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Upcoming 4/23/2008

April 22, 2008 by

Some highlights from the ComicList for Wednesday, April 23, 2008:

It’s Go! Comi for the win this week, with new volumes of three of my favorite series arriving simultaneously.

I’ve almost run out of good things to say about Setona Mizushiro’s After School Nightmare, which is probably one of the best Japanese comics currently in release, and certainly one of the best examples of the shôjo category. The cover of the seventh volume, due tomorrow, is particularly creepy for regular readers of the series.

While the second volume of Yuu Asami’s A.I. Revolution didn’t have quite the same feeling of discovery I found in the first, it was still a lovely reading experience. It’s got a sweetly old-fashioned feel as it explores the relationship between humans and robots. The robots are hunky, the humans are quirky, the stories are comforting and varied, and the art is gorgeous.

Train + Train, by Hideyuki Kurata and Tomomasa Takuma, got off to something of a weak start, but it’s become one of my favorites over its six-volume run. Likeable kids Arena and Reiichi get more education than they bargained for as they travel across a teaching planet on the “Special Train,” learning lessons in the form of dangerous missions. I’m not sure Takuma ever fully realizes the visual possibilities of this set-up, but the development of characters and themes is strong.

Filed under: ComicList, Go! Comi 4 Comments

Drama, drama, drama

March 28, 2008 by

Over at Comics Should Be Good, Danielle Leigh once again demonstrates her great taste, listing her top five current shôjo series. This reminds me that it’s time to make a few more Great Graphic Novels for Teens nominations.

The sixth volume of Setona Mizushiro’s After School Nightmare (Go! Comi) features some juicy forward plot motion and some ruthless character development. Back when I used to watch soap operas and participate in that branch of online fandom, many of us would decry what we called “Knight in Shining Armor Syndrome.” Mizushiro thrills me to no end by ripping one of her characters to shreds for indulging in this kind of behavior. Seriously, you won’t find a more psychologically acute melodrama in this category.

The 19th volume of Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket (Tokyopop) makes me geek out a round of “The Gang’s All Here.” After some extensive focus on individual characters, Takaya rounds everyone up for what feels like the beginning a very satisfying endgame. It’s a testament to the excellent work she’s done developing her cast that I’m delighted to see so many of them return and that their complex dynamics are still so clear and emotionally effective. As usual, threads that previously seemed extraneous are woven into the story’s larger tapestry, which tells me that I should just assume that everything matters. It’s a marvel, and it really shouldn’t be dismissed on the basis of its commercial success.

“Mature Content” rating be damned. Teens are probably reading Ai Yazawa’s Nana (Viz) anyways, so I’m throwing the ninth volume into the mix. More to the point, if there’s a better portrayal of the fallout of capricious behavior, I can’t think of it. The happy, shiny world of the entire cast has been thrown into disarray by an unexpected turn of events, and friendships, romances and careers are fundamentally changed. Yazawa doesn’t give the material anything resembling a punitive quality, but hard choices and hurt feelings abound, taking the well-crafted soap opera to a higher level. And Yazawa even reveals the secret origin of Trapnest. (I have to watch the movie, as Kate Dacey swears they’ll seem less cheesy. I don’t know how that will alter the reading experience, to be honest.)

Filed under: GGN4T, Go! Comi, Linkblogging, Quick Comic Comments, Tokyopop, Viz 3 Comments

Upcoming 3/12/2008

March 12, 2008 by

First, I must reveal how pitifully easy it is to manipulate me. Echo has a new home! Echo has a new home! Well played, Pedigree. You make Grant Morrison look like Mark Millar.

Okay, now we will move on to this week’s comics, before I become dehydrated from the tears a dog-food company has wrung out of me.

Fortunately, my pick of the week is a wonderful piece of satire that will surely cleanse the palate. It’s the third volume of Adam Warren’s racy, funny Empowered (Dark Horse). For those of you just tuning in, a young super-heroine gets by with a little help from her friends, in spite of a singularly unreliable costume and the sexist contempt of just about everyone else in her line of work. Here’s my review of the first volume.

Kaoru Mori’s Emma (CMX) concludes with the seventh volume. After the absorbingly languid pace of the previous six books, this one felt almost hyperactive by comparison. It’s still lovely and extremely moving, though.

I really loved the classic feel of the first volume of Yuu Asami’s A.I. Revolution (Go! Comi), so I’m really looking forward to reading the second. A young girl helps prototype robots learn about human behavior in smart, sensitively conceived stories.

Maintenance (Oni) is one of the few series I still buy in pamphlet form, and the ninth issue arrives today. Custodians at a mad-scientist think tank encounter a wide range of mangled genre ambassadors, making for observant, odd workplace comedy. The first trade paperback is available, and the second is on its way. Here’s my review of the first issue.

Suppli (Tokyopop) is a great change of pace, following a twenty-something advertising exec as she tries to cobble together a new personal life after the end of a lengthy relationship. The art is lovely, and the observations are sharp and specific, and I’m looking forward to the second digest. Here’s my review of the first.

I already have the first volume of Ai Morinaga’s Your and My Secret, from way back in the days when ADV published it. Now Tokyopop has rescued the series from licensing limbo, and I might just love Morinaga enough to buy it all over again just to add one more to the sales column (and to spare myself a hunt through my shelving “system”). Kate Dacey summarizes all the reasons you should give it a try over at Manga Recon.

Filed under: CMX, ComicList, Dark Horse, Go! Comi, Oni, Tokyopop 2 Comments

Or as I like to call it, "Poverty Month"

March 2, 2008 by

It’s Manga Month again in Diamond’s Previews catalog, and there’s quite a mix of stuff for varied tastes. Oddly enough, there’s isn’t a Manga Month spread at the front pointing to items of particular interest or even any indication of the occasion on the cover, but why dwell?

Dark Horse has been making some interesting choices lately, stretching further and further out of its seinen mold. This month, they’re offering four books from Akiko Ikeda’s Dayan Collection series of children’s books featuring “the mischievous cat… and his woodland friends.” The illustrations look gorgeous. Dark Horse has a bunch of preview pages up at its site. (Pages 30 and 31.)

Del Rey really gets on the Manga Month bus. I’m most interested in the first volume of Faust, “a fiction magazine showcasing innovative short works by young authors. Deb Aoki interviewed Faust editor Katsushi Ota over at About.com not too long ago which really whetted my interest. (Page 256.)

In addition to new volumes of lots of series I love, there’s also the debut of the Odd Thomas graphic novel, In Odd We Trust, by Dean Koontz and Queenie (The Dreaming) Chan. I haven’t read Koontz’s Odd Thomas novels, but it’s about a guy who talks to the dead, and it’s drawn by Chan, so I’m almost sure to like it. (Page 256.)

Drawn & Quarterly’s third collection of the works of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Good-Bye (Page 283), will undoubtedly get lots of well-deserved attention, but I’m more drawn to the possibilities of Seichi Hayashi’s Red Colored Elegy. It follows “the quietly melancholic lives of a young couple struggling to make ends meet” during “a politically turbulent and culturally vibrant decade that promised but failed to delivery new possibilities.” (Page 284.)

I’m only going by what Go! Comi’s solicitation tells me, but I like the concept behind Shino Taira and Yuki Ichiju’s Bogle, promising a contemporary teen-girl Robin Hood. (Page 293.)

Netcomics offers another title with a josei vibe, Wann’s Talking About. “Three lonely women in search of “happily ever after” in one modern city filled to the brim with difficult men.” (Page 316.)

That sound you just heard was probably Kate Dacey’s head exploding. Viz is offering a second edition of Rumiko Takahashi’s One-Pound Gospel, forbidden romance between a budding boxer and a beautiful nun. (Page 375.)

General head explosion will probably result from the announcement of two fat collections of Kazuo (The Drifting Classroom) Umezu’s Cat Eyed Boy. Horror fans will undoubtedly want to take note, as Umezu is an insanely gifted practitioner in this genre. Here’s some early, illustrated enthusiasm from Same Hat! Same Hat! The softcover books offer about 500 pages a piece for $24.99, but you can hack about a third off of that price if you pre-order at Amazon. (Page 377.)

In addition to a fair number of former Ice Kunion titles, Yen Press deliver’s the first volume of a manga that instantly hooks me with its title: Shoulder-a-Coffin, Kuro! by Satoko Kiyuduki. I don’t even care what it’s about. (Page 379.)

In the realm of comics not from Japan, there’s still plenty of interest. Phil and Kaja Foglio and Cheyenne Wright offer the seventh volume of Girl Genius: Agatha and the Voice of the Castle. I really enjoy this funny adventure series, which is also available online. (Page 203.)

Based on the strength of La Perdida, I’ll read just about anything by Jessica Abel, even if it’s about underemployed hipster vampires. Abel collaborates with Gabe Soria and Warren Pleece on Life Sucks from First Second. (Page 289.)

I really need to read Matthew Loux’s Sidescrollers (Oni Press), which has gotten tons of praise. Loux has a new book coming from Oni called Salt Water Taffy. The new quarterly series follows a bizarre family vacation to a small fishing port in Maine, and it looks like it will be a lot of fun. (Page 317.)

New comics from Hope Larson always make me happy. Her latest is Chiggers from Simon and Schuster, which promises friendship crises at summer camp. Larson is one of the most imaginative visual storytellers around, so it should offer an intriguing on familiar-sounding material. (Page 337.)

Filed under: Airship, Dark Horse, Del Rey, Drawn & Quarterly, First Second, Go! Comi, Netcomics, Oni, Previews, Simon and Schuster, Viz, Yen Press 2 Comments

Absolute boy, friend

February 9, 2008 by

The almost-human robot has been a regular figure in fiction for ages, and the complex bonds formed between everyday people and almost-human machines have been thoroughly explored as well. There are executions that lapse lazily into the realm of cliché, and others that invest the tropes with enough heart and intelligence to feel classic. Yuu Asami’s A.I. Revolution (Go! Comi) is in the latter category.

Asami introduces schoolgirl Sui, the daughter of a robotics expert who has developed a new prototype. Vermillion is virtually human in appearance, and his artificial intelligence has the capacity to evolve. Sui’s father wants her to introduce Vermillion to the world, putting his programming through its paces. Initially, it’s an entertaining chore for Sui, but her affection for Vermillion deepens as his personality becomes more complex. There’s no romance (yet), but their evolving friendship gives the story a satisfying core.

With that established, Asami uses her protagonists as triggers for the emotional evolution of others – a girl who lost her father to an out-of-control robot, a sickly boy whose scientist father is much less benevolent than Sui’s, even another robot cut from the same cloth as Vermillion. (Kira, the other hunky boy robot, is amusingly jerky, and I was happy to see him become a fixture in the cast.) Sui and Vermillion’s relationship, her thoughtful acceptance of the other, and his fresh point of view allow others to evaluate their own feelings of grief, loneliness and disconnectedness. Since Sui and Vermillion are developed so well, they’re effective touchstones without being reduced to simple catalysts.

Relationships aren’t the only ingredient, though. Asami peppers the volume with corporate espionage. Ostensibly affable researcher Sakaki reveals a creepy, conniving side when he realizes that Vermillion’s potential extends beyond becoming a genial companion. He’s an effective villain because his worldview is so narrow and functional; everyone, robot and human, is a means to an end as opposed to an independent entity worthy of respect. The tone of the story changes when he pops up, but the themes remain the same.

The book’s classic feel is carried heavily by the visuals, which are lovely and elegant. Those qualities aren’t immediately evident, as Asami favors a larger number of panels per page than I’m used to. She’s also more given to dialogue than monologue, internal or otherwise, so there are quite a few word balloons. Those elements never make the pages look cluttered, as Asami’s sense of composition is very strong. The visuals are sharp and jangling when they need to be and smooth and lyrical at the moments that call for those qualities. She never wastes a head shot either, taking advantage of the varied palettes expressive humans and more muted robots offer.

There are lots of little things about the book that add to the pleasure. Asami can be very funny when it suits, and her hilarious after-word makes me hope she’s done a flat-out comedy that’s waiting to be licensed. I’ve praised the script previously, and it certainly bears repeating: Translator Christine Schilling and adapter/editor Brynne Chandler capture all of the nuances.

(This review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.)

Filed under: From the stack, Go! Comi 5 Comments

Previews review Feb. 2008

February 6, 2008 by

There’s plenty of intriguing stuff in the February 2008 Previews catalog. Let’s get to it, shall we?

I’ve seen lots of excitement about Hiroya Oku’s Gantz (Dark Horse, page 34), and the solicitation does make it sound intriguing. It promises recently deceased average folks put through their paces by a bossy, alien orb. I’m not usually drawn to crazy violent manga, but there’s something about Dark Horse’s taste in those kinds of books that works for me. Usually.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, but also from Dark Horse (page 57), is Simone Lia’s Fluffy, which is about a preschool-aged rabbit and his human father. If the premise makes you want to check your glucose levels, the absolutely charming preview pages feature Fluffy’s teacher sneaking out of dad’s bedroom. Father and son also go to Sicily. I’m there.

In other comics travel news, Del Rey launches Yuko Osada’s Toto! The Wonderful Adventure (page 270). Wanderlust drives young Kakashi to stow away on a zeppelin filled with crooks.

I’m a huge fan of Takako Shigematsu’s Tenshi Ja Nai!!, so I’m glad to see that Go! Comi has picked up another of her titles, Ultimate Venus (page 303). Honestly, I wasn’t crazy about Shigematsu’s King of the Lamp, but it was hardly bad enough to put a dent in the positive impression left by Tenshi.

The premise of Lars Martinson’s Xeric Award-winning Tōnoharu (Top Shelf, page 356) sounds great. It’s the semi-autobiographical tale of an American teaching English in rural Japan. Martinson has a blog about the book and the experiences that inspired it.

There’s always justifiable excitement when Vertical announces that they’re releasing another beautifully produced translation of Osamu Tezuka’s work. This month, it’s Dororo (page 362). There doesn’t seem to be any room in it for cross-dressing sociopaths, but I’m sure it will offer its own unique charms.

Filed under: Dark Horse, Del Rey, Go! Comi, Previews, Top Shelf, Vertical 1 Comment

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

Wild adapters

January 27, 2008 by

I was reading Yuu Asami’s A.I. Revolution (Go! Comi) yesterday, and it’s a very nice book. I’ll probably write about it in more detail later, but one of the things that really struck me was the sense that the translation and adaptation made for a very fluid, appropriate reading experience. Some scripts come off as inadvertently clunky from beginning to end, but translator Christine Schilling and adapter Brynne Chandler actually employ clunkiness in ways that serve the story. (Several of the characters are humanoid robots, so it makes sense that their evolving use of language would be stiff or inelegant, and Schilling and Chandler seem to consciously play with the counterpoint between robot and human speech.)

Anyway, that’s a long, inelegant introduction to a question: has anyone put together a web-based resource that lists translator/adapter credits? I think it would be useful. Maybe I should do it if there isn’t one already out there.

Filed under: Go! Comi, Quick Comic Comments 12 Comments

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 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
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