Squeeage

Gosh, it’s getting so you can’t even use the phrase “the recent unpleasantness” with confidence, because there’s always something new. Aside from noting that I think the much-discussed Heroes for Hire cover is really grotesque, I think I’ll focus instead on things that don’t make me nauseous and do, in fact, bring joy, or at least the promise of future joy.

The July issue of Shojo Beat, featuring an excerpt from Osamu Tezuka’s legendary Princess Knight series, inches ever closer to release. It’s a comic about a heroic girl who has adventures and fights injustice, and it’s widely credited as one of the most influential shôjo manga of all time. I hope this isn’t a one-time deal and that more chapters of the story are forthcoming from Viz.

Even sooner, you will be able to experience the mad glory that is Ai Morinaga’s My Heavenly Hockey Club (Del Rey). Remember when I put out a call for seriously daft shôjo comedies? Based on the preview copy Del Rey sent me, this series is like the platonic ideal of what I was seeking.

Bryan Lee O’Malley has shared a page from the fourth volume of his Scott Pilgrim series. Ah, just looking at it gives me hope.

Amazon has finally sent me the third volume of Mail (Dark Horse), along with the innocent books held hostage by its tardiness.

Shawn Hoke has adopted a puppy so adorable that she looks like she sprang fully-formed from the brow of a shôjo manga-ka.