I think I’ve achieved something of a personal best in terms of laziness with this week’s Flipped. It’s basically just a trawl through the Angoulême catalog to see what licensed manga made the short list for 2007. And can’t we always stand to freshen up the roster of books we wish North American publishers would license?
Wooly Mammoth
December 11, 2006 by
There’s a new Flipped up. This week, I take a look at The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga, which is indeed mammoth and features a lot of interesting work. Some stories are great, some are good, and all of them make me want to see what the featured creators do next, even if their offerings didn’t exactly sing for me this time around.
Moto shôjo mojo
December 4, 2006 by
Dirk Deppey points to a ComiPress blurb on Moto Hagio, who received an award for Otherworld Barbara, her most recent work. I seem to be in a mode where I really can’t shut up about Hagio, even though I’ve only read one of her works (A, A1).
Anyway, all of the recent discussion about DC’s new Minx line and its efforts to attract teen girls got me thinking about what I’ve read about the evolution of shôjo and some of the events that turned comics for girls into a creative and commercial force in Japan, so I tried to put those thoughts into some coherent form for this week’s column. I don’t think I was entirely successful, but that’s never stopped me before.
And it gave me another chance to beg for a translation of Rose of Versailles.
Playing catch-up
November 13, 2006 by
There won’t be a new Flipped this week, as we had company over the weekend (and I’m generally lazy). I’m still catching up on the slew of interesting links Brigid has found over the last couple of days.
The one that immediately caught my eye was the announcement of the American Anime Awards, summarized at ICv2 and printed in full at The Beat. I have to say, if I had been inclined to guess what the first New York Comic-Con awards program would look like, I wouldn’t have picked anime. It’s obviously a driver for manga sales, but given how expansive the NYCC seems to want to be, it seems awfully specific.
I don’t think I really have a problem with it. Anime is a significant subsidiary or companion industry for manga publishers, so it makes sense to me that manga-friendly comics conventions factor it into their programming. And maybe the folks at NYCC didn’t want to compete with existing comics awards programs like the Eisners and the Harveys. But it does strike me as narrow in focus and not entirely in keeping with the general vibe the event projects.
And launching any kind of awards program is tricky in much the same way as assembling a “best of the year” list. A focus on a specific category might be a more sensible approach than the kind of awards programs that lead to frankly bizarre co-nominees in some categories. As the graphic novel market expands, it might be easier to pick a sector when you’re looking to pass out accolades.
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Also eye-catching was the New York Times piece on Dark Horse Comics (found via Comics Worth Reading). As NYT pieces on graphic novels go, it’s something of a relief. Going just from memory, the paper’s comics coverage often involves the reporter swallowing whole some bit of malarkey from either Marvel or DC on how deep and meaningful their spandex themes are.
And while this piece is seriously flattering to Dark Horse, it also successfully makes the argument that, regardless of how varied their product is and how varied its origins are, their business plan manages to cohere. And with a mixture of creator-owned comics made specifically for Dark Horse, licensed manga and manhwa, and property adaptations, that coherence strikes me a significant accomplishment.
It’s not at all unusual for comics companies to convey the impression that their left and right hands barely have a passing acquaintance with one another, much less a full understanding of their respective agendas. Dark Horse seems to have evaded that problem.
You're always a day away
November 7, 2006 by
Another week, another opportunity to ponder the mysteries of the ComicList. Some weeks I get lucky, and Del Rey titles show up earlier than they do from Diamond (as with the excellent Genshiken vol. 7). Some weeks I’m left to writhe in jealousy as everyone else gets Love Roma vol. 4 before I do. MangaCast has a preview of Del Rey’s shôjo version of Train Man, which I believe is due in bookstores today, if not in comic shops tomorrow.
I’m curious about Project Romantic from AdHouse, but it wasn’t a book that I was confident in buying sight unseen. I’m sure I’ll get the chance when I hit Columbus for the holidays.
The concept for Hero Heel (Juné) tickles me, focusing on unexpected romance among actors in a super-hero TV show. Pick your favorite Heroes actors and play along!
Looking for something in a chic, josei, nouvelle manga style? Fanfare/Ponent Mon is releasing a new printing of Kan Takahama’s Kinderbook.
Mmmm… Greek food. Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey travel to the cradle of democracy for Action Philosophers #7: It’s All Greek To You.
Oni releases the second issue of Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s The Damned, a solid fusion of mob drama and supernatural weirdness.
I’m intrigued by 12 Days from Tokyopop, either in spite or because of its faintly nauseating premise. Here’s a preview from editor Lillian Diaz-Pryzbyl.
And of course, there’s always Death Note vol. 8 (Viz – Shonen Jump Advanced). MangaCast notes that the first volume of this series keeps popping up on Japanese best-seller lists.
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It seems that John Jakala is not alone. At Read About Comics, Greg McElhatton looks at the first two volumes of Drifting Classroom (Viz – Signature) and finds them really, really loud:
“With The Drifting Classroom two of its eleven volumes are now translated, and I can’t help but wonder if publishing the other nine books could somehow result in a worldwide shortage of exclamation points thanks to its relentless intensity.”
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And in this week’s Flipped, I take the really ill-advised step of reviewing Osamu Tezuka’s Ode to Kirihito (Vertical), in spite of the fact that tons of people have already done it really well. Here are some more successful examples:
Links by daylight
October 24, 2006 by
Dirk Deppey offers a lovely review of Kaoru Mori’s Emma (CMX) over at The Comics Journal:
“Mori’s subdued manga style allows for nuanced changes in gesture and facial expressions to convey a great deal of information, and her enthusiasm for the period is genuine and infectious — her author’s-note omake at the end of this first volume is practically a giddy teenager’s love letter to Victorian trappings.”
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I’m still trying to figure out what to do with the Flipped Forum over at Comic World News. At the moment, I’m primarily using it as a repository for publisher press releases, but I’m thinking it might be fun to start threads that track reviews of books I’ve covered in the column, just as respite for people who read my opinions and think, “What the hell was he on when he wrote that?”
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Speaking of those publisher press releases, Naruto is headed towards its natural habitat: the mall! (And yes, I realize that, in addition to its undeniable sales power, people like Tom Spurgeon and Bill Sherman also think it’s a solidly entertaining comic. The snark was just sitting there!)
The featured events are a nice illustration of the property’s burgeoning, multi-media empire. I wonder if Viz will be taking the opportunity to cross-promote some other properties at the same time?
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I’m very intrigued by this announcement from Sweatdrop Studios, a UK-based original manga studio. While I’m not entirely convinced that there is a unifying style or approach to either shônen or shôjo manga, I love the idea of concurrent versions of the same stories told by different creators.
Plus, as Pata notes, you can’t go wrong with an introduction from Paul Gravett.
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You also can’t go wrong when Jake Forbes pops by to offer his two cents. He shows up in comments at Comics Worth Reading to discuss what power really means in the manga business.
Mangalanche!
October 17, 2006 by
There’s an outrageous quantity of good manga coming out this week, and David Taylor has pulled the manga out for your convenience.
If I didn’t already own it, I would name Fanfare/Ponent Mon’s re-release of Jiro Taniguchi’s sublime Walking Man as manga pick of the week. I think I will anyways. (F/PM is another publisher who could play a mean game of “If you like…” Of course, I think every comic shop should have a spinner rack full of their books. Some of their work is on display in a recent article from Paul Gravett, along with other offerings in the still-too-narrow gekiga category.)
In non-manga offerings, I’m most excited about Dave Roman’s Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery from Slave Labor Graphics.
Chris Butcher goes through this week’s releases, hitting the highlights and making an good point about a couple of current manga series:
“Better still, it’s a lot of fun to compare the 1970s suspense-horror of Drifting Classroom by Kazuo Umezu (essentially: Japan’s Stephen King) to Dragon Head, a more contemporary take on the sub-genre. Drifting Classroom leaves less to the imagination about the fate of the characters and what they face, but it also has the reactions of the characters ratchetted way above Dragon Head to achieve similar effects… You really oughtta be buying and reading both, I think.”
Jog’s rundown of the week’s comics is particularly manga-rich this week. Best line:
“Q-Ko-chan Vol. 2 (of 2): Another model of clarity from writer/artist Ueda Hajime draws to a close. It looks nice!”
What more is there to say?
Dave Ferraro is another Drifting Classroom fan (so am I), and he takes a look at volume 2 in the latest Manga Monday at Comics-and-More, also reviewing Dragon Head 4, Monster 5, and Shojo Beat’s Punch preview.
At MangaBlog, Brigid gives a qualified thumbs-up to the second volume of Boogiepop Doesn’t Laugh; I agree with her that more distinct character design would have helped with clarity. Rereading the first volume before delving into the second was almost essential.
MangaCast keeps the previews and reviews coming. Volume #255 features CMX’s Densha Otoko, Juné’s Close the Last Door, and the second volume of The Great Catsby from NETCOMICS. And MangaCaster Erin F. provides an audio version of the latest Manga Recon column from PopCultureShock. The eclectic collection of titles covered includes the first two volumes of Scott Pilgrim, DMP’s Robot anthology, Ultra Cute, and the excellent Dokebi Bride. Ah, globalism!
Dark Horse’s Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service did well in the Direct Market, and TangognaT thinks it deserves four stars (out of five).
And in this week’s Flipped, I think about the children… the murderous, emotionally disturbed children.
Monday mangablogging
October 9, 2006 by
At MangaBlog, Brigid gives some on-the-scene coverage of the inaugural MangaNEXT in Secaucus, NJ, including today’s wrap-up.
At Love Manga, David Taylor launches his Manhwa Competition with Kye Young Chong’s Audition from DramaQueen.
MangaCast is awash in previews and reviews.
At ¡Journalista!, Dirk Deppey wraps up his scanlation tour.
Icarus exec Simon Jones contemplates manga backlash in France and takes a level-headed view of the place of spandex in bookstore:
“All things considered, I don’t feel the traditional superhero books are as marginalized in bookstores as they appear… much of that comes from our incorrectly grouping all manga into a single entity. If we separate them into their individual genres… shounen, shoujo, seinen, josei… then the superhero genre would compare to each more favorably.”
Lest you think the Frankfurt Book Fair is kind of stodgy, organizers gave free admission to cosplayers, one of whom won a week-long trip to Japan.
And in this week’s Flipped, I stare into the coming digital age, eyes wide with trepidation.
Something for everyone
October 2, 2006 by
At ¡Journalista!, Dirk Deppy wants to introduce you to the best in scanlations:
“It occurs to me that there are any number of Japanese comics floating around in scanlated form that might not appeal to the average manga teenybopper, but might well be appreciated by indy-comics fans.”
Deppey, who wrote an excellent article on scanlations for The Comics Journal, starts off with the likes of Naoki (Monster) Urasawa and Iou (Sexy Voice and Robo) Kuroda.
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At Love Manga, David Taylor delivers an excellent interview with Simon Jones of Icarus Publishing, leading purveyor of ero-manga in translation. Jones offers, among other things, his view on fan-created translations:
“I certainly believe that the benefits of scanlations have been overstated, and most general arguments for them have been little more than rationalizations. But one thing I don’t question is their passion… they truly love the manga they work on.”
And just because I love it, this quote:
“There will always be a stigma around porn, because porn is supposed to push the boundaries of mainstream taste. As the boundary widens, porn will push even harder against it. In other words, our books will always be the kind you hide under your bed.”
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MangaNEXT is coming up this weekend, and MangaCast has details on panels. It looks like an interesting mix of publishers, from biggies like Dark Horse and Del Rey to more targeted houses like ALC and DramaQueen. (Somebody ask Vertical if they’ve ever considered doing a high-end treatment of Rose of Versailles.)
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At Comics-and-More, Dave Ferraro devotes Manga Monday to Hikaru No Go and Hideshi Hino’s The Red Snake.
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Seeing dead people makes me smile in this week’s Flipped, with reviews of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and Dokebi Bride.
Via
September 25, 2006 by
I have to admit to some disappointment that Paul O’Brien didn’t review Civil War #4 in this week’s X-Axis. Nobody takes a controversial and/or dreadful Marvel comic out for a spin like O’Brien. He does neatly address the issue of continuity in this Usenet thread. And John Jakala fills the void with a look at potential pro-registration contingency plans still lurking in the shadows.
Moving on to the topic of superhero comics that aren’t sickening, ICv2 notes that Bleach (Viz – Shonen Jump) has been gently blessed with the Cartoon Network Effect. David Taylor at Love Manga and Brigid at MangaBlog both offer some analysis.
Here are even more manga reviews:
- It will probably never climb too far in the BookScan charts (since it hasn’t already), but Dragon Head (Tokyopop) keeps getting love from the blogosphere. This time, Bill (Pop Culture Gadabout) Sherman praises the book over at Blogcritics.org. (Found via The Comics Reporter.)
- At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson looks at Day of Revolution (Digital Manga Publishing).
- Updated to add: TangognaT looks at manga and graphic novels for younger readers at Chicken Spaghetti.
- Updated again because: It’s Manga Monday over at Comics-and-More. Dave Ferraro takes a look at two titles from Viz’s Editor’s Choice line, Blue Spring and Flowers & Bees.
At The Beat, Heidi MacDonald sets up a comments area for SPX planning. At CWR, Johanna notes that the show is still looking for volunteers. I had a great time volunteering last year, and the show as a whole was a lot of fun. I won’t be able to make it to the show this year, though.
In this week’s Flipped, I chat with David Wise about Go! Comi’s first year on the eve of their next round of releases.
I had great luck doing some manga shopping up in Pittsburgh on Saturday, finding titles that just didn’t seem to make it over the mountains into West Virginia. The only mild irritation came from those stupid theft-deterrence tags that Borders insists on sticking into their inventory. I can appreciate the need to discourage shrinkage, but I live in fear of ripping out a word balloon with the sticky backs on those things.
