Yens

Yen Press just announced some really terrific licenses. Here are the two that make me giddiest:

Fumi Yoshinaga’s Not Love But Delicious Food was originally serialized in Ohta Shuppan’s Manga Erotics F, and it’s about a food-obsessed boys’-love manga-ka. So basically there’s almost no way it won’t be awesome. This will surely sell tons of copies, and then publishers will engage in cage matches for the right to license What Did You Eat Yesterday?

Émile Bravo provided the illustrations for Jean Regnaud’s beautiful My Mommy Is in America and She Met Buffalo Bill (Fanfare/Ponent Mon), so I’m eager to read Goldilocks and the Seven Squat Bears, a funny take on some classic fairy tales.

Free to a good home: All My Darling Daughters

Have you been meaning to sample the work of Fumi Yoshinaga but don’t know where to start? Here’s your chance to win a copy of Yoshinaga’s All My Darling Daughters (Viz), which has garnered more than a little critical praise since its release:

“The storytelling style and the stories themselves all echo familiar manga tropes, but in Yoshinaga’s hands they have grown up and become something rich and strange—and highly entertaining.” Brigid Alverson, MangaBlog

“In addition to all of this thoughtful, integrated writing, Yoshinaga also employs her distinctive artistic style in the service of the story.” Michelle Smith, Manga Recon

“At times haunting, and at times very sweet, this book isn’t easily classifiable. It even has some occasional humor, and I love Yoshinaga occasionally slipping into caricature when she’s drawing Yukiko’s snarling face.” Sean Gaffney, A Case Suitable for Treatment

“And while I enjoyed Ooku and Antique Bakery, I think that All My Darling Daughters is my favorite comic from Yoshinaga to date.” Greg McElhatton, Read About Comics

“With this book, Yoshinaga really focused on a group of people, digging into their motivations and examining their relationships with one another.” Dave Ferraro, Comics-and-More

“Reading it can sometimes be like watching a soapy drama on television (Lifetime, anyone?). However, Yoshinaga is a master of insight, familial relationships, and human behavior, and this insight in behavior gives this book a poignant ending that makes the volume worth reading.” Leroy Douresseaux, Comic Book Bin

“It’s unusual to see family and relationship conflicts of this type in comics, especially portrayed in such a raw fashion with such insight. There are plenty of father/son struggles (especially in American comics), but few that tackle the frustrations and unique constraints of being a mature woman.” Johanna Draper Carlson, Manga Worth Reading

And here’s my review.

To enter, simply send me an email at DavidPWelsh at Yahoo dot Com that mentions your favorite comics mother or mother figure. By “favorite,” I don’t automatically mean the character that fills you with greeting card feelings, and if your tastes run more in the direction of Medea than I Remember Mama, that’s absolutely fine. If you already have a copy of All My Darling Daughters but still want to sing the praises of a compelling comics mom or grandmother, please feel free to do so in the comments.

Deadline for entries will be at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. You must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

The Shôjo-Sunjeong Alphabet: Q

“Q” is for…

I can’t vouch for or warn against either of these, but by all that is sparkly, their titles start with the letter “Q.”

What are some of your favorite shôjo and sunjeong titles that start with the letter “Q”?