Showing posts with label manga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label manga. Show all posts
Friday, August 17, 2012
Stuff I Wanna Read - Aug 16
I don't really need something else to read. I've got plenty on my bookshelf waiting to be read but something I saw online today reminded me of a manga series I've been meaning to read for a number of years: Barefoot Gen.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
What I Read: Ōoku v3
This volume continues the story of the first female shogun, Chie; her advisor, Kasuga, whom she inherited from her father, the last male shogun; and her lover, Arikoto, the former monk. The previous volume ended with Chie and Arikoto learning to accept and then love being pushed together by Kasuga, despite the barriers that they erected prior to entering and consumating the relationship.
The central theme of this volume seems to be the issues of succession and continuance of the family name. In particular the story deals with the difficulty that Lady Chie and Arikoto experience when he is unable to get her pregnant. The Kasuga has a solution but it is one that neither of the lovers likes. Accepting the gravity of the situation they learn to accept Kasuga's solution and eventually grow more closely together despite the wedge that Kasuga has places between them.
The larger context that the story takes place in is the destruction caused by the red pox plague, which not only kills people, mostly men, but also, more slowly, causes Japanese society to unravel. Chie is not unaware of the trouble the country is in. She knows something needs to be done but this is an unprecedented situation.
Paramount in Japan is the continuation of families and family names. With the loss of 80% of the male population, including the early deaths of most boys, this patriachal society begins to change. Women take over many roles previously reserved solely for men. Even the members of the nobility not struck down by the plague, all men, mostly older, are grudgingly forced to make their daughters their heirs.
Eventually the government headed by Chie and Kasuga accepts the need for change. Although this doesn't happen until one of her male advisors puts forth a proposal which eventually becomes law. The significance of the gender of the character who finally puts voice to what many others must have been thinking can be interpreted in a number of ways but what is most striking about it is that it shows that succession and preservation of the family takes precendence over other traditions, such as patriarchy. Thus, the law is changed and women begin to be legally recognized as heirs to titles previously held by male relatives and thus preserving their family lines.
This is not a comprehensive review. For a more in depth look at the series read Slightly Biased Manga's reviews of v1, v2, v3.
The central theme of this volume seems to be the issues of succession and continuance of the family name. In particular the story deals with the difficulty that Lady Chie and Arikoto experience when he is unable to get her pregnant. The Kasuga has a solution but it is one that neither of the lovers likes. Accepting the gravity of the situation they learn to accept Kasuga's solution and eventually grow more closely together despite the wedge that Kasuga has places between them.
The larger context that the story takes place in is the destruction caused by the red pox plague, which not only kills people, mostly men, but also, more slowly, causes Japanese society to unravel. Chie is not unaware of the trouble the country is in. She knows something needs to be done but this is an unprecedented situation.
Paramount in Japan is the continuation of families and family names. With the loss of 80% of the male population, including the early deaths of most boys, this patriachal society begins to change. Women take over many roles previously reserved solely for men. Even the members of the nobility not struck down by the plague, all men, mostly older, are grudgingly forced to make their daughters their heirs.
Eventually the government headed by Chie and Kasuga accepts the need for change. Although this doesn't happen until one of her male advisors puts forth a proposal which eventually becomes law. The significance of the gender of the character who finally puts voice to what many others must have been thinking can be interpreted in a number of ways but what is most striking about it is that it shows that succession and preservation of the family takes precendence over other traditions, such as patriarchy. Thus, the law is changed and women begin to be legally recognized as heirs to titles previously held by male relatives and thus preserving their family lines.
This is not a comprehensive review. For a more in depth look at the series read Slightly Biased Manga's reviews of v1, v2, v3.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Art Appreciation: Comic Twart - Lone Wolf & Cub
I've been following the Comic Twart blog for a few months now. I think its awesome. Each week one of the many artists who contributes to this blog posts picks a subject. For one week all the posts are sketches and drawings of that subject. Subjects are usually comicbook related, everything from superheroes to. Characters from pulp magazines.
This past week's subject, Lone Wolf & Cub, has by far been my favorite so far. The drawings posted have been truly inspired works of art. Usually there's one or two that stand out. I do my best to analyze them and leave comments indicating what I like about them. I left a lot more comments than usual this week.
This past week's subject, Lone Wolf & Cub, has by far been my favorite so far. The drawings posted have been truly inspired works of art. Usually there's one or two that stand out. I do my best to analyze them and leave comments indicating what I like about them. I left a lot more comments than usual this week.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
What I Bought - Aug 14 & 15, 2010
On Saturday I went to Barbarian. I browsed for a while. I also spent a little bit of time chatting with one of the owners about Scott Pilgrim and manga. In the end I only bought the latest volumes of the three manga series that I am currently reading:
- 20th Century Boys v9
- Ikigami v6
- Ōoku v4
I still have yet to read the previous volume of each of these series but I'm more or less committed to them. More importantly, I have yet to be seriously disappointed by them.
On Sunday I went to a comic book show near Tysons Corner. I wasn't looking to spend a lot of money. I was hoping to find some inexpensive DC comics from the mid to late 1970s. I came home with 9 comics, 8 of which fall into that category. I paid $3 admission and $10 for the comics.
70s DC Comics
- Aquaman # 57
- Brave and the Bold # 122, 133, 162
- Men of War # 19, 21
- Ragman # 3
- Unexpected # 180
Other
- Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans #1
- 20th Century Boys v9
- Ikigami v6
- Ōoku v4
I still have yet to read the previous volume of each of these series but I'm more or less committed to them. More importantly, I have yet to be seriously disappointed by them.
On Sunday I went to a comic book show near Tysons Corner. I wasn't looking to spend a lot of money. I was hoping to find some inexpensive DC comics from the mid to late 1970s. I came home with 9 comics, 8 of which fall into that category. I paid $3 admission and $10 for the comics.
70s DC Comics
- Aquaman # 57
- Brave and the Bold # 122, 133, 162
- Men of War # 19, 21
- Ragman # 3
- Unexpected # 180
Other
- Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans #1
Friday, July 30, 2010
What I Read - Jul 29, 2010
Ikigami vol 4: episode 7 - Each collection of Ikigami tells two stories. They are told consecutively, not concurrently. The subject of the first story in this collection is a teacher who was put on administrative leave after being framed by one of his students. His life has fallen apart since the incident. Receiving notice that he is about to die doesn't improve his state of mind and leads to him taking some rather drastic measures in an attempt to set things right.
This series has a lot of potential which I feel that it doesn't always live up to. One of the pitfalls of telling each story in three acts is that there is a limited amount of space that can be devoted to developing the characters. Sometimes there is enough character development to satisfy me and other times there isn't. Episode 7 falls into the latter category. I wanted to like it more but it felt a bit too rushed; I had a hard time buying into how the two main characters, the teacher and the student changed over the course of the story.
This series has a lot of potential which I feel that it doesn't always live up to. One of the pitfalls of telling each story in three acts is that there is a limited amount of space that can be devoted to developing the characters. Sometimes there is enough character development to satisfy me and other times there isn't. Episode 7 falls into the latter category. I wanted to like it more but it felt a bit too rushed; I had a hard time buying into how the two main characters, the teacher and the student changed over the course of the story.
Monday, April 19, 2010
What I Read - Apr 19, 2010
Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery - written by Dave Roman with art by Jason Ho, Xave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, Jeff Zornow, and Jen Wang. This is a collection of stories about Agnes Quill, an orphaned teenager who can communicate with ghosts. She lives in the city of Legerdemain where she follows in her grandfather's footsteps by solving mysteries for ghosts and the undead. This collection is printed in black and white.
There four distinct stories in this collection, each drawn by a different artist with a distinct style. I like all four artists styles, even though Agnes is not drawn consistently from story to story. I get the impression that the the printing process did a disservice to the art in the first and third stories. There is little other than black and white in those stories, very little in the way of gray. That's too bad.
There are a few extras in the back: excerpts from Agnes' journal, a field guide to the world of Agnes Quill, and a gallery of sketches and drawings of Agnes by various artists. Both the field guide and the journal delve into background material that is not covered or only mentikoned briefly in the stories. The gallery includes pages by the artists who drew the stories and a few others.
Ooku: The Inner Chambers v2 - written and drawn by Fumi Yoshinaga. For my description of the premise of this series see my posts about volume 1.
This story takes place a few decades before the one in the first volume. It is the story of the newly appointed abbot of Keiko-in who pays a visit to the Shogun in Edo. His plan was to pay his respects and then return to the monastery but the Shogun's wetnurse, who has a considerable amount of power in the court of the Shogun, thinks otherwise, after seeing how handsome the abbot is. This story is set at a point when the red face pox had not decimated the male population of Japan as much as it eventually would. The Shogun is still a man when the book opens, but succumbs to the mysterious disease in the first pages of the book. This isn't a spoiler. The description on the back of the book indicates that this volume contains the story of the first female Shogun.
At this point I've read the first two (of five) chapters. I like the tension. Its very different from the first volume. There is a lot of dialogue, which surprised me a bit. The notes in the back of the book explain the cultural references which would otherwise be uncomprehensible to many unfamiliar with Japanese history and culture of this era.
One thing that I do find interesting about this series is that the main character in the two big stories so far have been men. There are women that play important roles but given the fact that the author is a woman and the sort of world it is set in I expexted otherwise. This has not negatively impacted the pleasure I get from reading this series. It is just something that occurred to me since starting v2.
There four distinct stories in this collection, each drawn by a different artist with a distinct style. I like all four artists styles, even though Agnes is not drawn consistently from story to story. I get the impression that the the printing process did a disservice to the art in the first and third stories. There is little other than black and white in those stories, very little in the way of gray. That's too bad.
There are a few extras in the back: excerpts from Agnes' journal, a field guide to the world of Agnes Quill, and a gallery of sketches and drawings of Agnes by various artists. Both the field guide and the journal delve into background material that is not covered or only mentikoned briefly in the stories. The gallery includes pages by the artists who drew the stories and a few others.
Ooku: The Inner Chambers v2 - written and drawn by Fumi Yoshinaga. For my description of the premise of this series see my posts about volume 1.
This story takes place a few decades before the one in the first volume. It is the story of the newly appointed abbot of Keiko-in who pays a visit to the Shogun in Edo. His plan was to pay his respects and then return to the monastery but the Shogun's wetnurse, who has a considerable amount of power in the court of the Shogun, thinks otherwise, after seeing how handsome the abbot is. This story is set at a point when the red face pox had not decimated the male population of Japan as much as it eventually would. The Shogun is still a man when the book opens, but succumbs to the mysterious disease in the first pages of the book. This isn't a spoiler. The description on the back of the book indicates that this volume contains the story of the first female Shogun.
At this point I've read the first two (of five) chapters. I like the tension. Its very different from the first volume. There is a lot of dialogue, which surprised me a bit. The notes in the back of the book explain the cultural references which would otherwise be uncomprehensible to many unfamiliar with Japanese history and culture of this era.
One thing that I do find interesting about this series is that the main character in the two big stories so far have been men. There are women that play important roles but given the fact that the author is a woman and the sort of world it is set in I expexted otherwise. This has not negatively impacted the pleasure I get from reading this series. It is just something that occurred to me since starting v2.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
What I Bought - Mar 20, 2010
Yesterday I returned to Barbarian. I was looking for a couple things (Sleeper: Season Two; Daredevil : Return of the King) that they didn't have in stock but that they said they would order for me. Both were written by Ed Brubaker. I'm much more interested in the second installment of Sleeper.
I want the Daredevil because it is the final installment of Brubaker's run on the book. The first couple arcs were good and had me wanting more. Not so much with the later ones, in particular Lady Bullseye. Wasn't godawful, just not as complete as the previous ones. Also it feels like Brubaker is bound to leave things hanging at the end of his run. I know a little bit about where the story winds up, from the podcasts I listen to, but not exactly how the story is going to get there.
I bought 20th Century Boys v7 and The Moth. The latter book is a collection that I've had my eye on since I first saw the individual issues when they first came out, probably 5 years ago, at what was then Closet of Comics. Yesterday, I was looking for something more or less self-contained. This seemed to fit the bill and was reasonably priced. I love the look of the artwork and the premise seems kind of wacky in a way that appeals to me. Hopefully it will up to my modest expectations.
I want the Daredevil because it is the final installment of Brubaker's run on the book. The first couple arcs were good and had me wanting more. Not so much with the later ones, in particular Lady Bullseye. Wasn't godawful, just not as complete as the previous ones. Also it feels like Brubaker is bound to leave things hanging at the end of his run. I know a little bit about where the story winds up, from the podcasts I listen to, but not exactly how the story is going to get there.
I bought 20th Century Boys v7 and The Moth. The latter book is a collection that I've had my eye on since I first saw the individual issues when they first came out, probably 5 years ago, at what was then Closet of Comics. Yesterday, I was looking for something more or less self-contained. This seemed to fit the bill and was reasonably priced. I love the look of the artwork and the premise seems kind of wacky in a way that appeals to me. Hopefully it will up to my modest expectations.
What I Read - Mar 21, 2010
Sleeper: Season One - Well that didn't end how I thought it would. Then again, Brubaker kept me guessing the whole way as to which direction the story was headed in. The final chapter was a bit anti-climactic but it also set things up for a sequel: Season Two.
20th Century Boys v5 - I've only read the first couple chapters but so far I like. It's been too long since I read v4, three months too long; I read it in December. The big reveal in what I've read so far is the re-appearance of a couple more characters from Kenji's past: Yanbo and Mabo.
20th Century Boys v5 - I've only read the first couple chapters but so far I like. It's been too long since I read v4, three months too long; I read it in December. The big reveal in what I've read so far is the re-appearance of a couple more characters from Kenji's past: Yanbo and Mabo.
Monday, March 15, 2010
What I Read - Mar 15, 2010
Oishinbo: Ramen & Gyoza - While reading the final chapter in this series I finally gave up and dropped it without even finishing the book. In theory (at least to me) this sounds like a great series but aside from the recipes I find very little to like in this volume. The stories are predictable, the characters are uninteresting, and the artwork is nothing special. They all seem to be there to serve the purpose of telling the reader about whatever dish it is that is featured. I had higher hopes for this series. I won't be searching for any more volumes in this series.
Friday, March 5, 2010
What I Read - Mar 6, 2010
Oishinbo: Ramen & Gyoza - I was hoping for more than what this book has to offer. The recipes sound tasty and have me wanting to try my hand at making ramen but the stories are fairly bland. The artwork gets the job done but it too is not impressive. I suppose that some people might like these kinds of stories but I'm not one of them.
Sleeper: Season One - This is a good collection. I'm starting to gain an appreciation for Sean Phillips artwork. I'm not there completely, but I'm gettin' there. The story is great; everytime I think it is going to zig it zags. Just two chapters to go. I think I know how it is going to end but I've been fooled before.
One thing that I do like about how the story is told is the use of flashbacks. I especially like how the origin stories have been mixed in.
One more thing, and this is of course without knowing whether this character survives or not, I'm entranced by the complexity of Miss Misery. What would love do to her? How does she deal with that? How would anyone deal with that sort of condition? Of course, then there's Holden, whose hands are just dripping with blood at this point. Sure, he's cut a couple people some slack but still. How could he return to a semi-normal life after all that he has done and said. It just doesn't seem possible. I'm very eager to see where it all winds up and where Season Two picks up.
Sleeper: Season One - This is a good collection. I'm starting to gain an appreciation for Sean Phillips artwork. I'm not there completely, but I'm gettin' there. The story is great; everytime I think it is going to zig it zags. Just two chapters to go. I think I know how it is going to end but I've been fooled before.
One thing that I do like about how the story is told is the use of flashbacks. I especially like how the origin stories have been mixed in.
One more thing, and this is of course without knowing whether this character survives or not, I'm entranced by the complexity of Miss Misery. What would love do to her? How does she deal with that? How would anyone deal with that sort of condition? Of course, then there's Holden, whose hands are just dripping with blood at this point. Sure, he's cut a couple people some slack but still. How could he return to a semi-normal life after all that he has done and said. It just doesn't seem possible. I'm very eager to see where it all winds up and where Season Two picks up.
Monday, January 18, 2010
What I Read - Jan 18, 2010
Ooku: The Inner Chambers v1 - I'm not sure exactly how that title is supposed to be pronounced. I know what I like and I liked this story. The series looks like it will be a series of stories from different points in history.
What's it about? In the world this story takes place, at the beginning of the 17 century, most (75%) of the men of Japan have been killed by a plague that only affects men. Introduced halfway through the book, the Shogun, Yoshimune, is a woman. The first three of four chapters in this volume are about Mizuno, a young man who joins the Shogun's Ooku, which is essentially a harem. The last chapter seems to set a framing convention for telling more stories.
For more about this volume I recommend reading this review.
What's it about? In the world this story takes place, at the beginning of the 17 century, most (75%) of the men of Japan have been killed by a plague that only affects men. Introduced halfway through the book, the Shogun, Yoshimune, is a woman. The first three of four chapters in this volume are about Mizuno, a young man who joins the Shogun's Ooku, which is essentially a harem. The last chapter seems to set a framing convention for telling more stories.
For more about this volume I recommend reading this review.
Friday, November 27, 2009
What I Bought - Nov 27, 2009
I went to a Black Friday comic book sale today at Cards Comics & Collectibles in Reisterstown, MD. It was a bit of a drive. It took me an hour to get there and another hour to get back, but the traffic wasn't bad at all and the discounts made it worth my while, even if I didn't spend as much as some of the other customers; the guy in line in front of me spent about $240. Me? I spent just $28.60.
The Good - I found some manga volumes that I've been wanting to read but that they don't carry at Barbarian. The discount on manga, trades, and hardcovers (for this weekend) is 50%.
The Bad - The selection of back issues wasn't bad but the prices seemed high. Even with a 70% discount it wasn't like you could get many comics for $10 or $20. There were no quarter, fifty-cent, or dollar bins. I wasn't too wild about the layout of the store. It is very boxy, spartan, utilitarian and didn't seem to have much character.
What I bought...
Ooku v1 - link - been wanting to try this for a while. I asked the guys at Barbarian to order it for me but they seem to have trouble getting manga after it is initially released. They told me to try elsewhere so I was very happy to find it today.
What's it about? From what I understand the series in set in Japan 400 years in the past, but an alternate past. A plague has wiped out 75% of the men in Japan. Women have taken over the leadership roles. That's about all I know at this point. I think the main character is a man who is part of the ooku, or the shogun's harem.
Ikigami v2 - link - I liked the first volume enough (it wasn't perfect) but there was enough there for me to give the second one a try.
What's it about? In order to instill fear in the population the Japanese government institute a policy of randomly killing off a very small number of people. The chosen ones are killed by a time-released poison which the victims were injected with when they were much younger. All citizens receive the injections but only a select few contain the poison. Sometime between the ages of 18 and 25 the people who have received the poisons will die. The process is regulated to the degree that the government knows exactly when people will succumb to the poison (which stops the heart instantaneously) and provide them with 24 hours notice. Each volume in this series contains two stories, each one about a victim both before and after they learn they are about to die. I'm not sure how exactly to classify the series but it certainly has elements of sciece fiction and psychological horror.
Oishinbo: Ramen & Gyoza - link - first food manga I've bought in a long while. I don't think that they are planning on translating the entirety of this series. It began in 1983 and is still running today. It also looks like they aren't going to try to number the volumes that they are translating. I couldn't tell which was the first one so I just grabbed this one since I am interested in learning more about ramen.
What's it about? According to the blurb on the jacket it is about the quest for the ultimate meal. Cooks going all out to perfect their craft, I guess.
Pax Romana - link - This mini-series has a cool sounding premise. I'm eager to see how it pans out. This book doesn't look or feel like most comic books but the idea behind it (which involves time travel) is something that one often finds in comic books.
What's it about? The Pope and/or the Vatican send(s) troops back in time (312 CE) to change the present.
The Good - I found some manga volumes that I've been wanting to read but that they don't carry at Barbarian. The discount on manga, trades, and hardcovers (for this weekend) is 50%.
The Bad - The selection of back issues wasn't bad but the prices seemed high. Even with a 70% discount it wasn't like you could get many comics for $10 or $20. There were no quarter, fifty-cent, or dollar bins. I wasn't too wild about the layout of the store. It is very boxy, spartan, utilitarian and didn't seem to have much character.
What I bought...
Ooku v1 - link - been wanting to try this for a while. I asked the guys at Barbarian to order it for me but they seem to have trouble getting manga after it is initially released. They told me to try elsewhere so I was very happy to find it today.
What's it about? From what I understand the series in set in Japan 400 years in the past, but an alternate past. A plague has wiped out 75% of the men in Japan. Women have taken over the leadership roles. That's about all I know at this point. I think the main character is a man who is part of the ooku, or the shogun's harem.
Ikigami v2 - link - I liked the first volume enough (it wasn't perfect) but there was enough there for me to give the second one a try.
What's it about? In order to instill fear in the population the Japanese government institute a policy of randomly killing off a very small number of people. The chosen ones are killed by a time-released poison which the victims were injected with when they were much younger. All citizens receive the injections but only a select few contain the poison. Sometime between the ages of 18 and 25 the people who have received the poisons will die. The process is regulated to the degree that the government knows exactly when people will succumb to the poison (which stops the heart instantaneously) and provide them with 24 hours notice. Each volume in this series contains two stories, each one about a victim both before and after they learn they are about to die. I'm not sure how exactly to classify the series but it certainly has elements of sciece fiction and psychological horror.
Oishinbo: Ramen & Gyoza - link - first food manga I've bought in a long while. I don't think that they are planning on translating the entirety of this series. It began in 1983 and is still running today. It also looks like they aren't going to try to number the volumes that they are translating. I couldn't tell which was the first one so I just grabbed this one since I am interested in learning more about ramen.
What's it about? According to the blurb on the jacket it is about the quest for the ultimate meal. Cooks going all out to perfect their craft, I guess.
Pax Romana - link - This mini-series has a cool sounding premise. I'm eager to see how it pans out. This book doesn't look or feel like most comic books but the idea behind it (which involves time travel) is something that one often finds in comic books.
What's it about? The Pope and/or the Vatican send(s) troops back in time (312 CE) to change the present.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Stuff I Wanna Read (viii)
Here are a couple manga series that I read about in Danielle Leigh's Reading Diary and would now like to read myself:
Ooku: The Inner Chambers - Y: the Last Samurai? Kind of... a plague has wiped out most of the men of Japan. This is about what happens afterwords. [Review, Wikipedia]
Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit - Described as Death Note (which never appealed to me) for adults. [Review, About.com]
Ooku: The Inner Chambers - Y: the Last Samurai? Kind of... a plague has wiped out most of the men of Japan. This is about what happens afterwords. [Review, Wikipedia]
Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit - Described as Death Note (which never appealed to me) for adults. [Review, About.com]
Monday, July 6, 2009
What I'm Reading Now
Kingdom Come - link - This is supposed to be one of the great comic book mini-series of the past couple decades, or so I have been led to believe. I've seen plenty of his artwork all over the internet but I believe that this may be the Alex Ross-drawn story that I have ever read.
I'm one chapter in. So far I like. At first I was concerned with knowing who all the characters were but as I've gotten into the story I've lost that urge. Its enough for me to just get the general gist of the story and enjoy it for what it is. I like how the main character isn't a superhero but an ordinary human. The painted look and feel of the book work for me, in large part because of the scale and apocryphal tone of the story.
Mixed Vegetables v1 - link - a shoujo manga, about Hanayu who comes from a family of pastry chefs and wants to marry Hayato (one of her classmates) who comes from a family of sushi chefs. What drew me to this manga initially was the cooking angle of it. I knew about the romance but that was secondary in my mind and I thought it was going to be secondary in the story. Wrong.
Hanayu's determination to get Hayato to propose (they are only classmates at the beginning of the story) was a bit annoying, at first, probably because it made her seem one dimensional. When she panicked after he asked her out in menu (chapter) 2 it made her seem more real and I started to enjoy the story more. I did like the humor from the get go. I'm only three chapters in but I like. Hopefully the rest of this book will be as good as the first three chapters, or better.
I'm one chapter in. So far I like. At first I was concerned with knowing who all the characters were but as I've gotten into the story I've lost that urge. Its enough for me to just get the general gist of the story and enjoy it for what it is. I like how the main character isn't a superhero but an ordinary human. The painted look and feel of the book work for me, in large part because of the scale and apocryphal tone of the story.
Mixed Vegetables v1 - link - a shoujo manga, about Hanayu who comes from a family of pastry chefs and wants to marry Hayato (one of her classmates) who comes from a family of sushi chefs. What drew me to this manga initially was the cooking angle of it. I knew about the romance but that was secondary in my mind and I thought it was going to be secondary in the story. Wrong.
Hanayu's determination to get Hayato to propose (they are only classmates at the beginning of the story) was a bit annoying, at first, probably because it made her seem one dimensional. When she panicked after he asked her out in menu (chapter) 2 it made her seem more real and I started to enjoy the story more. I did like the humor from the get go. I'm only three chapters in but I like. Hopefully the rest of this book will be as good as the first three chapters, or better.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Comic Book Notes (LJ) Jan 2005
01/03/05
I haven't been reading a whole lot lately. I've been kinda busy with other stuff. I finished off Ranma 1/2 Book 4 and Hana-Kimi Book 1, over a week ago. I'm winding down on Rex Mundi Book 1 and Scion Book 3.
Marmalade Boy Book 4 - I just started it. I'm not even halfway through the first chapter, which is kinda long. It opens with Miki and her best friend, Meiko, spying on Miki's step-brother, Yuu. He has been spending a lot of time with another good-looking guy, Satoshi. Naturally, everyone at school starts suspecting that they are gay, including Miki who doesn't want to believe it because she has a crush on Yuu.
I love the dialogue and how the characters convince themselves (of Yuu and Satoshi's relationship) without concrete evidence to back up their suspicions. Meiko, getting over her own soap-operatic moment in the sun in Book 3, is tickled pink over the possibilities. Miki only makes things worse for herself by eavesdropping on Yuu and Satoshi, and then trying to figure out what they are talking about in a round about sort of way. Anyhow I find it all very amusing.
01/04/05
I just read (on Newsarama)about Will Eisner passing away last night. I've read a few of his graphic novels. I think I have two of them, Fagin the Jew and another older one. Never got around to reading The Spirit.
I've been thinking more about buying some of the DC Archive Editions of this series and other series. I don't want to get them every month, but maybe once every three months I'll pick one up. They usually sell for 35% off (the $50 cover price) at MailOrderComics.
I'd love to pick up some of the Archive Editions that were drawn by Joe Kubert like Enemy Ace, Sgt. Rock, and Adam Strange. I'm primarily interested in Silver Age Archive Editions, but I'd also like to get New Teen Titans by Wolfman, Perez, and Giordano. Watching Teen Titans on TV really makes me wanna go back and read and reread the stories from the late-70's and early 80's.
Well I don't feel quite as bad as I did after reading the obit. Still, it is sad to be without such a prolific and influential talent. At least we still have his stories.
01/06/05
Well, my monthly shipment should be arrive today. I found out yesterday that two trade paperbacks that were scheduled to be included will not be, so I'll only be getting two trade paperbacks instead of four. :(
On time - Batman: The Long Halloween, Queen & Country Vol. 1
Late - Ministry of Space, Love Fights Vol. 2
At this point I'm just glad to be getting a shipment. I haven't had the time to make it to the comic shop lately and I ran out of new comic books a couple weeks ago. I've been living off of trade paperbacks (Rex Mundi Book 1, Scion Vol 3), manga (Marmalade Boy Vol. 4), and back issues (X-Men: The Hidden Years, Marvel: The Lost Generation, Superman & Batman: Generations 3, Route 666, Dreadstar).
S&B:G3 sucks by comparison to the previous two mini-series. Most of the issues are forgettable. Some of the artwork looks incomplete and most of it is very roughly drawn.
M:TLG is much better by comparison to S&B:G3 but that's not saying much. I bought both these series a couple years back and am just getting arounf to reading them. At least I don't feel like I completely wasted my money on them.
01/07/05
* Comic books arrived on time. Batman: The Long Halloween is a long book, longer than I realized, about 350 pages long. I spent about an hour going through the Previews catalog. There wasn't too much that caught my eye that I hadn't already earmarked.
* I hear it on NPR: an interview with Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Gotham Entertainment Group, which has licensed the Marvel Comics characters to be distributed in South Asia. Their first publication is Spider-Man India, featuring Pavitr Prabhakar as Peter Parker.
Link: Fresh Air for Thursday January 6, 2005 (you have to scroll about 2/3 of the way down the page to find the link to the audio of the interview. It is about 20 minutes long.
Trade Paperbacks and Manga
Currently Reading
+ Rex Mundi Book 1: The Guardian of the Temple
+ Scion Book 3: Divided Loyalties
+ Marmalade Boy Book 4
Waiting to be Read
+ Batman: The Long Halloween
+ Queen & Country Book 1: Operation Broken Ground
+ Human Target Book 2: Living in Amerika
+ Kare Kano Book 4
+ Scion Book 4: Sanctuary
+ Marmalade Boy Book 5
+ Marmalade Boy Book 6
Ordered
+ Ministry of Space
+ Love Fights Book 2
+ Maxx Book 3
+ Stray Bullets Book 1
+ Y: The Last Man Book 2
01/08/05
So I went to liberty Comics and splurged today. Well, I spent more than I usually do. I bought X-Men Unlimited # 6 which features a story written and drawn by the crew that used to write and draw Negation: Paul Pelletier, Dave Meikis, and Tony Bedard. It was okay. It was no where near as good as Negation. What was missing of course was Laura Martin's colors. That and a decent story. Anyone could have written this one.
Comparisons to Negation: The way the four women in this story interacted did remind me kind of the way the main female characters in Negation interacted. Emma White would obviously be Evinlea. Kitty Pryde would be Corrin. I guess Storm would be Shassa, but the correlation isn't as strong. That leaves Sage to be Iress.
I also bought...
+ Teen Titans # 19 - final issue in the Titans of Tomorrow story
+ She Hulk # 9 - the art is by Paul Pelletier and I've heard good things about this series
+ Phoenix Book 2: Future - a year after I bought the first volume in this series I finally got the second one. Written and drawn by the godfather of manga, Osamu Tezuka. I really enjoyed the first book. Not short, but the first book was very good so I have high hopes for this one.
01/09/05
She-Hulk # 9 - Very amusing. Jen trying to learn to control her new strength. Hercules being sued (by a supervillain) for being too aggressively heroic. Very amusing, the whole thing was very tongue in cheek. I may just have to pick up the next issue. It didn't hurt that Paul Pelletier did the pencils.
01/11/05
Teen Titans # 19 - Good but not great. Not good enough to convince me to continue buying this series. I have yet to be truly impressed or satisfied with Geoff Johns writing. I tried JSA for a while and didn't care for it, now I tried Teen Titans and was equally un-wowed. I did enjoy the whole Titans of Tomorrow story. It wasn't bad, but I get the impression that it was the time travel elements and not the writing that worked for me.
Human Target Book 2 - Chapter one of this book (six of the series) is one of those stories that I thinks works a little better if you know the ending in advance. The story was plodding along and I wasn't that impressed with it until I saw the twist in the tale. Then it hit pretty hard. This chapter is a self-contained story. The Human Target is hired to impersonate a priest who is being theatened by a local heavy. Christopher Chance (The Human Target) isn't a religious man, but after spending some time in the role of the priest he finds himself starting to sense that maybe there are things he should believe in. Then he encouters the heavy, and finds out why he has been trying to 'off' the priest: he was molested by the priest when he was a boy. Maybe I should have seen in coming. The story is set in Boston. Anyhow that casts the story in a very different light. I won't give any more of the story away, but I did like how it ends. Still I think there should have been some foreshadowing as to the true motivations of the heavy and the true nature of the priest.
01/19/05
Midori no Hibi is no longer available at SnoopyCool. There ain't much available anymore at SnoopyCool, but from what I understand the anime of Midori no Hibi is going to be released in March, by ADV. I haven't heard anyword on when the manga will be available.I managed to download te first two-and-a-half books before the SnoopyCool went down in December.
No Fallen Angel in April, according to DC. The next and probably last issue, # 20, will come out in May.
Last issue of Adam Strange comes out in March. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for the trade of that?
I'm still not going to order the individual issues of Identity Crisis. Even though DC is rereleasing all of them in March. I'm waiting for the trade, even if I have to wait until 2006. There are plenty of other things to read in the meanwhile.
Human Target is ending with # 21. The second trade collects up through # 10. I guess that means that there will be two more trade collections, hopefully.
Iron Ghost from Image looks good. Written by Ron Marz, it looks like a riff on The Shadow. It is a mini and only runs six issues. I'll probably wait for the trade.
Trade-wise, this month I decided to pre-order the second trade of The Losers (DC/Vertigo), Hysteria Book 2 (Oni Press; written and drawn by Mike Hawthorne), and the DC Archive Edition of Enemy Ace.
OK, that's enough for now. Time to read some more comic books.
I haven't been reading a whole lot lately. I've been kinda busy with other stuff. I finished off Ranma 1/2 Book 4 and Hana-Kimi Book 1, over a week ago. I'm winding down on Rex Mundi Book 1 and Scion Book 3.
Marmalade Boy Book 4 - I just started it. I'm not even halfway through the first chapter, which is kinda long. It opens with Miki and her best friend, Meiko, spying on Miki's step-brother, Yuu. He has been spending a lot of time with another good-looking guy, Satoshi. Naturally, everyone at school starts suspecting that they are gay, including Miki who doesn't want to believe it because she has a crush on Yuu.
I love the dialogue and how the characters convince themselves (of Yuu and Satoshi's relationship) without concrete evidence to back up their suspicions. Meiko, getting over her own soap-operatic moment in the sun in Book 3, is tickled pink over the possibilities. Miki only makes things worse for herself by eavesdropping on Yuu and Satoshi, and then trying to figure out what they are talking about in a round about sort of way. Anyhow I find it all very amusing.
01/04/05
I just read (on Newsarama)about Will Eisner passing away last night. I've read a few of his graphic novels. I think I have two of them, Fagin the Jew and another older one. Never got around to reading The Spirit.
I've been thinking more about buying some of the DC Archive Editions of this series and other series. I don't want to get them every month, but maybe once every three months I'll pick one up. They usually sell for 35% off (the $50 cover price) at MailOrderComics.
I'd love to pick up some of the Archive Editions that were drawn by Joe Kubert like Enemy Ace, Sgt. Rock, and Adam Strange. I'm primarily interested in Silver Age Archive Editions, but I'd also like to get New Teen Titans by Wolfman, Perez, and Giordano. Watching Teen Titans on TV really makes me wanna go back and read and reread the stories from the late-70's and early 80's.
Well I don't feel quite as bad as I did after reading the obit. Still, it is sad to be without such a prolific and influential talent. At least we still have his stories.
01/06/05
Well, my monthly shipment should be arrive today. I found out yesterday that two trade paperbacks that were scheduled to be included will not be, so I'll only be getting two trade paperbacks instead of four. :(
On time - Batman: The Long Halloween, Queen & Country Vol. 1
Late - Ministry of Space, Love Fights Vol. 2
At this point I'm just glad to be getting a shipment. I haven't had the time to make it to the comic shop lately and I ran out of new comic books a couple weeks ago. I've been living off of trade paperbacks (Rex Mundi Book 1, Scion Vol 3), manga (Marmalade Boy Vol. 4), and back issues (X-Men: The Hidden Years, Marvel: The Lost Generation, Superman & Batman: Generations 3, Route 666, Dreadstar).
S&B:G3 sucks by comparison to the previous two mini-series. Most of the issues are forgettable. Some of the artwork looks incomplete and most of it is very roughly drawn.
M:TLG is much better by comparison to S&B:G3 but that's not saying much. I bought both these series a couple years back and am just getting arounf to reading them. At least I don't feel like I completely wasted my money on them.
01/07/05
* Comic books arrived on time. Batman: The Long Halloween is a long book, longer than I realized, about 350 pages long. I spent about an hour going through the Previews catalog. There wasn't too much that caught my eye that I hadn't already earmarked.
* I hear it on NPR: an interview with Sharad Devarajan, CEO of Gotham Entertainment Group, which has licensed the Marvel Comics characters to be distributed in South Asia. Their first publication is Spider-Man India, featuring Pavitr Prabhakar as Peter Parker.
Link: Fresh Air for Thursday January 6, 2005 (you have to scroll about 2/3 of the way down the page to find the link to the audio of the interview. It is about 20 minutes long.
Trade Paperbacks and Manga
Currently Reading
+ Rex Mundi Book 1: The Guardian of the Temple
+ Scion Book 3: Divided Loyalties
+ Marmalade Boy Book 4
Waiting to be Read
+ Batman: The Long Halloween
+ Queen & Country Book 1: Operation Broken Ground
+ Human Target Book 2: Living in Amerika
+ Kare Kano Book 4
+ Scion Book 4: Sanctuary
+ Marmalade Boy Book 5
+ Marmalade Boy Book 6
Ordered
+ Ministry of Space
+ Love Fights Book 2
+ Maxx Book 3
+ Stray Bullets Book 1
+ Y: The Last Man Book 2
01/08/05
So I went to liberty Comics and splurged today. Well, I spent more than I usually do. I bought X-Men Unlimited # 6 which features a story written and drawn by the crew that used to write and draw Negation: Paul Pelletier, Dave Meikis, and Tony Bedard. It was okay. It was no where near as good as Negation. What was missing of course was Laura Martin's colors. That and a decent story. Anyone could have written this one.
Comparisons to Negation: The way the four women in this story interacted did remind me kind of the way the main female characters in Negation interacted. Emma White would obviously be Evinlea. Kitty Pryde would be Corrin. I guess Storm would be Shassa, but the correlation isn't as strong. That leaves Sage to be Iress.
I also bought...
+ Teen Titans # 19 - final issue in the Titans of Tomorrow story
+ She Hulk # 9 - the art is by Paul Pelletier and I've heard good things about this series
+ Phoenix Book 2: Future - a year after I bought the first volume in this series I finally got the second one. Written and drawn by the godfather of manga, Osamu Tezuka. I really enjoyed the first book. Not short, but the first book was very good so I have high hopes for this one.
01/09/05
She-Hulk # 9 - Very amusing. Jen trying to learn to control her new strength. Hercules being sued (by a supervillain) for being too aggressively heroic. Very amusing, the whole thing was very tongue in cheek. I may just have to pick up the next issue. It didn't hurt that Paul Pelletier did the pencils.
01/11/05
Teen Titans # 19 - Good but not great. Not good enough to convince me to continue buying this series. I have yet to be truly impressed or satisfied with Geoff Johns writing. I tried JSA for a while and didn't care for it, now I tried Teen Titans and was equally un-wowed. I did enjoy the whole Titans of Tomorrow story. It wasn't bad, but I get the impression that it was the time travel elements and not the writing that worked for me.
Human Target Book 2 - Chapter one of this book (six of the series) is one of those stories that I thinks works a little better if you know the ending in advance. The story was plodding along and I wasn't that impressed with it until I saw the twist in the tale. Then it hit pretty hard. This chapter is a self-contained story. The Human Target is hired to impersonate a priest who is being theatened by a local heavy. Christopher Chance (The Human Target) isn't a religious man, but after spending some time in the role of the priest he finds himself starting to sense that maybe there are things he should believe in. Then he encouters the heavy, and finds out why he has been trying to 'off' the priest: he was molested by the priest when he was a boy. Maybe I should have seen in coming. The story is set in Boston. Anyhow that casts the story in a very different light. I won't give any more of the story away, but I did like how it ends. Still I think there should have been some foreshadowing as to the true motivations of the heavy and the true nature of the priest.
01/19/05
Midori no Hibi is no longer available at SnoopyCool. There ain't much available anymore at SnoopyCool, but from what I understand the anime of Midori no Hibi is going to be released in March, by ADV. I haven't heard anyword on when the manga will be available.I managed to download te first two-and-a-half books before the SnoopyCool went down in December.
No Fallen Angel in April, according to DC. The next and probably last issue, # 20, will come out in May.
Last issue of Adam Strange comes out in March. I wonder how long we'll have to wait for the trade of that?
I'm still not going to order the individual issues of Identity Crisis. Even though DC is rereleasing all of them in March. I'm waiting for the trade, even if I have to wait until 2006. There are plenty of other things to read in the meanwhile.
Human Target is ending with # 21. The second trade collects up through # 10. I guess that means that there will be two more trade collections, hopefully.
Iron Ghost from Image looks good. Written by Ron Marz, it looks like a riff on The Shadow. It is a mini and only runs six issues. I'll probably wait for the trade.
Trade-wise, this month I decided to pre-order the second trade of The Losers (DC/Vertigo), Hysteria Book 2 (Oni Press; written and drawn by Mike Hawthorne), and the DC Archive Edition of Enemy Ace.
OK, that's enough for now. Time to read some more comic books.
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