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Upcoming 2/6/2008

February 5, 2008 by

After a couple of slow weeks, things kick back into gear in the comic shops.

I’ve often suspected that my cats have struck up demonic alliances, so it shouldn’t be surprising that there’s a comic based on that premise. It’s Ubu Bubu (SLG) by Jaime Smart. Here’s a preview.

Dark Horse delivers the second volume of Mi-Kyung Yun’s gorgeous, folklore-steeped soap opera, Bride of the Water God.

Go! Comi offers new volumes of two of my favorite ongoing series, each of which turns the traditional school setting upside down. Setona Mizushiro’s Afterschool Nightmare (now at volume six) makes adolescent anxieties manifest in a surreal dreamscape. Hideyuki Kurata and Tomomasa Takuma’s Train + Train has an entire planet as its classroom. Experiential learning is so trendy these days.

Looking for something gorgeous and restful? Look no farther than the second volume of Kozue Amano’s Aqua (Tokyopop), in which a young girl learns to navigate the waterways of Neo Venezia.

Also from Tokyopop is the third volume of Yuji Iwahara’s King of Thorn. I was really looking forward to this series, but I must admit that it’s testing my patience. I hope the characterizations start to deepen beyond survival-adventure stock figures and that the story comes closer to meeting the standard set by Iwahara’s thrilling illustrations.

Filed under: ComicList, Dark Horse, Go! Comi, Slave Labor Graphics, Tokyopop 1 Comment

Upcoming 1/23/2008

January 23, 2008 by

Okay, I just have to say this. There’s no grief quite as unsettling and, frankly, often distasteful as nerd grief. To me, at least.

Now, on to this week’s comics releases.

AdHouse delivers the third issue of Fred Chao’s delightful Johnny Hiro, featuring a night at the opera and 47 Ronin Businessmen.

I don’t know how I’d feel if the protagonist of Masashi Tanaka’s Gon (CMX) actually ate baby penguins. He hasn’t (yet), so I’m looking forward to the third volume of this beautifully drawn manga. It promises vengeful baby wolf cubs, hungry piranha, and possibly psychedelic mushrooms.

Wow, two pamphlet comics in one week! The second comes from Fantagraphics in the form of the 10th issue of Linda Medley’s enchanting Castle Waiting. And hey, the revised Fantagraphics site has reasonably useful permalinks!

Wait, make that three floppies, all of which I love! The 19th issue of Jimmy Gownley’s funny, observant Amelia Rules! arrives via Renaissance Press.

Filed under: AdHouse, CMX, ComicList, First Second, Renaissance Press Leave a Comment

Upcoming 1/16/2008

January 16, 2008 by

Before I get started with this week’s comic releases, I just wanted to note that it’s Jakala Family for the Win Week over at Sporadic Sequential. (“But they don’t think that Spider-Man making a deal with the devil looks bad?”)

Gerard Way and Gabrial Bá’s The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite (Dark Horse) nears its conclusion with the fifth issue. I’ve really been enjoying this series in single issues, which is kind of rare given my general opinions on what constitutes a satisfying chunk of comics. I still think the collection is going to sell like crazy, and I can’t imagine Dark Horse will wait too long to release it, because they seem to have missed few opportunities to wring every dollar possible out of the new franchise.

Of all the titles coming out from Juné today, the one that interests me most is Tatsumi Kaiya’s Party, as it seems to start where many boys’-love titles end: with the relationship established and the protagonists dealing with life as a couple.

I can’t believe I forgot to put Yu Yagami’s Hikkatsu! Strike a Blow to Vivify (Go! Comi) on my “Year in Fun” list. It’s the moving story of a young man who practices appliance repair via the martial arts and the raised-by-pigeons girl who has decided she loves him.

It’s already the best-selling book of all time, but perhaps a manga version will help The Bible hold the top spot. Random House releases The Manga Bible: From Genesis to Revelation, adapted by Siku. I made a point of reading as little of The Bible as a Catholic upbringing would allow, so I’ll point you towards Katherine Dacey’s thoughtful review at Manga Recon.

Do weaponized dead fish count as some kind of Biblical plague? If so, you can supplement your Manga Bible reading with the second volume of Junji Ito’s Gyo. Tremble before their smelly, skittering onslaught! (Silly as almost all of this book is, I think things are always creepier when they skitter.)

Filed under: ComicList, Dark Horse, Go! Comi, Juné, Random House, Viz 3 Comments

Upcoming 1/9/2008

January 9, 2008 by

Now this is a light week in the comic shops. Really. It is. There are a few items of note, though.

Whenever I see people who don’t normally read super-hero comics recommend something from that category, it tends to go on my mental checklist. Combine that with people who don’t normally seek out comics by Warren Ellis recommending something from that category, and I’ve got a double, counter-intuitive recommendation on my hands. That kind of critical math worked out well with the first volume of Ellis and Stuart Immonen’s Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. (Marvel), so I’m looking forward to the second collection, I Kick Your Face.

Hey, is this the paperback debut of Black Hole (Pantheon) by Charles Burns? Maybe I’ll finally get around to reading it.

And while I don’t see it on the ComicList, consensus indicates that the first volume of Katsu Aki’s Manga Sutra: Futari H is due out from Tokyopop. White-hot edu-manga for newlyweds? Too weird to pass up. And I’ve been looking for something to pair with The Manga Bible for an upcoming Flipped column.

Filed under: ComicList, Marvel, Pantheon, Tokyopop 5 Comments

Upcoming 1/4/2007

January 2, 2008 by

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.

Filed under: CMX, ComicList, NBM, Tokyopop, Viz 4 Comments

Upcoming 12/28/2007

December 26, 2007 by

Friday is the last shipping day of 2007, but I learned last year that it’s not to be overlooked. (I posted my “Year in Fun” list, and then Glacial Period came out from NBM. Caution is the theme for this year.)

And what have we here? The second in the series of graphic novel collaborations with The Louvre, The Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert, by Marc-Antoine Mathieu. You won’t fool me again, NBM. I’m holding out in case of awesomeness.

New volumes are due for a couple of series I really enjoy: the third of Kairi Fujiyama’s Dragon Eye (Del Rey) and the ninth of Minetaro Mochizuki’s Dragon Head (Tokyopop). Clearly, I would probably also like series called Dragon Nostril, Dragon Earlobe, and Dragon Epiglottis.

Of course, having read the latest issue of Otaku USA, I realize I have some catching up to do on the Tokyopop front: there’s Mari Okazaki’s josei title, Suppli, and Yuki Nakaji’s Zig*Zag. I was very impressed with Nakaji’s Venus in Love from CMX, and I saw that they were doing a cross-promotion for the two Nakaji series, but what can I tell you? Something sparkly must have come into my range of vision and distracted me.

Filed under: ComicList, Del Rey, NBM, Tokyopop 4 Comments

Upcoming 12/19/2007

December 18, 2007 by

Wow, there’s quite a few comics worth nothing coming out this week.

Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá have created quite the entertaining comic in The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite (Dark Horse). The fourth issue arrives Wednesday.

DrMaster gets on the omnibus… um… bus with a collection of the first three volumes of Gokurakuin Sakuraks’ bluntly creepy Category Freaks. (I’ll probably pass on the collection, but it does remind me that I still need to catch up with the third volume.)

Go! Comi releases two first volumes this week: Yuu Asami’s A.I. Revolution and Kyoko Hashimoto’s Love Master A.

The third issue of Andi Watson’s absolutely charming Glister arrives from Image. What bizarre and mildly irritating difficulties will our heroine’s bizarre family manse present this time? I can’t wait to find out. (And okay, is it just me, or should the ratio of frame and banner to actual content be a little higher than it is at Image’s web site? It’s like Watson’s poor comic is hiding down at the bottom of the page. There’s very much of a “What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?” vibe to it.)

A new issue of Otaku USA arrives, which means I need to swing by Barnes & Noble. Not that I ever need a specific reason.

Queenie Chan’s The Dreaming (Tokyopop) concludes with the third volume. And if you’re looking for the gift that may secretly be plotting world domination, there’s a three-volume collection of Sgt. Frog.

And Viz releases its intermittent avalanche of Signature material, with new volumes of The Drifting Classroom, Naoiki Urasawa’s Monster, and Uzumaki. In the more commercial (though no less artistically worthy) corner of Viz-ville, there’s a new volume of Fullmetal Alchemist due as well. Oh, and a new issue of Shojo Beat, which I have to buy because of Honey and Clover and The Sand Chronicles.

See? Something for everyone. Or lots of things for me.

Filed under: ComicList, Dark Horse, Drmaster, Go! Comi, Image, Tokyopop, Viz Leave a Comment

Upcoming 12/12/2007

December 11, 2007 by

The theme of this week’s comic shop arrivals seems to be “new volumes of appealing series,” and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Dark Horse delivers the fifth volume of Eiji Otsuka and Housui Yamazaki’s The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. I didn’t think the fourth volume was quite up to standard, to be honest. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as solid a combination of gruesome mystery and strangely heartwarming comedy. I did appreciate the guest appearance by Reiji Akiba from Yamazaki’s other series, Mail, and I hope he returns.

I find Kaoru Mori’s Emma (CMX) extremely soothing. It’s so gentle and precise, and it’s really easy on the eyes. The sixth volume arrives tomorrow. (By the way, does the knowledge that this series was originally published in a seinen magazine influence your reading experience in any way? Or that Yotsuba&! Or Azumanga Daioh had similar origins? I was flipping through the latest Comics Journal at the shop last week, and most of the review of Translucent seemed largely devoted to that conundrum.)

Until the arrival of Ai Morinaga’s My Heavenly Hockey Club (Del Rey), Kiyoko Arai’s Beauty Pop (Viz) was the clear leader in the ridiculous shôjo category. It’s still awfully good, even if it’s moved into second place. The sixth volume arrives Wednesday. I also really enjoyed the preview chapter of Kiyo Fujiwara’s mafia princess comedy Wild Ones that ran in a recent issue of Shojo Beat, so I’ll have to move that up in my “to read” pile.

Among the other new series making their debut, Seven Seas offers a new take on Speed Racer, written by Dwayne Alexander Smith and drawn by Elmer Damaso, whose work seems to bear some resemblance to that of Mike Allred. That’s kind of a cool way to go with the material.

Filed under: CMX, ComicList, Dark Horse, Seven Seas, Viz 6 Comments

Upcoming 12/5/2007

December 4, 2007 by

I hear that in some cultures, people actually drive more cautiously in inclement weather conditions. Has anyone actually seen this behavior manifest itself? Because it’s apparently only folk legend in these parts. Anyway, if I live until then, here’s what caught my eye on the ComicList for Wednesday.

I’m a little confused. The list says that the fourth volume of Andy Runton’s charming Owly series is due out, calling it Don’t Be Afraid. Top Shelf calls it A Time to Be Brave and says it doesn’t come out until January. Amazon agrees with ComicList on the shipping date and Top Shelf on the title. Eh… it’ll show when it shows, and I’ll be happy.

Oni sent me a preview copy of James Stokoe’s Wonton Soup, and it’s interesting. There’s some serious mash-up going on… bits of Iron Wok Jan! and Men At Work and ninja-pirates in space, though no zombies that I can recall. It’s not bad, but I’m not quite sure it combines its ingredients to become its own thing. Stokoe certainly seems talented, though.

Tokyopop and Viz make up for essentially abdicating last week, pumping out about 40 volumes between them. I’ve been meaning to catch up with Welcome to the NHK once Genshiken finished (as it seemed ill-advised to cross the beams between those two), though I’m not quite ready for tomorrow’s fifth volume. And I seem to recall that Nosatsu Junkie got a really good review in Manga: The Complete Guide, so I’ll have to put that on the catch-up list as well. I’ll only be four behind on that one.

Filed under: ComicList, Oni, Tokyopop, Top Shelf 6 Comments

Upcoming 11/29/2007

November 27, 2007 by

This week’s ComicList constitutes almost an embarrassment of riches. Maybe it’s because of the extra day before shipment. There’s even a three-way tie for Pick of the Week, with some serious runners-up.

Any week that offers a new title from Fanfare/Ponent Mon is going to be special. This boutique nouvelle-manga publisher has a sterling track record for quality, and I can’t imagine that new work from Jiro Taniguchi will do anything to undermine it. With The Ice Wanderer, Taniguchi seems to be channeling Call of the Wild, offering six man-versus-nature short stories. The subject matter isn’t automatically my cup of tea, but it’s Taniguchi, so it will be gorgeous.

A new paperback volume of Rick Geary’s A Treasury of Victorian Murder series (NBM) is also cause for celebration. The Bloody Benders might well be subtitled “Deadly Inn on the Prairie” from the solicitation text.

It’s a great week for Del Rey in general, but I have to make special mention of the last volume of Kio Shimoku’s Genshiken. Nothing much has really happened in nine volumes, but the characters are so great that I really don’t care. The charming interpersonal dynamics and the insanely detailed art are more than ample compensation.

As to the rest of Del Rey’s large-ish slate of releases, I’ve gone from really liking Fuyumi Soryo’s ES to absolutely loving it. The seventh volume arrives on Thursday, and the tension ratchets up considerably as Soryo forces just about everyone in her cast into dark and dangerous corners. On the lighter side, there’s the third volume of Ai Morinaga’s very funny anti-sports manga, My Heavenly Hockey Club. I devoted half of last week’s Flipped to Ryotaro Iwanaga’s very promising Pumpkin Scissors, so go take a look if you haven’t already.

I don’t think I’ll ever be inclined to read comics online if there’s a print alternative. Take Morim Kang’s 10, 20, and 30 (Netcomics). I sampled some chapters via the Internet and liked them a lot, then read the first paperback and liked it quite a bit more. Either way you consume it, it’s got charming cartooning and wonderfully rounded characters offering multi-generational slices of life. The second volume arrives this week.

I’m still kind of on the fence about MPD Psycho (Dark Horse), written by Eiji Otsuka and illustrated by Sho-U Tajima. I read the second volume over the weekend, and while I found it less aggressively lurid than the first, I thought it was a little harder to follow. I’m inclined to give Otsuka a lot of leeway based on his work on The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, so I’ll stay on board for a bit longer.

I was quite taken with the first volume of Kyoko Shitou’s The Key to the Kingdom (CMX), a race-for-the-crown fantasy adventure. I’m eager to see what happens in the second installment.

Filed under: CMX, ComicList, Dark Horse, Del Rey, Fanfare/Ponent Mon, NBM, Netcomics 4 Comments
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