Sharknife
Encyclopedia
Action genre
The word action has more than one meaning in fiction. Action is one of the fiction-writing modes authors use to present fiction. The term is also used to describe an exiting event or circumstance.-Action as a fiction-writing mode:...
/comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
/henshin
Henshin
is the Japanese word for "transformation," literally meaning, "to change or transform the body." This word is primarily used in manga, anime, and tokusatsu dramas for when a character transforms into a superhero. usually have a "henshin call", a catchphrase which they recite when they transform...
comics series by Corey Lewis
Corey Lewis
Corey Sutherland Lewis is an American comic book creator. He is primarily known as the creator of Sharknife, published by Oni Press. Other works include PENG for Oni, and providing back-up comic strips for the Darkstalkers and Street Fighter comics for UDON...
(sometimes credited as "Rey" or "The Rey"), intended to eventually consist of five digest-size
Digest size
Digest size is a magazine size, smaller than a conventional or "journal size" magazine but larger than a standard paperback book, approximately 5½ x 8¼ inches, but can also be 5⅜ x 8⅜ inches and 5½ x 7½ inches. These sizes have evolved from the printing press operation end...
d graphic novels.
The first volume was released in 2005, and a revised second edition, titled Sharknife Stage First, was released in 2006. The first printing advertised that a second volume would be released in Fall 2005, but it has since been pushed back due to Lewis's involvement with the Rival Schools comics series from UDON
UDON
UDON Entertainment Corporation is a studio of Asian-influenced comic book creators that provides creative services to the entertainment industry. The company is a publisher of comic books, graphic novels, and art books, as well as English editions of Japanese manga and Korean manhwa titles. Erik...
. The second volume is called Sharknife Double Z, which recently was adviced in REYYY website that this volume will be released in 2012.
Overview
The first novel focuses on Caesar Hallelujah, a busboy at Chinese restaurant the Guangdong Factory. The restaurant's walls are infested with monsters; when they periodically attack, Caesar eats a magical fortune cookie and transforms into the bio-mechanical ninja warrior Sharknife. Sharknife's task is to defend the Guangdong Factory and its customers, staff and food. Rather than scaring customers away, this has made the Guangdong Factory extremely popular, and Sharknife's battles with the monsters act almost as a floor show while the guests eat.Characters
Main characters
- Sharknife - Some kind of techno-organic, "pivot-posing hot lava ninja robot landslide of justice" with seemingly limitless fantastical abilities.
- Caesar Hallelujah - A busboy at the Guangdong Factory; mysteriously endowed with the magical power to transform into Sharknife.
- Chieko Momuza - A waitress at the Guangdong Factory. She makes the special fortune cookies that turn Caesar into Sharknife.
- Ombra Ravenga - The local gangster; upset by the spectacle Sharknife has created, he leads an onslaught of terror against the Guangdong Factory.
- Raymond Momuza - Chieko's father; owner of the Guangdong Factory.
Supporting Characters
- Titty Garva - Ombra's right-hand-man and best friend.
- Lei-Mo Genma - Another of Ombra's team; she concocts the monsters that are inserted into the Guangdong Factory walls.
- Rascal Boy - Appears in the Free Comic Book DayFree Comic Book DayFree Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...
Sharknife story. Has the power to manipulate Ghost Points.
Additional Characters
- Spice-Cadets - An entourage of master chefs with transformation abilities similar to Sharknife's.
- Orcasword - Ombra's secret ability to change into a creature extremely similar in design to Sharknife. He appears briefly at the end of Stage First but his true potential is unknown.
- Karate Ray - Sharknife's self-proclaimed "ambitious anti-hero"; appears in the Free Comic Book DayFree Comic Book DayFree Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...
story.
Monsters
- Alkiki Crabs - Gigantic monster crustaceans that feed off pineapple. Sharknife fights three of these at once in the opening battle of Sharknife Stage First.
- Orva Mando - A jellyfish/octopus hybrid. A favorite monster of Lei-Mo's that also falls against the abilities of Sharknife.
- Crima Bolo - A giant semi-mechanical bear monster with enormous physical strength and a pack of Crima-Cubs that do her bidding. Loves eggrolls.
Books
Sharknife, Volume 1 / Stage First
Introduces Caesar, Chieko, The Guangdong Factory, Ombra Ravenga, and the basic setup for the series: a restaurant under siege by monsters. Caesar spends most of his time turning into Sharknife and destroying monsters, while we are given brief introductions to other characters and concepts, including Ombra Ravenga's gangster origins. Light on plot, heavy on motion and action.For the second printing, Lewis adjusted the title to Sharknife Stage First, adding a 13-page story originally printed for Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...
, as well as a new cover and chapter graphics. The new cover also specifies that this version is the "Champion Edition" (a Street Fighter
Street Fighter
, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
reference) to emphasize these revisions.
Other Appearances by Sharknife
- Sharknife Brunchtime Bash (Free Comic Book DayFree Comic Book DayFree Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Retailer Joe Field of in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer...
2005) - A 13-page supplemental story where Sharknife fights 'Karate Ray, later collected in Sharknife Stage First. - PENG (released September 2005) - A 72-page one-shot comic book about the fictional sport "Advanced Kickball." The lead character, Rocky Hallelujah, is the younger brother of Sharknife's Caesar Hallelujah, who also appears in the story (and transforms into Sharknife to help the team out). This creates the sense of a shared universeShared universeA shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
in Lewis's work.
Vol. 1 Reviews
- Variety's Bags & Boards "Every so often there comes along a piece of pop culture, whether it's a song, a book or a film, that exudes an infectiously wild ride that's way more fun than it has any right to be. That's "Sharknife."
- ComixFan "It's a strange and energetic fusion of manga and indie comics sensibilities, with a healthy dollop of video games thrown in for spice."
- CHUD.com "On the whole it's a fun, goofy and ultimately disposable little fight comic that reads as homage to the Japanese art form. Akin to the "Teen Titans" cartoon, it's not authentic but it has enough respect for its inspirations that it reads as sincere."
- IGN.com "Sharknife could be a fun read. As it stands, Lewis' book is somewhat like listening to the Beatles from inside a Rubik's Cube. Puzzling, indeed."
- BeaucoupKevin "Sharknife makes me want to huff Pixie Stix, listen to Yoko Kanno's anime soundtracks, and play Viewtiful Joe until my eyes bleed, and in a good way."