Oh, Tory, baby. You have so much to learn about the human heart. Oh, and not stalking the boys you have secret crushes (that are so secret even you don't know it's there) on. In this volume of Off*Beat, the closer Tory gets to Colin in order to learn more about the Gaia Project, the more Tory gets to realizing that it's more about Colin that anything else. He also starts realizing that his actions have consequences - and those consequences hurt. It's yet another wonderful volume of Off*Beat that has me eagerly awaiting the publication of the third.

You can read my complete review of OFF*BEAT 2 at my blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/ ( )

Colin confronts Tory about his stalking, but Tory lies and pretends that everything Colin noticed is a coincidence. They agree to meet up at Tory's house for another tutoring session (Tory doesn't even bother to ask Mandy to join them this time around), and Paul gets on Tory's case for his hidden motives for "befriending" Colin. It surprises Tory when Colin goes out of his way to spend more time with him. What he doesn't know is that Colin now has his own hidden agenda.

Whereas almost nothing happened in volume 1, volume 2 had actual forward movement. That said, it's still unclear exactly which genre(s) this falls under. It's for sure a mystery. Tokyopop has "Drama/Romance" on the back cover...and I don't know that I agree. Yes, Tory blushed anytime Colin paid attention to him, and if his interest in Colin were purely about finding out more about the Gaia Project, he wouldn't have cared so much how his hair looked before meeting up with Colin. And yes, there was a line of dialogue that indicated that Colin felt drawn to Tory as well, and that it wasn't for a reason that made sense to him. And Mandy seemed like she shipped them, which was...kind of weird (I sincerely hope that there was more of a point to Mandy's existence in this series than noticing feelings brewing between Tory and Colin before they themselves did). So yeah, there could be mutual interest. But Tory's spent the whole series stalking Colin, and Colin spent a good chunk of this volume keeping things from Tory and checking up on him, so I'm not really comfortable with calling it a romance.

And speaking of Tory's stalking, what was with Paul? On the one hand, he lectured Tory about getting closer to the person he was stalking. On the other hand, he later gave Tory all the Gaia Project files he was able to rescue, knowing that this would only feed Tory's obsession.

Although this volume included a few peeks into Colin's home life, I still don't have a clue what sort of secret he might be hiding. He mentioned something called "atunement" (Tory apparently didn't have it) and repeatedly told Tory that he wasn't sick or sickly, even though he certainly seemed like it.

I'm frustrated enough with the lack of information and answers to try getting volume 3 via interlibrary loan. It looks like only 5 libraries own a physical copy, so there's a good possibility I won't get it, but it's still worth a try. And yes, I know I could buy an electronic copy. I don't want to do that. If that's my only option, then I'm just never going to finish the series.

If this is where things end, then I'm somewhat annoyed. Volume 2's pacing was a lot better than volume 1, to the point that I'm wondering whether this could have been a 2-volume series if it had been more tightly written.

Extras:

A short preview of a Tokyopop OEL manga series called Earthlight. I'm not interested in reading more of it.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) ( )

In Off*Beat v.2 Tory finally becomes friends with Colin and we see him lose track of time and neglect his documentation in lieu of enjoying himself. Tory grows a great deal in this volume and we see his obsession with Colin turn to heartwarming love, (though Tory himself is oblivious to his true feelings) and he's able to think straight enough to recognize he's really hurt Mandy. I still feel sorry for Mandy, who is dealing with the loss of Tory as a potential boyfriend, and can't help but see her two friends as a couple now. Thanks to Tory, Colin seems to finally have come out of his shell and uses every opportunity to make physical contact with him (reading it, my heart was racing as much as Tory's xD). There's really no better way to describe their relationship than "harmony." At one point in the story Colin suspects Tory of having supernatural powers and tests Tory through a strange and wonderful bonding technique. Finding instead that Tory simply has an uncanny knack for private investigation, Colin turns to ice and begins to think of Tory as an enemy or rival. The way Colin's feelings suddenly chill toward Tory is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. Off*Beat is an exceptionally well written and adorable comic ( )

The first two volumes of Jen Lee Quick's graphic novel series Off*Beat were originally published by Tokyopop as part of its line of original English-language manga. A third volume was planned but never released by Tokyopop and Off*Beat sadly went out of print. I enjoyed the series and so was trilled when Chromatic Press brought Off*Beat back in a new edition with additional bonus content that previously hadn't been released. The long-awaited third volume began serialization in Chromatic Press' Sparkler Monthly as well. Off*Beat, Volume 2 was first released in 2006 while the Chromatic Press edition was released in 2013. By this point I have read the first two volumes of Off*Beat several times. My fondness for the series seems to only grow with each re-reading. I love the characters in all of their delightful awkwardness and I enjoy Quick's sense of humor and the series' drama a great deal. Off*Beat is a series that makes me happy to read and I'm even happier that it's back in print so that more people can have a chance to enjoy it.

Tory has developed a bit of an obsession with his new next door neighbor Colin who moved in under strange circumstances. Intensely curious about the mysterious young man, Tory even managed to convince his mother to allow him to transfer to Colin's high school so that he could learn more about him. (Of course, that wasn't the reason that he gave her.) Colin is fairly introverted and isn't really out to make friends but Tory did find a way to get closer to him by offering his services as a physics tutor. The extra attention that Colin receives from Tory hasn't gone unnoticed. Although Colin has started to open up to Tory, he questions the other young man's motives. Tory tries to pass off his always being around as a mere coincidence and says that he's simply interested in becoming friends. But he is also interested in uncovering more information about "The Gaia Project," a top-secret program that Colin has some sort of connection to. Unfortunately, Tory's prying is about to get him into some trouble, just as he was beginning to figure out his relationship with Colin.

Most of Off*Beat, Volume 2 follows Tory's perspective of events, but portions are also seen from Colin's point of view as well as from those of Tory's mother, their friend and neighbor Paul, and Tory's classmate Mandy. Although I like all of the characters and enjoy the realism of their connections, one of my favorite parts of Off*Beat is the slow, natural development of Tory and Colin's relationship. Tory's interest may have begun out of mere curiosity, but Colin has become very important to him. Tory hasn't quite realized it himself yet, but his friends and family (and the readers) can tell he has a crush. And it's absolutely adorable. Quick captures perfectly the teenage awkwardness of a potential romance. Tory is almost constantly flustered and even Colin has begun to wonder confusedly why they seem to be drawn to each other. However, their relationship began under dubious circumstances at best. In addition to navigating the normal challenges of a budding romance, they will also have to deal with the fact that it all started because Tory was spying on Colin.

In part because of that, Tory is understandably under a fair amount of stress, something that exhibits itself through his dreams and his propensity for flights of fantasy. This is just one example of some of the excellent characterization in Off*Beat. Tory and Colin and all of the others have their good points and their bad, making them well-rounded characters with believable relationships. There is a fair amount of humor in their interactions and sarcasm is a common way that they communicate, which amuses me tremendously. Off*Beat also has an air of mystery about it. Both Colin an Tory have secrets that they're keeping from each other and the enigma of Gaia Project is looming ever larger over the series. Quick has been slowly revealing more and more about the project, and about Colin, but there are still plenty of questions left to be answered. On top of that, Off*Beat, Volume 2 ends on one heck of a cliffhanger. I'm so glad that now, almost a decade after the series first began, that the conclusion will finally be revealed. I can't wait to see how everything is resolved in the final volume. I truly love Off*Beat.

Experiments in Manga ( )

In this volume the investigation takes a definite backseat to the interactions between Torry and Colin. It's something we all wanted more of in the second volume so it's glorious, but still the mystery element of the first was very enjoyable, and it was a little sad to see it fade somewhat. While reading through the first time, I was a slightly annoyed at Colin's transition from being so standoffish to being so... nice. And friendly. Only then we find out WHY, I whimpered with pity for Tory and went back and read the entire thing over again. Still, the nicer Colin increased the feeling of it being more like a typical romance, which saddened me again. I also missed Mandy. She isn't as interesting as Tory and Colin, but she was still surprisingly endearing. Her simpler views of the world came off to me as less completely idiotic and more just some refreshing simplicity in a book full of messed up people. The volume did seem to be more focused on consequences. Tory's having to pay for his... interesting behavior. And it's all still done with the the wonderful subtlety, tension, and humor of the first volume. Some loved traits from the first volume are indeed traded out for some much desired (and needed) traits, but it's more different than bad. I was fairly surprised to see something new introduced in to the mystery right at the end of the second book, with only one more volume to go till the end. It's hard to believe the author can wrap this entire mystery up satisfyingly in one volume with plenty of the character interaction we got from the first two, but it's also hard to believe Jen would do it without knowing what she was doing. ( )