Joseph Luster
March 11, 2015 
The search for Paperboy is getting even more intense in the second volume of Tetsuya Tsutsui’s Prophecy, a gripping tale of cyber crimes and an increasingly complex search for the person(s) behind them. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Anti Cyber Crimes Division—under the expert, relentless guidance of Erika Yoshino—pulls out all the stops and makes some major headway, but it might end up being a case of one step forward, two steps back as their target continues to slip through the cracks.
The next victim on Paperboy’s chopping block is an environmentalist group known as Sea Guardian. Though they act high and mighty in their condemnation of and active attempts to stop Japanese whalers, the group raised the ire of the entire country when they mocked victims of the March 2011 tsunami. Paperboy pulled his usual stunt, hopping online to announced an impending cyber-attack on the group, and the Cyber Crimes Division uses this threat to get closer than ever to putting a lid on this case.
One thing they didn’t take into account, though, is the fact that Paperboy’s ever-growing supporters would be on hand to help his cause and throw authorities off his trail. Prophecy volume two takes us further behind that enigmatic newspaper mask, revealing a little bit more about the group that dons it and setting the stage for what should be one hell of a conclusion in the third and final volume.
With the exception of a few rough areas and character illustrations that appear rushed, Tsutsui’s art is as tight as the narrative. One of Prophecy‘s main strengths is that it’s entirely plausible, and while the audience gets a glimpse inside some of the nooks and crannies the police aren’t privy to, the story is still thick with mystery at this point. Prophecy is short—volume three is set to arrive later this month—so it’s a good series to pick up while it’s hot. It’s nice to know we’ll be getting to see how it all wraps up soon; hopefully Tsutsui’s taut storytelling holds steady for the final stretch.
Story & Art: Tetsuya Tsutsui
Publisher: Vertical Comics
© 2012 Tetsuya Tsutsui / Ki-ooon
Related Stories:
– Manga Review: Prophecy vol. 1
