Books like Battle Angel Alita

I know I'm not the only one who saw the trailer for the movie that will be coming out this year and knew I had to get my hands on the source material. I'm totally a newbie to graphic novels and manga. Aside from a brief obsession with Sailor Moon when I was a teenager, I'm woefully unfamiliar with all anime and under-read in all areas of manga. Picking up the Deluxe edition of Battle Angel Alita was sort of a leap of faith for me, but having read the first volume tonight I'm hopeful that this will end up an unexpectedly pleasant surprise for me this month! Volume 1, entitled Rusty Angel starts the reader off with a very, very soft introduction to the world as Alita is scavenged from a junkyard by a crafty repairman named Ido. This first volume seeks to introduce the readers only to the very surface of the world, the art style, and the characters. The scope of the world thus far remains centered around only what Alita is currently experiencing. She is a cypher through which the audience will continue to learn about the world.It makes for an extremely fast-paced read. It feels fresh and exciting, as there's really nothing to be confused by quite yet. The cover artwork for the volume definitely feels dated in comparison to some of the newer manga and comics I saw sitting on the shelf in the bookstore, but somehow it totally works here. It lends the story a gritty, retro feel that I'm totally into. There's a definite focus on introducing elements of the story through action as well, which I personally think is the best way of delivering information about the world. Through a number of battle scenes and their consequences, we the reader learn about Alita's capabilities, and the abilities of a number of other cybertronic characters that exist in the world. Technology is definitely key here, and I truly enjoyed some of the ways it is implemented in the various action sequences. Be wary though, this is definitely not for the faint of heart. There's a fair amount of gore in here, although frankly I think that's to be expected considering the title! My one qualm with this was that some of the dialogue felt a little stilted, especially in the second half, but otherwise I was totally invested.Can't wait to see where the story goes next!