Manga and Comic Reviews
This is shojo manga of the oldest school. Both in the sense that it was originally published in 1953, and created by a man — none other than Osamu Tezuka himself. Its concept is bizzare enough to loop back around to being kind of groundbreaking for its time. A mix-up in heaven causes a girl […]
There are series where I wait months for a new volume, and then there are series where I wait years for a new volume. However long the wait is for a new volume of “Blade of the Immortal” it never, ever disappoints. That’s just one of the many reasons why it has been my favorite […]
… Because I doubt that he’ll be around for the (just announced) third season of “The Walking Dead.” This isn’t a knock against the actor, as he has had one of the most difficult roles of the series in Shane. Though he’s the best friend of main character Rick, we also know that he was […]
Here’s some bad news and a spoiler for you: I’ve heard that Bucky dies in the “Fear Itself” crossover. Now for some worse news: I’m not sure that’s entirely a bad thing after reading this volume. At first I was disappointed to learn that the character’s fate would be determined outside of his series and […]
This is probably the most sane work I’ve read from mangaka Usamaru Furuya, who was also responsible for the deranged, psychosexual coming-of-age story “Lychee Light Club” published earlier this year. It starts out with a metafictional twist as Furuya is struggling to come up with an idea for his next serial and is directed to […]
While Jonathan Hickman’s “Secret Warriors” is an epic, high-energy espionage caper, and his “Fantastic Four” reconfigures its classic elements into something new, this first volume comes off as an attempt to tell one of the “big idea” stories that made him famous at Image in the context of the Marvel Universe. The high concept here […]
This volume is a nice change of pace from the past few multi-volume epics that were the series’ stock-in-trade. Instead we have a collection of three extra-sized issue-length stories (and a short eight-pager) that showcase Tony Stark’s past, present and future. We also get to see what his “archnemesis” The Mandarin has been doing with […]
With my expectations properly adjusted, it’s much easier to appreciate this series’ considerable virtues. Though chapters devoted to things such as breadmaking, embroidery and the title character “obtaining the heart of a bride” could’ve come off as tiresome history lessons, mangaka Kaoru Mori’s skill with character development and art that is both rich in detail […]
I’m a social drinker and generally see alcohol as more of a “social lubricant” than something that’s meant to be savored or enjoyed. My poison of choice is usually Malibu Pineapple Rum, with their Mango variety coming in second. The Banana variety is also good, though they don’t put it in the oversize bottles […]
Last week I mentioned how surprised I was to see Osamu Tezuka’s “The Book of Human Insects” on the New York Times’ manga bestseller list. This week had an equally unexpected and welcome surprise as vol. 17 of “20th Century Boys” debuted at #7. While seeing a Tezuka work on the list was gratifying just […]