Writer: Michael Dignan
Artist: Kriss Sison
First Publication: 2005
Challenge: Graphic Novels Challenge (#16)
Publisher: Seven Seas Entertainment
Summary (from Wikipedia):
Do you believe in alternate dimensions? Ikuko, her friend Colleen, and Alvin at Hawaii's Maunaloa Institute for International Studies become believers when the class hunk, Hiro, confesses to them that he's really a prince from another world on the run from the evil Lord Kumagai! Now that they've been dragged into it, Hiro, Ikuko, and their friends must traverse countless alternate dimensions and survive the terrors they find there or die trying; whether at the hands of the ruthless Lord Kumagai or the alternate dimensions' hostile inhabitants.
Comments:
The art by Kriss Sison is fantastic. Combined with Michael Dignan's scripting, it makes for a very good manga book. I enjoyed the interaction of the various characters at the school. One of my favorite parts was the group traveling to an alternate reality version of the school. It brought back memories of the television show "Sliders". At first it seemed like they were back home but it soon became evident that this was a different reality.
In some respects, "Last Hope" reminded me of one of my favorite anime shows "The Vision of Escaflowne". Both feature a journey to a drastically different world, a mysterious hero of royal descent, and a normal Earth girl. Sison and Dignan channel the spirit (either intentionally or not) of "Vision" without copying it. They make it their own story.
Recommended to fans of manga. I downloaded the second book on to my Kindle Fire. From the Wikipedia article, it lists that the third book was delayed. Hopefully it will be out soon.
