Jabberwocky (manga)

From Mangafox: One of the Japanese promos calls it "The Da Vinci Code meets Jurassic Park". I think that sums it up pretty nicely. It's got dinosaurs, spies, intrigue, action, and conspiracy, all rendered in lovely film noir-esque art with a little fan service cherry on top (Lily!). And for the slightly geeky, it's got cool (and sometimes obscure) references to art, literature, film, history, science... you name it. Definitely a manga for adults!

Jabberocky is a manga by Hisa Masato and "adventure/sci-fi/action" doesn't really do it justice.

British secret agent Lily Apricot gets an assignment to steal back a Russian treasure only to discover that !

Not to be confused with Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky or The Jabberwockeez dance group. -- Tropes associated with Jabberwocky:


 * The Alcoholic / Functional Addict(?): Lily loves her booze. "I drank two bottles, I can't be drunk!"
 * Exacerbated by the fact that she creates her weapons from wine bottles.
 * All Myths Are True: or at least have a rather disturbing twist.
 * Ancient Conspiracy:
 * Animesque: Inverted, it's pretty Sin City / Hellboy-esque aside from Lily and the head of the Chateau L'If.
 * Badass: Sabata Van Cleef.
 * Badass Longcoat: Nice and tattered; sometimes makes it seem as if he has wings or multiple tails.
 * Good Smoking, Evil Smoking: Definitely of the "good, cigar-chomping badass" variety.
 * The Gunslinger: Has at least six guns on his belt.
 * Improbable Aiming Skills: Him and D'Jango.
 * Off With His Head:
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: Somehow manages to get away with a beard and hat combo in public despite, you know,  .
 * Beethoven Was an Alien Spy:
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Nicola Tesla.
 * Chess Motif: Lily repeatedly refers to herself as just a pawn to be sacrificed in order to take the king, which irritates Sabata to no end (she gets better).
 * Complete Monster:
 * Driven to Suicide:
 * Eyepatch of Power: D'Jango has one with a coffin on it where
 * Feathered Fiend:
 * A God Am I:
 * Go Out with a Smile:
 * Historical In-Joke
 * Holy Hand Grenade:
 * In Space: Hellboy / The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen / Van Helsing with !
 * Incendiary Exponent / Monumental Damage:
 * Instant Awesome, Just Add Ninja:
 * Kill All Humans:
 * Kill It With Fire / Shock and Awe / Death From Above:
 * Latex Perfection / The Masquerade:
 * The Man Behind the Man:
 * Meaningful Name: Lily and Sabata are named after a real life idol singer and a spy novelist, respectively.
 * The Men in Black: The Pinkertons are really eccentric and really deadly.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Lily Apricot.
 * Boobs of Steel
 * Cleavage Window: On par with Molotov Cocktease, but with a proper clasped collar.
 * Combat Stilettos: Actually chunky stripper heels but impractically high heels nonetheless.
 * Most Common Superpower
 * Of Corsets Sexy
 * Spy Catsuit
 * Stripperiffic
 * Underboobs
 * Whip It Good
 * Not So Different:
 * Odd Couple /
 * Pet the Dog:
 * Kick the Dog:
 * The Dog Bites Back / Hoist By His Own Petard:
 * Purely Aesthetic Era
 * Room Full of Crazy: Tesla's. He takes notes with a weird machine hooked up to his head and has notes on top of notes and takes note of all of them.
 * Science Marches On:
 * Shout-Out: Too many.
 * Shown Their Work: The author's notes at the end of the chapters.
 * Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Very much on the ideal side, after all,
 * Spot of Tea: Sabata takes time out for one while
 * Tyke Bomb:
 * What Measure Is a Non-Human?
 * Who You Gonna Call?: The Chateau L'If, that's who!
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds:
 * X Meets Y: The Da Vinci Code (Historical In-Joke conspiracies) meets Jurassic Park  meets   meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen/Van Helsing  . Style-wise it's Hellboy meets Sin City.
 * Tyke Bomb:
 * What Measure Is a Non-Human?
 * Who You Gonna Call?: The Chateau L'If, that's who!
 * Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds:
 * X Meets Y: The Da Vinci Code (Historical In-Joke conspiracies) meets Jurassic Park  meets   meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen/Van Helsing  . Style-wise it's Hellboy meets Sin City.