The geek shall inherit

This week’s shipping list seems designed to thrill the hardcore manga consumer.

First up is Dark Horse’s release of MPD-Psycho, and here’s what the publisher has to say about it:

“Originally licensed by another U.S. publisher, MPD-Psycho was deemed too shocking for them to release. But Dark Horse is always prepared to give manga readers what they want!”

Sometimes only a couple of weeks after they were originally solicited! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) The book is written by Eiji Otsuka, of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service fame, so that’s promising. It’s illustrated by Sho-U Tajima, whose name doesn’t ring a bell, but Dark Horse promises “controversial and unflinchingly grotesque glory.” This sort of thing isn’t my usual cup of tea, but I find myself overwhelmed by pre-release buzz.

Early word on the debut issue of Otaku USA (Curtis Circulation) has been overwhelmingly positive, which shouldn’t be surprising given the credentials of many of the contributors. Here’s Jog’s run-through, and here are the views of the good folks at Heisei Democracy. (That last link was found via Simon Jones.)

I’m still not entirely clear on what to expect from Aranzi Aronzo’s Aranzi Machine Gun from Vertical, but I’m intrigued all the same by the promise of “a massive assault of cuteness and ridiculousness, with a special craft section at the end of every issue, to make practical use of the hilarious (if useless) inside scoops you got in the rest of the book.”