Black Lagoon Book 6

"I vow in the name of Santa Maria... an iron hammer to all the unrighteous" - Roberta

Time for more fun and games with the crew of the Black Lagoon.  Based in the fictional Thai city of Roanapur, the Black Lagoon company and couriers who'll deliver anything for a price.  The leader is Dutch, an African-American Vietnam vet.  The technician is Benny, another American on the run from the FBI.  The muscle of the team is Chinese-American Revy "Two Hand" a young woman with an explosive temper and talented with every type of gun out there.  Finally there is Rock, an ex-Japanese salaryman who often acts as the conscience of the team.  This volume also sees the return of Eda a "nun" in the Rip-Off Church who are Roanapurs main gun runners and she plays a major role in the arc "Green Back Jane".  This volume also sees the start of the epic storyline "El Baile de la Muerte" [aka The Dance of Death], a story that for better or worse will run right through volumes seven, eight and nine.  Written and drawn by Rei Hiroe, this ran through the noughties but is set in the mid 1990's.  So without further ado, let's begin.

GREEN BACK JANE: We begin with a man inspect a forged dollar banknote saying it is not a good job and that anyone could see through it.  He then shoots all but one of the forgers, an Indian woman called Jane, saying she has forty-eight hours to do the job he demands of them.

Eda and Revy drinking in the Rip-Off Church.

We then cut to Eda and Revy drinking inside the Rip-Off Church.  Eda asks Revy how Japan went.  Revy says it sucked, she nearly got killed and it was freezing cold.  She is never going back there. Eda says that's not what she meant, Revy was with Rock the whole time, did they get it on or not.  Revy says grumpily that she doesn't want to talk about it.  Then suddenly someone bangs on the church door shouting for help.  Eda answers it, and it is Jane.

Jane: "Please! I'm being chased!  I can't trust the local police.. and I'm not from here!  So I thought maybe the church could help me..."

Eda tells her to come back on Judgement Day.  But then her pursuer, a "Mr. Elvis" appears outside the church and tells Eda he has business with Jane as he points a gun at them despite the warning of his partner Lobos not to threaten the Rip-Off Church.

A gun battle ensues with a priest in training called Rico arriving with a gun to back them up.  Lobos shouts at Eda to stop firing, this has been a misunderstanding.  Revy bellows, "go fuck yourself!!  Mistake my ass, you fuckheads!! You pusbags think you can get away with... shooting up a church?!"

Then the Mother Superior appears, and scolds Eda for drinking inside the church.  Then she pulls out her Desert Eagle and opens fire as well. Elvis and Lobos make their getaway with Elvis swearing revenge on on them.  The two nuns, the priest and Revy then stand over a somewhat surprised Jane and ask her what they wanted with her.

Jane and her unlikely rescuers.

Jane tells them that those men were with the "Nuevo Laredo Cartel", part of the "Giroland Family in Florida."  They had hired her to counterfeit old U.S. bills. Her team is split over the world but the internet allows them to work together.  She manages the team, so that makes her the leader.

The Mother Superior asks what she botched to make them chase her, Jane says she didn't botch anythng, "they just couldn't wait." She took the job because she can create the perfect counterfeit. She then explains why her notes were perfect in extreme detail.  Eda interupts saying is there an end to this story?  "What? Am I boring you?!" says Jane.

Jane then offers them two bills, one real and one counterfeit and asks them to pick out the real one.  They pick out the counterfeit one and Jane says she knows they'd be fooled. She then explains that they went well past the deadline and the cartel guys shot her operator.  His job was to manage all the data from round the net, "everything we've done up to now is down the drain.  Those gorillas have no idea how this works."

Revy says it sounds like this was all her fault, "a deal's a deal."  Jane yells she doesn't expect people like her to understand, "not people who watch NYPD Blue and play around with guns all day." Revy points her gun at her saying she watches Oprah.  The Mother Superior steps in telling Jane that Revy is a smuggler, "you can make a deal in exchange for that original plate."

Jane says she doesn't what to hand over something that is not finished, how about they pay her thirty-thousand dollars for it seperate from her getaway fee.  The Mother Superior suggests she finds another God then.  Jane angrily thanks them for getting her out of a pinch and starts to leave.  Eda then asks if she has a place to sleep tonight and tells her to go to the Ransap Motel and tell them she came from the Rip-Off Church and they should give her a room.

Jane knows the score.

Jane pauses, thinks for a moment, then asks her why the change of heart.  Eda says it's not for free and she should deposit three hundred dollars in the collection bowl as she leaves, "a fair price, wouldn't you say?"  Jane smiles and donates then leaves. Revy asks Eda why the change of heart? The Mother Superior congratulates Eda saying Jane is a "money tree" they musn't lose track of."  Then Eda calls someone called Leroy asking him what the going rate for her location is.

We begin the next chapter with an angry Elvis in a hospital bed ranting about the uncivilised nature of the people of Roanapur, even the nuns shot at him.  He wishes he was back in Florida, so his henchman Russell needs to find Jane and bring her to him as soon as possible.  His henchman says "just leave everything to Groovy Guy Russell."

Eda and Revy are drinking together in the Yellow Flag bar, Eda says she could have set something like this up in her sleep. Rock has arrived with the car and Revy and Eda leave the bar.  Arrving as they depart is Russell, he shows the picture of Jane to several bounty hunters there, one of which is Shenhua, the knife wielding mercenary from the "Goat, Jihad, Rock And Roll" arc.  He tells them to bring her back alive and they'll be paid a grand each.

The bounty hunters are unimpressed with Russell's offer, "go back to Austin and impregnate a horse" he gets told.  Then a goth chick appears who speaks via a throat mike, and she turns out to be "Sawyer the Cleaner" but without her mask and goggles.  Over at another table is a cool looking dude called "Lotton The Wizard" and with him a bespectacled man called "Claude 'Torch' Weaver".  They all compare weapons, then decide to take the job and all head off to the Ransap Inn.

Already waiting at the Ransap Inn are Eda and Revy with a bored looking Rock resting on the steering wheel of the car they are in. Eda then takes them through what is going to happen.  The room next to Jane's will have a gunman in it, she'll wakae and run into the hall to see what is going on because she is utterly clueless even though she is in the only room with an emergency exit.   And she'll run right into the bad guys.

Eda's subtle messages.

She might die there, but if she runs back into her room she'll buy some time.  Then the hit squad will kick her door down but the room will be empty. That's because in fact, things won't go down like that.  If she lies back on the bed she'll see a note on the ceiling which says "Escape From Death" and an arrow.  Rock and Revy are dubious but Eda says "the more obvious the better", and if Jane keeps following the arrows she'll escape.

Jane then comes running out of the Inn and pelts past the car.  They drive after her and tell her to get inside. Jane tries to charge her again for the plate, so Eda tells Rock to take her back to the church.  With no options left Jane agrees to hand it over and gets inside the car, "you better help me.  Or I'll come back and haunt you." Then the bounty hunters appear and offer to cut Eda in on the deal with get Jane.  But she tells them, "we already got a million-dollar job. Go home and watch The Tonight Show."

Don't fuck with Revy and Eda.

Revy and Eda open fire on the bounty hunters who return fire.  Eda hires Revy on the spot to take Jane away on the Black Lagoon.  As they make their getaway, the bounty hunters say to Russell that now Eda and Revy are involved they want thirty grand apiece.  When Russell objects, Shenhua throws a knife at him which just misses saying "cowboy, this not Florida.  It's Roanapur.  You understand?"  She says that they are not common thugs they are dealing with now, he keeps low-balling them and he can find someone else to do the job.  So Russell reluctantly agrees as Shenhua says they are racing to the docks.

Revy, Eda, Rock and Jane arrive at the docks but the Black Lagoon is out at sea. Revy calls Dutch over the radio and he says they should be back in port by 0700.  Jane is sat in a room at Black Lagoon HQ on her own using her laptop trying to crack the code to her online safe that Theo was responsible for.

Jane: "I'm really sad you're dead.  Thanks to your immense talent... I'm in really deep trouble."

Suddenly the bounty hunters breach Black Lagoon HQ.  An epic gun battle ensues, Revy yells at Rock to take Jane and head for the exit.  They try to escape via a firedoor.

Jane and Rock get split up and Jane bumps into Claude.  She asks him if she can get past but he responds by setting off an explosion blocking off the firedoor exit.  Jane manages to escape back to where Rock, Revy and Eda now are.  Revy and Eda are still throwing everything they have at the bounty hunters.  Eda picks up a grenade launcher saying, "why didn'y you tell me... you had such nice toys."  Revy orders Rock to take Jane upstairs then recognises Shenhua as a knife just misses her.

Revy and Shenhua swap insults, then Eda and Revy try and figure out how to get out of the building safely as all exits are blocked.  Meanwhile Benny is trying to raise them on the radio but having now luck.  Dutch looks through his binoculars and sees that his dock is on fire.  Revy and Eda let loose again, Shenhua appears to go down but ends up standing over Eda about to attack.  Revy opens fire again but Shenhua dodges acrobatically out of the way again.

Shenhua holds a large knife over Eda's neck and Eda drops her gun.  Eda starts babbling random shit to distract Shenhua then tells her she will go to hell for killing a nun.  Shenhua says she is a Taoist, but as she raises her knife to strike the killing blow, Eda tells her to look behind her.

Revy versis Shenhua.

Then we cut to Rock and Jane being chased by Sawyer who is armed with a chainsaw and has cornered them on the roof.  Jane and Rock yell at each other about the fine mess they are in as Sawyer revs the chainsaw.  Downstairs Revy attacks Shenhua and finally manages to down her, but she takes several small knives to the arm in doing so.

Back on the roof, Sawyer pauses for some reason and gives Rock and Jane the chance dodge behind her.  Russell pulls up in a car and shouts at Claude that he didn't give them orders to "immolate this dump".  He just wants Jane captured but because of the fire it's too hot to reach them on the roof.

Revy and Eda climb up on the roof to find Jane and Rock to be OK and Sawyer crouched down with her head resting down on her arms.  Eda says she's depressed, she's met a lot of people like her.  Rock notices that Revy is bleeding but Revy says it's not as bad as it looks but the boat better arrive soon so they can see to the wounds properly.

On the boat Dutch notes the dock is burning down, they'll be at the pier in five minutes.  Dutch arms himself with a huge gun saying they'll start raising hell when they get there and Revy will know what to do.  Rock, Revy, Jane and Eda run to the end of the roof but are stopped by Lotton the Wizard, who strikes a pose and says their lives belong to him now.  Revy shoots him several times in the chest.  At the edge of the burning roof they find themselves trapped.

Then the Black Lagoon comes crashing into the dock.  Rock kicks Jane off the roof and the others follow, they race to the bat while under heavy fire.  They make it aboard, but several of the bounty hunters get aboard too.  On the dock, Lotton comes around, he was wearing a bullet proof vest.  Next to him is Shenhua who has survived being shot. He offers her his hand and she gets up saying he'll take her to a doctor and it's not worth dying for so little pay.  They limp off together as she tells him he is not suited to killing.

Benny introduces himself to Jane.

On the boat, Jane and Rock hide down in the electronics room while Dutch, Eda and Revy go hunting for their unwelcome guests.   Benny introduces himself to Jane and tells her not to touch his stuff including his "Doom campaign disc."  Dutch and Revy keep blasting away at the intruders. Eda says she'll handle the "rat" who is down in the hold alone.

Jane asks Rock to get her laptop from her bag.  Unfortunately he never picked her bag up.  They have a big row about whose fault it is and she says that without her laptop she can't access the net or do anything.  Down in the hold, Russell is furious and imagines all the things he'll do when he finally catches Jane. Then Eda appears and tells him:

Eda: "But before you do all that... you better worry about your balls getting blasted to heaven. I got a direct line to God for you." 

Claude meanwhile is armed with a flamethrower and is giving Revy and Dutch some problems.  But Dutch uses the boat to knock Claude off balance and Revy shoots his fuel tank.  Claude takes off like a rocket and blows up in the air.

Meanwhile Jane and Benny use Benny's computer to access the account needed for Jane's forgery plate.  In the hold, Eda is talking with Russell.  Russell says he is sure he has seen Eda before in Washington D.C.  She says she has never been to Washington D.C, but he persists saying he saw her when he was meeting with a Senator. Benny and Jane break throw the encryption and Jane kisses Benny saying he's cute and sexy.

A happy as Black Lagoon endings get..

Russell keeps saying to Eda that he saw her discussing "the interference and destabilisation of administrative bodies within the EAEC that were against American-style free trade".  She says she is just a nun from the Rip-Off Church, but her hometown is Langley, Virgina.  Russell starts to say "you're CI-!" and she shoots him in the head.

She returns to Revy who asks if she sent him to hell.  Eda holds up his cowboy hat with a hole in it as a reply. Revy says they'll be at port soon and they can chill for a bit. Eda agrees saying "God is in his heaven and all is right with the world" bringing this arc to an end.

EL BAILE DE LA MUERTE: We start with Roberta and her employer Mr. Lovelace at a festival in Venuzuela. He jokingly asks her if she found any bombs, she says that today is the celebration of the founding for the MVR [Movement Y Republica a leftist political organisation] and there are "some parties, both foreign and domestic who think less than highly of it".  They would do well to remember that.

Lovelace makes some plans for the rest of the day and Roberta tells him not to forget his son's birthday present.  Lovelace laughs and says she could be a little stricter with him.  She says it is her duty to reprimand him when he misbehaves but he almost never does. Lovelace laughs and says she has an envious problem. He tells her to think of a present before the festival is over.

Roberta witnesses her master's death.

At the festival someone starts making a speech and a man in shades says over the radio that they are good to go and a huge explosion rips through the festival crowd, killing Lovelace but missing Roberta.  As she looks on in horror, the men responsible who appear to be the US military start their getaway saying their allies in the Venezuelan and Columbian militaries have opened their checkpoints to them.  They'll return to the airforce base and depart and their mission will be complete.  The congratuate each other on keeping collateral damage to a minimum and they are told their next operation will be in Southeast Asia.

We cut to Lovelace's funeral.  His son, Garcia, is hugging Roberta and asking if his dad did anything bad? Roberta tells him his father was a great man, "he gazed up into the sky and kept his feet on the ground.  When he stands before our Lord Jesus Christ... there is not a single thing he has to be ashamed of." His son asks why God took his father to heaven.

Roberta: "It was not the Lord... young master.  It is always men that kill other men."

Then Garcia what the men who took his father were thinking, what reason would they have for killing him?  She says she knows the answer too well, "that is why I cannot tell you, young master".  Then Garcia sees that she is crying.

We then jump forward a short while, Roberta is in the shower and she is remembering her past as a terrorist.  She is hiding out at Diego Lovelace's place.  She starts to leave saying she can't put him in more danger, but he says she is the daughter of one of his good friends, it would disgrace the Lovelace name is she left without serving her a meal. She can sit with him and ponder her options.

Shower of Angst.

Then she remembers a little further on, she is living at the mansion as a guest.  She helps him do some gardening and makes a decision, she has no place to go nor return to. So instead of pretending to be a maid, he should treat her as if she were a real maid.  Then we go forward again, Garcia is asking about the collection of antique guns on display.  Diego appears and tells him they are the very weapons the first Lovelace brought with him when he landed in the New World.

There have been good and bad times through the family's history and seeing the guns displayed like that makes him think that the bad times are in the past.  The glory days may have passed as well but the have peace. Diego says "The Lovelace family creed that was born in the fires of war is also long gone. That's not such a bad thing either."

As Roberta in the shower remembers him reciting the family and smashes a mirror in anger.  Then, back in her maid outfit.  She says to herself that when she told Garcia she couldn't tell him what his father's murderers were thinking it was because they weren't thinking of anything.

Roberta: "They had no pity.  No reaction.  They had no need to kill their feelings either.  They had no need to be coldhearted. Because to those that kill the victims mean nothing.  As for their reasons.. somebody somewhere thought 'it would be more convenient with him gone'.  Everything he had lived for... was denied in exchange for money, greed, perhaps a cause.  That is why Master Lovelace was taken away, Young Master."

It is a path she walked in the past, she repents but it won't bring back the dead.  She starts arming herself saying she will not romanticise her revenge "this is only.. two filthy dogs eating each other."  And a symbolic wolf lets out a howl.

Someone is in for a bad time now.

At the Lagoon company HQ, there are no jobs currently so they are kicking back and relaxing for a while. Dutch gets an odd phonecall asking if he's had any strange clients recently. The man on the other end of the phone, Sanesak, says he was just told to ask him that he has no idea why. Dutch tells him he won't pass on information that could compromise the integrity of their business and hangs up.

Benny looks up and says, "Dutch.  Was that business or.. trouble?"  Dutch says they asked if they had any strange clients and Benny says that's creepy because they've been asked that already by someone else.  Then Revy comes barging in saying that she was drinking in the Yellow Flag and it turns out someone there has seen the maid, "The Killing Machine is back in town"  says Dutch. Bao, who runs the Yellow Flag, asked her if they had brought her in.

Revy thought he was kidding and said she'd love to meet her again, she also brushes off the reports of seeing her saying the people who saw her aren't exactly trustworthy.  Rock agrees, saying she has no motive to come here.  But Dutch says that the people who do have enough brain cells to distinguish who's crazy or not are concerned about this. Dutch says that everybody blames them first when there is trouble in town. Benny says it's the price they pay for being so good.

Dutch says his best guess as to why she is here is that something happened in Venezuela.  Rock wonders if it is something to do with when Garcia was abducted.  Revy thinks maybe she wants another go at her.  Then the phone rings. Bao is on the other end and yells down the line at Dutch.  Dutch tells him to calm down and start from the beginning.

Bao says he started the day in a good mood, he scored big on a bet and was getting ready to open up.  Then someone opened the door and came in, even though they were closed.  It was Roberta, she sat at the bar and ordered a bottle of Tequila.  He served her and she took a swig from the bottle and then asked him, "tell me every shop I need to hit to start a war."  He told her a few places, she paid up and left. Now Bao wants to know what Dutch knows, but he tells Bao this is news to him as well.

Roberta in Roanapur.

They end the call, with Dutch assuring Bao they absolutely, positively are not involved nor do they intend to be.  But if anything does happen it will be because it has become their business.  So with Roberta confirmed in Roanapur, Benny offers to dig up any information on trouble in Venezuela. Dutch says he'll check out a couple of places too.  They'll meet up at the Yellow Flag later that day.

We then jump to Revy and Rock at the bar in the Yellow Flag.  Bao is complaining that since he opened the place in 1975, it's been partially destroyed fifteen times and completely destroyed six time.  He tells Revy he wants to stop that trend if she knows what he means.  She says if he doesn't want his bar trashed, put up a sign saying "no guns or grenades allowed."  He says he tried that and the same day a bunch of bandits busted in and robbed all the unarmed customers.

Some Triad members leave the bar and Revy notes they are sniffing around for information about The Maid too. Everyone in town is freaking out trying to gather any information they can.

Revy: "Who gives a shit if the Maid's here to blow one of their worthless brains out?  I care about it as much as I care about Walmart's stock price."

Rock says that's not what everyone's concerned about.  Her presence is an affront to the whole town.  Revy says they are all trying to figure out her intentions.  Rock says last time her purpose was clear, but not this time.  Everybody's response depends on how she moves, like it was with the twins.

Bao tells them that he saw the look on her face, he saw it back in South Vietnam, it was the same look a Lt. Colonel had trying to hold Tan Son Nhut airport when the North made their last offensive, "it was the look of someone ready to die." She didn't have that look last time she was here and that is what bothers him.

Then in come some men led by someone called Gustavo, Revy asks where his boss is and Gustavo says he is back at the office saying something came up straight from head office so he has his hands full. Something about sending in soldiers, but they aren't prepared to bring them in.  Anyway he wants to ask them about the Maid.  Revy wants to know more about what's going on with Gustavo's organisation.

He gives her a look, and she tells him to relax saying they are as much in the dark as he is.  Gustavo says he has nothing they are just being cautious about the Maid.  Revy says not to bullshit her and Rock more diplomatically says they won't leak anything. Gustavo relents and says that they are a cartel seperate from the Manisalera, they hardly know anything about her.  Outside a man in a tuk-tuk is trying to warn someone not to go inside the Yellow Flag.

Inside Gustavo is asking Revy and Rock for a description of Roberta, Revy starts telling him, saying she also wears a maid's outfit and carries a leather suitcase packed with a LMG and grenades, "she's got the fire power of a platoon."  Then in walks a woman wearing a maid's outfit, but it isn't Roberta.  She says "the Young Master awaits you at the Sung Kang Palace Hotel".

Fabiola Iglesias

Rock asks if she is from the Lovelace family?  She says she is employed by them as the chambermaid, her name is Fabiola Iglesias.  Revy says she even talks like that "freak".  Fabiola says that her head matron does not go by the name "Freak".  She says again that she'll explain everything in the presence of the Master.

One of the thugs grabs her by the back of her dress and lifts her up asking Gustavo if this is the maid?  He says no, but she can help with "this complicated and annoying problem we have."  He gets someone to pick up her suitcase and they open it to find it full of lollipops, a wallet and a lunchbox.  The whole bar bursts out laughing.

Fabiola asks if they are satisfied now and could she be put down please?  She says she is not aware of Roberta's whereabouts, so Gustavo says they can find her together, "from this point on we're all amigos.  Not a bad deal, eh?" He asks Revy to come with him to the Sung Kung Palace Hotel.  Fabiola says just one thing, if she she refuses to help what will they do and she smashes her foot behind her into the testicles of the man holding her, who lets go in agony.

She says she has no desire to help men like them, but the man she kicked angrily pulls a gun on her and she puts her hands up.  Gustavo says playtime is over and to gag her and take her to the hotel.  But suddenly Fabiola produces two guns before she can be searched, Revy knocks a bottle on the floor distracting the gang and then jumps behind the bar and Fabiola opens fire on Gustavo and his men.

Another gun-toting maid?!

As the bullets fly Rock asks Revy why she helped Fabiola.  Revy says "she's got balls.  I'll give her that.  But she leaves herself open".  If she dies they won't find out why she's here.  She says she doesn't like trouble, "but it's no fun if it ends there right?"  Gustavo demands to use Bao's phone while still under fire, his boss isn't in the office. "It's a Maid you fuck-head!!" yells Gustavo down the line, "We got another Maid in town!!"  And that cliffhanger ends book six.

So more high octane fun from the Black Lagoon company.  The amount of shooting that goes in in "Green Back Jane" reaches almost ludicrous levels.  It has to be remembered that much of this manga is a tribute to the 80's actions movies where the good guys were invincible and people fired enough ammo to start a small war.  It is a tribute to the returning knife-nut Shenhua's skill that she not only survives but is one of the few people to actually damage Revy, the other one being Roberta.  I don't really understand how a forger's plate can be created via the internet, but to be honest Jane was really an excuse to get a whole bunch of characters taking on Revy and Dutch.  The revelation that Eda is actually in the CIA is something of a Wham Line (somewhat spoiled for me, having seen the anime first) and it remains to be seen if this actually goes anywhere.  The Roberta storyline is just getting started here, as I said in the intro it runs through books seven, eight and nine and ends with the hiatus the series took for five years.  It's funny to see how panic stricken the sighting of one woman in a maid's outfit sends the whole of Roanapur, and even more amusing when a maid shows up who isn't Roberta, but is just as handy with firearms. As per usual the art is magnificent, with wonderful scenes of battle and a great variety of characters, no sameface issues here.  Join me in a few days for the continuation of "El Baile de la Muerte".