Masamune Shirow's first entry into Manga, currently published as a trade paperback.
The back of it raves about how, having read it, you'll have no doubt of his power as a sci fi god. Blah blah.
Now, don't get me wrong. I thought that the manga of Ghost in the Shell was an incredible piece of work, and I'm in a mad hurry to pick up all 4 issues of Appleseed.
But even Shirow admits that he's embarassed when he goes back and reads Black Magic...he's advanced in writing skill a great deal since then. So it's just marketing on the back, and really, I pity somebody who picks that one up first and never goes back because they think it's a POS.
That said, the ideas in it are fantastic. The use of the name of Greek Gods, the main character taking on Prometheus' quest, not in terms of bringing man fire, but in showing the civilized universe that man can act and think for himself rather than having bioroids do everything...the concepts were great. And it's worth picking up, to see where he's gone from there.
But definitely read Ghost in the Shell, or Appleseed, or Dominion Tank Police first. Don't believe the hype. Believe me. Yeah!