This week’s Flipped is unusual in that it’s an interview. I hope to work more of these into the schedule, and I’m very, very, very grateful to Bryan Lee O’Malley for being interesting, articulate, and funny enough to make up for my shortcomings.

Now, this is a day off. There’s a steady rain falling. We have absolutely no place that we need to go. It’s chilly enough for a fire. And we found a big slab of leftover lasagna in the freezer.

It’s also a perfect day to plow through some of the books I got as Christmas presents. And if my first pick wasn’t all that great, it was at least reasonably good company.

I like Gregory Maguire’s revisionist fairy tales (Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister), and Son of a Witch is one of his better recent efforts. (I couldn’t make it through Mirror Mirror. All of the narrative voices sounded the same.)

It’s a sequel to Wicked, Maguire’s retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the Witch’s point of view. The riveting Elphaba has been dispatched by Dorothy, and Maguire’s focus turns to Liir, a mysterious boy who may or may not be the Witch’s son. It feels less like a sequel than the second part of a trilogy, to be honest. It’s a place-holder, building up Elphaba’s legend and using Liir’s wanderings to study the continuing political and cultural evolution of Oz and its environs.

Really, Maguire describes the book best through one of Liir’s reflective moments:

“Everything else that had happened in his short adult life had been frothy and meaningless, ultimately. Passionate, yes – yes, that, indeed. Passionately felt, but without shapeliness or worthy outcome.”

In other words, Son of a Witch is diverting but not particularly memorable. As fascinating and contrary a character as Elphaba was, it’s considerably less exciting to watch people talk about her for 300-plus pages. There are some nice set pieces, though, and Maguire is very handy in developing his sprawling supporting cast.

And now there’s P.D. James’s The Lighthouse waiting with the promise of a smart British locked-room mystery. Now that should be rainy-day reading.

I’ve started a new Yahoo Group called MangaTrade. As the name suggests, the group is intended to provide a forum for people to exchange manga they own and don’t want for manga they don’t own and do want.

I’ve tried to keep the mechanics as simple as possible:

1. Join.
2. Post a list of the manga you have to trade and want to receive in return, in the form of a message and a listing in the Files section.
3. Search through messages and the lists of other members to try and find a match.
4. Contact that person and try and set up an exchange.

I guess you could call it a corollary to my More Money for Manga mantra, though it would probably have to be called More Manga for Less Money. I hope it works out and that it’s a convenient place for people to clear some space on their shelves, sample new titles with less expense, and complete runs of series they enjoy.

In preparation, I spent part of this long weekend organizing my manga collection. It involved a trip to Target, new shelves, power tools, and various brushes with injury that all of those activities invite. (To the shopper who walked off with my cart while I was hauling a bulky shelving kit down the aisle, Happy Damned New Year to you. I’m glad you didn’t have to tote those marked-down seasonal guest bathroom hand towels around without wheels.)

While that kind of housekeeping is never fun, it did make me realize that I have a lot of manga titles that I really enjoy and that I plan to reread over the years. It also made me take a hard look at some books that I liked but probably won’t pick up again (except maybe the next time I organize my collection) and some books that just aren’t to my taste. And with so much manga available and new titles coming out every month, I’m sure there are lots of people in the same position. Hence, the group.

There are some people I’d like to thank for helping me put this together:

To Russ Lee at Sequential Swap: Thanks for the great advice and for not minding that I’ve shamelessly appropriated your idea to meet my own ends.

To David Taylor at Love Manga: Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. (His theory that this is all a complicated effort to rid myself of the first volume of Tenjho Tenge is only partly true. It’s not like I can donate it to the library, though.)

To Johanna Draper Carlson of Comics Worth Reading: Thanks for the suggestions, encouragement, and for agreeing to help moderate.

To my legion of Bad Idea Bears: Thanks for the beta testing and helping work through some of the bugs.

So, that’s the drill. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Fallen Angel #1 (IDW): Peter David’s intriguing DC anti-heroine settles into her new digs at IDW, though the mysterious, menacing city of Bete Noire is still her most significant co-star. I’ve no idea if this first issue would make any sense to a reader who didn’t follow the original DC series. That said, I think it does a nice job explaining prior circumstances while highlighting some interesting new dynamics among the citizens of Bete Noire. Painted art by J.K. Woodward is lovely, but it might almost be too highfalutin for this particular story. I thought the pulpy, almost crude quality that previous illustrators brought to the book served it very well. I’ll certainly stick around to try and get used to it, though, as I’m very eager to see where David takes this story.

Nodame Cantabile Vol. 3 (Del Rey): Tomoko Ninomiya’s manga about music students hits its stride with this volume, telling a longer and more focused story while retaining the quirky, character-driven charms of the previous two. This time around, lecherous Maestro Stresemann has dumped leadership of the quirky S Orchestra into protagonist Chiaki’s hands. The would-be conductor is torn between ambition and impatience as he deals with an ensemble full of talent but decidedly lacking in focus. Can Chiaki pull the group together without cracking under the strain? It’s fun, funny stuff that plays to Ninomiya’s strengths – putting quirky, endearing characters in a room and letting them bounce off of each other in entertaining and unexpected ways.

Owly: Flying Lessons (Top Shelf): I always mean to review Andy Runton’s lovely, heartwarming books when they come out, but I find myself at a loss when I sit down to write. I think it’s partly due to the fact that I find the Owly books so comforting and such pure pleasure that I can’t quite bring myself to examine them too closely. I’d rather just bask in them. This one has all the ingredients of the previous two (wonderful illustrations, lovable characters, and a moving and optimistic story), but it’s even more accomplished, with higher emotional stakes. Runton has built a delightful world here.

Paris #2 (Slave Labor Graphics): Second verse, same as the first. I’ve heard croissants described as “just enough flour to hold the butter together.” That would apply here as well, with Andi Watson creating just enough of a narrative framework for Simon Gane’s ravishing illustrations. I love croissants, and I love Paris.

Holiday visits home always drive me towards minimalism. It seems like my parents have an aversion to bare flat surfaces. There’s no place to set anything down, except maybe on a stray coaster.

So as much as I love kitchen gadgets, I’m always reluctant to buy new ones. My partner is even more cautious about them than I am, and I swear I’ve caught him looking resentfully at the toaster.

But all of that became meaningless in the face of this year’s gift from my oldest sister. Oh, immersion blender, how I’ve coveted you. How I’ve cursed your absence from my life when transferring something from stove to countertop blender. How I thrilled to the short work you made of that pot of squash soup yesterday.

Now I feel like an infomercial. I see myself simultaneously making soup, bread crumbs, and smoothies, with just a quick rinse under hot water between projects. Maybe a faded sitcom actor from the ‘70s will stop by my kitchen to marvel at the blender’s efficiency, versatility, and value. I might even cultivate a suspicious Australian accent.

***

My partner made a small snowman on the porch railing. Since then, it’s gotten unseasonably warm, and the snowman’s deterioration has been disturbing. For a while, it looked like The Scream. Now, it’s just kind of dingy and obscene. I hope it’s gone by lunchtime.

***

For anyone who was wondering, my dog’s paw injury has almost fully healed. He also managed to convince our vet that further treatment was pointless, as he’s too much of an energetic spas for anything short of complete immobilization to have any recuperative value. We’re still holding off on unrestricted romping for a week or so, which has both dogs rather grumpy.

***

The last thing I need at this point is more reading material, but new comic book day waits for no one, I guess. The first of Dark Horse’s Harlequin Manga arrive, racy Violet Response and snuggly Pink A Girl in a Million. I went racy with my pre-orders, mostly out of morbid curiosity. That almost never works out for me.

The second issue of Andi Watson and Simon Gane’s crazy pretty Paris arrives via Amaze Ink/Slave Labor Graphics. I’ve really enjoyed gaping at the first issue.

Fanfare/Ponent Mon offers up the second volume of The Times of Botchan, by Natsuo Sekikawa and Jiro Taniguchi. Jog has a fine summary of the title’s merits here.

We just got back from seeing The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and really, there are lots of worse ways to spend an afternoon.

The palette of the film works much better on a big screen than it did in a preview on television. It looked garish at that scale, but it’s richer. The whole film is beautiful, actually, and the CGI elements have enough personality to overcome the moments when they look kind of clunky.

I loved the books as a kid, and I keep meaning to reread them. If my memory can be trusted, they did a very solid job of translating the story. There are some movie-ish moments (a tag line at the end of a dramatic sequence that feels like you’ve seen it in a hundred movies already, even if the line itself is different), but there aren’t too many (like in Chris Columbus’s Harry Potter movies).

The strongest elements of the movie were the performances of Georgie Henley as Lucy and Skandar Keynes as Edmund, the most pivotal of the four Pevinsie children who stumble through the wardrobe and into Narnia. Henley in particular almost has to carry the film on her tiny shoulders. She’s tasked with convincing the audience of the wonder and humor and terror of Narnia, and she pulls it off without seeming like she’s even trying. Keynes is perfectly sullen, resentful, and alienated without going over the top or making you despise him. He’s a believably unhappy kid, and he plays remorse equally well. (Rose Curtin had talked about certain movies having a shojo manga vibe to them. Henley and Keynes, with their huge, endlessly expressive eyes look like manga characters come to life.)

William Moseley as Peter and Anna Popplewell as Susan have less interesting roles as caretakers and scolds of the younger children, and they don’t really do anything to surpass expectations. They’re okay, and they’re attractive, but they’re the solid, responsible siblings, and they’re never as much fun as the black sheep or the innocent. Moseley isn’t quite up to the arc that’s constructed for him, but I don’t really know if better acting would have helped.

Lots of reviews have raved about Tilda Swinton as the White Witch. She’s clearly having a ball, but she was much too rock star for my tastes. There wasn’t any genuine menace, just extremism. (There was a badly animated version in the 1970s, and I remember that version of the witch being absolutely terrifying.)

All in all, though, it’s pretty good entertainment for matinee prices. I should add that if you’re a parent thinking of taking a pre-schooler to this, you might reconsider. There was a three- or four-year-old down the row from us, and she spent the entire film either bored out of her mind or sobbing in terror. Make of that what you will.

It’s nice to be home. It was a good visit with family, and I particularly enjoyed seeing Rose and Steven, but driving six hours each way with two bored dogs in the car isn’t quite as restful as sitting on the sofa and watching Project: Runway marathons with a box of Wheat Thins and a tumbler full of cranberry vodka.

Fortunately, I pulled the selfish gift trick and gave my partner the audio version of Susanna Clarke’s brilliant Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I was a little concerned, as the reader, Simon Prebble, also participated in the audio version of The Egyptologist, and that was 50% lethal. I’m happy to report that Prebble wasn’t responsible for the parts that made me wish for death. It’s a great reading of the book, and all of the footnotes are included. It helped the drive go much faster.

To celebrate our safe return, I headed over to Amazon to use some gift credits. Ah, more Buddha, and Moto Hagio’s A, A1.

By the way, Buddha is one of the many titles featured in Love Manga’s wonderful Best of 2005 round-up. I love David and Immelda’s approach, and I’m flattered that they asked me to participate. (I’m also delighted that Yotsuba&! kicked so much behind.)

If you’re looking for ways to spend end-of-year found money, I offer some options in this week’s Flipped, which has to qualify as one of my laziest columns ever.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a case of Three Buck Chuck that isn’t drinking itself.

Only two more days! How did time pass so quickly?!

Two David-centric holiday events come to an end on Saturday, Dec. 24.

That’s your last day to take part in Dave (Yet Another Comics Blog) Carter’s Second Annual CBLDF Fund Drive.

It’s also your last chance to win some lovely free manga from David (Love) Taylor and Immelda (Manga) Alty from their Advent Competition.

What, you thought I was going to urge you out into the shopping fracas? Please.

I should apologize in advance for any typos in this post. I have a cat helping me. She’s what might delicately be called “full-figure,” and she’s perched herself on the control/caps lock quadrant of the keyboard. I’d move her, but my wrist might break.

Anyway, here’s a survey of the first volumes and manga oddities listed in the January 2006 edition of Previews.

Dark Horse continues to make horror fans very, very happy. This month, they offer Lullabies from Hell by Hideshi Hino. I can see retailers and booksellers reacting with horror if that’s the actual cover art for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – The Lost Memory Novel (Junichi Fujisaku). Less potentially frightening is Haibe Renmei Anime Manga, based on the anime created by Yoshitoshi Abe.

ADV tries to catch your eye with the tag “Kill Your Parents” for the first volume of Anne Freaks (Tomohiro Nagai). It’s a horror/crime-fiction fusion featuring teens, cults, and what’s clearly a fairly drastic generational schism.

Another month, another new release from Del Rey. This time, it’s KageTora (Akira Segami), featuring “romance, action, comedy (and) ninjas!” Fresh!

Digital Manga unleashes what seems like a ton of varied material. There’s My Only King from “The Queen of Yaoi” Lily Hoshino. I’ve been wanting to see some of the more unusual, instructional titles, so Project X 240Z (Akira Yokoyama) has me curious. It’s the biography of the Datsun 204Z. No, seriously. I liked the manga version of Only the Ring Finger Knows, but I was left wanting to read more about the characters. Now, DMP offers the first of three novels tied to the series, The Lonely Ring Finger (by no one, apparently). Desire was another solid entry in DMP’s yaoi line, and that title’s artist, Yukine Honami, joins with writer Serubo Honami for Sweet Revolution, which sounds kind of like an all-boy Ultra Maniac.

Ice Kunion debuts Hissing (Kang EunYoung).

Tokyopop seems positively restrained this time around. There’s the first volume of Life (Keiko Suenobu), which promises “a foreword from a licensed psychologist who has worked with teens” on the various hot-button issues addressed in each volume. First up is cutting, apparently. I shouldn’t blame Yuna Kagesaki’s Chibi Vampire for having a title similar to Chibi Zombies, should I? No. Fans of Demo might keep an eye out for East Coast Rising, written and illustrated by Becky Cloonan. It features “some of the toughest, ‘durrtiest’ hooligans to sail the Hudson River.” It’s probably unfair of me, but hip misspellings do not fill me with confidence.

With hits Fake and Gravitation under its belt, it’s no surprise Tokyopop offers another “sexy and sophisticated bi-shonen” title, Asami Tojoh’s X-Kai. But they try to offer a little something for everyone, including “the long-awaited fan-service spectacular” Yubisaki Milk Tea (Tomochika Miyano). Fan service and cross-dressing? We’ll see. We’ll also see how fan service translates into prose with the first Love Hina Novel, written by Kuruo Hazuki with illustrations by Ken Akamatsu. Somewhat buried in the listings is the Rising Stars of Manga – UK & Ireland Edition, featuring seven stories by aspiring cartoonists.

Okay, maybe this isn’t quite as restrained as I initially thought. There are also first volumes of Priceless (Young-You Lee) and Magical x Miracle (Yuzu Mizutani). Shout Out Loud (Satosumi Takaguchi) launches in the Blu line, featuring young anime voice actors/hockey players in love.

Viz only has a handful of new titles, or maybe it just seems that way by comparison. Norihiro Yago’s Claymore launches in the Shonen Jump Advanced line. Fans of Hayao Miyazaki might be interested in the Kiki’s Delivery Service Film Comics. In the Shojo Beat line, there’s Yoko Maki’s Aishiteruze Baby.

Yaoi Press offers Saihôshi, the Guardian (Kôsen). What happened to Prince Anel’s shirt?

Listed in the Previews Book Store section is Go! Comi’s Crossroad by Shioko Mizuki. But I think that’s been listed before, hasn’t it? Even if it has, it gives me a chance to mention how much I like Go! Comi’s website.

If you note any omissions, egregious misspellings, or plain old flubs, let me know.

*

Edited to add Boogiepop, a horror/mystery novel, and the first volume of the manga adaptation, Doesn’t Laugh, by Kohei Kadano and Kouji Ogata, published by Seven Seas Entertainment. (Thanks, Anonymous!)

When something like the Speakeasy situation happens, I usually just sit back and look at what smarter people have to say on the subject. Because really, what I know about the economics of comics publishing and anything resembling high finance could comfortably fit in half of a hollowed-out Skittle, with plenty of room left over. (And to anyone who got a good chuckle out of the use of “comics” and “high finance” in the same sentence, you’re welcome.)

But reading the updates and analysis and noting that the fourth issue of Elk’s Run is due out today, I find myself a little more wistful than I would normally be at yet another industry implosion.

I met the Elk’s Run crew at SPX this year. In the brief exchange, they struck me as smart, enthusiastic people, proud of their comic and eager to get it into as many hands as they could. They were happy with the move from self-publishing to Speakeasy, though they gave no indication of letting up on their personal efforts to promote the book. They seemed to be having fun.

And I have to admit, it was in large part their likeability that had me walking away with the first three issues. (Okay, they were offering them at a really good price, too.) After I read the issues, they seemed like even more of a bargain, because they’re really solid entertainment. I’m definitely in for the remainder of its run.

And it makes me a bit depressed to see these smart, enthusiastic, talented creators plagued by delays and shifting fates and choosing between paying their letterer and buying groceries. As writer Joshua Hale Falkov said to Buzzscope:

“We can’t afford Previews ads anymore; we’re drastically cutting back on our convention appearances this year; and, we’re switching all of our comp list over to digital copies of the books. Right now, all we care about is getting the book out, and come hell or high water we’re going to do it.”

It’s unfortunate, to say the least. I mean, I know that these are hardly the first creators to contend with publisher screw-ups, nor will they be the last, but there’s vague additional sting this time around. I hope Falkov and company find a better situation for their next project.

So what can drive me out of this funk? Today’s arrival of the third volume of Owly: Flying Lessons (Top Shelf). Even the anticipation has me a little giddy.