Writer & Artist: Kenji Hamada
Translation: Motoko Tamamuro & Jonathan Clements
Letterer: Skylar Rutan
Editor: Louis Yamani
Designer: Matt Bookman
Publisher: Titan Manga
Price: $12.99
Release Date: September 30, 2025
Leo is the manager of Goodfellas Bistro in Manhattan. Along with Zach and Rose, his head chef and waitress, he runs a thriving business in New York City. But Leo is a klutz. Despite his cheery demeanor, he keeps dropping the food and breaking plates. It’s gotten so bad that Zach and Rose have considered firing him. Yet the three stick together, even if they disappoint customers with delayed or ruined meals. What binds these three people together? And why does the Human population of New York City live in fear of their Demi neighbors? Let’s grab a cross and garlic, leap into Gran Familia Vol 1, and see!
Story
Demi-Humans are mutants. Although they have special abilities, they can be born to nonmutant parents. Humans fear what they don’t understand. But they also have a reason to fear Demi. Whether they take form as Werewolves, Vampires, or another creature from mythology, they wield tremendous power. History is replete with examples of their deadly abilities. When Rose and Zach tire of Leo’s clumsiness, he complains that he’ll end up on the streets if they fire him. And then, he could be the victim of a Demi attack.
As Gran Familia Vol 1 opens, Leo is playing with the local kids outside IBIS Greengrocer. When they get rough playing Monster with Leo, Lisa shoos them away. Lisa urges him not to let the boys cross the line. Leo laughs despite taking a pounding. He is amazed that Lisa still runs the grocery store since her parents' deaths. But her grandmother lives with her and keeps Lisa company.
In Kenji Hamada's story, a Demi Mafia family has been raiding nearby businesses. Lisa and her grandmother hope they're not next on the crime family's list. But after Leo leaves, Virgo and his thugs visit the women. The Don of the Bartolini family can wield fire. And with all the ways New York discriminates against the Demi, he wants to remind the Humans why they should fear their mutant kin.
In Gran Familia Vol 1, Leo rescues Lisa and her grandmother. He brings them to Goodfellas Bistro, where Rose and Zach give them a place to sleep. Then Leo drops his carefree façade. He announces that they are going to meet with Virgo. Rose and Zach don't question his decision as they follow him to the Bartolini Family residence.
Art
Zach is a bald, densely muscled man who rarely smiles. Rose has an attractive figure, long dark hair, and frequently smiles or giggles. Leo's smile and spiky hair suggest he’s one of life’s innocents. Kenji Hamada provides flashbacks that demonstrate how Leo has suffered. Yet he also shows glimpses of the event that robbed Lisa of her parents. The locket around her neck contains a photo of her as a child with her mother and father. Leo wears a signet ring on a necklace. He doesn't display it often, as people would recognize the insignia.
With his sleek dark hair, suit, and manner, Virgo could stand in for Loki in the MCU. But when he summons his power, flames erupt from his head and body. When she transforms into a Mandrake, Rose’s head sprouts leaves and a flower, and she wields thorny vines. Zach adopts reptilian features, and his skin hardens as he becomes a Golem. Leo becomes stylish and confident as he places the signet ring of the Gran Familia on his finger. Bats swarm around him, and he wears a gun on his hip.
Skylar Rutan fills dialogue balloons of varying shapes and sizes with uppercase text. Placards introduce major characters, while anti-mutant graffiti adorns streets, and a Humans Only sign adorns a bus stop. He celebrates the characters’ transformations with calligraphy. Sound effects accompany Leo, Rose, and Zach’s confrontation with the Virgo, and the other mutants and villains they encounter in Gran Familia Vol 1. Thanks to Titan Manga for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
The Demi represent a small percentage of New York City's population. Yet the fear they incite in the populace forces the NYPD to establish a Demi Crime Division. While Humans fear the atrocities that creatures like Vampires and Werewolves are capable of, they discriminate against their mutant kin. They force the mutants to disguise their appearance or risk losing their livelihoods. Leo, Zach, and Rose want to protect everyone they meet, regardless of their abilities or appearance. But they must do so while appearing Human in Gran Familia Vol 1.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my preview of Gran Familia Vol 1.
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