Duel Masters, Volume 1 — Brian Augustyn

His name is Shobu, ordinary kid and Duel Master tournament champion. Thanks to his mysterious and missing father, Shobu has an unexpected edge in the card games, for he alone can directly access the "Zone," a dimensional realm where mythical and mystical battles are fought between wild beings to the finish. Plenty of would-be masters want to challenge Shobu and even stranger beings want his access to the Zone, but for now the champ tands tough. But a quest for his missing father will open even stranger and deeper mysteries than the boy could have expected.