Normally, this spot is where the series' editor makes some (hopefully) witty observations about how they came to work on the particular project and what that experience was like.

But seeing as how writer James Barr came to eV via a route a little out of the norm for an original TOKYOPOP manga, I felt he'd have a much more interesting take on the process than I would.

This all started with a phone call. And not unlike the phone call featured in the opening pages of this book, it would entail a tremendous amount of work.

eV was a concept created by Roger Mincheff, and later pitched to me as an open-ended franchise. Cute girl. Outer space. Earth’s sole political representative. It was up to me to fill in the blanks and deliver what would become this very book. As a rabid disciple of science fiction, comic books and cute girls, I was an easy sell.  And so began the process of building -- what would eventually be -- eV’s densely populated universe.

Up until then, my writing career had been largely confined to the web, where zombies, mummies, and giant prehistoric crustaceans delivered my lines without complaint. At the time, the leap to print was an impossible dream -- one of those goals that float in the ether, just a little to improbable to reach for. Fortunately, it reached for me instead.

Over the next two years, I set about creating a cast of personalities to inhabit these pages, refining them little by little, and carving away anything that didn’t feel -- in a word -- awesome. Thanks to a brilliant editing staff, and the top shelf creature designs of Alfa Robbi, I’d say we’ve produced a pretty insanely great bunch of characters. After all, when you’re writing, your characters are your co-workers. So they may as well be a blast to hang out with, right?

That said, it’s been a pleasure to spend some time with Evie and her friends. She’s evolved gradually along the way, defying her inexperience, mastering her fears, and finally gaining the confidence to conquer a strange new world.

James Farr – writer, eV
Tulsa, OK.
December, 2007

Twenty minutes from now, visitors from a far-off world will fall into Earth’s orbit and issue a most unexpected request...
These “Emissaries” invite a single human being to be selected as a representative for all of Earth in an intergalactic parliament. Mankind is given five years in which to prepare this volunteer for the rigors of space travel and the intricacies of alien diplomacy.
Scientist Dr. Richard Wymond devises the ZETTA serum—a nano-biological cocktail that will augment its recipient with nearly superhuman abilities. But when Wymond’s daughter Evie is mortally injured in a freak accident, he makes a fateful decision, and rather than let her die, injects Evie with the ZETTA serum. Now the fate of the world rests upon the shoulders of one 17-year-old girl.
How will Evie cope with this awesome responsibility? Will she survive the strange political intrigues of the parliament? And more importantly, are the Emissaries’ intentions as honorable as they have led us to believe…?

James Farr (writer): is an artist, writer, and professional Transformer devotee. He currently writes for television, film and comics and is the author and creator of the highly successful Xombie web animated series. Appealing to viewers of all ages, tastes and backgrounds, Xombie episodes have been downloaded and viewed over 13 million times. A native of Orange County, California, James currently works out of his home office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lives with his wife Amber, a dog and a cat.

Alfa Robbi (artist): Illustrator, Character Designer, Concept Designer. Alfa was born and grew up in Semarang City, on the island of Java, Indonesia. He has published many works in his native country and abroad, including pin-ups and illustrations for comics and various small projects. Alfa’s current focus is the independent comic studio Papillon, founded in 2002, which he runs with his magnificent friends. Other activities include sleeping, eating, playing PC games, watching the news, doing a little work and then sleeping again :)

Samantha Evangeline Wymond: Daughter of Richard and Penelope Wymond. Right before the aliens' deadline, Evie is fatally injured in a car crash and Richard uses the one remaining dose of the enhancement serum on her to save her life. As a result, Evie now must take up the mantle of Earth’s ambassador in the Intergalactic Parliament.

Dr. Richard Wymond:  Evie's father and the world's leading scientist in the field of nanotechnology.

Cricket: Evie's small, floating nanotech companion. About the size of a tennis ball, Cricket is a cognitive monitoring program generated by the nanotech serum and linked to her own conscious and subconscious mind. Cricket knows what Evie's thinking, even when she herself doesn't want to know. In a nutshell, he’s her high-tech conscience.

Controller Vode: Evie's liaison on Nyu'Tros, he and his fellow Sentions are Parliamentary Custodians who, in order to put her more at ease in her new surroundings, look like cute, humanoid bunnies to Evie.

“[eV] has the feel of a summer blockbuster…” PopCultureShock.com

BookLoons
This Original English-language manga conceived by James Farr and Roger Mincheff, written by James Farr, and drawn by Alfa Robbi and Papillon Studion might be the manga to pull non-manga graphic novel fans into the genre. While in manga format, eV has a very American feel.

Evie Wymond never gets to see her father – he is always working late at his nanobiology lab. For five years he has been working on the ZETTA serum, an injection to make a near superhuman to send into space to the intergalactic parliament. However, every ambassador Earth comes up with winds up dead, and as the deadline draws near, it looks like Dr. Wymond himself will be sent into space. On their way to see him, Evie and her mom get into a car accident that leaves Evie with only a small chance of survival. Thinking only as a father, Dr. Wymond injects Evie with the ZETTA serum. Now with superhuman abilities, Evie is sent to the space parliament where things are even stranger than they seem.

What makes eV such a good recommendation for Western graphic novel fans is that the beginning could be the start of any typical superhero story – a teenage girl, through no fault of her own, becomes endowed with superhuman powers by a weird serum. However, instead of sticking around to save her city from villains, she is sent into space and winds up battling the bad guys there. Of course, Evie is just learning about her abilities, so, like many superheroes, she does have to take time getting to know her new self and making the right friends. While the artwork has more of a manga style than a Western one, some panels' screentones look like a typical American comic, once again easing Western readers into manga.

This is a solid SF manga with plenty of fun characters and scary aliens. The smaller story arc in the first eV volume wraps up nicely, but only sets the stage for the larger story. Also, the vivid images and well developed story would make an excellent American anime (I really wish someone would do this), which would help even more readers get hooked.

~Ricki Marking-Camuto, BookLoons
http://www.bookloons.com/cgi-bin/Review.asp?bookid=9482