Review of "SHUTTERBOX"

Gabycat's Rating: 4 of 5

It's fun how I like SHUTTERBOX so much, but I have always refrained from writing an entry about it.
SHUTTERBOX is an ongoing series, that will soon have volume 4 being published by TokyoPop.
Have you read the previous three volumes? They are for sale here at TP, and sure they must be on a bookstore close to you.

"SHUTTERBOX" is a story about muses.
We all have blamed our muse or muses for one thing or the other.
For artists block, writers block, for the good luck when finishing a specially inspired story or drawing and we want to strangle said muse when we have ideas but they can't seem to come out of our heads.

In "SHUTTERBOX" muses take shape and voice, and are explained to be the spirits of those who departed the human world, and before they are reborn they have jobs as muses and have important tasks to perform. It's up to  special girl who wanders into the Muses realm - Merridiah, to help the Muses world to keep doing their duty.
This girl, Megan, would be trained over a year in the University of Merridiah to become a living muse, and this way she will tunr into an anchor that will keep the world of the muses attached to the world of the humans. For the muses this living anchor is of most importance, because their sole existance depends on being useful to humanity, by guiding them to certain goals, by inspiring different ideas.

What would you think if those goals weren't always good ones? There are as many muses as there are ideas. Some muses may inspire creative writing, others fashion sensibilty, and some even murders.

All these different kind of muses are in Shutterbox. Not all Muses are good, and not all are bad, and even those who seem good may have their skeletons in the closet. Literally.

But that's just what it is about SHUTTERBOX so far. I wish hard that Tokyopop would make lots of cool merchandising using SHUTTERBOX, like stickers, or even postcards or why not an artbook?
I think SHUTTERBOX needs to be more known and advertised because it is such a good story and has lovely art.

Come and to share your opinion about SHUTTERBOX  with me:

Danielle says she likes SHUTTERBOX because:
Because it gives you another idea of how to view the world. That maybe the universes we imagine or think we imagine aren't really that imaginary after all. You not only get a story about a girl and how her life changes but another perspective on this world and history itself.

Links to other Shutterbox online reviews:
http://www.tokidokijournal.com/manga/shutterbox/
http://www.tokyopop.com/S-1173/

Links to Shutterbox sites and forums:
http://www.wiredpsyche.com/shutterbox.html
http://shutterbox.livejournal.com

Shutterbox Quiz:
http://quizilla.com/users/Realm2Aquelonde/quizzes/Which%20%20SHUTTERBOX%20%20%20Muse%20are%20you%3F/