I'm by no means a graphic novel guy, but in the name of experience, i like to give all sorts of storytelling a shot. this was touted to me by a few souls as one of the best ever comic/manga stories. i picked up the first volume and got pretty sucked into the world. i know the purist say black and white is the way to go but i think i touristy enough to say i would have preferred a colorized version of the comic.