Upcoming 8/26/2009

Time for another quick look at this week’s ComicList:

There are some nice guilty pleasures on the Wednesday agenda. Dark Horse offers the sixth volume of Gantz, Hiroya Oku’s ultra-violent, oversexed action drama. CMX delivers the ninth volume of Yoshito Usui’s ode to kindergarten crudeness, Crayon Shinchan.

sayonara3It’s a hefty week for Del Rey. I’m most eagerly anticipating the fifth volume of Ryotaro Iwanaga’s underrated Pumpkin Scissors, an intriguing blend of wacky action and thoughtful political commentary. I was surprised by how much I liked the first volume of RAN’s Maid War Chronicle, given its fan-service friendly premise, but it’s got an unexpectedly quirky charm, even though I’d very much like the male lead to die horribly. Anyway, the second volume is due out Wednesday. For me, Koji Kumeta’s Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei is about 50% impenetrable, culture-specific humor, and 50% really, really funny stuff that requires no supplementary essays. That ratio is balanced enough to put the third volume of the series on my “to buy” list.

Someday I’ll set down and try to compose a reasoned piece on the things that bother me about the Color of… trilogy of books by Kim Dong Hwa (First Second). It doesn’t seem like a project that should be entered into lightly, as lots of people seem to really admire them. The concluding volume, The Color of Heaven, is as laden with gynobotanical metaphor as its predecessors, though it’s beautifully drawn.

Tokyopop unleashes a couple of the new series it announced at its recent webcast. Minari Endou’s Maria Holic generated a fair amount of interest in the previously linked poll, landing in the middle of the pack, while Kazusa Takashima’s Mad Love Chase ranked a bit lower.

Upcoming 6/10/2009

This week’s ComicList is on the lean side, but there are a couple of items that are worth scrutinizing.

colorofwaterOne is Kim Dong Hwa’s The Color of Water (First Second), the second part of his trilogy that began with The Color of Earth. I’ve read both in the form or preview copies provided by the publisher, but I’ve been a bit stymied when I’ve tried to sit down and actually write about them. They’re great-looking books; I very much admire the visual style. But I find the content a little off-putting, though I’m not sure I have the right to voice these particular objections.

The Color books compose a period piece that traces the sexual comic of age of a young girl in rural Korea. It’s an experience and a transition that the creator clearly reveres, but for me, it was an uncomfortable kind of reverence. It’s reverence with a degree of distance that seems to flatten and simplify the experience being rendered; the path from girl to woman is dewy and magical, uncomplicated and pristine, or at least that’s the impression the books left. I feel like it crosses the line between celebratory and condescending.

The crew at Good Comics for Kids participated in an illuminating roundtable on the first book, and I was relieved to see my concerns articulated in the discussion. There are also persuasive arguments in the book’s favor, but I’m still unconvinced that its merits overcome its underlying tone.

dmcI’m fairly sure my reaction to the week’s other big release, Kiminori Wakasugi’s Detroit Metal City (Viz), will be much less complicated. I will either be overcome with guilty love, or I’ll be grossed out. I’m reassured by Kate (The Manga Critic) Dacey’s assessment, though:

“I’d be the first to admit that DMC walks a fine line between clever and stupid with its raunchy lyrics and outrageous concert scenes, but it never wears out its welcome thanks to a great cast of characters.”

We’ll see.

More vacation reading

A few more items from my recent travels that didn’t quite fit into the Flipped purview:

ppzPride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, Chronicle Books. As the blurb claims, “Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read.” I’m not sure if Jane Austen really benefits from the addition of zombies to her prose (unless they’re mall zombies), but zombie stories sure benefit from the presence of Miss Bennett and Mister Darcy. The insertion of “the unmentionables” is definitely good for a few fresh chuckles, and the fusion is surprisingly fluid. It’s also great airplane reading; I’m the kind of person who likes to unnerve my seatmates with intermittent giggling. The joke doesn’t get stale by book’s end, but if Grahame-Smith envisions a franchise, he should probably pace himself.

borderlineBorderline, by Nevada Barr, Penguin Group. Perhaps it’s morbid of me or reflects some unflattering impulse towards vicarious violence, but I think any trip to a national park benefits from bringing along a murder mystery set in a national park. Barr’s intrepid heroine, law enforcement ranger Anna Pigeon, is actually visiting Big Bend National Park in Texas as a tourist. Her last adventure has left her on the verge of post-traumatic stress disorder (and on administrative leave), so her kindly husband decides a rafting trip would be an ideal distraction. The trip turns disastrous and deadly in short order, and Anna must face a hostile environment, untangle political complications, and confront her never-before-in-evidence maternal side (unless wolf pups count). As usual, the details of the story are much less important than Barr’s gift for communicating glorious settings. Equally important is her portrayal of Anna, almost as antisocial and sometimes as feral as the predators who roam the far corners of her beloved parks. She’s more than a match for the human predators who sully those parks with greed and violence. Aside from the settings, I think the thing I like best about this series is that Anna’s career as a ranger is the second act of her life, not a from-birth calling; there’s something deeply satisfying about a character finding that satisfaction later than you might expect, but still basking in it.

eternalsmileThe Eternal Smile, by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim, First Second. For me, this perfectly pleasant collection of thematically linked short stories suffered in the shadow of high expectations. Yang’s American Born Chinese and Kim’s Same Difference and Other Stories are terrific, terrific graphic novels, so the prospect of a collaboration between their creators left me anticipating a result that could heal minor ailments and spin gold from straw. The actual result offers three tales exploring fantasy’s shortcomings as an alternative to the real world. There’s nothing bad about any of them, though they feel a bit pat and maybe even a bit preachy at times. It’s a distinct pleasure seeing Kim demonstrate his versatility as an illustrator, though.

Upcoming 5/6/2009

You know what’s dangerous about Twitter? Ardent comics fans can recommend more titles more quickly. The 140-character cap is no barrier to persuasiveness or enthusiasm. It’s turning my “Oh, I should read that sometime” list into a freaking tome. Fun, though. I bring this up because it’s time to look at this week’s ComicList.

fireinnanOne of the books that’s gotten a lot of tweets lately is CMX’s Fire Investigator Nanase, written by Izo Hashimoto and illustrated by Tomoshige Ichikawa. Kate Dacey describes it as being “like Silence of the Lambs, CSI, and Firefighter Daigo rolled into one!” That’s a very difficult recommendation to resist. The second volume comes out Wednesday, and I imagine I’ll be putting both on a book order shortly before that happens. Happy now, Twitter? Life was so much simpler when I could take my marching orders from blogs and NPR.

Lots of stuff is due out from Del Rey this week, and I’m surprising myself by pointing you towards the first volume of RAN’s Maid War Chronicle. It’s about a group of maids who receive magical weapons to help their bratty prince reclaim his kingdom, and it’s not nearly as fan-service gross as it could be. (Their skirts are long, so I guess it’s difficult to draw up them. That phrase didn’t come out quite right, but you know what I mean.) I mentioned it in Kate’s “What to Read Now” Roundtable.

What do you get when you combine the talents of two unquestionably fine comics creators? I’m not sure, but we’ll find out when we get a look at Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim’s The Eternal Smile from First Second.

Oh, and pretty much everything I pointed to on Viz’s list last week is actually coming out this week. Terms and conditions still apply, though I’ll add that I’ll be catching up on Yuki Obata’s We Were There at my earliest convenience. (The bookstore only had the first and fourth volumes the other day.)

The trusty month of May

It’s “Manga Month” again in Diamond’s Previews catalog. When this crops up each year, there’s always a small part of me that sneers and says, “Oh, like the direct market really cares.” Still, there are lots of wonderful-looking upcoming arrivals among the listings.

I find it very difficult to resist bittersweet comics about helping the recently or not-so-recently deceased deal with the fact that they’re… well… dead. CMX offers another variation on this theme, Ballad of a Shinigami, illustrated by Asuka Izumi, original story by K-Ske Hasegawa. (Page 121.)

Manga Month might just be coincidental with their regular release schedule, but Del Rey brings it. New volumes of Mushishi, Pumpkin Scissors, and Toto! The Wonderful Adventure are among the offerings. (Pages 240-241.)

And holy crap, Digital Manga is listing the fourth volume of Fumi Yoshinaga’s Flower of Life! With a great big two-page spread, which it totally deserves! And the first three volumes are offered again, so you can order all four! Oh, May, you can’t come soon enough. (Pages 248-249.)

But wait, there’s more! Jiro Taniguchi is one of those creators where I feel I can safely recommend his work even if I’ve never seen the title in question. Fanfare will be shipping the first volume of Taniguchi’s A Distant Neighborhood this month, which sounds like a lovely blend of mystery and nostalgia. (Page 252.)

Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim sound like peanut butter and chocolate to me, so I’m very much looking forward to their joint effort, The Eternal Smile, from First Second. Yang handles the writing, and Kim draws the pictures. It’s a collection of three stories. (Page 256.)

I’ve been dying for someone to license work by Daisuke Igarashi and staring enviously at France when I see his works recognized at festivals like Angoulême. Viz makes me happy by announcing the first volume of Igarashi’s Children of the Sea. Now do Witches. (Page 295.)

I’m not familiar with it at all, but Yen Press does a good job piquing my interest with the solicitation for The History of West Wing, written by Jiayu Sun and illustrated by Guo Guo. It’s a “full-color historical romance based on a classic Chinese romance saga.” (Page 303.)

While it lasts

Before the direct market collapses and Diamond’s Previews catalog slims down to the rough thickness of two issues of Entertainment Weekly, let’s take a look and see what the February 2009 edition has to offer, shall we?

Dark Horse offers the fifth volume of Adam Warren’s smutty, hilarious, and heartwarming Empowered. This is truly appalling fan service repurposed for good. I don’t know how to explain or justify that statement, but trust me, the book is terrific. (Page 38, FEB09 0052)

Cherish the “Offered Again” listings while you can. They allow me to rectify the error of not ordering Faith Erin Hicks’ warmly received The War at Ellsmere (Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics). (Page 198, FEB09 4023)

One of the most anticipated graphic novels of the year is due to arrive from Drawn & Quarterly. It’s Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s A Drifting Life, a massive (840 pages) autobiography from the founding father of alternative manga. (Page 263, FEB09 4254)

First Second offers Dong Hwa Kim’s coming-of-age romance, The Color of Earth, which looks really lovely. (Page 270, FEB09 4289)

It’s a good month for manhwa, as NBM delivers Mijeong, a collection of short stories by Byun Byung-Jun, creator of the marvelous Run, Bong-Gu, Run! (Page 287, FEB09 4402)

Viz offers another volume of culinary treasure Oishinbo, written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki. This installment looks at ramen and dumplings. Mmm… dumplings. (Page 311, FEB09 4482)

In addition

At Good Comics for Kids, Snow Wildsmith rounds up graphic novels recognized on other American Library Association lists like “Best Books for Young Adults” and “Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.”

One, the “Death and Dying” category in “Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults,” reminds me to ask a question: where’s Cyril Pedrosa’s Three Shadows (First Second) on any of these lists? I didn’t think it was a perfect book, but it was packed with sensitivity, ambition and craft, and it was a noble attempt at spinning a new fable.

Upcoming 10/15/2008

This week’s ComicList has me wondering if there’s a comics equivalent of the movie industry’s Oscar Bait Season. Maybe a Ten Best List Season? Because there are a lot of potentially intriguing books coming out tomorrow.

Rutu Mordan’s Exit Wounds (Drawn & Quarterly) was easily one of the most warmly received books of 2007. I thought that book was really solid, though I wasn’t transported by it to the degree that a lot of other readers were. Anyway, Mordan’s follow-up, Jamilti and Other Stories, arrives tomorrow via D&Q.

I like Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods a lot, but I tend to be generally fond of reconfigured fairy tales. (Though oddly enough, the very idea of a musical version of Gregory Maguire’s Wicked makes me cringe, Kristin Chenoweth or no Kristin Chenoweth.) So I’m inclined to take a look at There’s a Wolf at the Door (First Second) written by Zoey Alley and beautifully illustrated by R.W. Alley. You know all those wolves in popular fairy tales? This book posits that all those stories happened to the same wolf.

NBM has become one of those publishers where I’m automatically inclined to pay attention to their releases, what with Rick Geary’s books and Glacial Period and Run, Bong-Gu, Run! This week’s eye-catcher is Dirk Schwieger’s Moresukine, which is based on Schwieger’s blog. “Assignment: Pod Hotel” is probably enough to get me to track it down, because the prospect of sleeping in a tube triggers all of my claustrophobic nightmares.

I was e-mailing back and forth with an editor at Viz about something entirely unrelated, and he made a point of talking up Asano Inio’s Solanin. It features a recent college graduate who “struggles with the feeling that she’s just not cut out to be a part of the real world.” (I hate to break it to her, but that feeling doesn’t go away with time.) A done-in-one josei series in a big fat package? Why yes, thank you, I’d love one.

Upcoming 8/13/2008

You would think that the comics pick of the week would be a gimme. I mean, Fanfare/Ponent Mon is releasing Hideo Azuma’s Disappearance Diary. In fact, you generally only need to type “Fanfare/Ponent Mon is releasing…” to guarantee pick-of-the-week standing. And Disappearance Diary is an excellent, unusual comic book that’s absolutely well worth your time and money. (I reviewed the book here.) So it’s a lock, right? But…

It’s also generally true that you can begin a pick-of-the-week sentence with “NBM is releasing a new installment of Rick Geary’s Treasury of…” and feel reasonably confident that you won’t be easily contradicted. So we also have Geary’s Treasury of 20th Century Murder: The Lindbergh Child to greedily anticipate. (Seriously, if you haven’t treated yourself to any of Geary’s Treasury of Victorian Murder books, you need to be nicer to yourself. Much, much nicer.)

More often than not, you can begin a pick-of-the-week sentence with “New from First Second is…”, though not if that sentence finishes with “Life Sucks.” Eddie Campbell (collaborating with Dan Best) seems like a much safer bet, and I will certainly pick up a copy of The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard at some point.

Okay, moving on from the pick-of-the-week face-off, we reach the eye-catching oddity. First of all, Viz seems to be publishing its own Gantz equivalent, with Rei Hiroe’s Black Lagoon. I admit that the price point ($12.95) was what first caught my eye, because it made me think they’d added something to the Signature imprint. But no, it’s a rated-“Mature” book about mercenaries with characters named things like “Revy Two Hand,” which triggers both my curiosity and my Not for Me Alarm.

Lastly, a return to my comfort zone. I very much enjoyed the first volume of Uhm JungHyun’s Forest of the Gray City, originally from ICE Kunion. Yen Press has picked up the manhwa consortium’s catalog, and the second volume of Forest arrives Wednesday. It has a very josei feel to it, featuring a working woman who takes in a hunky male boarder to pay off some of her debts. It’s got lovely art and a smart, sexy vibe overall.

Neat trick!

In his very smart piece on recent discourse on manga, John Jakala includes this:

“My favorite book from last year (something I never got around to blogging) was Drawn & Quarterly’s Aya, and the year before that my pick was First Second’s Klezmer. So even if manga isn’t scratching my older reader’s itch, I know there are plenty of other places I can look for comic book relief.”

Then this morning Tom Spurgeon posts this:

“AYA OF YOP CITY, MARGUERITE ABOUET AND CLEMENT OUBRERIE, HARDCOVER, 9781894937900, SEPTEMBER, $19.95.”

So where’s the announcement of the second volume of Klezmer?