I am a Hero Omnibus Volume 1 Paperback – April 26, 2016

After reading it became one of my favorite mangas of all time! The atmosphere and the zombies are amazing the zombies taking inspiration from multiple movies and really creating an interesting enemy for this already amazingly interesting book. The only downside side is the cost but for the first volume I’d say it’s worth it.

I decided to pick this up on a whim. I'm not the biggest manga reader I only read Junji Ito and sometimes Bezerk. I do love zombies though and I have to say I'm glad I picked this up.The manga is about Hideo Suzuki. He's a manga artist who years ago had a serialized manga in a magazine that was decently popular and then after that nothing. He works in a office as a assistant artist with 4 others adding shadows, adding details, censoring nudity, basically fine tuning other more popular mangas. He's 35, awkward, sick of being in debt, has phobias, talks to himself, and wants more out of life. He wants to make a manga that will be read for hundreds of years. Then suddenly a zombie outbreak happens and he needs to survive.In volume 1 of the series it's mostly about Hideo's life pre outbreak. You follow him to his job, see his paranoid delusions, you see how his Co workers get annoyed/creeped out by him talking to himself, his relationship with his girlfriend and etc etc.I enjoyed it but I know a lot of people didn't. For almost half the book there really isn't a lot happening in terms of zombies. There are some things happening in the background, news reports hint at the zombie outbreak and stuff like that but for the first half it's just about Hideo and his life.When the zombies do appear it's a pretty fun adventure that unfortunately gets cuts a little too short since it's a little past the halfway point of the of the volume. I know people have issues with this volume I read people stopped reading it because they were bored but I really enjoyed it. I liked Hideo and his odd ways. I found him a little fascinating but once again I know I am in the minority.I will say the zombies are creepy and aren't the traditional zombies. They run and seem to be able to speak. They mutter about their previous lives. Like for example a mailman would maybe say "delivery is here" over and over again while eating a person or wandering around. The way the zombies attack and move is creepy as well. They seem to use all 4 limbs to crawl, attack, defend themselves and etc. They also seem to attack each other as well. It's a interesting take on zombies.Also I have to say the art is pretty amazing. I read that the artist takes pictures and draws the pictures into the comic and the attention to detail in some panels is amazing. You really get the sense of scale in some scenes.Overall yes this particular volume is slow but I found it pretty enjoyable. I bought volumes 2-4 when I was almost halfway through it because I was enjoying it and it's a good semi different take on the zombies. I never saw zombies so werid and I never saw a protagonist so just not in charge.

This was a fantastic read that I'm looking forward to the next installment. I am a Hero explores the life of a failing manga artist named Hideo in his mid-30's as the zombie apocalypse slowly unfolds around him. Plagued by feelings of inadequacies both socially and in his career, trapped in a complicated yet abusive mixed relationship under his overbearing girlfriend, and conflicted with deep set fears and hallucinations that leave Hideo questioning the reality revealing itself around him during the initial zombie apocalypse makes this series a dark page turner. Is it real? Is he hallucinating? Sometimes it's hard to tell and some readers may find the initial first half slow at first as you explore his mundane life before the action starts to gather full force but the second half explodes in chaos as the infection rises.The story unfolds slowly much like Fear the Walking Dead where the main threat, the zombies, don't appear until much later in this volume but it's the gradual reveal of Hideo's disillusionment and frustrations feeling like the side character in his own life story that flesh out the quiet desperation of the main character to find some sort of meaning or semblance of being a hero, albeit a reluctant one in the zombie apocalypse, that freshens this graphic novel.The art itself is dark, gritty, and often times painful in its details. This isn't High School of the Dead so there isn't gratuitous fan service or overtly cute girls with large breasts and daddy issues. The realism in this initial installment with Hideo as the greatest loser in his own story makes for a different journey than most manga. There is no harem of magical girls, chibi levels of extreme emotional expression, or adorable mascots. It's dark, it's sad, and it's completely and wholly depressing.

After buying and reading this first book I began reading ahead on manga apps up to the 246 chapter. I just couldn't put it down, the once weird and awkward character art had grown on me to the point where all other manga faces seemed that they were the weird ones. I then read all of his other works like Boys on the Run and found that they all have the same vibe, so if you like this you simply must check out his other works.His works are great for simply this:in his works of art you can never truly tell what'll happen nextThe build up and character development is simply amazingHis characters being loner losers that don't fit in with society is something I can completely relate toHe also toys with your emotions, I found myself in a blind rage transitioning into ecstasy then leading into a depression. I just can't help both loving and hating this guy for his worksAnd (in this work especially) his unique ideas and take on different franchises is truly inspiring, this is a truly creative work.In other words this is NOT your traditional zombie fanfare, and is an absolute must read for any of my fellow loners out there

Copy in a bit rougher shape then advertised but the text is all there so that’s what really matters

Manga arrived wrapped in plastic and arrived in a timely manner.