Delayed gratification

Before I delve too far into this week’s ComicList, I have a self-serving question. Has the third volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Dark Horse) shown up at anyone’s comic shop? I think it was due out a couple of weeks ago, and I know I have it on reserve, but there’s still no sign of it here in the mountains. I’m wondering if I should start nagging.

While the list offers plenty of great stuff, the common trait seems to be that none of them are showing up here. I’m going to attribute this to the vagaries of regional shipping instead of a conspiracy to deny me the comics I want. For now.

Del Rey offers the eighth volume of Kio Shimoku’s hilarious, sharply-observed, yet still emotionally generous Genshiken.

DramaQueen delivers the first volume of Kye Young Chong’s Audition, which is pleasant enough reading about the search for the ultimate boy band, though I prefer the creator’s other DQ license, the funny, touching, odd DVD.

The fourth volume of Satosumi Takaguchi’s Shout Out Loud! (Blu) promises more romantic and familial complications, and unless things have changed drastically, they’ll be executed with wit, intelligence and warmth.

Viz is unloading a vast quantity of Shonen Jump books, and if I had to choose only one, it would be the ninth volume of Yumi Hotta and Takeshi Obata’s Hikaru No Go.

And Self Made Hero gets its Bard on with the release of two Manga Shakespeare books: Hamlet, adapted by Emma Vieceli, and Romeo and Juliet, adapted by Sonia Leong. Spoiler warning: In these issues, just about everyone dies!