiculously awesome has yet to make its appearance.

None of these issues were outside of my expectations for this volume given its age and the fact that most Shonen Jump titles take a while to really find their groove.  “Slam Dunk” started off almost as badly yet I wound up being glad I stuck with that title through the very end.  “Phantom Blood’s” importance is entirely historical as these weird-looking roots eventually produced something quite entertaining.  You can get in on the ground floor with this and see where it all came from, or jump right into the good stuff with the “Stardust Crusaders” arc.  In all honesty, it’s probably better to start with the latter and then work your way to the former as the goodwill incurred through that process will help out a lot when reading this first part of “Phantom Blood.”