Looking through this week’s ComicList, it’s fairly obvious which book gets my strongest recommendation. Heck, if I had the programming skills and no aesthetic conscience, I’d make the cover image above spin and fire sparkly rainbows. Yes, the long-awaited sixth volume of Kiyohiko Azuma’s exercise in pure delight, Yotsuba&! (Yen Press). Yen rescued the much-loved title from ADV, and Yen is also republishing the first five volumes, also due out this week. I briefly contemplated re-buying those first five as a show of appreciation to Yen, but someone wisely suggested I dabble in as-yet-untried Yen titles instead, which is an excellent idea. I think I’ll start with Hyouta Fujiyama’s Tale of the Waning Moon, which seems to promise funny boys’-love fantasy.
I have to admit that I have been unable to resist the lure of Marvel’s recent spate of quirky, off-brand titles featuring Patsy Walker, also known as Hellcat. This week’s example is Models, Inc., written by Marc Sumerac and Paul Tobin and illustrated by Jorge Molina and Vincent Villagrasa, along with assistance from three inkers and five colorists. Dave Sharpe shoulders the lettering duties all on his own. Anyway, it’s Marvel’s model characters gathered to solve a murder during Fashion Week. For bonus irresistibility, it’s got a back-up story featuring the dapper, saintly, and adorable Tim Gunn. And neither of the promised covers look like sexist nightmares.
Oh, and just as a reminder, the new chapters keep coming at Viz’s SIGIKKI site. I think that Kumiko Suekane’s Afterschool Charisma, a loopy tale of teen-aged clones of famous historical figures, is emerging as one of the year’s great guilty pleasures. I could read a hundred pages of Clone Freud maliciously working the word “daddy” into every conversation.