For the first shipping day of 2008, it’s not especially auspicious in terms of debuts, but there are plenty of new installments of some of my favorite ongoing series.
Every time I see a mention of Kanako Inuki’s Presents (CMX), I think of John Jakala’s lovely phrase, “comeuppance theater.” The second volume of this kind of creepy, kind of funny, old-school horror series arrives Friday.
If you didn’t read it in hardcover or pick it up the first time it was released in paperback, NBM is giving you another shot at Rick Geary’s The Fatal Bullet, part of the Treasury of Victorian Murder series. This is one of my favorites, and it examines the assassination of James A. Garfield. It’s totally riveting, particularly for the gruesome coverage of medicine at the time.
Okay, so there is one auspicious debut, though it’s really more of a rescue re-release, but if Kozue Amano’s Aria is as pretty and soothing as Aqua (both from Tokyopop), it will be quite an arrival regardless of its pedigree. (I don’t need to worry about one being the prequel to the other, do I? I mean, it isn’t exactly rich in plot.)
In other Tokyopop, there’s a new volume of still-welcome-but-just-barely Sgt. Frog, and the fourth volume of Meca Tanaka’s Pearl Pink. I’m a big fan of Tanaka’s work on Omukae Desu (published by CMX), and I enjoyed the first volume of this, but I’ve fallen woefully behind.
Okay, so there are more debuts than I thought. Viz rolls out Kazune Kawahara’s High School Debut, and while I was a little uncertain based on the first volume, I’ve heard enough enthusiasm about the series from different sources to keep reading.
And oh my god, you guys, the first volume of Hinako Ashihara’s Sand Chronicles is here! When I started picking up Shojo Beat for Honey and Clover, I was stunned by how good and surprising this series is. It’s got real emotional punch.
And just to prove that my life isn’t entirely consumed by shôjo, I’m also excited by the imminent arrival of the fourth volume of Hideaki Sorachi’s Gin Tama and the eleventh of Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata’s Hikaru no Go.
Okay, back to shôjo. I’m sure lots of people miss its monthly presence in Shojo Beat, but I’m so glad that Ai Yazawa’s Nana is out of rotation and that digests are coming more quickly.