The Manga Curmudgeon

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

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Must-y

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It’s fickle of me, but I only ever pay attention to Entertainment Weekly when I agree with it. (And I won’t link to the magazine’s site because it’s pop-up hell.) This week (the December 7, 2007 issue) they’ve put Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together on “The Must List.”

“Behold, the fourth chapter of this story of a young Canadian dude looking for love and fighting crime and rocking out. And it’s a comic book! Woo-hoo!”

They didn’t run a cover image, because we apparently need to be reminded of what Edie Falco and Jay-Z look like, and I don’t really recall Scott fighting crime, but it’s the thought that counts. I hope bookstores start stocking up so people can find it when they go to Borders and Barnes and Noble. (I’ve heard that if you special-order a book from a brick-and-mortar outlet, they’ll order a couple of additional shelf copies as well. Just a thought.)

In other Must List news, Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis snags the “Reader’s Choice” slot.

Upcoming 11/14/2007

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So clearly, the release of the week is Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together from Oni. The rest of the comics industry might be forgiven for just taking it easy in the face of such a formidable arrival, but they aren’t.

Heck, even Oni isn’t, and they’re releasing Courtney Crumrin and the Fire-Thief’s Tale from Ted Naifeh. (I’ve really got to catch up on this series, because I’ve loved what I’ve read.)

I’ll be covering it in more detail in next week’s Flipped, but I will say I really enjoyed Yuki Nakaji’s Venus in Love (CMX). It’s a sweet slice of college life about a girl and a guy who are in love with the same guy.

A new title from Fumi Yoshinaga is always worth a look, and Digital Manga offers Garden Dreams. I tend to favor her contemporary stories to her period pieces, but I generally can’t resist either, and I’m intrigued that this one isn’t part of the Juné imprint.

The previous volume of Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket (Tokyopop) offered the biggest bombshell in a while, and the eighteenth installment promises even more shocks. But really, the whole thing could be nothing but characters talking about their favorite onigiri filling and I’d still buy it.

And yes, I’m still a Shojo Beat junkie, thanks to the inclusion of Honey and Clover and Sand Chronicles. Well played, Viz.

From the stack: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together

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At this point, I’m pretty sure you either like Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series (Oni Press) or you don’t. There’s nothing in the fourth volume, Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together, that’s likely to change your opinion either way. For me, that means another delightful installment of comedy, action, romance and cheerful absurdity in a wonderfully cohesive package.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t surprises in the new chapter. As the title suggests, the titular twenty-something is brought up short by some shocking new developments – the specter of gainful employment, shelter, and emotional maturity. O’Malley manages this without shifting the tone at all, keeping things antic and sweet. He juggles his large cast with skill, mixing and matching in sneaky, amusing ways and introducing appealing new characters.

This series is just pure pleasure for me. It makes me giddy-happy in the same ways as Love Roma, Yotsuba&! and Empowered, with a gifted creator picking from a grab-bag of narrative elements and making them all work together beautifully. I just love this book.

(This review is based on a preview proof provided by the publisher, though I’m totally buying it when it comes out on Wednesday, Nov. 15.)

Upcoming 11/7/2007

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It’s nice when there’s a clear and present Pick of the Week to be found on the shipping list. This time around, it’s the Azumanga Daioh Omnibus from ADV. (I know!) It’s like ADV is trying to balance its karma by keeping a steady stream of Kiyohiko Azuma manga. And it’s working. Anyway, much as I love Azuma’s Yotsuba&! (also from ADV… see? See?), I’ve yet to sample this gag-strip series. It’s like I was waiting for just the right opportunity.

There was a lot to like in the first Mammoth Book of Best New Manga (Carroll & Graf), and I’m sure I’ll find the same to be true the second volume. Even though it doesn’t seem to have a new chapter of Andi Watson’s “Princess at Midnight.” Which is just wrong. Though I did pick up Glister in Vegas, and that should prove an adequate substitute when I get around to reading it.

On the “new volumes of ongoing series” front, we have Eden: It’s an Endless World! Vol. 9 from Dark Horse, Kindaichi Case Files Vol. 16 from Tokyopop, and Gin Tama Vol. 3 from Viz. Goodness aplenty, and I’m particularly pleased with the preview blurb for Eden, which doesn’t even mention drug kingpins or crack whores.

In other news, Maintenance (Oni Press) takes on Starbucks. That should be fun.

Top five

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Here are five items that struck me as particularly noteworthy from the current Previews catalog, and since orders are due tomorrow, I thought I should get off the pot and mention them.

  • The Vinyl Underground #2 (Vertigo): I must have missed this last month, but this issue’s cover image has the word “detectives” spray-painted on it, so it caught my eye. Then I noticed that the art is being provided by the splendid Simon (Paris) Gane and Cameron (Catwoman) Stewart. I’m not familiar with writer Si Spencer, but the prospect of Gane and Stewart drawing “a red-hot group of occult detectives” would certainly be hard for me to pass up. And looking at Spencer’s Wikipedia entry, I notice that he wrote for Eastenders, one of the best soap operas ever. Sold. (Page 125.)
  • Azumanga Daioh Omnibus Edition (ADV): I’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to catch up with this series by Kiyohiko (Yotsuba&!) Azuma, and 682 pages for $24.99 is certainly that opportunity. Yay! (Page 213.)
  • The Museum Vaults: Excerpts from the Journal of an Expert (NBM): I don’t have any prior knowledge of this work from Marc-Antoine Mathieu, but the cover image was striking, and the solicitation text pretty persuasive when it describes Mathieu as an artist “who marries the stylings of M.C. Escher with the paranoia of Franz Kafka.” Also, I just can’t resist it when NBM publishes a comic about the Louvre. The first, Glacial Period, is offered again, if you missed it. Oh, and if you’ve been longing to learn more about the assassination of James Garfield (just trust me that you have), NBM offers another crack at Rick Geary’s The Fatal Bullet. Oh, NBM, when did you slip me that love potion? (Page 328.)
  • The Annotated Northwest Passage (Oni): I believe I’ve mentioned (ad nauseum) how much I enjoyed this series when it was in paperback installments. This is a gorgeous collection of the historical adventure series, with lots of extras to supplement Scott Chantler’s terrific, wonderfully illustrated story. And for $19.95, the hardcover package is a steal. (Page 330.)
  • Andromeda Stories Vol. 2 (Vertical): More classic sci-fi from one of the Magnificent ‘49ers, Keiko Takemiya. To be honest, I found the third volume of To Terra… kind of rushed. It had a different kind of momentum than the first two, and I’m not sure it was entirely successful. But I admire Takemiya’s work enormously overall, and I love collections of short stories, so there’s really no down side. (Page 362.)

    • Upcoming 9/12

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    This is one of those weeks at the comic shop that doesn’t look especially overwhelming at first glance, but becomes a buffet upon closer scrutiny.

    In fact, I couldn’t really select a Pick of the Week, though I think I’d have to give DC the Publisher of the Week. How do they accomplish this, you ask? Variety.

    First there’s a new volume of Kaoru Mori’s Emma, which is a bit late but no less welcome for it. Then there’s the first release in the second wave of Minx books, Confessions of a Blabbermouth by Mike Carey, Louise Carey, and Aaron Alexovich. M. Carey contributed the script for the excellent Re-Gifters, easily my favorite book in the line, so this will definitely merit a read. And while I found DC’s last effort at reviving the franchise completely incomprehensible, John Ostrander’s Suicide Squad stands as one of my favorite super-hero team books ever (though it rarely featured any actual heroes). I don’t see any obvious deterrents to coherence in the solicitation for the new mini-series featuring Ostrander’s cast, so I might have to give it a try.

    That said, DC has Viz hot on its heels, and the manga publisher seems to be going for the “massive show of force” technique. Yes, lots of Naruto is on the way, but there are also new volumes of excellent ongoing series like Beauty Pop and Gin Tama, and a really, really lovely treatment of Taiyo Matsumoto’s Tekkonkinkreet, with three volumes of weirdness packed into a satisfyingly hefty package. I’m about halfway through it, and it’s pretty amazing.

    If the Suicide Squad thing tempts me sufficiently, I’ll be picking up three whole floppies this week. The other two are the eighth issue of the second volume of Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting (Fantagraphics) and the fifth issue of the endearing Maintenance (Oni).

    And last but not least, Tokyopop reminds me that I don’t need to lead a life void of Meca Tanaka manga just because Omukae Desu is done. The third volume of Pearl Pink is out, which puts me only one volume behind. (I know. That’s how it starts.) Because I’m not reading enough quirky comedies about would-be teen idols.

    Upcoming 8/15

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    Just got back from some work travel, about which the less said the better. I checked in periodically to see if there was any blog spam in the filter, and it all apparently concealed itself for this morning. I tried to look through and see if there were any actual comments in there, but my eyes started to glaze over, so if I dumped anything inadvertently, I apologize.

    Now, on to today’s haul.

    The pick of the week for me is the sixth volume of the Foglios’ delightful web-to-print fantasy-adventure, Girl Genius: Angela Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite, now available in softcover. The last volume ended on quite the cliffhanger, so I’m eager to see what happens next. (If you’re interested in the series and want a good starting point, Airship has an omnibus edition of the first three volumes.)

    Oni Press delivers the fourth issue of the very funny series Maintenance, written by Jim Massey and drawn by Robbi Rodriguez. It’s one of the few series I collect in floppy form, and it just got optioned by Warner Brothers. (I realize that lots of series get optioned, and that it’s no sign of quality whatever, but I think this property might make for fun viewing.)

    Tokyopop has three titles that interest me. The first is the 17th volume of Natsuki Takaya’s Fruits Basket. The series seems to be in a bit of a holding pattern, and the last couple of volumes have only bruised my heart as opposed to ripping it clean out of my chest. I’m fairly confident that it will get back on form soon enough, but the plot really could use a bit of forward motion.

    I’ve seen various responses to Fumi Yoshinaga’s Truly Kindly, coming from the Blu imprint, though none of them have been what I’d call negative. I believe it’s been described as “weird,” and there’s nothing wrong with that.

    The title alone is enough to get me interested in Atelier Marie and Elie Zarlburg Alchemist by Yoshihiko Ochi, though I wouldn’t relish typing it very often.

    Upcoming 8/8

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    It’s a somewhat lean but interesting week of deliveries to comic shops, so let’s get right down to it.

    Aurora’s Deux imprint launches with the first volume of Hate to Love You by Makoto Tateno. The manga-ka is already well known for series like Yellow and Hero Heel, but this was apparently her boys’-love debut.

    The second issue of Otaku USA arrives in comic shops (though I’d imagine it’s already hit regular bookstores). I liked the first issue and found it quite readable, even the non-manga sections.

    Black Metal arrives courtesy of Rick Spears, Chuck BB and Oni Press. I just reviewed this yesterday, so take a look and see if it sounds like the book will speak to you. Short version: energetic silliness about twin metal-heads with a demonic destiny.

    From the stack: Black Metal

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    In an early sequence in Oni’s Black Metal, a cute girl is reading Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim. Brazen coat-tailing, you say? Possibly, but it doesn’t really matter, because Rick Spears and Chuck BB have built their own endearing world with a distinct set of materials. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Scott and company reading and liking the book.

    Shawn and Sam are twin orphans with a love for the titular musical genre and contempt for just about everything else. They’ve earned an almost mythical reputation for antisocial misbehavior by the time they enroll in a new junior high school. When asked which twin is the evil one, their gleeful, unison answer is, “We both are.”

    But they wouldn’t get in quite so much trouble if stupid, conventional people weren’t quite so provoking. Left to their own devices, they’d probably just find old vinyl, play it backwards in their garage, and head-bang until the break of dawn. Unfortunately, local laws and a well-meaning foster mother force them into contact with horrors like the cafeteria and the mall.

    One trip to pre-fab, retail hell does yield interesting results, though. A Frost Axe album provides not only musical diversion but an actual quest for the surly siblings, leading them on an action-packed road trip. Will they feel more at home in capital-h Hell than they did in the suburban equivalent?

    It’s a strangely endearing combination of high adventure and low comedy. I’m not a metal fan by any stretch of the imagination, but Shawn and Sam’s enthusiasm for it and the mythos around it is contagious. Spears makes these spooky little thugs very likable, and he surrounds them with a motley crew of friends and foes. BB’s illustrations are of the creepy-cute variety, and they really work for this material. The pages are laced with dark comedy and a weird kind of sweetness that’s right in step with the script.

    Okay, so not everybody will be comfortable with a funny comic about kids embracing their satanic heritage. I think Black Metal is good-natured enough to make that a non-issue, though I recognize that mileage will certainly vary.

    (Based on a complimentary preview provided by the publisher.)

    Upcoming, 6/27

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    Another Wednesday approaches, bringing some fun stuff with it.

    The fact that I probably prefer it in collection doesn’t keep me from really enjoying individual issues of Linda Medley’s Castle Waiting (Vol. II #7 this week from Fantagraphics). I just wish they were longer. In this case, that’s a compliment. One of the very small handful of titles I still collect in floppy form.

    I’ve really been enjoying the individual issues of Jim Massey and Robbi Rodriguez’s Maintenance (Oni), a workplace comedy about janitors in a mad scientist think tank. Not every joke scores, but more than enough do to make the first collection worth a look.

    One of my favorite features in the first issue of Otaku USA was Jason Thompson’s interview with novelist Tou Ubukata. A manga version of one of Ubukata’s works, Le Chevalier D’Eon, illustrated by Kiriko Yumeji, begins its English-language life courtesy of Del Rey. Gender bending, demon fighting action in pre-Revolution France, and a heroine whose outfit makes you think a tiny bit more kindly about all of those swimsuits and high heels from Marvel and DC.

    Vertical delivers the concluding volume of Keiko Takemiya’s science-fiction classic To Terra… I’m really curious as to how the story will wrap up, as it seems like things could end very badly for… well… everyone involved. Is it terrible that I’m kind of hoping for an unhappy ending? It’s not that I wish the characters, human or Mu, ill. It just seems like such an enticing alternative. (And if you know how it turns out, and you probably do, please don’t spoil it for me.)