Undertown (comics)

Undertown is an American manga-inspired comic written by Jim Pascoe and illustrated by Jake Myler and published by Tokyopop. The manga was released by Tokyopop on August 14, 2007. The magazine, New York, offered an exclusive preview of Undertown on its online-only comics page. The manga gets syndicated in over 50 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Denver Post, Vancouver Sun and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It was dropped from Los Angeles Times Sunday pages on July 5, 2009.

Plot
10-year-old Sama is a shy young boy who is something of a crybaby, as his father apparently constantly reminds him. Sama cries so often that the tears stain his cheeks, but he finds comfort in his teddy bear, Eddie.

Sama's father is hospitalized after a heart attack, and given only a month to live. A stranger at the hospital tells Sama that he can find a cure for his father, the Sugar Stone, a magical healing item, but it is located in the mysterious realm of Undertown. All Sama need do is crawl under his bed, close his eyes, and countdown from ten to one. When his father’s condition turns worse, Sama takes a chance and does as the stranger told him. He wakes up in a strange place where anthropomorphized animals and insects do battle for the one thing that is most valuable in Undertown, sugar. Sama gets an even bigger surprise when his teddy bear, Eddie suddenly comes to life. With the help of a rabbit named B.W., a porcupine name Joey P.P., and a reticent penguin named Broom, Sama takes on The Cloud, the leader of the Insect Insurgents, to find the Sugar Stone. Then in a place called the sand sea they find lizards and the lizards don't choose to fight along side them. But mystery and secret histories swirl around a boy and his teddy bear, and before Sama can save his father, he’ll have to discover them.

Characters

 * Sama:A young boy at age ten who is lonely and has only one friend. His teddie bear Eddie is from somewhere where teddie bears are made and they can move and talk.


 * Eddie: He is Sama's teddie bear and Sama's only friend. Eddie lost his memory when he was sent up to Sama's world now he wants to find the Teddy Bear Bell. In the first Volume, He finds it, and it makes Eddie remember everything about his past, including what happened to the Teddy Bears.

Reception
Mania.com's criticises the manga for not developing the background, saying "characters interact so fleetingly with the cities, the deserts and the forests that Undertown feels like little more than a cardboard backdrop". Coolstreak Cartoons's Leroy Douresseaux commends the illustrator's use of toning in the manga making the art "highly detailed".