The Manga Curmudgeon

Spending too much on comics, then talking too much about them

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Links by daylight

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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.

Comics in the wee hours

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My tendency to become distracted by supporting characters has cropped up in Monster (Viz – Signature). I don’t mind dogged Dr. Tenma, though I find him too perfect. (Even his flaws seem calculated to make you sigh, “Oh, that poor, decent man.”) But I find any sequence featuring Nina, the sister of a serial killer who’s determined to do the right thing regardless of the cost, absolutely riveting. Nina gets lots of play in the fifth volume, so I’m a very happy reader.

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Jog notes one of the things that makes Golgo 13 (Viz – Signature) so special: the extras.

“Only in the pages of Golgo 13 could you possibly run into anything like what’s in this volume’s File 13 bonus section: a short essay by Horibe Masashi, ‘founder of the Hakukotsu School of Japanese Martial Arts,’ devoted entirely to the physiology of being kicked in the nuts. Seriously; you’ll learn the science behind what exactly happens in the body during an assault on the family jewels, some fun facts about testicles in Japanese folklore, and even the secrets behind a legendary lost karate skill of temporary bollocks retraction.”

That’s right. A Viz book features a comprehensive look at racking.

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At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson swings by the carry-out for a look at Project X – The Challengers – Seven Eleven – The Miraculous Success of Japan’s 7-Eleven Stores (Digital Manga Publishing).

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At Keromaru, Alex Scott offers more details on Books-A-Million’s Mature Graphic Novel section and gets confirmation from an employee at another B-A-M outlet.

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I’m glad to see that The Damned (Oni Press) is being received well. Mobsters and demons aren’t exactly my protagonists of choice, but I thought this book made interesting use of both. Jeff Lester at Savage Critics called it “surprisingly Good,” and Paul O’Brien at The X-Axis gave it an A-.

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After a couple of heavy weeks at the comics shop, this Wednesday is comparatively subdued. Despite a smaller number of titles of interest, the quality promises to be really, really high. I need to catch up with Josh Neufeld’s The Vagabonds (Alternative Comics), as I really enjoyed A Few Perfect Hours. Fantagraphics releases the second issue of the second volume of Linda Medley’s wonderful Castle Waiting.

But the undisputed pick of the week is Osamu Tezuka’s Ode to Kirohito (Vertical), 832 pages from the God of Manga for the ridiculously low price of $24.95. If you need more convincing, check out Jarred Pine’s review at Anime on DVD.

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I document the next step in Dark Horse’s continued (and successful) attempts to woo me in this week’s Flipped. First it was the thoughtful sci-fi of Eden: It’s an Endless World! Then it was the nostalgia-triggering charms of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Now it’s indie-flavored Ohikkoshi.

What will they roll out next? New shôjo?

Friday mangablogging

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There are two recent reviews up from Brigid at MangaBlog. First up is Kye Young Chon’s Audition from DramaQueen. Second is David Roman’s Astronaut Elementary from Cryptic Press.

MangaCast’s Ed Chavez looks at some character-driven manga: Saijyo Shinji’s Iron Wok Jan! (DrMaster), Kaoru Mori’s Emma (CMX), and Key Young Chon’s DVD (DramaQueen).

Speaking of MangaCast, they’re sponsoring a contest. Simply imagine your imminent death, dredge up your most profound regret, and maybe win a copy of Reborn! (Viz – Shonen Jump Advanced). This is the point where I should say, “Enter now, or you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”

The love for Drifting Classroom (Viz – Signature) keeps on coming, this time from Katherine Dacey-Tsuei at PopCultureShock.

ChunHyang sees people who see dead people in the second installment of a pre-Halloween manga spook-a-thon, mentioning many of my favorites in the process.

And now a question that comes from an e-mail conversation I was having with John Jakala. In your experience, which chain bookstore has the best manga selection? I find Barnes & Noble reliable, and the local Books-a-Million oddly always has the largest selection of Juné books, but for variety and selection, I’d have to vote for the Borders up in Pittsburgh. Of course it’s an hour away.

Edited to add: It sells a bajillion copies, but it doesn’t get reviewed that often. Bill Sherman takes a look at “the loudmouthed spud,” Naruto (Viz – Shonen Jump), at Pop Culture Gadabout.

Mangalanche!

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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.

If you like…

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Chris Butcher at comics212.net (no dot!) notes that Tokyopop is trying its hand at the “If you like…” game in favor of some of its global manga titles. It’s not a bad idea, though Chris notes some of the flaws in execution in this particular example.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that a number of these titles have more in common with the books that Oni Press, or Image Comics publish (and I’m sure both of those companies are really excited by the prospect of competing with Tokyopop for shelf-space and dollars in comic stores) than the Japanese- and Korean-originated titles they publish, but several of them really aren’t very ‘indy’ at all. Some of these books are exactly what the average person thinks of when they think of manga; relationship-oriented drama and teen-boy adventure stories. Nothing wrong with that, but I think it muddies the waters of your promotion somewhat…”

In some cases, I think comics shoppers view any manga in the same way dedicated super-hero readers view books from Oni or Fantagraphics or Top Shelf; it’s all undiscovered country, even if the content is very mainstream (romances, mysteries, zombies, what have you). That isn’t a criticism – everyone should read what they like and what gives them the best return on their investment.

It’s surprising to me that Tokyopop didn’t include I Luv Halloween (written by Keith Giffen) or Boys of Summer (written by Chuck Austen), though the latter would probably appeal more to the morbidly curious who’ve missed having Austen to kick around. Of course, the ILH comparisons would probably pain me. I can just see it being categorized with Ted Naifeh’s Courtney Crumrin books, and that would be agony, because Courtney doesn’t deserve that kind of company.

And speaking of Oni books, they’ve always struck me as the company best able to straddle the indy-manga divide, if in fact there is one. Their books cover a lot of the same narrative territory, and while the illustration styles don’t necessarily scream “manga-influenced,” their trim size and packaging frequently do.

While the effort is flawed, it’s good to see Tokyopop reaching out to local comic shops, particularly after they generated ill will with the recent on-line exclusive initiative. I do think publishers like Del Rey or Dark Horse might be better positioned to make a pitch like this. Del Rey’s Love Roma, Eternal Sabbath, Genshiken, and other titles strike me as having strong crossover potential. Dark Horse has always done well with manga in the Direct Market, and some of their recent releases (Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service and next week’s Ohikkoshi spring to mind) would rest quite comfortably in the indy comic section.

But, as last month’s LCS sales figures (ably examined by Brigid of MangaBlog) demonstrate, Dark Horse doesn’t really need a comic-shop specific initiative. (Full figures for the month are at Comic Book Resources.) Neither, apparently, do Digital Manga’s Juné books, which is great in one sense, but bad because the line’s momentum makes me wonder even more if we’ll ever see more books like IWGP or Bambi and Her Pink Gun (in other words, books you’d think would have flown off the comic shop shelves).

Mangaviews

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ChunHyang gets into the spirit of the season by looking at vampire comics:

“I’ve read a little bit of everything, from gothic angst to straight-up horror and can honestly say it’s a rare vampire manga that rubs me the wrong way.”

Will this be the reminder that finally gets me to pick up Model, which sounds like Paradise Kiss starring the mysterious undead?

Tony Salvaggio is back with a new installment of Calling Manga Island at Comic Book Resources, looking at Air Gear and Old Boy:

“No matter what your age, there is plenty of action and adventure to be had in manga lately, and these two titles are certainly ones I will be following for the near future.”

At Manganews, anitra gives a tidy summary of why Antique Bakery is so appealing:

“Antique Bakery is a character piece. I forgot most of the plot about five minutes after I read it, but I know the characters as if they are my friends. It is a funny story, and that is what the plot is for, but what makes it profound and compelling is its depth of character.”

I’m a sucker for character-driven stories. And pastries.

At MangaCast, Christian overcomes an aversion to manga maids to become smitten with Emma:

“It’s hard not to be charmed by Emma. Much of the first tankōbon has a quiet, almost lazy feel to it. For a series so light on action, a surprisingly large amount of the story elements are conveyed visually, without dialogue, sometimes just with knowing glances.”

Emma’s meditative quality really hooked me on the book.

Over at MangaBlog, Brigid and MangaCast’s Jarred and commiserate over tankoubons of pain.

If you want a snapshot of what comics critics are saying about the books of 2006, swing by The Comics Reporter. Tom Spurgeon is putting together a list.

And this piece at Shaenon Garrity’s LiveJournal is great fun, reporting on some all-time favorite manga lists from Japan and soliciting the same from some manga editors in the U.S. (Found via MangaBlog.)

Thursday manga linkblogging

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Conspiracy theorists rejoice! Calvin Reid drops by Love Manga to offer some details on the PWCW Comics Bestseller List. Just to clarify, I don’t think the list is inaccurate. I just think it would be more meaningful if I had some sense of how it was assembled. Over at Comics Worth Reading, commenter Ali T. Kokmen notes that the level of available background is just about equivalent to every other bestseller list out there, and elaborates further in an e-mail to Dirk Deppey.

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Pata’s quest for lists got me wondering: what’s already lurking among the manga reading lists at Amazon?

And roughly 2,070 more.

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A Kentucky library is grooming the next generation of graphic novelists. (Thanks, Rose.)

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John Jakala notes that Viz isn’t taking any chances on reaping the potential bump from the debut of the Bleach anime.

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MangaNEXT isn’t until this weekend, but the Frankfurt Book Fair is underway, and the event’s web site has coverage of its manga conference. Lots of interesting nuggets of information about manga around the world (is it the rising tide that lifts all ships?), and this wrap-up paragraph:

“While Chuck Rozanski opined that ‘anything that’s not superheroes in America is a hard sell,’ the Europeans reported an increase in locally-created manga in their markets, illustrating Chigusa Ogino’s remark that, in today’s manga world, ‘you don’t have to have a Japanese passport to do manga.’”

A hard sell? Really?

Listing

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Ah, the ComicList… some weeks are famine, others are feast. Guess which kind we have this week?

  • CMX releases the eagerly anticipated Emma, which I had reviewed in proof form a while back. The finished cover is quite lovely with an appealingly antique-y paper stock.
  • Pantheon brings the new Marjane Satrapi book, Chicken with Plums. The book made Entertainment Weekly’s Must List without any mention of it being a graphic novel.
  • Tokyopop offers the fourth volume of the little book that might, Dragon Head.
  • Viz has the fourth volume of Ai Yazawa’s Nana, which gets better with every installment. And it started really well.

Okay, that isn’t quite as burdensome as it seemed at first glance, but there’s still lots of nice stuff. The MangaCast of characters hit the highlights of the week’s manga releases. And folks like Jog and Daves Carter and Ferraro take the week’s shipping list out for a spin.

If you’re still looking for reasons to part with your hard-earned cash, there are lots of well-written reviews floating about the blogosphere:

  • Johanna Draper Carlson covers two of my favorite books (Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators and Girl Genius) in her latest column for Comics Unlimited.
  • Dirk Deppey thoughtfully examines the excellent American Born Chinese and continues his scanlation tour.
  • Lyle keeps watch on Shojo Beat previews with a look at Tail of the Moon.
  • Updated to add: Steven Grant reviews two Del Rey books, Ghost Hunt and Q-Ko-Chan, in the latest installment of Permanent Damage. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the first volume of Ghost Hunt, but it sounds like it may be worth another look.

Something for everyone

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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.