Have you ever wanted something so badly that you would go up against everything just to get it? Bombos vs. Everything is a manga about a lot of things. We have a boy from a small town who wants to get out and see the world. We have a budding romance between a thoughtful girl and a clueless dolt. We have male…camaraderie.

But…but, but, but!!! Who reads shonen manga for that? We want fighting!!! Bombos vs. Everything is one of the few TOKYOPOP world manga titles that really captures that shonen fighting manga feel. Bombos is a character who knows what he wants and is ready to fight for it. Much stands in his way but he will never give up until he reaches his goal.

As a big shonen manga fan, I was really excited to work on this project. I know it has been a long wait but the book is finally here. I know many people have been looking forward to this book since the winning entry in Rising Stars vol.4 and I’m happy to finally deliver it to you! And if you’ve never heard of it before but like action manga, I think you’ll enjoy it a lot.

So I urge you shonen fans to give it a look. It should have all the smack-talking, bat-whacking, and ass-kicking you could hope for. And if you’re the type of manga fan that needs more than that to get you interested, there’s a nice story to go along with all the battles to please you as well.

~Alexis Kirsch, editor

Review from Anime News Network
 (read the full text here)
With its fun, irreverent attitude and high-octane art, this is one TOKYOPOP original that isn't embarrassing to read. Anyone who loves action ought to pick it up.

~Carlo Santos for Anime News Network

To get to the most totally awesome city of Bokonon, a select few prospects must face the ultimate challenge--surviving an epic showdown with the mysterious Qualifiers. Meet Bombos, the most totally awesome paperboy ever to grace the provincial backwater. More than anything, he wants to get to the city and he knows how to do it--with attitude and a bat. It won't be easy. Standing between Bombos and a ticket out of his little out-of-the-way town? An editor-in-chief whose bizarre challenges could either help him or get him killed; a hyper-competitive loser named Veng; a giant potato-like creature with indiscriminate eating habits, his complete inability to be on time for anything, much weirdness with his best friend Addy and let's not forget, the Qualifiers. Or, to simplify, it's Bombos versus Everything!

Maximo V. Lorenzo was a runner-up in Rising Stars 4 and studied at the Kubert School of Cartooning  in New Jersey. He gets his inspiration from both eastern and western comics and is a big video game fan.

Bombos
A smack-talking young man with a strong will to fight. Bombos exhibits an ability to adjust to whatever his situation is in a fight. He has a tough exterior but and usually acts like a jerk to everyone, though he has a soft spot for his friend Addy. He doesn't care much for Veng as he finds him less clever verbally and mentally than himself.

Veng
Very quick to anger, Veng explodes in rage at Bombos constantly. He wants to leave the city to become a famous fighter but seems to always be two steps behind Bombos no matter how hard he works.

Addy
A compassionate young lady, she befriends Bombos even though the rest of the village finds him really annoying. She practices as a student nurse and studies wildlife. She gets irritated with both Bombos and Veng constantly. Addy has feelings for Bombos but since he always seems so preoccupied with leaving her behind and going to Bokonon, she wonders if it’s even worth pursuing. 

Quake
A village elder, Master Quake knows a lot about the world. He acts as if he doesn't care for Bombos and Veng but he may have a soft spot for his moronic protégés. He runs the town newspaper for which Bombos and Veng work as paperboys.

EVIDENCE FOR:
Remember three years ago when Andy Helms won the 4th Rising Stars of Manga contest with his Bombos one-shot? (Of course not, nobody reads Rising Stars of Manga.) Helms went on to other projects, but Maximo Lorenzo—a runner-up from the same contest—has taken the concept to graphic novel fruition, with fantastic results. It's basically a love letter to every coming-of-age boy-meets-world action epic out there, but it is so joyful, so dynamic, that it's impossible not to get hooked. Lorenzo's scratchy, punk-rock linework calls to mind Hajime Ueda's FLCL manga, except this series actually makes sense, which makes all the difference in the world. Bombos's fights are wild and rough, always threatening to fly right off the page, yet the layout is clear enough to understand what's going on—his finishing blow against the Qualifier, for example, is so cinemetically perfect that it deserves to be read twice. But even so, the series also displays a wide emotional range—from the brash, irreverent dialogue ("I seriously doubt you can grasp the magnitude of ass-kicking you're about to receive!") to quiet moments of crushing poignancy (end of Chapter 3). In short, it makes you root for the characters in battle and care about them deep down, in a way that surpasses many other rock-'em-sock-'em fight series.

EVIDENCE AGAINST:
Oh, it's so easy to spot when an upcoming young artist loves Naruto. Just look—Bombos is a cocky young hero who annoys everyone else in his small-town village, there's only one girl who bothers to talk to him, his closest male acquaintance is a fierce rival, and he's dead set on training to become the toughest fighter. (But hey, if it works for Kishimoto, might as well use it...) Perhaps the best approach to enjoying this volume is to just strap in for the ride and try not to mentally compare it too much to anything. The story is simple and way too predictable, and the main characters aren't developed much beyond the concept of being badass dudes. The hipster appeal also comes on too thick at times—brash dialogue is nice, but people don't have to be constantly saying "My awesomeness is totally awesome" (or something to that effect). This is a story so wild and action-packed that the inherent coolness ought to speak for itself.

FINAL VERDICT:
With its fun, irreverent attitude and high-octane art, this is one TOKYOPOP original that isn't embarrassing to read. Anyone who loves action ought to pick it up.

~Carlo Santos for Anime News Network

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/right-turn-only/2007-08-21