The Manga Curmudgeon

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

Sitting in a tree

by

In the discussion of that list of the 25 greatest super-hero romances over at Robot 6, Tom Spurgeon makes a good point about one of my favorites, the Vision and the Scarlet Witch:

“The initial Scarlet Witch romance worked for about 50 issues of subplots in some pretty good Avengers comics from back in that time, including the intrusion of the Swordsman’s hooker girlfriend, Mantis. I’m not sure anything about the marriage worked even a tenth as well as the initial “can you really fall in love with a robot” stuff did, though.”

I think that’s true for any couple in serial fiction, at least in serial fiction with no anticipated end point. It’s the same in daytime dramas; the build-up is always more interesting than the tear-down, and the tear-down is inevitable, I think. Happy couples are more sustainable in comedies than dramas. Serial fiction is a furnace that needs to be fed, and when that fiction is predicated partly or even wholly on romantic pairings, you can’t maintain a status quo for too long. It’s why soap characters marry and divorce so often, and why Spider-Man seems like such a player on the aforementioned list.

That’s one of the advantages of romantic pairings in manga, which generally has a designated end point. There are closing credits, and right before them, the couple can gaze into one another’s eyes and ponder their wonderful future together. Since it’s over, neither you nor the manga-ka need to dwell too much on the unpleasantness that can follow “happily ever after.”

Which brings me to my favorite manga romance, Yukari and George from Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss (Tokyopop), but I’ll save further discussion for after the jump, because I’m headed into spoiler territory.

Unlike many of their fictional peers, Yukari and George are pretty much doomed from the start, not because they’re incompatible but because they’re so very much in transition. Yukari is finally shaking off the good-girl expectations that have defined her life up until the beginning of the series. George is realizing the depth of his ambition and the scope of his creative abilities as a fashion designer. Yukari is his muse, and George is her mentor in independence and non-conformity. They exert a powerful influence over each other, but it isn’t sustainable.

And that’s the beauty of their relationship, at least for me. It’s as intense and mercurial as it is genuine, but Yazawa never really paints it as being about the rest of either character’s life. It will certainly influence the rest of both of their lives, and anyone who wants to be with either Yukari or George will have to accept that. But there’s no “happily ever after” factor; there’s barely a “happy right now” factor, to be honest. George is to narcissistic and Yukari too frantic to enjoy moments so much as be caught up in them. That feels absolutely true and right to me.

I need to read that "Secret Empire" story

by

Oh, such a wave of nostalgia at seeing this birthday announcement at The Comics Reporter.

defenders-4avengers-128avg144

It takes very little to get me to rhapsodize over either of the defining writing Steves (Gerber and Englehart) of Marvel’s 1970s super-hero comics. For me, Englehart embodied a number of qualities whose general scarcity led me to dump spandex comics a few years back:

  • He tended to take fallow ideas and inject them with new life and potential. (The Cat’s old costume + a retired romance comic heroine = Hellcat. Enchantress’s sidekick-weapon becomes independent character and first female Defender. And so on.)
  • His crossovers were generally restrained and sensible in terms of not derailing the momentum of any of the books involved. Just because comics companies have abused the concept doesn’t mean his Avengers-Defenders War wasn’t an entertaining story.
  • He tended to leave female characters more interesting and formidable than he found them. Male characters too, now that I think of it.
  • He managed to find the comedy in melodrama without undermining suspense or lapsing into self-referential cynicism. (Example: rivals Scarlet Witch and Mantis independently coming to the conclusion that Wanda must be the Celestial Madonna, because seriously, consider the alternative.)

    • Really, Englehart’s (and Gerber’s) comics are some of the few from my childhood that I can still read and enjoy without irony. Or at least too much irony.

    Upcoming 4/22/2009

    by

    Not a huge quantity of new arrivals on this week’s ComicList, so I’ll pad things out with a poll.

  • Chocolate Surprise, by Lily Hoshino (Deux): I swear someone told me that Hoshino created the kind of yaoi that I like – character-driven and emotionally grounded. Am I remembering incorrectly?
  • 20th Century Boys vol. 2 by Naoki Urasawa (Viz): See below.
  • Real vol. 4, by Takehiko Inoue (Viz): Inoue’s tremendously good comic about wheelchair basketball continues.
  • Higurashi: When They Cry vol. 2, by Ryukishi07 and Karin Suzuragi (Yen Press): I read the first volume over the weekend, and I’m intrigued enough to see where it goes for at least another volume. I wish the characters were as involving as the creepy plot twists.

    • As you know, Viz is rolling out two series from Naoki (Monster) Urasawa at the same time, the aforementioned 20th Century Boys and Pluto. I like 20th Century Boys fine, but I suspect I’d like it a lot better if I weren’t reading it side by side with Pluto, which I think is superior. So I thought I’d throw out the question as to which book readers prefer.

    More lead-burying

    by

    I promise to lay off the press releases, but Viz just sent one out on its new European business-to-business site, and I am deeply intrigued:

    “Informative descriptions for 18 different animated series and all relevant licensing and partner information are also featured. Current titles include Bleach, Blue Dragon, Buso Renkin, Croket!, Death Note, Deko Boko Friends, Detective Conan (CASE CLOSED), Grandpa Danger, Hamtaro, Inuyasha, Kilari, MÄR, MegaMan Star Force, Mirmo, Naruto, ICHIGO 100%, Zoids Genesis, and Honey & Clover. The site was developed in partnership with leading web design communications agency Megalo(s).”

    “Grandpa Danger”? What in Pinoko’s name is “Grandpa Danger?” And why can I not buy it yesterday? Let’s investigate.

    grandpadanger

    I think I have a new avatar, at the very least.

    The future is now

    by

    Will the day come when we evolve from bestseller lists to “largest number of unique visitors” lists? I have no idea, but one might anticipate future press releases from Viz talking about how many people have popped by TheRumicWorld. Just a theory, mind you. And as you may have guessed, that’s the topic for this week’s Flipped.

    Style and/or substance

    by

    These just in from the New York Times:

    “Based on a close look at trailers, still photos and some films already released, at least a dozen male stars in some of the year’s most prominent movies have been adding on the pounds of late.”

    That article was posted right above this one:

    “But she has become a heroine not only to people dreaming of being catapulted from obscurity to fame but also to those who cheer her triumph over looks-ism and ageism in a world that so values youth and beauty.”

    So which is it, Times?

    Friday nattering

    by

    At The Beat, Heidi MacDonald rounds up the discussion of the New York Times Graphic Books Bestsellers list. I have to admit that I don’t really see why these lists are any more problematic or opaque in their methodology than any of the other sales rankings. I always assumed that the odd or counter-intuitive products that sometimes show up on the lists were more a function of the fact that there are 30 slots posted weekly than of the way the entrails came out of the goat or how the 30-sided die landed on Friday morning.

    I guess what I’m saying is that just about all of these bestseller lists seem at least partly suspect, random, or susceptible to manipulation. With its greater frequency and wider scope, I at least find the Times lists suspect, random, and susceptible to manipulation in ways that are a little more interesting than the monthly versions.

    *

    Has Barnes & Noble hired a new graphic novel buyer? I stopped at the local store during lunch yesterday and was surprised at the number of unusual suspects present on the shelves. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gantz in a chain bookstore before.

    As a side note, have you ever been to a bookstore and seen a theoretically sealed-for-your-protection title that actually had its plastic wrap intact?

    *

    This week’s episode of The Big Bang Theory was hilarious. Penny accompanied the geeks to a comic shop. I particularly loved the bit where she innocently tried to buy a Spider-Man comic for her nephew. I think they should do an episode where Sara Gilbert’s Leslie is revealed to be a hardcore fujoshi, adding another layer of conflict to her acrimonious relationship with Sheldon.

    *

    I absolutely appreciate Bryan Fuller’s desire to finish the story he meant to tell in the wonderful Pushing Daisies. I don’t think many of the things that made the show so special will translate to a comics page, though. Comic timing and chemistry made up a huge chunk of the show’s appeal. I’d still buy them if they added those greeting-card chips that would allow me to hear Olive Snook bursting into song.

    (There used to be online comics featuring the characters, but ABC seems to have removed them.)

    It's RumicWorld, and we just live in it

    by

    It’s always nice when a manga-ka is prolific and awesome, and Rumiko Takahashi is certainly both. Viz is very aware of that, so it’s announced that it’s simultaneously releasing Takahashi’s new manga in Japanese and English. I’m sure there’s a little preemption built into the strategy as well, but who cares? New Takahashi every week!

    The full press release is after the jump.

    JAPAN’S WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY MAGAZINE AND VIZ MEDIA TRANSPORT READERS TO THE RUMIC WORLD WITH THE SIMULTANEOUS EAST-WEST DEBUT OF RUMIKO TAKAHASHI’S NEWEST MANGA SERIES RIN-NE

    Visit The Official Rumiko Takahashi English Language Web Site – TheRumicWorld.com On April 22nd For The Latest Work From One Of The Greatest Creative Forces In Manga

    San Francisco, CA, April 15th, 2009 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announces the debut of a new manga series from legendary creator Rumiko Takahashi. The series, titled RIN-NE, will be launching simultaneously April 22nd exclusively in Japan in WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY magazine and online for North American audiences on www.TheRumicWorld.com, the brand new official North American web site for all Rumiko Takahashi-related news and information. Through this unprecedented collaboration, a new chapter of RIN-NE will be released each week for English-speaking manga fans to enjoy at the same time as their Japanese peers.

    As a child Sakura Mamiya mysteriously disappeared in the woods behind her grandma’s home. She returned whole and healthy, but since then she has had the power to see ghosts. Now a teenager, she just wishes the ghosts would leave her alone! At school, the desk next to Sakura’s has been empty since the start of the school year, then one day her always-absent classmate shows up, and he’s far more than what he seems!

    RIN-NE is the first new manga from Takahashi since her epic INUYASHA (published domestically by VIZ Media) ended in 2008 in Japan. Shogakukan’s popular WEEKLY SHONEN SUNDAY manga magazine has featured Takahashi’s work since the early 1980’s. With over 170 million copies sold in Japan alone, Takahashi’s substantial catalog of work continues to be loved by legions of devoted readers.

    “Rumiko Takahashi is an artist without equal and her creative contribution to the manga genre is immeasurable. We’re extremely honored to present her long-awaited new series RIN-NE simultaneously with SHONEN SUNDAY” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media. “Rumiko Takahashi’s talent for creating endearing and memorable characters combined with comedy, love, fantasy, and action shines wonderfully in RIN-NE. Her signature style has come to be known as the ‘Rumic World,’ and it would not be an overstatement to call it a genre all its own. We invite fans across North America to visit her official web site on April 22nd for the English debut of RIN-NE and encourage them to check back regularly for the latest chapters in this groundbreaking series.”

    The spotlight on Rumiko Takahashi’s career began in 1978 when she won an honorable mention in Shogakukan’s annual New Comic Artist Contest for Those Selfish Aliens. Later that same year, her boy-meets-alien comedy series, Urusei Yatsura, was serialized in Weekly Shonen Sunday. This phenomenally successful manga series was adapted into anime format and spawned a TV series and half a dozen theatrical-release movies, all incredibly popular in their own right. Takahashi followed up the success of her debut series with one blockbuster hit after another—Maison Ikkoku ran from 1980 to 1987, Ranma ½ from 1987 to 1996, and Inuyasha from 1996 to 2008. Other notable works include Mermaid Saga, Rumic Theater, and One-Pound Gospel. Takahashi won the prestigious Shogakukan Manga Award twice in her career, once for Urusei Yatsura in 1981 and the second time for Inuyasha in 2002. A majority of the Takahashi canon has been adapted into other media such as anime, live-action TV series, and film. Takahashi’s manga, as well as the other formats her work has been adapted into, have continued to delight generations of fans around the world. Distinguished by her wonderfully endearing characters, Takahashi’s work adeptly incorporates a wide variety of elements such as comedy, romance, fantasy, and martial arts. While her series are difficult to pin down into one simple genre, the signature style she has created has come to be known as the “Rumic World.” Rumiko Takahashi is an artist who truly represents the very best from the world of manga.

    Shojoholics anonymous

    by

    Over at Sporadic Sequential, John Jakala has a terrific piece on “Addictively Readable Manga” and the qualities that make it so. John also posts a poll with some excellent representatives of this category-spanning group of titles.

    The shôjo addict in me immediately thought of some comics in that category that certainly apply, and I wanted to open up a parallel line of discussion. So what, say, five titles in the shojo category meet your “Addictively Readable” standard? Here are some of mine:

  • After School Nightmare by Setona Mizushiro
  • Flower of Life by Fumi Yoshinaga
  • Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya
  • Nana by Ai Yazawa
  • Sand Chronicles by Hinako Ashihara

    • And I’ll throw out one wild card, since I’m not sure how to categorize it but do find it to be a total controlled substance: Wild Adapter by Kazuya Minekura.