San Diego, Calif., Jul 9, 2009 / 05:25 am
Matthew Lickona, author of “Swimming with Scapulars: True Confessions of a Young Catholic,” is now releasing a five-part comic series about a fetus named Alphonse who survives an abortion attempt and “sets out on a mission of revenge,” while his only friend persistently reminds him that payback isn’t the answer.
The first issue, titled, “Untimely Ripp’d” is described as a story about the intersection of eight lives following an attempted abortion on Alphonse.
For readers unfamiliar with the Japanese cartoons known as “Manga,” the powers attributed to Alphonse might seem ridiculous. But the exaggeration of emotions, actions and powers is part and parcel of the Manga style, which has become quite popular with American youth in the form of “Anime.”
The comic’s website explains that Alphonse is "grotesquely abnormal" due to his mother’s “use of controlled substances” which has left him “both sentient and coordinated.”