Written and illustrated by Ahmed Hoke, @Large spawned from a fusion for his love for hip hop and manga, as well as from his life while growing up in Southern California during the 80s. Essentially, Hoke and TOKYOPOP are breaking new ground in the manga world, and perhaps in the mainstream comic book industry, which doesn't offer many hip hop-related titles. Most often, such titles are self-published or introduced by independent publishers and small presses. In the manga world, however, @Large, is definitely the first of its kind.
@Large has a number of characters, but, as Hoke says, "It never really focuses on one guy too much for one time. It kind of goes back-and-forth between different characters. It gives you an idea of the same story line from different view points." The core group of random "graffiti artists, skateboarders, rappers and weirdo-types" featured, is called DNA, which stands for Destroy N Authority. Rust is "a bugged-out graffiti artist with an anger-management problem." Then there's True Epic, "a battle hungry wannabe rapper who's not afraid of going up against the pros." Broke Rogers is the "overexposed, commercial MC with a big record deal." Another addition to the cast is Skye, "a blond bombshell" working undercover for the FBI to help expose the shady workings of a new record label backed by the Russian mob called the Red Coast. @Large is the name of the gaming lounge/cyber cafe/production studio where it all goes down.
Whether intentionally or not, Hoke expresses some serious commentary and observations on hip hop culture and life in general. There's a small focus on the type of senseless violence that occurs when there's beef. And also, though not specifically outlined, readers get the impression that Broke Rogers isn't so caught up with the fun and fast aspects of being signed to a top record label. But in the end, as Hoke says, "I think (people) will basically get enjoyment from it in terms of entertainment. You know, (there's) a good story line, good characters, lots of humor and just good artwork," if he does say so himself.
Seriously, at only $9.99 with almost 160 pages, @Large is great for what it is: an escaped into one of the most vibrant and fastest growing aspects of society today. That's hip hop culture. It's not like there are any other mangas of the kind lying around, but hopefully Hoke's work, backed by manga giant TOKYOPOP, will break the floodgates open. Kristien Brada-Thompson, TOKYOPOP's Media Relations rep. says of @Large, "it was such a hot story and so edgy, that it was a no-brainer for us and we're really excited about the project and we continue to look for edgy, current content." Manga-kas, don't sleep.
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