What is it about Ed Cunard? He wrote an absolutely awesome piece on story ideas, and now I’m strangely compelled to offer my own pitiful list. Ed, why can’t you use your powers of suggestion to get me to do something that won’t embarrass me? You’re like my personal Bad Idea Bear.

Anyway, a disclaimer at the outset: these are not stories I would be interested in writing, but ones I’d be interested in reading. I like writing fiction, but I have no illusions about its quality. If you’ve actually seen comics with these stories before, please let me know (particularly if they’re any good). That said, here goes:

1. Back-stabbing, bed-hopping, and backstage bitchery at a suburban community theatre production of Noël Coward’s Hay Fever. (Based on a number of true stories.)
2. A gay couple, college professors in very different fields, reach a crisis point in their relationship when one (out and proud but a mediocre teacher) gets tenure and the other (closeted and ultra-competent) doesn’t.
3. A defensive, withdrawn young woman comes into her own when she enrolls in a prestigious culinary school.
4. Chaos ensues at a suburban high school when a caustic, anti-social slacker gets a perfect score on his SATs.
5. A middling but dedicated vet-school student accepts an internship and is shocked to find that the rural animal shelter specializes in mythological creatures.
6. A biography of Julia Morgan, architect of the San Simeon residence of William Randolph Hearst.
7. A look at the adolescence and early adulthood of Lucrezia Borgia through the eyes of the woman herself from her perch as the Duchess of Ferrara.
8. A corporate trainee for a national newspaper conglomerate is assigned to lead the transition at a weekly, small-town newspaper that’s been recently acquired. He meets resistance on every front, particularly from the young editor. Romantic complications ensue.
9. A promising young sorcerer gets the worst assignment imaginable: mystic magistrate in a backwater town that makes Mayberry look cosmopolitan. Pointless feuds, angry young witches, and finicky familiars aren’t what he had in mind when he joined the magical hierarchy. Can middle management ever be magical?
10. At the suggestion of his therapist, a gay man attends his high school reunion to get closure by confronting the bully who made his life miserable. Unfortunately, the bully is now well into recovery and plans to use the reunion as part of his “making amends” process. Worse still, closure is further derailed when they start falling for each other.

There. That’s more than enough, I think. Thanks for your indulgence.

Fametracker compares the career tragectories of Vin Diesel and The Rock in its Battle of the Beefy Bald B-Movie Bad-Asses. As is only to be expected, The Rock emerges triumphant.

I mention this only because I saw an interview with The Rock (is it appropriate to capitalize “The”?) on a recent episode of The Daily Show, and, in addition to being a beefy, bald, b-movie bad-ass, he is adorable in ways I’m ashamed to acknowledge. Well, not too ashamed, obviously, but…

As Fametracker’s Wing Chun puts it, “The Rock will grin in a way that makes your knees melt, and when he shakes your hand with his gigantic paw, you will feel like a dainty little thing. You may blush.” And, exactly. And if there is a heart out there that could remain unmoved by the spectacle of The Rock and John Stewart geeking out over The Rock’s participation in the movie version of Doom, that heart is made of stone. I’m sorry, but it is.

Try not to judge me too harshly.

Kevin Melrose found it, Immelda Alty contemplated it. Tokyopop, having made inroads into young women, want to extend manga’s hypnotic influence to an older audience of women with its Manga After Hours line. (I’m not sure about that tag, actually. It reminds me of that clot of syndicated shows that used the hook “It’s too hot to sleep!” Moving on.)

It’s an intriguing idea, but I do wonder about a couple of things. First, there’s the quote cited by Immelda:

“Susan Hale of Tokyopop preceeded to explain, that there isn’t Manga out there at the moment for one “who’s a little bit older, intelligent, independent and discerning”.”

Hey! I like to think of myself as older, intelligent, independent, and discerning! (Okay, the discerning part is probably open to debate.) I find plenty of manga that I enjoy. But I suppose Hale’s comment could just be code for “readers who haven’t picked up a comic book since they were in elementary school, don’t have any idea that their bookstores carry graphic novels, and wouldn’t care if they did know.”

And that will make the marketing part of this launch interesting to watch. As Immelda notes in the comments section of her post, “LOL, I can see someone walking to the shelves now, and a shriek as they realise someone’s stolen all the text and replaced them with pretty pictures.”

Honestly, I’ve always thought most chick-lit cover art looked like manga to begin with, and the average digest is sized the same. It wouldn’t be difficult for a bookstore to stock a couple of manga titles in the chick-lit display, if they could be convinced to do so. Then you come to Immelda’s point.

I haven’t read a ton of chick-lit, and I’m hesitant to make any generalizations. The small sampling I have read tends to feature quirky, relatable protagonists juggling work, friends, and romantic complications that range from screwball to steamy. In other words, the subject matter is mighty similar to a lot of popular manga stories. So Tokyopop has that going for it.

But how does Tokyopop communicate that similarity to their likely audience and overcome their prose-over-pictures preference, or at least get them to make an exception or two? They sure as heck won’t be able to do it through their traditional outlets. I’m not saying that there’s no overlap between manga and chick-lit audiences, but I wouldn’t think it’s very large.

One approach that could work would be to serialize or sample some of the Manga After Hours titles in general interest publications. It works in Japan, if I’m not mistaken, with manga showing up in fashion magazines and other titles. Magazine publishers might resist the idea, though, which would leave the option of Tokyopop buying “$pecial adverti$ing $ection$” in targeted monthlies. So right there you have the advertising cost along with the probable necessity of flipping at least part of the material for that purpose.

And chick-lit gets plenty of critical coverage. Entertainment Weekly does a periodic chick-lit round-up, covering a sampling of titles. Since EW has shown a willingness to cover comics, they might be persuaded to fold in a couple of manga reviews in that context. And there isn’t exactly a shortage of interest in the “girls like manga” story in major news outlets, so Tokyopop could easily pitch this as the logical follow-up. (If The New York Times can be convinced that Identity Crisis heralds a new maturity in graphic storytelling, they’ll clearly buy just about anything.)

All this speculation might be irrelevant. It’s entirely possible that part of the existing shojo audience, which isn’t inconsiderable, is at the point that they’re ready for more mature material. Tokyopop might not need to push too hard into an indifferent customer base if they can capitalize on an existing group that might otherwise outgrow its reading choices. The “publish something for audiences at every stage of life” philosophy has worked pretty well with Japanese audiences, so maybe this is a translation of that.

Ultimately, though, I like this idea. I’m selfish, and I’ve been eager to see manga titles targeted at an older audience. (No, not the “now with more nipple” titles; stories with older protagonists.)

***

Following up on the Tenjho Tenge fiasco, you really should go read what Christopher Butcher has to say on the subject at his blog. Here’s a sample:

“I see fanpages for various manga and anime that put any North American PUBLISHER’s site to shame. These are people who are heavily invested in their fandom, and here’s the best part: They’re considerably more functional than comics fans. It’s true. I personally think it’s because manga and anime came up from nothing here, the people enjoying the material now are barely a generation removed from the people who were importing big clunky expensive video-tapes from Japan, taped right off the TV without subtitles. The fans actively defined what the medium would be in North America, and the key-word was ‘authenticity’.”

Go read.

Manga heroines wind up in the oddest places: the far-flung past, the shifting terrain of the human heart, demon-infested landscapes. In Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss (Tokyopop), studious Yukari is thrust into the magical world of the fashion industry.

It might as well be another planet, as far as Yukari is concerned. She’s been operating on auto-pilot, grinding along through school and prep classes and trying to get into a good college. She doesn’t have any social life to speak of, and she pretty much lives in her school uniform.

That all changes when she runs into a group of budding designers from the Yazawa School for the Arts. They think Yukari’s tall, willowy frame and waterfall of black hair will make her a perfect runway model for their festival fashion show. But Yukari, with her college-prep pre-programming, dismisses them as a bunch of frivolous freaks. Sure, there’s a buzz in being judged favorably for her appearance, but she doesn’t take them seriously.

The first volume is devoted to the group (working under the name “Paradise Kiss”) ingratiating themselves with Yukari. They turn out to be a determined and irresistible group, and Yukari is won over by their creative passion. At the same time, she starts to realize that she’s been working like a dog towards a goal that isn’t really her own. She’s done what’s expected of her, and she’s never really thought about what she wants from life. The PK designers, unconventional education aside, know what they want to do in a very concrete way, and that’s a revelation to Yukari.

Yazawa does splendid work with the PK crew, using strikingly distinct visual design to support quirky, layered characterization. Miwako may look like a pixie princess, but she’s got a potent kind of emotional honesty that speaks to Yukari. Punked-out Arashi surprises Yukari with his blunt insights and his level of artistic commitment. Suave bisexual George couldn’t be more different from Yukari’s longtime crush, top student Tokumori, but he sets Yukari’s heart to thumping all the same. Regal transvestite Isabella isn’t as defined as her colleagues, but her serene presence is welcome all the same.

There’s real power to the emotional complications that arise. Yukari is befuddled by her feelings for George, even as her increasingly erratic behavior manages to finally catch Tokumori’s attention. Tokumori also has a history with Miwako and Arashi, starting as childhood friends and turning into a tense, somewhat sad triangle. The romantic twists hum along nicely, supported by smart, character-based comedy. (Yukari’s romantic inexperience results in some hilarious internal monologues and delightful emotional explosions.)

Paradise Kiss is visually glorious. In addition to the fine character design, Yazawa does nice work delineating the different compartments of Yukari’s world, from the sterile schoolroom to the arty studio. In fine shôjo fashion, Yazawa lets heightened emotions define the landscape, surrounding her characters with clouds of passion, uncertainty, and possibility. Everything and everyone is infused with a distinct style.

But, subject matter and visuals aside, style doesn’t overtake the substance of the story. It serves it, working as a metaphor for the personal journeys in progress. It’s glorious stuff, and it’s left me eager for more.

Dave Carter at Yet Another Comics Blog (with an assist from Johanna Draper Carlson at Cognitive Dissonance) is giving away copies of Spider-Girl, a Marvel title that has generated an absolutely devoted fan base. Go here for details; deadline is 12 Noon EST on Friday, March 11. (I may have to enter this one. It’s gotten tons of good word of mouth, but I harbor deep scars from Tom DeFalco’s so-bad-it’s-good-oops-it’s-gone-around-to-bad-again run on Fantastic Four, so I’ve resisted making the investment.)

Milo George is auctioning off some of his pop culture treasures because “Endemic Treponematosis Sucks.” Go here for details and links to the auction site.

You still have time to throw your hat in for a copy of The Comics Journal from Shawn Hoke at Comic World News. Entry details can be found here; deadline is March 23.

Now, with benevolence out of the way, let’s move on to commerce! What’s coming to a comic shop near you tomorrow?

• The fifth issue of Street Angel from Slave Labor Graphics
• Volume 11 of Iron Wok Jan from Comicsone.Com (still catching up on this one, but I love it)
• Adam Strange 6 (of 8) from DC
• Vimanarama 2 from Vertigo
• A digest-sized collection of Marvel’s wonderful and (of course) short-lived Inhumans series by Sean McKeever (oh, Tsunami…)
• The first issue of something called Wolverine: Soultaker, which I mention only because it reminds me of Mystery Science Theatre 3000 and Tom Servo howling “Sooooooooooultaker!” (No, I’m not actually going to buy it, but I will probably howl “Sooooooooooultaker!” when I see it on the racks.)

An odd but interesting mix of stuff. And special thanks to Viz for not putting out seven million titles I want in a single week.

I had a manga-centric weekend, putting the finishing touches on the latest Flipped (which is up today at Comic World News). In it, I look at the “Forest? What forest? Keep putting bras on these trees!” launch of CMX’s Tenjho Tenge. Never in my life did I think I would be called upon to type the word “panties” so frequently.

I’m happy to say there was plenty of palate-cleansing reading to rid my thoughts of such lackwitted corporate shenanigans. In the latest volume of Sgt. Frog, the invading amphibians attempt to launch a pharmaceutical corporation, try to turn spring fever into a chemical weapon, and learn what their mysterious Fifth Member has been up to. The usual hilarity, in other words.

A trip up to Borders allowed me to witness the bookstore graphic novel shopper dynamic first hand. A twenty-something guy picked up DC’s New Frontier. A middle-aged mother helped her tween daughter sort through the manga for new volumes of the girl’s favorite titles. (I hope she wasn’t looking for the final volume ((sob)) of Imadoki!, because I grabbed it right before she got there. Yes, girls like comics, but only if I didn’t get there first.) A teen-aged guy grabbed some sci-fi paperbacks, then a collection of Ultimate Spider-Man, then something by CLAMP, I think. Okay, so maybe it wasn’t particularly instructive, but I loved seeing a mother and daughter shopping for comics side by side.

I also picked up a copy of Paradise Kiss on a whim, and I’m absolutely crazy about it. I’ll be posting a sickening mash note to Ai Yazawa in short order, but why wait? You should stop by Reading Along to read James Schee’s review of PK.

You know how I feel about Marc Andreyko’s Manhunter. In an interview at The Pulse, Andreyko drops a hint about a future arc that makes me very, very happy:

“All of the Manhunters currently lingering in the DCU will be appearing in the Manhunted arc [issues # 10 – # 14]. And other DCU folks will be ‘chase‘-ing after Kate, too.”

If Andreyko writes a guest appearance by DEO Agent Cameron Chase of the much-missed Chase series (by D. Curtis Johnson and J. H. Williams III), I will be the happiest of geeks. I think Andreyko would do a splendid job with the character, and I think she’d be a great foil for Kate.

Normally, announcements of Big Two exclusives don’t do a thing for me. But I’m glad to see that Dan Slott has signed with Marvel (announced at Newsarama and other places). It seems to have made Slott happy, and it furthers my entirely unfounded theory that he’s trying to destroy and rebuild the House of Ideas from within with a string of fun, accessible comics. Har!

Oh, Toronto Comic Arts Festival, why do you torment me so? Even if I won’t be able to go, at least they keep giving me wonderful goodies on their web site. The latest is a one-page Street Angel strip by Jim Rugg and Brian Maruca.

And since I’m on the subject, talk of a Batman/Daredevil crossover only distracts us all from what should be the top co-publishing priority for Marvel and DC: a collection of all of the Hostess Snack Cake strips the companies have run over the years.

The eighth volume of Hot Gimmick (Viz) is another corker, and I continue to marvel at Miki Aihara’s ability to make readers root for the romance between mini-martyr Hatsumi and emotionally stunted Ryoki. A lot of it tracks back to Aihara’s care in creating the stifling environment of company housing and its crushing caste system. It’s hard not to support people bucking a corrupt system, even if they probably aren’t very good for each other. Best of all, this volume includes a flashback chapter detailing Hatsumi’s first days in company housing. If the complex is a tough place for teens to navigate, it’s worse for toddlers. And it’s riveting to see the origins of future conflicts.

I was rather surprised by the second volume of IWGP, as I thought the driving plot of the first installment would carry through the entire series. Writer Ira Ishida and artist Sena Aritou move in a different (but thematically linked) direction, and while it doesn’t have the first volume’s emotional weight, it’s still very solid stuff. For a splendid analysis of the first and second volumes, go read Immelda Alty’s review at Comic World News. (My comments are based on a review copy provided by Digital Manga Publishing.)

The Tarot Café (Tokyopop) has an interesting premise and a great visual hook, but the comic itself is kind of dull. Fortune teller and café proprietor Pamela gives tarot readings to a variety of supernatural figures – a magical cat, a self-pitying vampire, a surly faerie – helping them achieve their individual destinies. Sang-Sun Park’s art is pretty but static, featuring stick-thin, doll-like women and delicate, ethereal men. Some nice detail is undermined by visual stiffness and a rather limited range of emotional expressions. It’s kind of like a fashion spread with plot added. The faerie story – she’s got some serious miles on her, but she’s trapped in a childlike form — is the best of the bunch, as it has real energy and some O. Henry-ish comic surprises in its favor. Other than that, Pamela’s customers are a fairly dull lot, and there’s nothing particularly inventive in the ways their stories unfold.

The lead story in Yumi Tamura’s Wild Com (Viz) will be instantly familiar to anyone who’s ever read an X-Men comic. A group of young people with psychic powers are assembled by a mysterious mentor figure to do good, mostly in the form of disaster relief. Many X-tropes are in evidence – an uneasy relationship with government officials, conflicted romance, and power as a metaphor and catalyst for adolescent trauma. Tamura takes a gentle, character-based approach that’s kind of appealing, but there’s nothing here that hasn’t been done just as well (or better) elsewhere. The other stories in this shôjo anthology are cautionary romantic tales. “The Beasts of June” is a mood piece about emotional purity and its effect on a pair of teen lowlifes, and “The Eye of the Needle” is a paranoid revenge fantasy. Tamura’s darker approach to shôjo is a mildly interesting change of pace, but the stories themselves cover familiar territory. Tamura’s scratchy, stylized artwork is pretty standard, too, and not really to my taste. It’s competent but unremarkable stuff. (My comments are based on a review copy provided by Viz.)

If any title were to break through my aversion to battle manga, it would probably be Hiroshi Takahashi’s Worst (Digital Manga Publishing). It’s set in what seems to be a magnet school for thugs. Extra-curricular activities consist of picking the right gang and pounding the snot out of classmates. If Takahashi took any of this seriously, it would be absolutely lethal, but he seems to know perfectly well how absurd his set-up is. And he creates a terrific protagonist in oblivious country bumpkin Hana, who approaches the fisticuffs with such enthusiasm and bonhomie as to be utterly charming. On the down side, Hana is pretty much the only character that stands out, despite some rather strenuous efforts to make the rest of the cast visually distinct. (Seriously, these boys deserve a beating for crimes against fashion, if nothing else.) The first and second volumes follow Hana’s participation in the traditional freshman battle, his brash announcement that he’ll become top dog of the whole hoodlum pack, and the ensuing shake-out in the school’s gang-based power structure. It’s violent, a little difficult to follow, and weirdly appealing. I still don’t like battle manga, and I probably never will, but all due credit to Takahashi for his fresh, unconventional approach. (My comments are based on review copies provided by Digital Manga Publishing.)

No one can convince me that this is lead-story material. It’s right down there with “Oprah limits her caloric intake to six almonds and a glass of water to fit into Oscar dress” on the list of things that merit extensive scrutiny.

Detouring myself here a bit: if a friend or a teen-ager of your acquaintance told you that they were cutting their diet back to a few dry-roasted nuts and H2O to fit into a particular outfit, what would be your response? Mine would be, “Didn’t it come in your size?” Or possibly, “Where’s that ‘So You Think You Have An Eating Disorder’ pamphlet?” Seriously, with a growing obesity crisis on one end of the spectrum and the continuing prevalence of anorexia and bulimia on the other, isn’t it kind of difficult to look at this as charmingly wacky celebrity eccentricity? “Oprah starved herself to be pretty! You can, too!” I would think nutritionists and psychiatrists would be lining up around the block to note that fasting, while effective for short-term weight loss or political activism, isn’t healthy.

That pointless tirade was brought to you by the American Council for the Promotion and Enjoyment of Carbohydrates and Comfortable But Flattering Clothing. Moving on.

This isn’t really news, either, but I really hope Martha Stewart takes a great and horrible vengeance on those who tried to paint her as the Poster Mogul for Corporate Fraud. Because in terms of scale and the lasting impact of her misdeeds, she absolutely pales in comparison to many of her peers. Of course, since Martha was a polarizing public figure and since her misdeeds were easier to grasp and communicate than, say, Enron’s, Martha was the most obvious target. That isn’t the same thing as her being the most despicable example by any stretch of the imagination.

I’m looking forward to her version of The Apprentice, partly because I’ve made it a personal mission to support her comeback, and also because I’m hoping her version will be free of the distasteful sexism that mars Donald Trump’s original. I’m sure she can find minions as imposing as George and Carolyn (who’s coming to my town to speak next week!).

Sure, I like The Comics Journal, but do I like like it? Okay, yes, I do, and for a variety of reasons.

First of all, it’s a leisurely reading experience. It’s nothing to be consumed in a single sitting, and that’s all to the good. Full of chunky, thoughtful articles on a range of topics, I certainly get my ten bucks back. TCJ 266 arrived (Fantagraphics Books) last week, and it inches me ever closer to just subscribing already. (At the same time, it’s something I really want to see carried regularly in the local shop, so I should just put it on the pull list.)

While the prospect of a really long interview with Brian Michael Bendis made me kind of tired, I thought Michael Dean did a nice job keeping things moving. It was nice to see Bendis in a more contemplative mode, unlike his Internet persona. It doesn’t change my opinion of his current output, but it’s nice to see him talk about his work and the industry at length and with depth. (Quick question: how did Dean and Bendis manage to go through 40 pages of interview without actually calling The Pulse by its actual name? I miss Alias as much as anyone, but that seemed kind of odd, given that Alias hasn’t been in publication for over a year.)

Dean’s continuing look at online comics journalism is solid reading, even if Dean does seem to be fairly certain of the answer to the question he poses (“Does It Exist?” “Not Really.”) It’s timely, too, given the drubbing Rich Johnston took from Bendis and Joe de Quesada during their occupation of Newsarama not too long ago. The look at Scheherazade’s printing woes (Dean again) was fascinating to me, in part because I know so little about the actual process.

Now we come to the central value judgment I make over just about every periodical: does it make me want to buy something? (“Buy something” in this case is a catch-all phrase that stands for “read something,” “travel somewhere,” “try a recipe,” etc.) And, yes, unfortunately, it does. And I have. (Curse the hypnotic power of Tom Spurgeon with his review of the Bone: One Volume Edition.) With a somewhat limited selection of comics to choose from locally, TCJ provides an enticing look at titles that aren’t likely to show up on my shop’s shelves. (Note to self: order The Walking Man and Carnet de Voyage at earliest financial convenience.)

I do have a quibble (maybe it’s more than a quibble) with TCJ’s critical approach to manga. There seems to be a tendency to isolate the manga titles they like from the herd by characterizing the remainder in some fairly stereotypical ways (“big eyes and manic speedlines” get name-checked in one review). It would be nice if a book could be praised entirely on its own merits without the implicit criticism of so much of its kin. (And, honestly, big eyes and speedlines aren’t an automatic indicator that a manga title is without merit.)

But overall, TCJ is a wonderful resource and, more often than not, illuminating, satisfying reading. I like like it.