Henshin!, Volume 1: Blazing Phoenix

by Bon Idle, Mitch Proctor, Saturday AM

Overview

Alex must balance becoming a superhero tasked with defeating Kaiju, making it as a journalism student, and navigating life as a gay man in modern Europe.
 
Nine years after a mysterious ecological disaster, journalism students Alex and Rosalia investigate the strange company that rebuilt their city and turned it into a vision of the future—that is, until Alex’s world is turned upside down by a chance encounter with a gigantic monster from another world, a Kaiju, and the mysterious masked hero fighting it! Inheriting the masked hero’s power, Alex must now take on these powerful Kaiju when he transforms into the hero Blaze.

As a gay man, Alex never imagined his cozy college life becoming deadly, but that’s just what happens as his battles uncover an unholy connection between his city, the most powerful company in Europe, and the Kaiju. Can he uncover the secret before it’s too late?

Henshin!, a new, action-packed take on tokusatsu drama, features fiery fights, mysterious conspiracies, and LGBTQ romance for fans of classic Power Rangers and Kamen Rider stories.

Henshin! is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up.

Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters.

Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Apple Black, Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760382349
Publisher:	Rockport Publishers
Publication date:	07/04/2023
Series:	Saturday AM TANKS / Henshin! Series , #1
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	1,083,166
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Bon Idle (Mitch Proctor) is the creator of Henshin! and a graphic designer from Nottingham, UK. A graduate of the University of Lincoln, he has worked in the marketing industry and published several small-press titles before joining Saturday AM as a creator and Head of Design. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @iambonidle.

Saturday AM is a unique digital comics brand featuring an ever-growing catalog of popular, exclusive and diverse action manga-style webcomics by independent creators from around the world. Among the nearly 50 visionary artists on the Saturday AM team are @WhytManga (Apple Black), @JeyOdin (Hammer), and @saigamiproject (Saigami). To learn more about Saturday AM, visit saturday-am.com, or find them on Instagram (@saturday_am), YouTube (youtube.com/user/MyFutprint), and Twitter (@saturday_am). 

Table of Contents

CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: ENCOUNTER
CHAPTER FIVE: PLACEMENT
CHAPTER TWO: KAIJU
CHAPTER SIX: OMINOUS
CHAPTER THREE: PHOENIX RISING
CHAPTER SEVEN: PRESSURE
CHAPTER NINE: BRAWL
CHAPTER FOUR: MY RESOLVE
CHAPTER EIGHT: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE
CHAPTER TEN: BLAZE
 

Editorial Reviews

"A riveting superhero story that feels familiar and original..."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review


"Undeniably a shonen title with its ample action sequences and fights."—School Library Journal

"...a great purchase for library shelves serving teens where readers are fans of action stories and the tokusatsu genre."—Booklist

"Original, fun, and highly recommended..."—Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher

08/01/2023

Gr 9 Up—Alex Nolan's hometown of Hollowstone, ravaged by chaos nine years earlier, has been transformed into a city of the future by a social media platform mogul. But when Kaiju (giant monsters) begin to appear in Hollowstone, Alex is forced to take on the new role of crimefighting ranger, lest his hometown suffer as it did the last time. While the book is advertised by its publisher as "manga-style webcomics," it is told in a left to right format. The story moves rapidly, a little too much at times, with Alex (who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community) very quickly going from a garden-variety journalism student to Henshin the Hero with not many obstacles to overcome. Other characters are introduced but not fully fleshed out as of the first volume; Alex's classmate/love interest Jeon Jay-Hyun, and mysterious savior of Hollowstone Alton Grieves in particular are characters whose backstories aren't all there just yet. The artwork is satisfying, done in a style that doesn't scream "manga" outside of perhaps the lettering, which will appeal to those whose graphic novel selections aren't typically manga fare. Undeniably a shonen title with its ample action sequences and fights. VERDICT While it's far from being avant-garde, readers will enjoy the title for what it is: an LGBTQIA+-superhero story with a tinge of mystery woven throughout.—Joe Pascullo

School Library Journal

★ 2023-05-09
After an explosion took out the electricity and caused panic in Hollowstone nine years ago, a tech billionaire stepped in to save the day.

Alton Grieves provided massive infrastructure and investment, becoming a revered hero in the process. But journalism student Alex Nolan doesn’t like how Grieves has his hand in everything people use, from social media and cars to medicine, and he plans to expose him for profiting from the city’s suffering. Alex is on a train, musing about how to go about this, when a power cut causes an emergency stop. Alex struggles to help others—and a superhero comes out of nowhere to give him a hand. Suddenly a kaiju, or monster from another dimension, appears and badly injures the superhero, who passes his power to Alex. Alex in turn becomes a henshin, or hero, defeating the kaiju. But things are complicated. His friend and fellow student Rosalia Ortega points out a conspiracy to cover up news of the superhero’s monster fighting. And Jeon Jae-hyun, a boy Alex briefly dated, is interning at the same newspaper as him. The characters in this thrilling, fast-paced, manga-style action narrative feel real, and the story and execution combine the pleasure of nostalgic tropes and evergreen themes with a contemporary freshness. Alex reads White; there is ethnic diversity and queer representation in the cast, and characters are introduced along with their pronouns.

A riveting superhero story that feels familiar and original at the same time. (Graphic fantasy. 13-18)

Kirkus Reviews