Only very rarely do comic artists bring this much action to their work.
Battle Angel Alita starts off with a bleak post apocalyptic battlefield where the military seems to be policing the land.
A mad scientist is introduced and his goal is to create a perfect soldier. He is successful in his endeavors and unleashes a little girl who apparently is the perfect little killing machine. This bizarre character creation is another aspect that kept me reading.
The vitality of the characters is astounding. In every panel each character is positioned beautifully. The gestures convey weight effectively and bring dynamicity to the characters. The attention to character composition in the panel brought me through each panel at high speeds and kept me enthralled with the action. I was hooked! BAA is a beautiful blend of simplicity and chaos.
A great aspect of BAA is the scale of every object. From the floating cities to the giant robots There is a clear scale difference between everything and this helps during fight sequences with Alita. After Alita saves a small group of people from a giant robot, she states that while her body is robotic, she has the brain of a human. This unveiling opens up her rebellious nature and adds depth, which is important for any character-based story. Alita also reveals her past in the city of Salem. This portrayal of nostalgia also adds to her character.
BAA also delves into the psychology of war and its affects on people. Occasionally some graphic images of deceased people will be shown to convey a tone that I feel is vital to the comic; it just adds grittiness that gives BAA an edge.
Getting to read Battle Angel Alita has been a really exciting. I am sure his work will be around for along time and I am sure it will inspire all of his readers. I will definitely look into his other works soon.
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