▪	RELEASED BY:		VIZ MEDIA
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		JUN ABE
		▪	FORMAT:		JAPANESE/ B&W
		▪	PAGES:		226
		▪	RATING:		M
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		10/09/2007
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		10/11/2007
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		SCOTT CAMPBELL

Asami’s best friend Chiharu has stopped coming to school and isn’t answering her phone. It seems she’s found something that’s a little more addictive than the school art club. But when Chiharu mysteriously commits suicide, all Asami finds in her room is a strange video game called Portus. With the help of two of her teachers, Asami hopes to solve the mystery behind her friend’s macabre death and the bizarre game itself. But she isn’t prepared for the horrors of entering the twisted world of Portus, a game where if you lose, there is no option to continue. A frightening vision of modern manga horror, Jun Abe’s Portus might put you off video games for the rest of your life – it’s just that scary.

Something that the Japanese seem to like to include in many of their more modern horror tales is popular culture and technology. Often phones, the internet, and even video games are sources that the dead can use to communicate with the living world in horror tales – much like that of Portus. The video game in this book is called Portus, so that is where the title comes from. Asami’s friend supposedly commits suicide for no reason, but she thinks it has something to do with the game and a hidden portion of it that can connect the player with a grudge laden spirit from a not too distant past. The reason that this video game contains such an experience, such a curse, is because of one of the creators and the unfortunate object that he came across on a trip before the game was finished. It’s a gripping story of the spirit world being made one with the mysteries of technology and how they could become one in a very frightening way.

The art is down right creepy from the get go. Horror manga is meant to be frightening, but some of the imagery from this book in particular is sure to stay with you and even more likely to come to mind as you try to fall asleep for nights after reading it. The Japanese seem to have a real knack for creating visuals that nobody wants to see – subtle things that are so believable, and therefore that much more horrifying. The story breaks in and out of various dream states and alternate realities, and the challenge of making the visuals portray this is challenging, but Portus pulls it off in the most skillful way possible. The art is well crafted and adds so much to this already frightening concept, while the story is well-paced and creates a situation that you have to read through in one sitting because it just won’t do to not to know what the answers are behind the motivations and the curse of Portus. Very scary stuff - if you see this Portus game anywhere, don’t play it. Stick to Halo 3 like the rest of us.

IN SUMMARY: 
Portus is likely the most visually frightening manga to hit our shores this year. A story you can quickly immerse yourself into, whether you want to or not. Truly frightening.