Rough seas, dead trees

You know what’s great about print versions of comics that are available for free online? Back covers featuring grizzled old men covered with tattoos — that’s what’s great about them. Now, I will freely admit, when I saw Kate Dacey’s beautiful review of Daisuke Igarashi’s Children of the Sea, I almost switched topics for this week’s Flipped, because seriously, what else needed to be said that The Manga Critic hadn’t already covered much more artfully than I could? But I’d painted myself into a corner, and I really wanted to write about the book because it’s lovely in some very unusual ways, so you’ve all been spared my treatise on 10 sizzling shônen bromances… FOR NOW.

When nerd worlds collide

I love the “Five for Friday” feature over at The Comics Reporter, but I very rarely remember to respond when the question goes out. This is because I’ve usually shut down the computer and curled up with Mr. Hendrick by the time the call goes out. I even forget when I’ve suggested the week’s topic in a previous Five for Friday; in this case, I suggested Tom ask contributors to “Name Five Comic Properties That Should Be Adapted Into Broadway Musicals.” So here are my choices:

Antique Bakery, by Fumi Yoshinaga (DMP): I think just about anything by Yoshinaga would translate well into a musical, because her characters could just as easily burst into song as they burst into monologue. I do think Antique Bakery would be a great starting point, as it’s got four solid male leads and a whole bunch of Tony-bait supporting roles in the mix. The leads also lend themselves to different musical styles for solo pieces, and their number holds promise for bizarre barbershop sequences. I admit that food-based stage productions are hell for the props crew, but there are ways around that.

Polly and the Pirates, by Ted Naifeh (Oni): Given the quantity of apparently horrible family-friendly stage musicals Disney has unleashed on Broadway in recent years, it’s probably cruel to suggest an adaptation of this delightful but underappreciated mini-series. Still, it’s got a lot of things going for it: a spunky ingénue part in the title character, a big chorus of rowdy pirates, an exciting plot, and some fun staging and design opportunities.

10, 20, 30, by Morim Kang (Netcomics): Swinging in the other direction in terms of production scale, this look at the lives of three different women muddling through three different decades of life (teens, twenties, and thirties) would make a nifty chamber piece that would be very portable to university and community theatres. All you really need are interesting characters with distinct voices, I think, and this book has them.

Palomar, by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics): Hernandez’s Palomar stories have an embarrassment of riches for composers, lyricists, librettists, and directors. A cast bursting with great characters, a community that could easily function as a formidable chorus, a lovely setting with just enough of a magical-realism quality to justify the bursting-into-song aspect, and a magnificent “Big Lady” lead role in Luba all suggest a musical that would write itself.

Dragon Head, by Minetaro Mochizuki (Tokyopop): Okay, this is probably me just being perverse, undoubtedly influenced by that PBS special on the Lord of the Rings musical that aired on PBS. In my defense, history has shown us that Broadway will adapt anything – ANYTHING – into a singing-and-dancing extravaganza, so I see no reason for them to shy away from this post-apocalyptic treasure. And someone’s probably still got that helicopter from Miss Saigon lying around, so there’s a cost savings right off the top. It could be Carrie: The Musical or it could be Sweeney Todd, and I think it’s worth it either way.

License Request Day: Paros no Ken

Earlier this week, Erica Friedman of ALC Publishing and Ozaku wrote a nice piece on the joys of talking manga on Twitter. I completely agree with her, and here’s an example: last night, as I was pondering this week’s license request, I knew I was in the mood for old-school shôjo, but which one? Fewer than 140 characters later, a wish-list ensued. There were plenty of perennial would-be favorites (like Osamu Tezuka’s Princess Knight and Riyoko Ikeda’s The Rose of Versailles), and lots that I’d never even heard of and now want, but one really caught my attention.

Wikipedia describes Paros no Ken (or The Sword of Paros) as a “yuri historical fantasy manga,” which is probably reason enough to want it in English. It was written by Kaoru Kurimoto, author of the Guin Saga novels (published in English by Vertical, along with one of its manga adaptations), and illustrated by Yumiko Igarashi, creator of the award-winning, lawsuit-triggering Candy Candy.

The plot involves royalty, destiny, warfare, feminism, upstairs-downstairs lesbian romance, and lots of other nifty-sounding stuff in a relatively short three volumes, originally serialized in Kadakowa Shoten’s Monthly Asuka. In a shocking turn of events, it does not seem to be available in French, so if someone hurries, we might be able to beat them to the punch. The series seems to be out of print, but here are entries for the three volumes on Amazon Japan.

I’d try to go into more depth on Paros no Ken, but I can’t let all of those heartfelt tweets go to waste, so here’s a list of all of the titles people suggested with whatever links I could find:

Aim for the Ace! by Sumika Yamamoto

Akogare by Chieko Hosokawa

Bara no Tameni by Akemi Yoshimura

Bride of Deimos by Etsuko Ikeda and Yuho Ashibe, published by ComicsOne but out of print

Claudine…! by Riyoko Ikeda

Crazy for You by Karuho (Kimi no Todoke) Shiina

Fire! by Hideko Mizuno

Hime-chan no Ribon by Megumi Mizusawa

Oniisama E by Riyoko Ikeda

Ouke no Monshou by Chieko Hosokawa

Shiroi Heya no Futari by Ryoko Yamagishi

The Calling by Reiko Okano

The Heart of Thomas by Moto Hagio

The Song of Wind and Trees by Keiko Takemiya

Happy text

I’m sensing one of those seasonal disturbances in the force where people start to get knowingly pessimistic about The State of Manga and Its Future, so I thought I’d just highlight some of the great books coming out during the remainder of 2009 in the hopes of nipping this round of gloom in the bud. Nouvelle manga, award winners, classic shôjo, an alternative anthology… things are looking pretty terrific from where I’m sitting. Expensive, but terrific.

A Distant Neighborhood vol. 1, Jiro Taniguchi, Fanfare/Ponent Mon, $23.00, sometime soon: “Who hasn’t thought about reliving their past, correcting perceived mistakes or changing crucial decisions? Would this better your life or the lives of those closest to you? Or would your altered actions prove even more harmful? One man gets the chance to find out… Middle-aged Hiroshi Nakahara is on his way home from a business trip when he finds himself on the wrong train heading for his childhood hometown. His footsteps take him to his mother’s grave and it’s there that he is catapulted back into his life as an 8th grader – but with all his adult memories and knowledge intact. As he struggles to make sense of his predicament his adult memories of his childhood return but are somehow subtly changed. The questions start to form … would his father still disappear without explanation? would he still marry his wife?”

Ôoku: The Inner Chamber, Fumi Yoshinaga, Viz – Signature, $12.99, Aug. 18: “In Edo period Japan, a strange new disease called the Red Pox has begun to prey on the country’s men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen by seventy-five percent. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected. And the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun’s Inner Chamber…”

Moyasimon vol. 1, Mayasuki Ishikawa, Del Rey, $10.99, Sept. 29: “BACTERIA TO SCHOOL: Tadayasu is a new, fresh-faced university student hiding a bizarre secret: He can see germs with the naked eye. Between the machinations of an eccentric professor determined to unlock the power of the microbial world and the doomed agricultural experiments of his fellow students, will Tadayasu ever find the cool college atmosphere he so desires?”

Itazura na Kiss vol. 1, Kaoru Tada, Digital Manga, $16.95, Nov. 4: “High school senior Kotoko Aihara has had a crush on Naoki Irie since freshman year. Unfortunately, there a few things are discouraging her from to him: he’s a member of ‘Class A,’ the top ranking class in school, whereas she’s in ‘Class F’; he gets the top score on every exam; and he’s so smart, popular and handsome that he’s been class president every year. When Kotoki finally musters up the courage to present him with a love letter, though, Naoki outright refuses it, telling her point blank–with a look of disgust and boredom—that he doesn’t like ‘stupid girls.’ Poor Kotoko’s worst nightmare! Her heart is broken, but then a change in circumstance forces Naoki and Kotoko to be together every day…!?”

Ax (vol. 1): A Collection of Alternative Manga, $29.95, Dec. 29: “Ax is the premier Japanese magazine for alternative comics. Published bi-monthly for over ten years now, the pages of Ax contain the most creative and cutting-edge works of independent comics in the world’s largest comics industry. Now Top Shelf presents a 400-page collection of stories from ten years of Ax history, translated into English for the first time! This groundbreaking book includes work by 33 artists, including Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Akino Kondoh, Kazuichi Hanawa, Shinichi Abe, and many many more!”

Spoiler warning

Should the courtesy of spoiler warnings apply to works of non-fiction? After reading a Publishers Weekly Comics Week interview with David Small about his upcoming graphic memoir, Stitches, from W.W. Norton, I suspect they should.

In the introductory paragraphs to the interview, Sasha Watson rather baldly summarizes some of the key events of Small’s early life that are portrayed in the book. I think that this is an unfortunate choice, as the power of the book lies in watching these events unfold in the way that Small has chosen to reveal them. For an autobiography, the structure and pacing of events is astonishing, as is the elliptical way Small contextualizes those events – the facts of them coupled with the truth of them, which are very different things.

Any creator of fiction would be envious of the way the story reveals itself, I would think. That this much craftsmanship and rigor has been applied to an autobiography, and that Small has been able to be so deft in crafting the mechanics of a narrative without sacrificing emotional impact is almost miraculous. But first seeing those events and the secrets behind them formatted as a sort of laundry list would, I think, undermine some of the impact of Small’s achievement.

I can certainly understand the desire, even the necessity, of interviewing so talented a creator prior to the publication of his debut graphic novel. But wow, I’d be careful in revealing any events that are portrayed in the book, as it’s a breathtaking reading experience with little or no prior knowledge. I’m not sure how much of that thrill would survive if a reader had a checklist of key moments and revelations prior to simply experiencing them according to Small’s design.

Running out of ammo

The Motley Fool takes a look at the seemingly always-imperiled Borders Group and notes that graphic novels and young-adult literature are key to its survival gambit:

“Although comic books are probably considered a more male-oriented form of entertainment in the U.S., one Japanese publisher says women comprise 70% of the cellphone manga readers. (English-language manga has also become popular among women and girls in the U.S.)”

How is that last bit parenthetical? Seems like they’re burying their lead to me.

Pinoko says…

Um… sure you are, Pinoko, but remember what we talked about? How you were going to mention Kate Dacey’s Black Jack Contest over at The Manga Critic? It ends at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, and it’s open to United States residents 18 years of age or older.

Well, then you could enter to win the first six volumes of Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack from Vertical. It’s about a gifted but unlicensed doctor treating all kinds of maladies for ridiculous fees, and you’re in it, too!

Lots of people do. According to this week’s ComicList, the sixth volume arrives in comic shops today.

Other promising arrivals include the eighth volume of Girl Genius: Agatha Heterodyne And The Chapel Of Bones (Airship Entertainment) by Phil and Kaja Foglio and Cheyenne Wright and the 16th volume of Nodame Cantabile (Del Rey) by Tomoko Ninomiya.

On the less promising front, at least by my taste, is the first volume of Kanoko Sakurakoji’s Black Bird (Viz), which seems to be anticipated with some eagerness. I agree entirely with Kate Dacey’s review. Those covers with the blood-flecked girl being manhandled by some dude are entirely accurate.

Point and click

This week’s Flipped is up. I take a look at Viz’s SIGIKKI site and the many interesting titles previewed there. Over at Manga Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson has taken a two-part look at various titles and is running a poll on readers’ early favorites.

Previews review August 2009

For some reason, as I looked through the current Previews catalogue, I kept thinking, “You know, it’s nice that comics publishers who don’t print a single thing I’d ever want to read can still do well.” I can’t explain it, but it kept happening.

Anyway, this edition sees the launch of two new imprints. First up is Del Rey Comics, an offshoot of the much-loved Del Rey Manga from Random House. Things kick off with a $1, 16-page zero issue introducing readers to The Talisman: Road of Trials by Stephen King, Peter Straub, Robin Furth, and Tony Shasteen (page 252). Now, I haven’t read a King novel since Needful Things, but comics based on his work seem to sell well, so this seems like a smart launch property for Del Rey’s pamphlet line. Random House ups the smart with a full page ad on page 253 showing some of the comics-shop-friendly properties that they’ve shepherded in the past.

Now, let’s flip ahead to page 286. For a long time, Del Rey Manga had a cooperative agreement with Kodansha, one of the biggest manga publishers in Japan. Then about a year ago Kodansha decided to open up its own shop in the United States. At long last, their first Previews solicitations show up offering new printings of the first volumes of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira (softcover, 368 pages, $24.99) and Shirow Masamune’s Ghost in the Shell (softcover, 352 pages, $26.99). The price points are roughly comparable to Dark Horse’s for the same properties, but they still seem kind of steep to me. Still, they’re modern classics, and it’s not a bad idea to launch with them. That said, I think Del Rey wins on the crafty debut front.

Neither Del Rey Comics nor Kodansha Comics has a web site yet, so no links are available.

Okay, let’s flip back to page 261 for comics that interest me more viscerally, that is to say, comics that I’d actually like to buy. Drawn & Quarterly offers Imiri Sakabashira’s The Box Man (softcover, 128 pages, $19.95), which “follows its zoomorphic protagonists along a scooter trip through the landscape that oscillates between a dense city, a countryside simplified to near abstraction, and hybrids of the two. Sakabashira weaves this absurdist tale in a seamless tapestry constructed of elements as seemingly disparate as Japanese folklore, pop culture, and surrealism.” I’m game.

Given my love for the Moomin comic strips, I will buy anything with Tove Jansson’s name on it, so I’m glad Drawn & Quarterly is offering The Book About Moomin, Mymble and Little My, an all-ages book featuring Jansson’s marvelous characters and quirky storytelling (hardcover, 24 pages, $16.95).

Viz adds another awesome-sounding title to its Signature line with Taiyo Matsumoto’s GoGo Monster (page 310, softcover, 464 pages, $27.99). Viz promises “a nuanced tale of a young boy and his overly active imagination.” Viz also notes that Matsumoto won the Eisner (2008’s Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Japan) for Tekkonkinkreet: Black and White, also from Viz Signature.

Stealth josei

I was checking Viz’s Signature listings yesterday, and I noticed several new items on the schedule, but two in particular made me really, really happy. Like, “Snoopy Dance” happy.

Fumi Yoshinaga’s All My Darling Daughters was originally serialized in Hakusensha’s Melody magazine and is a one-volume collection of short stories.

Natsume Ono’s Ristorante Paradiso was originally serlized in Ohta Shuppan’s Erotics F mangazine and is a single-volume series.