The Manga Curmudgeon

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

But if I did…

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I won’t be attending the San Diego Comic-Con this year. Let’s face it. I probably won’t be attending it any year. I’m extremely reluctant to fly anywhere, for a number of reasons. (I’m not afraid of the experience. I’m just ceaselessly irritated by almost every aspect of it.) And I can’t quite picture myself getting on a plane specifically to attend a comic convention. I’ll drive to one, or better still, take a train, but neither of those options is really practical when your starting point is West Virginia and your destination is Southern California.

A dislike of being herded and anxiety over my carbon footprint don’t necessarily constitute a condemnation of the con itself, and if I were to go, I’d find plenty of interesting panels to occupy my time. So here’s what I wouldn’t want to miss:

Thursday, July 26

    12:30-2:00 The Many Faces of the Graphic Novel— Graphic Novels come in many shapes, sizes, and formats, and they’ve been written about almost every topic under the sun! Six creators whose work explores very different aspects of the medium—Jeffrey Brown (Clumsy), Becky Cloonan (East Coast Rising), Renée French (The Ticking), Jim Ottaviani (Cowboys, Bone Sharps, and Thunder Lizards), Andy Runton (Owly), and Doug TenNapel (Creature Tech)—discuss the diversity of the form and the innovative places the graphic novel is going with moderator Mark Siegel (First Second Books). Room 4

I would obviously be forced to clone myself, because this is happening simultaneously with…

    12:30-2:00 Drawing Style and Storytelling— In a classroom-style workshop, Darwyn Cooke (The Spirit), Cameron Stewart (The Other Side), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), and Colleen Coover (Banana Sunday)—and maybe another special guest—discuss design, look-and-feel, and how they develop the visual style of specific projects. Moderated by Douglas Wolk (Reading Comics). Room 30CDE

Hm… Runton, French, and Ottaviani or Cooke, Stewart, McNeil and Coover? Thanks for nothing, con schedulers! (Then again, I can’t even draw a stick figure, so I’d feel bad about occupying space in the latter.)

    2:00-3:00 LGBT New Creators— Who are the next LGBT comics superstars? With the astonishing breakthrough of Alison Bechdel’s award-winning Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Phil Jimenez’s run as lead artist on Infinite Crisis, and Allen Heinberg’s big splash into comics with Young Avengers and Wonder Woman, LGBT creators have shown themselves to be a major force within the comics world. Prism Comics, a nonprofit organization that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) comics, creators, and readers, not only champions these comics superstars but actively encourages, promotes, and develops tomorrow’s stars as well. Join moderator Terrance Griep (openly gay pro wrestler known as “SpiderBaby” and comic book writer of Scooby-Doo and Judo Girl) as he presents up-and-coming LGBT comics creators, including Steve MacIsaac (artist/writer of Shirtlifter, winner of Prism’s first annual Press Grant), Megan Gedris (writer/artist of YU+ME, winner of Prism’s second annual Press Grant), Tommy Roddy (writer of Pride High), and Sean McGrath (writer of Frater Mine). Room 10

Because I would need some kind of cleansing breath after the four-part “Homosexuality in Comics” series over at Comic Book Resources.

    6:00-7:00 100 Manga Magazines in 60 Minutes— In Japan, manga is published in massive weekly, biweekly, and monthly manga magazinesthat fit every imaginable category: shojo to shonen, science fiction to horror, moe to yaoi, children’s to adult. Jason Thompson (Manga: The Complete Guide) provides a visual tour of the manga world, its industry secrets, and future trends. Room 4

A big theme for my con attendance would be “stalking Jason Thompson.”

Friday, July 27

    2:30-3:30 Spotlight on Rick Geary— Writer/artist and San Diego Reader staple Rick Geary talks to long-time friend David Wilson about his career in comics, including his ongoing series of graphic novels, Treasury of Victorian Murder, the latest of which, The Bloody Benders, is out from NBM in time for Comic-Con. Room 3

Given how much I love the Treasury series, I really should start tracking down some of Geary’s other works, like that Gumby comic. Of course, SDCC presents yet another scheduling conflict for me:

    2:30-3:30 Spotlight on Gilbert Hernandez/Love and Rockets’ 25th— In this 25th anniversary year of the legendary independent comic book Love and Rockets, co-creator Gilbert Hernandez sits down with his longtime publisher, Fantagraphics’ Gary Groth, for a frank discussion of Beto’s work and his opinions about comics, touching on his recent Vertigo graphic novel, Sloth, his forthcoming Dark Horse miniseries, and the just released Chance in Hell from Fantagraphics. Ask your own questions in an audience Q&A. Room 10

I should be a good mangaphile and insist that I would attend all of the publisher panels, but I’d probably be lying, unless I didn’t have anything else on my plate. Still, I’d go to the first half hour of this one.

    5:30-6:30 Yen Press Launches!— Spend an hour with Kurt Hassler (former Borders graphic novel and manga buyer), Rich Johnson (former VP, book trade, DC Comics) and senior editor JuYon Lee (former senior editor, ICE Kunion) as they discuss what’s in store for Yen Press, the new graphic novel and manga imprint of Hachette Book Group USA. Room 10

(The composition of the panel would explain why Lee didn’t answer my e-mail inquiry about the ICE Kunion web site, wouldn’t it?)

Then I’d sneak out the back so as not to miss a minute of the one-shop stalking offered by the panel for…

    6:00-7:00 Lost in Translation— Lately foreign comics, especially manga, have topped the bookstore graphic-novel sales charts. And in other media as well, foreign entertainment has been making a big push. See long-time translators, editors, and industry people answer questions and discuss the trials and triumphs of being in this exciting area of the media industry! Panelists include William Flanagan (Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle), Jonathan Tarbox (Angel Sanctuary), Jake Forbes (Fullmetal Alchemist), Jason Thompson (Manga: The Complete Guide), Shaenon Garrity (Overlooked Manga Festival blog), and Stephen Paul (Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad)! Room 3

I always get really excited about awards shows before they actually start, then I get really bored about ten minutes in. (Except for the Tony Awards.) But I’d still sit through at least some of…

    8:30-11:30 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards— The 19th annual Eisner Awards, the “Oscars” of the comics industry, will be given out by celebrity presenters, including Reno 911’s Tom Lennon and Ben Garant, comedian Brian Posehn, cartoon voice actor Maurice LeMarche, British TV celebrity Jonathan Ross, and author Neil Gaiman. Other prestigious awards to be given out include the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award and the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award. The master of ceremonies is Bongo Comics’ Bill Morrison, who will be aided by the Go-Gos’ Jane Wiedlen. Admission to the Eisners is free to all Comic- Con attendees—just be sure to bring your badge. Doors open for pros and VIPs at 7:30 and for attendees at 8:15. Click for full details on the Eisners. Ballroom 20

Saturday, July 28

    10:30-11:30 Meet the Press: Writing About Comics— From blogs to books to magazines, the public conversation about comics is livelier—and faster—than it’s ever been. Heidi MacDonald (Publishers Weekly), Nisha Gopalan (Entertainment Weekly), Tom Spurgeon (The Comics Reporter), Tom McLean (Variety), Graeme McMillan (The Savage Critics), and moderator Douglas Wolk (Reading Comics) discuss the state of the art of comics criticism. Room 3

Tom Spurgeon and Graeme McMillan? What sane blogophile could resist that opportunity? Panel line-up also plays a significant role in my interest in…

    11:30-12:30 Reality-Based Graphic Novels— The rise of graphic novels in the past few years has seen the creation of some incredible work rooted in the real world. Some of these are personal autobiographical memoirs, while others are rooted in history. Moderator Andrew Farago (Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco) interviews Comic-Con special guests Alison Bechdel (Fun Home), Guy Delisle (Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea), Rick Geary (The Bloody Benders), Miriam Katin (We Are On Our Own), and Joe Matt (Spent) about tales of their own lives and those of others. Room 3
    5:30-8:00 Gays in Comics Panel and Mixer: The 20th Anniversary!— Two decades of “Gays in Comics” is celebrated at its birthplace: Comic-Con! From DC’s diverse roster that includes a lesbian Question and Batwoman and a gay Pied Piper and Midnighter to Marvel’s Moondragon and Quasar or Hulkling and Wicca, super-hero comics have come a long way in representing gay characters. With Yaoi also exploding in the marketplace, the bravura graphic novel Fun Home winning awards worldwide, and TV shows such as Heroes tapping into the comic book closet, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered characters and fans are finally being represented. An all-star panel of GLBT creators (and a straight one) will offer startling insight and glimpses of surprises to come! Joining founding moderator Andy Mangels, best-selling author of Star Trek novels and director of She-Ra and Isis DVD documentaries, are Alison Bechdel, the writer/artist of the critical best-seller Fun Home and Dykes to Watch Out For; Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the writer of Sensational Spider-Man and Nightcrawler; Chuck Kim, a writer for the Heroes TV series and many DC Comics titles; Charles “Zan” Christensen, the co-founder of PRISM and writer of the upcoming The Mark of Aeacus; Alonso Duralde, pop culture critic, author of 101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men, and former Advocate arts editor; and Megan Gedris, PRISM grant-winning artist of Yu+Me manga webcomic. Plus, a very important special guest may make an appearance! Afterward, stick around for the hour-long gay comics fan mixer/social, sponsored by PRISM Comics, with prizes and surprise special guests! Room 6A

I can’t resist a mixer. Well, I can, but…

Sunday, July 29

It is now law that every con will feature a panel on this topic. It would also be law that I attended all of them.

    10:30-11:30 The Graphic Novel Explosion— Up until the last few years, graphic novels were published primarily by specialty houses that produced only comics and related works. Now, however, traditional mainstream publishing houses are producing graphic novels and even setting up graphic novel divisions, spurred by bookstore sales trends, library demand, and critical recognition. What has led to this trend? What sorts of books are these publishers looking for? Who is the audience? What role has manga played? And is the graphic novel market going to continue to expand, or will the bubble burst? Panelists include Charles Kochman, senior editor, Harry N. Abrams; David Saylor, creative director, Scholastic/Graphix; Karen Berger, executive editor, Vertigo/Minx/DC; Mark Siegel, senior editor, First Second; Dallas Middaugh, associate publisher, Del Rey Manga; Chris Schluep, editor, Ballantine/Del Rey/Villard; and Calvin Reid, news editor, Publisher’s Weekly, and co-editor, PW Comics Weekly. Moderated by Jackie Estrada, Eisner Awards administrator and consultant to Foreword magazine’s Comique graphic novel supplement. Room 8

Ditto for this topic, and look at this panel!

    1:00-2:00 What’s Happening in Kids’ Comics Today?— Some of the most creative work in the industry is being done in kids’ comics. Svetlana Chmakova (Dramacon), Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Debbie Huey (Bumperboy), Kazu Kibuishi (Flight, Amulet), George O’Connor (Journey into Mohawk Country), and Gene Yang (American Born Chinese) talk with moderator Dave Roman (Nickelodeon) about the importance of kids’ comics—and the fun they have creating them! Room 8

From the stack: Clubbing

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Clubbing, the third offering in DC’s Minx line, is a sneakily ambitious mash-up that almost works. Writer Andi Watson has taken bits from Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, and even Rider Haggard and put them into the hands of a very contemporary young protagonist. It’s not really the heroine’s fault that it ends up being a bit too much and too little at the same time.

Lottie Brooks is a goth fashionista party girl (if such a creature can exist) who’s gone a tiny bit too far. An ill-conceived fake ID has led her to be shipped off to her country bumpkin grandparents for the summer. It could be a ghastly homage to The Simple Life or something equally vapid and distasteful, or Watson could guide her to Learn a Valuable Lesson About Simplicity and its Wisdom, but Lottie, for all of her affectations, isn’t a hopeless brat or snob, and Watson isn’t given to preach. Instead of trying to remake the village in her image, she decides to go along for the ride for the duration of her exile from London.

Lottie’s a surprisingly appealing character in spite of her egregious fashion choices and occasional tendency to pout. She gets in the spirit of things, and she’s reasonably gracious to her new neighbors. That’s a good thing, because Watson hasn’t resorted to portraying them as cookie-cutter yokels. They’re pleasant folks, and city-girl condescension would be lethal. She’s better than that, reserving her tarter remarks for private narration.

Then a body turns up on her grandparents’ golf course. What better distraction could there be for a stranded city girl than a provincial murder? And if she finds romance with the groundskeeper’s hunky, nerdy, golf-loving son, all the better, right?

Not really, unfortunately. The plot is a hash, when you get right down to it. As social satire goes, it’s pleasant enough, but anyone expecting something along the lines of Cold Comfort Farm will be disappointed. The murder mystery consists of Lottie making a string of incorrect assumptions until the climax, which no sane person could have predicted. (Well, no sane fictional person. It struck me as fairly obvious, if not at all reasonable.)

Part of the problem might be illustrations by Josh Howard, which are competent but not soaring. Some sequences, particularly those that hinge on the promise of romance or adventure, never really come across. The conclusion begs for a bravura approach if it’s going to come across at all, and it’s not there. Howard does provide some interesting compositions, and I like his character design for the most part.

Watson certainly gets points for effort here. The whole idea of this kind of mixture of story types seems so right that it gives off a pleasant buzz, and I have a pronounced fondness for this kind of thing. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Amelia Peabody Emerson novels by Elizabeth Peters? Probably.) Clubbing doesn’t live up to its potential, though I’d like to see more of Lottie’s adventures.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

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I thought Douglas Wolk’s PWCW piece on the impact of popular comics with tie-ins to other media was really interesting reading. I’ve wondered about that topic a lot, whether or not people who go into a comic shop to buy Buffy or Stephen King cover bands actually buy anything else. (But then I wonder if the people buying Naruto because they like the cartoon buy other manga as well.)

Anecdotally, the answer seems to be “yes,” but it’s barely possible to quantify actual comic sales, near as I can tell, much less the impact of a given property on sales of other books. Still, all of the retailers interviewed indicated that there were at least some subsidiary sales as a result of these kinds of comics. And while it goes against my preferences as a consumer, I can’t help but see the logic in making patrons walk past a bunch of other comics to get to Buffy.

The only way to get a less anecdotal sense of what the impact is would be to put some kind of survey mechanism in place, I guess. And how many casual readers, the kind who came just for Laurell K. Hamilton, would take the time to respond? And would the publishers be willing to expend the kind of money and energy to put the survey out there?

On a nitpicky front, I’m so turned off by describing people who don’t regularly read comics as “civilians.” There’s just something kind of sad and yay-rah desperate about it.

Upcoming 7/18

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I’m not going to lie to you. There’s plenty of good stuff arriving at the comic shop this week, but the bulk of my anticipatory energy is reserved for the final book in the Harry Potter series. I’m not going to dress up as a Death Eater and head to the bookstore at midnight, and I’m not going to hunt down purported spoilers on-line, but I’m a big nerd all the same.

(I haven’t seen the fifth movie yet, because I’m waiting for the crowds to die down. I am really happy to hear from various reviews that the actor who plays Luna is spot-on. I love Luna. That probably means she’s going to die in the last book, doesn’t it? No! I can’t let myself believe that!)

Okay, now that that nerd-splosion is out of the way, on to the ComicList for Wednesday. And really, there are some delightful books on offer. Since the site itself seems to have exceeded its bandwidth, I’ll point you straight to Diamond instead.

Jeff Smith’s Shazam and the Monster Society of Evil (DC) has been a real pleasure to read, and it concludes today with the fourth issue. It’s been an extremely clean, purposeful book, and by “clean” I don’t mean “family friendly,” though it’s that, too. I just mean that all of the elements of Smith’s work are neatly and effectively in synch. (For those of you who passed on the individual issues, DC already has information up on the deluxe hardcover, due in October.)

I’m still looking forward to Byun Byung Ju’s Run, Bong-Gu Run! (NBM), which is set to arrive at the local comic shop today.

It’s a good week for fans of Fumi Yoshinaga, who has two books arriving: Don’t Say Any More, Darling (Juné) and the third volume of The Flower of Life (Digital Manga Publishing). I don’t really know much about the former, but it’s hard to go too wrong with this particular manga-ka.

Of course, I’ve been posting about the latter ad nauseum, because it’s awesome. It’s like the high school down the block from Bakery Antique, with Yoshinaga operating on all cylinders and creating a lovely, funny world of exuberantly odd youth. No one quite occupies the same narrative turf as Yoshinaga, gently intersecting young and old, wise and foolish, and funny and sad. It’s just exquisite.

Image obsessed

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I guess it only feels like I always write about shôjo. It’s actually been a while since I devoted an entire Flipped column to a title in that category, so I decided it was safe to dip back into the pool. This time around, the subject of my excessive fondness is Beauty Pop from Viz’s Shojo Beat line.

As you may have noticed, I’ve befriended my partner’s scanner, though our acquaintance is still somewhat formal and limited. The vast pages of unadorned text at this blog have never really bothered me before, but they’re starting to irritate me for some reason I can’t really define. I’m starting to toy with the idea of adding images. Any thoughts either way? Even a “God, please, yes, my eyes need a break.”?

Bad aftertaste

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I don’t make a point of watching it, but every time I see a bit of an episode of The Next Food Network Star, I become depressed. It’s such a celebration of camera friendliness over anything resembling a culinary sensibility, and it symbolizes everything that bothers me about the network’s recent programming trends. Just give me one half-hour with a serious cook who will actually talk about culinary techniques and food and not try so hard to charm me.

As for the third season of Top Chef, I’m just not engaged. The second season seemed like a particularly unpleasant year on The Real World, so maybe I’m gun shy. The contestants aren’t as obnoxious as they were last year, but I just can’t get into it. Maybe it’s the Miami setting. It seems too trendy.

Okay, ending on a more positive note, I’ve had really good luck with Giada De Laurentiis’s dessert recipes. I like these cheesecake squares a lot and have made them twice. They’re good with the limoncello, but they work nicely with lemon juice if you don’t have that particular liqueur on hand and don’t feel like buying a bottle. (I used up the last of the bottle we had the first time I made them and didn’t expect to be able to find it at any of the local liquor stores, so I improvised. Limoncello is yummy, though, especially during the summer.) I’ve never used biscotti for the crust, as I didn’t have any in the house either time, but vanilla wafers work well, and ginger cookies work even better. It sounds kind of weird, but the flavor really blends well with the lemony cheesecake.

The limoncello results in a creamier consistency, and the plain juice makes them cakier, so it might just depend on how you prefer your cheesecake. I like it both ways, so I found them equally good. Don’t be alarmed if the batter looks like it’s curdling after you add the juice, though. It comes out fine.

Sightings

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We just got back from a trip to Kentucky. (No particular reason other than it wasn’t here. You know how it goes.) In Lexington, there’s a Barnes and Noble that has quite a fine selection of manga, including my first bookstore sightings of Eden: It’s an Endless World and The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. They had near-full runs of both, which was nice to see. I hope it’s a trend.

I don’t think Lexington will ever become a destination of choice, but any city with a chain of stores called “Liquor Barn” is all right by me.

Elsewhere

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The good folks at Blog@Newsarama were kind enough to ask me to contribute an entry to their “I ♥ Comics” series, and it’s up today. Regular readers of this blog or my column won’t be even slightly surprised at the subject matter, but I did experiment with the scanner. (Hey, when it’s somebody else’s bandwidth, watch me go crazy!)

Bo-who?

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MangaCast-er and Otaku USA columnist Ed Chavez e-mailed me to expand on the concept of “bozu,” which is nowhere near as basic as I’d assumed when I was working on this week’s Flipped. He was kind enough to let me post it here:

Was checking out your latest Flipped and the subject had me scratching my head a little. “Bozu” while in a very roundabout way could mean boy it isn’t as common (as you noted since it isn’t often used in shounen manga outside of a specific genre) or in the correct context as you have placed it.

“Bozu” when used to mean boy is derived from the word “bozu” written Ë·¼ç in kanji which means buddhist monk or priest. So generally bozu when used to refer to a “kid” or a “squirt” will be used to someone with the physical characteristics of a monk – either someone who is bald or has very short hair. In this situation bozu is not a general term. It is a specific form of slang used mainly by yanki or yakuza to pick on athletes who have to cut their hair short for sports (ie baseball where short hair/buzz cuts are common style) or nerds who stereotypically in manga have short hair.

The other use of bozu is for the very very young. I’d say anyone up to age 12 (middle school is too old… by then people use the term “gaki” derived from gakkou school is used to mean brat or squirt). Bozu in this sense tend to have the look of those stone monks you see around cemeteries and in the country side. Actually those statues are also called bozu and they are said to quite often symbolize the souls of children.

So I wouldn’t Hoshin Engi’s cast are bozu. I haven’t read my copy of Dragon Eye yet to be certain about that series… though they sure look like gaki to me.

Ochi from Hikaru no Go though… He isn’t just a bozu (with that hair) but is also the poster child for the Botchan or Botchama’s out there. Precious young masters (the opposite of the hime-sama/little princess) that are often the one-dimensional foil to protagonists as they climb the shounen tournament ladder.

Much more interesting than “kid” or “squirt,” isn’t it?

Upcoming 7/11

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It’s that time of the week for another tour through the ComicList. I’d try to come up with some thematic introduction, but it’s just too hot.

On the debut front, CMX rolls out Samurai Commando Mission 1549 (original concept by Ryo Hanmura; written by Harutoshi Fukui; illustrated by Ark Performance). I’ve seen a short preview of the series, and it looks insane (in a good way).

From Minx comes Andi Watson’s Clubbing. While my first choice for “next Andi Watson project” would be more of Princess at Midnight, this looks like a fun read. Murder in the English countryside should more than make up for the painfully hip fashions of the protagonist.

I don’t see it listed on the ComicList, or in the local shop’s “what’s on tap” e-mail, but Katherine Dacey-Tsuei heralds its arrival of Byun Byung-Jun’s Run, Bong-Gu, Run! (NBM) in the latest Weekly Recon. I know I pre-ordered this, so I just have to be patient. It looks wonderful, as most books from NBM are.

On the continuing series front, it’s hard to decide which is more enticing: a second installment of that priests-versus-zombies extravaganza, Black Sun Silver Moon (Go! Comi) or the ninth chapter of Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. I can’t choose, so I won’t, and I’ll just get them both.

I’ll probably wait for the paperback, but I’m happy to see the second volume of Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.: I Kick Your Face (Marvel), moving through the production pipeline. I thought the first collection was hilarious.