bananaone

Banana Fish; volume one

The story opens in Vietnam in 1973. A group of young soldiers are sitting in some kind of ruined building, just hanging out and talking. A friend of theirs shows up; his name is Griffin and apparently he's acting strange. Suddenly Griffin opens fire on the lot of them, shooting them up until one of the men grabs a weapon and shoots Griffin's knees. Only two of the group are still alive. Griffin's eyes are glassy and his expression confused, and all he says is "Banana Fish."

Skip to 1985, New York City. A man and his bodyguard are found with their throats slit. Though it looks suspicious, the police are pretty certain it was suicide. There have been other suspicious sucides in the past year--all involving men that never seemed the suicidal type. The police are stumped.

In a dark alley, just past midnight, Ash Lynx hears gunshots. He investigates and finds a dying man with only two things to say, an address and the cryptic "Banana Fish." Just before he dies, he gives Ash a vial.

Ash knows that the Corsican mob boss, Dino Golzine, is behind this. When he confronts him, Golzine makes it clear that it's none of Ash's business, that he should be grateful for all that Golzine's done for him and not poke around where he's not welcome. It becomes clear that he doesn't trust Ash at all and he uses a former memeber of Ash's gang, a mean looking fellow named Arthur, to undermine his authority on the streets.

Ash goes home to visit his brother, Griffin. Even after all these years, Griff is more vegetable than human, and all he ever says is "Banana Fish." Ash is determined to use the contents of the vial to find out what happened to his brother and who's responsible. He takes the vial to Dr. Meredith, a gynocologist who has been helping him take care of Griffin, hoping to have the substance analyzed.

Meanwhile, a Japanese photographer named Ibe Shunichi and his young assistant Okumura Eiji have arrived in New York to do a piece on youth gangs. They are startled to find that the friend they were supposed to meet, Max Lobo, is in prison. Instead they meet Charlie Dickenson and Inspector Jenkins, who give them a rundown on Ash Lynx--he's the successful leader of one of the largest gangs in the city, famous for being very smart and uniting the gangs in the area in spite of racial differences. On top of this, he's a master marksman and drop-dead gorgeous to boot.

Charlie sets up a place for Ibe and Eiji to meet Ash and his gang. The youngest member of the gang, a kid named Skip, comes to get them, leading them to the bar/pool hall where Ash is hanging out. Ibe takes a few pictures and they all talk for a bit, and soon it's clear that Ash seems willing to trust Eiji where he doesn't other people.

Just as they are leaving, Ash's friend Shorter Wong hurries in to warn them that Arthur has rounded up his old gang and is on his way to find Ash. Almost before Shorter's done explaining, Arthur bursts in. A brawl ensues, during which Skip and Eiji escape through a back exit. They're caught right away by those loyal to Arthur.

Ash realizes that catching Skip was the goal all along, to get to him through those he cares about. He gives chase, landing himself in the middle of a trap. He and Skip and Eiji are locked in a warehouse, Ash brutally beaten. They manage to escape but end up in a dead end alley with walls on all sides. They're being pursued, so it looks like the chase is over.

Eiji's not going to give up yet. He grabs a length of old pipe and vaults over the wall to get help for Ash and Skip. Though he's badly wounded and bleeding from his rough landing, he manages to get to a pay phone to call Charlie at the police station. He passes out, then wakes up in the hospital, not sure if he was fast enough to be of any help to Ash and Skip.