Desert Punk, its Fallout for manga!

If you tear open this world, bleed it dry, and then let the remains out in the sun to be bleached for an eternity, you will have something resembling the world of Desert Punk. Welcome to the Apocalypse, nothing survived. Except for the humans of course. As resilient as the hardy cockroach humanity with its inexhaustible appetite and drive would definitely survive, no matter what the cataclysm. But the world left for them to inhabit is a harsh place indeed. The story takes place almost entirely in the Great Kanto Desert, a massive desert that stretches on in all directions. A dune sea where only the survival of the fittest counts and the weak die.

Cue the pose

No place for idealism here, no place for heroes, who has time for heroics in an era where survival is a daily struggle. No to master this vast desert requires a new breed of protagonist, and the mangaka sets about to do just that. He creates for us the most unique manga hero around. The legendary Desert Punk, Demon of the Great Kanto Desert, master of men's souls and trickster extraordinaire. Desert Punk is a Handyman of much renown in the Kanto Desert, reputed as having never broken a contract. He is a scourge of desert bandits and all who would incur his wrath. However behind the legend and the masks and deception there is young man, of flesh and blood and spirit. A very perverted spirit.

And of course, the villainous horde.

Surprise, surprise. The man behind the persona of the Punk is definitely far worse than his identity. In the humble opinion of the characters who have interacted with him the most, Kanta (alter ego Desert Punk) is a smelly, perverted, selfish, untrustworthy, devil of a young man. But say what you will of him the lad is sharp. Sharper than most characters in this series. And ultimately its his wits that get him out of tight jams more often than not. Desert Punk is a brilliant telling centred in and around the wasteland idea. The realism of a harsh wasteland is captured with a perfection rarely seen in manga and comic books. The artwork is equally capable of inspiring awe in the readers as it is of sending them in fits of laughter. And the storyline matches pace with it in full fury. Its a twisted tale of greed and power, where there are no clear heroes, no clear villains, and every character has their own agenda. The storyline switches to and fro throughout the series, swinging from dark and introspective to gallows humor when the need calls for it.

But the Punk always triumphs.

For you see Desert Punk is perfectly at home in these wicked environs, always using all his skills of manipulation and wit to create the best possible position for himself. A few times his plans fail and he is left empty handed in the dust but more often than not the Punk has this Desert locked down proper.

If ya liked Trigun, you will love this.