There’s quite an interesting mix of books in the December 2005 Previews.
I’m not a huge horror fan, but I’m very curious about Kanako Inuki’s School Zone (Dark Horse). Anyone who earns the title “Queen of Manga Horror” is worth a look.
The third issue of Andi Watson and Simon Gane’s very lovely Paris arrives from Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics.
The preview pages for the first issue of David Peterson’s Mouse Guard (Archaia Studios Press) won me over. Plus, it’s got mice with swords wearing capes. What reasonable person could resist?
Del Rey delivers the final volume of Satomi Ikezawa’s Othello. I’m going to miss that one. To ease the pain, they also have the first volume of Jim Kobayashi’s School Rumble, which sounds like a fairly standard shôjo love triangle, but the cover design is delightful. (Since I can’t seem to find the image on-line, I guess you’ll have to take my word for that.)
Okay, I have to give Digital Manga points for the sheer, reckless tackiness of their tag for the second volume of Our Everlasting: “If it swells, ride it!” (Oh, you wacky yaoi marketers!) But I’m more taken by the prospect of How to “Read” Manga: Gloom Party by Yoshio Kawashima: “Learn about Japan’s little dirty secrets in the manga of the early 90s.”
Fans of Hope Larson’s Salamander Dream (Adhouse) should be delighted by the arrival of Gray Horses (Oni). I know I am. Oni also re-lists Bryan Lee O’Malley’s magnificent Lost At Sea, which I may have mentioned before and will probably mention again, because no one can stop me!
The Elk’s Run mini-series concludes at Speakeasy. And Viz delivers the fourth volume of Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s creepy, smart Death Note, and the fifth volume of Wataru Yoshizumi’s insidiously cute Ultra Maniac.