Dominion is a cyberpunk manga written and illustrated by Ghost In The Shell creator Shirow Masamune. First released as a serialized manga in 1986, it was later adapted into 3 OVA series under the name Dominion Tank Police. This copy I’m reviewing is a tankobon published in 1994 by Kadokawashoten.
Just like his other manga Orion, I much prefer Shirow’s earlier day works ( late 80s to mid 90s ), where his doomed foray into gaudy digital paint has yet began and the female characters he draws weren’t overtly sexualized. I also enjoy the lighter mood and comedic style of his earlier comics, which had for the most part disappeared by the time he drew Ghost In The Shell.
Shirow’s drawing style was still evolving but even back in the day he was already a supremely accomplished artist, as can be seen in his complex compositions and extremely detailed drawings. This volume is mostly black and white but there are select pages showcasing Shirow’s very beautiful ( pre-digital days ) color illustrations.
I picked up this used copy during one of my yearly trips to Tokyo but there are also some available on Amazon.com and Amazon Japan ( see purchase links below ). If you’re a fan of Shirow’s art work this comes highly recommended.
“Dominion – Shirow Masamune 特捜戦車隊ドミニオン” manga details :
Dimensions – 14.8 x 10.6 x 1.4 cm
softcover, 235 pages
Full color + B&W, in Japanese
Buy From Amazon.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon FR | Amazon IT | Amazon DE | Amazon ES
You might also be interested in these items :
Dominion Conflict – Shirow Masamune Manga Review
Pieces Gem 02 – Masamune Shirow Manga Review
Orion – Masamune Shirow Manga Book Review
Pieces Gem 01 – Masamune Shirow Art Book Review
Intron Depot – Shirow Masamune Art Book Review
July 3rd, 2019 at 4:23 pm
Love old school Shirow
He’s up there with the very best
Wish he’d do manga like this again
Great blog as always
July 5th, 2019 at 10:50 pm
I agree with you. When Shirow discovered Photoshop, he lost a lot.
July 10th, 2019 at 7:30 am
Huge Shirow fan. Agreed that his earlier works are so much more playful and fun to read.
His world building is (in my opinion) unmatched to this day. I disagree about his use of digital paint. “Ghost in the Shell: Man/Machine Interface” is so beautiful it hurts to read.
It’s his descent into erotic art where we lost him. And I weep for him daily. 😉
What’s really interesting is going way back to his “Black Magic” book. You can definitely see his style forming, but it’s looks so very primitive by comparison. Unfortunately “Black Magic’s” story is nearly incomprehensible, I would go so far as to describe it as a complete mess — even one of the characters mentions at one point how the story makes no sense! Today it’s only of interest because of its only slightly related spin-off from the book which became the “Black Magic M-66” OVA. (Basically a terminator knock-off minus the time travel)
“Appleseed” was my introduction to manga, and I dove in whole heartedly. He will always have a home in my heart, no matter how crazy he has become!