^^ Looks great, I will have to check that out. Most recent scores: This chunky hardback finally landed in the UK and it's a beauty. Collecting together three volumes of early work, short stories and charming little autobiographical pieces about how he became a mangaka. Flicking through this one it's plain to see he's hit his stride with vol.3. I got this one free in a three for two deal, its a collection of short stories, quite varied in topics. It has a few full colour stories which is cool, adds to the variety.
Good news ... he's an unusual mangaka, completely off his trolley. ... apart from all the other Manga i've bought recently (and forgot to post here), I just got these in the mail. Originally published in 1991, and translated by ComicsOne in 2001 ... the full title is 'Karasu Tengu Kabuto' (Crow Goblin Kabuto). I love the old ComicsOne paperbacks and have a few other sets, mainly featuring Ryoichi Ikegami. I would love the three book set of 'Goku Midnight Eye' but they're proving difficult to find in the UK for a fair price.
Breakdown press looks really great. Thanks for the hint. I'm on volume 6 of the large Berserk collections. I've read them once before. I forgot how much humor is mixed in with everything else. Also just picked up 'no. 5'. Sunny is one of my favourite series ever.. I don't like no.5 as much, but it's still really great. Love these editions with the metallic print on the covers.
I've never read Berserk... finally began my journey last night w/ just-arrived copy of Vol 1 of the DH editions. Beautiful tome. Enjoying so far.
Had a good day for books yesterday, including Manga. I've avoided the series 'Dorohedoro' until recently because a lot of the 20+ books have been out of print and expensive, but they started reprinting her masterwork again a while back, so its given me more confidence to collect. As per usual, the Viz collections are beautifully done. Speaking of Viz, the newest translation of 'Asadora' has dropped and its great. It quickly became one of my fave current Manga, and the story has been action packed in the last two volumes because the giant kaiju has finally shown itself. Urasawa has done most of the background artwork himself for this series, which is unusual for a mangaka of his stature. Its one of the best manga I've ever read, the writing and artwork are perfectly balanced, and the real life setting is rich with detail. You care about the characters, even the shady government operatives ...
FOTNS Vol.5 has dropped Other manga I've bought recently... Devil Ecstasy The Girl in the Arcade vol.1 Crazy Food Truck vol.1 Dorohedoro 1-3 Witches Ghost in the Shell 'Human Algorithm' 1-2 Chainsaw Man 1-11
This is a lot of fun. If you'd enjoy seeing someone deflect a bullet aimed at their head, by spitting out a boiled sweet, this one's for you. Blurb: Time has passed peacefully for Sakamoto since he left the underworld. He’s running a neighborhood store with his lovely wife and child and has gotten a bit…out of shape. But one day a figure from his past pays him a visit with an offer he can’t refuse: return to the assassin world or die!
Recent buys ... Awesome as always, but this one seemed very much like the ending, so when they say book 12 is being released next year, its a bit weird. This series is great, very Hong-Kong action flick stylee. Very silly, but well drawn and pretty funny. Another classic collection edition with no ending. It seems a lot of Mangaka back in the 70's didn't bother finishing long stories. I assume they moved onto Anime and the Manga was neglected? I'd be interested to know.
Spriggan Deluxe Vol. 1 has dropped and its a beauty, published by Seven Seas. Its a 656 page paperback with good print reproduction and translation. As far as i can remember Viz published some of the story under a different name, but this is the first time it will be fully translated in English. It has an 80's vibe (it ran from 1989 – 1996) and i would say the artist/writer were influenced by Katsuhiro Otomo. The fight scenes are really well done and i'm loving it so far! As far as i can tell there will be three (or maybe four) books in total.
This one is way better that it has any right to be. Nice to see a British publisher acquiring translation rights and publishing manga. Very enjoyable stuff, cant wait for the next books in the series. Titan will also be publishing some Kamen Rider stuff soon as well ... Blurb: ATOM: The Beginning is an aesthetically striking series that blazes its own trail. It's a story chock-full of both heart and humor for fans of action-packed science fiction, robots, and manga. ATOM: The Beginning is an original manga based on the God of Manga Osamu Tezuka's world-famous series Astro Boy. It works both as a prequel to the original series, telling the stories of the developers of the artificial intelligence that would eventually give birth to the iconic Atom, and as a stand-alone sci-fi manga about the turbulent lives of two robotic engineering students and their latest revolutionary project: the unassuming yet insanely strong A106, or 'Six.' Blurb: Kamen Rider Kuuga is a manga adaptation of the famous Japanese TV drama series of the same name, centered around the first incarnation of the Kamen Rider hero for the Heisei Era (the beginning of the 21st century). This manga goes beyond the bounds of a normal adaptation and redefines its hero for modern audiences, expanding its universe and connecting it to other incarnations of the bug-eyed hero in a completely approachable way for new readers who haven’t encountered a Kamen Rider story before. It’s a perfect starting point for anyone who wants to know why Kamen Rider is so beloved by people around the world.
Sakamoto Days Vol.4 has dropped ... the series gets better and better. Its a lot of fun! Also dropped recently, Fist of the North Star Vol.6 Hi-Score Girl Vol. 9
DDDDDDDD (ha!) was an incredible read between the art and story. Slice of life with an alien invasion of sorts. I need to read Goodnight Pun Pun by Asano next. Rooster Fighter is fun. Goofy but fun.
I just finished Hell's Paradise which had Bleach-like vibes. I guess shonen? The shogun sends 10 criminals and 10 minders/executioners to this island where a fabled immortality elixir is said to be, but only one pair can win. All hell breaks loose (no pun intended).
You're in for a treat, it has an unusual balance of goofy fun juxtaposed with existential pain and suffering. Its an emotional rollercoaster, you can see why it turned off so many of his fans in Japan, who were used to his earlier (and lighter) slice of life stuff. Out of all his translated work so far, I think its his masterpiece. I also love 'Nijigahara Holograph' too, which is a one shot like 'A Girl on the Shore'. Hell, I haven't read an Asano book I didn't like yet !!
I'll definitely tackle it. Is the art as intricate as DDD.... was? I just droll over line heavy cityscapes and starships. (Clearly an Akira fan.)
It is in places, but it has more deliberately clashing visual elements. DeDeDe has a consistent style. I think he found the perfect mix of analogue and digital with DeDeDe, his use of drawing over photography really changes between projects, and the level of realism for characters faces etc. I do remember some incredible street scenes in Pun Pun, but they're used more sparingly, in DeDeDe it's like the City itself is one of the characters ...
Big heads-up for Miyazaki / Studio Ghibli fans ... this little beauty dropped recently. Its a lesser-known work by Miyazaki, and this is it's first English translation, published by First Second (their first manga publication ever). I bought the Japanese paperback when i visited the Ghibli museum in 2008. This new hardback is over double the size and is printed to a high standard, with care and attention. The pages are matt paper compared to the Japanese paperback's glossy pages, and the English translations have been positioned in the same places as the original text. Strictly speaking its an illustrated story, rather than a proper manga. Lots of wonderful watercolour art with captions rather than speech bubbles. Anyway, its not cheap for the size of the book and page count, but its a no brainer for Ghibli fans ... worth every penny! Full colour throughout
Just picked up the first two books of Fire Punch for my wife and I for Christmas. Really looking forward to having my brain melted while reading it.
Fire Punch was a decent read. Weird mix of bleakness and humor. Expected from the guy who does Chainsaw Man,
