Deadman Wonderland Volume 1

As a child, Ganta survived a catastrophic earthquake that sank Tokyo into the sea. Now a teenager, Ganta enjoys a normal life. That is, until a mysterious man in red visits school, massacres Ganta's classmates and leaves Ganta to take the blame. Ganta is then sent to the world's most twisted prison, Deadman Wonderland.

Surreal, violent and laced with black humor, Deadman Wonderland is a fast-paced thrill-ride with lots of twisted twists. It remains to be seen if it can maintain its momentum over several volumes, but this first installment is worth the price of admission – or at least your $10.99.

In the not-so-distant future, a massive earthquake sinks almost 70% of Tokyo into the ocean. 14-year old Ganta is a survivor of the catastrophe, but it’s now ten years after the fact, and he's a carefree middle school student.

That is, until a mysterious masked man in red massacres Ganta's classmates and leaves Ganta to take the blame. Ganta is charged with this horrific crime and given a death sentence to be served at Deadman Wonderland, an incredibly twisted prison/theme-park, where the rules of "normal" life no longer apply. Every privilege, from edible food to life-sustaining drugs can be had for a price – but the currency at Deadman Wonderland is earned by competing in deadly sports staged for tourists' entertainment.

With its mix of graphic gore packaged in a smiley-happy people theme park setting, Deadman Wonderland is a bit of a mind-f*ck, and it's darn proud of it too. Going to an adult prison is scary enough for a young teen – but Deadman Wonderland throws curveball after curveball at Ganta to the point where he can barely maintain his sanity.

It doesn't help that this perverse prison takes such joy in treating its inmates like children or lab rats. The guidebook to this wacked-out prison features a smiling cartoon chicken with the title "Rules for Good Boys and Girls." The prison guard is a busty, trigger-happy sociopath. Those entertaining sports competitions for inmates? They're like an episode of American Gladiators set on "slice, dice and puree." Meanwhile, Ganta's only true friend is a mysterious albino girl who's either fearless, incredibly lucky or a little soft in the head. And that man in red? He's sure to pop up again – but who is he? What does he want? Why is has he singled out Ganta for this horrible fate?

What does it all mean? Honestly, I don't know, and that's one of the awesome things about Deadman Wonderland. Compared to many shonen manga stories where I can predict the next plot developments coming from pages away, Deadman Wonderland pummeled me with "didn't-see-that-coming" twists from almost the first page to the last. Sure, lots of it was purely for shock value, but it made for a compelling read.

Similar to Pandora Hearts, Deadman Wonderland uses prison as a substitute for hell – a place where pain and despair is inevitable and logic and justice are irrelevant. But what keeps Deadman Wonderland from being all doom and gloom is its black humor and its underlying themes of friendship and courage. Ganta is put in an intolerable situation, but he's constantly challenged to overcome despair and find the courage to stand up for what's right, even when all around him is going wrong.

Kondou's artwork captures the emotions, the over-the-top action and the absurd, surreal setting of this prison theme-park, but never at the expense of explaining what's going on. Like its theme park setting, Deadman Wonderland is a strange, but exhilarating story -- strap in and enjoy the ride.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.