 More thieving antics from Jing & Kir in the 2nd volume of King of Bandits...
5 - The Flower of Neverland
Jing's battle with Master Gear continues, but Master Gear has an
advantage in the form of Sherry - a fox (of sorts) with the power to
sense heartbeats. Makes it hard for Jing to hide... A little trickery
and some help from Mirabelle allows Jing & Kir to escape to the
city's underworld, where those against Master Gear live, led by the
Captain. It's supposed to be comparitively safe down there, but when
Master Gear feels threatened, nowhere's safe - and Mirabelle is
kidnapped by henchman Clockodile...
6 - How to Steal Time
Clockodile's not much of a match for Jing & Kir... Jing uses the
dead creature to send a message to Master Gear - "Your time in Adonis
is running out". Time for him to send another batch of flunkies after
the Bandit King - this time, the Eggnog Team, three clockwork roosters
with bad attitude. Meanwhile, the Captain's not happy about Jing
stirring things up - he & his men were quite happy hiding out down
below until Jing drew Master Gear's attention to them. Not that he
needs their help to take Master Gear down - Jing has a plan, that
involves stealing time itself...
7 - A Clockwork Grape
Jing's plan is now in full flow - and with Mirabelle having talked the
Captian and his men into helping out, it should be easier than ever now
to bring down Master Gear. He still has one last trick up his sleeve,
though - trapping Jing in a room at the top of his clocktower, he hopes
to use Sherry to catch Jing out when he can't protect himself. His plan
doesn't play out as expected, though, and Master Gear finds himself
without his only real ally...
8 - The Most Dangerous Cargo
Meet the Por Vora - the most dangerous creature known to man, and
likely to explode at anything that may make them nervous. Little
wonder, then, that they're used in place of dynamite by unscrupulous
miners looking to make a quick buck. Transporting them to the mines is
a dangerous job, though - and Jing seems to be getting into the Por
Vora-transport business. Apart from the inherent danger of travelling
with the little critters, though, there's one person in particular who
seems real keen to keep Jing out of the transport trade...
9 - Incandescent Memories
Time for the most dangerous part of Jing's journey with the Porvora -
the trip across the Venus Source, a lava-strewn wasteland where the
rocks are alive & not at all keen to let travellers pass them by.
The first few challenges, Jing manages to survive, but the further into
the Source they travel, the harder it gets to keep the lava at bay...
The three chapters that finish off the Adonis story are the best
parts here - there's plenty of action here & much more plot to the
story than there is to the second story in this volume. Jing's travels
with the Porvora plays out more like a one-gag story, with it simply
being a series of events where Jing has to keep the living bombs from
going off. Fair enough, that story won't finish until the next volume,
but it'll need to develop a plot in a hurry if it's to keep my interest.
3 out of 5 chapters being of interest isn't too bad, though, and the Adonis story was good enough to make the volume worthwhile overall. |
