Forum - View topicUnderground/Art/Alternative Manga Discussion Thread
|
Goto page Previous Next |
| Author | Message | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Highway Star
 Posts: 227 Location: Ireland |
|
|||||
|
Woops, almost let this thread dissapear!
Anyways, did you two (Cloe and HellKorn) enjoy Memories? Anyone check out Oishinbo yet? The art looks nice, but I don't think my interest could last for long with a manga based on food, since I'm a pretty picky eater myself... I recently spotted Boilet and Peeter's Tokyo Is My Garden in a local comic shop and I'm considering picking it up, does anyone here have any experience with it? I've read some fairly varied reviews... As for my recent reading, I finished Adolf - An Exile In Japan a week or so ago. Really addictive stuff, Toge is really growing on me. I loved seeing Lamp appear as well, I didn't expect Tezuka to feature characters from his Universe in a story like this, but it worked out well. And art-wise, while less experimental than Kirihito, goddamn if it isn't some of Tezuka's best! |
||||||
|
||||||
Moomintroll
 Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
|
|||||
I'd say it's pretty good. Not essential, certainly, but you wouldn't be wasting your time. Boilet's art is a lot less polished in Tokyo Is My Garden than it is in his later works, though also less reliant on photo reference, and Jiro Taniguchi's input (he did the toning) doesn't help much. Having said that, once I got into it, it did grow on me. In terms of the writing, all the usual Boilet themes are present and correct - if you liked the poignantly personal collision of French and Japanese culture in Yukiko's Spinach, you'll like this - and Peeters' participation adds a certain amount of polish and seems to compliment Boilet's approach. Incidentally, if you're interested in comics by foreigners living in Japan, Tonoharu by Lars Martinson is supposed to be very good (though I haven't had a chance to give it a try yet myself). Preview pages here. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Cloe
Moderator
 Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
|
|||||
I'm about 2/3 of the way through my copy. I'm trying to read it slowly and savor it. It's really great so far. I admire Otomo's ability to create and establish a distinct universe in a matter of just a few comic pages. I think my favorite short story so far has been "Hair," just because of its offbeat premise and 70s pop culture references. I think I'm going to check out Yukiko's Spinach when I'm finished with this, and then move on to Mariko Parade if I like that.
The entire Adolf series is so amazing. It was the first Tezuka manga I read from start to finish (and another one of those once-in-a-lifetime finds; I found all five manga volumes together at discount at a local comic book store when I lived in Minneapolis) and still one of the best manga I've ever read. It's one of those books I tend to lend out to my Western comics-enthusiast friends, who enjoyed Maus but are dubious about manga, as an easy introduction to the medium. Interestingly enough, I tend to use Otomo's film version of Memories for the same purpose, but for anime. 
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Highway Star
Posts: 227 Location: Ireland |
|
|||||
Thanks, I think I'll buy it next time I'm in town (it is fairly cheap, anyways)
I liked the preview pages, I'll certainly look out for this! |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Highway Star
Posts: 227 Location: Ireland |
|
|||||
Hahah, I got a slight gist of the story through the Spanish version, certainly seemed like a bizzare story. Otomo himself is a big fan of American rock bands like Deep Purple and Rolling Stones, not suprised he included those references. By the way, what is the translation job like?
Let me know how you get on with those, if I find myself enjoying Tokyo Is My Garden, I'll more than likely pick up those two.
Wow, you found alll five in one go? Damn that's lucky. On a related note, I wasn't aware that Adolf was reprinted in 2001... I wonder what prompted Viz to release a series that barely gained any attention whatsoever on its first run. Memories is an amazing anthology, Magnetic Rose is one of the greatest pieces of animation I've ever watched. Its the kind of film I find myself loving even more everytime I watch it. Cannon Fodder is a personal favourite as well, though some seem not to like it simply because the story is open-ended. I don't suppose you've bought the Memory of Memories artbook, have you? |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Cloe
Moderator
Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
|
|||||
It's one of those books I'm always on the look-out for, but haven't been lucky enough to find a copy of yet. Magnetic Rose is definitely one of my favorite pieces of animation (the first piece I ever saw by my beloved Koji Morimoto, not counting the Sharon Apple concert in Macross Plus) and my favorite segment of Memories. Cannon Fodder, though, strikes me as the most thoughtful and technically intricate piece in the anthology, so I tend to think of it as the objectively "best" piece in the film, while Magnetic Rose is my subjective favorite. When I was in college I took a cyberpunk analysis class and on the last day the students were invited to bring their favorite examples of cyberpunk cinema. I showed Magnetic Rose (kind of stretching the definition of "cyberpunk," I know, but I figure the inclusion of an insane, sentient computer was enough to qualify it... and it's so good!) and the entire class collectively gasped with horror when spoiler[Emily fell off the roof and hit the ground with that sickening squishy "thud" sound]. God, it's so good. I was a little bit disappointed with the short comic version of "Memories" because the anime version is so emotionally jarring in comparison. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
HellKorn
Posts: 1669 Location: Columbus, OH |
|
|||||
It's in my backlog, along with a few other manga and comic titles. Flipping through it is interesting, though; the stories are less grand in presentation compared to Domu and Akira, it seems. I'll have review for both Memories and Yokoyama's Travel on Andrew Cunningham's blog (see website link in profile) in the upcoming weeks. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Moomintroll
Posts: 1600 Location: Nottingham (UK) |
|
|||||
|
Interesting stuff due out in the next couple of months:
The Times Of Botchan Vol. 4 should be out any time now (Amazon.co.uk's listing it as "shipping in 1-3 weeks"). Kan Takahama's Awabi is due to be released on the 26th of March.(*) The first volumes of both Pluto and 20th Century Boys are due out on the 17th of this month. --- *: Talking of Kan Takahama, I've been making my way through various back issues of Fantagraphics' gargantuan Comics Journal Specials and volume 5 (Winter 2005), which is still readily available, features a lovely Takahama short story. It's only three pages long but those pages are 12" square and full-colour. And if that isn't enough to tempt those of you who haven't already read it, it also has a Hideshi Hino cover, interview and review and articles on Suehiro Maruo, Saseo Ono, Osamu Tezuka and Yoshihiro Tsuge (as well as a couple of hundred pages of non-Japanese comics and commentary). |
||||||
|
||||||
Generic #757858
 Posts: 1354 |
|
|||||
|
Thanks for this thread, found a lot of interesting titles to read while waiting for my current ongoing series to continue.
How are these two? The art looked good, but do the stories hold up? Not too long I hope? |
||||||
|
||||||
|
flawful
Posts: 21 |
|
|||||
If you have ever read or watched Monster you probably know what to expect. They're both very suspenseful and pretty well written. Pluto takes the serious dramatic tone of Monster and adds it to Astro Boy and it works out surprisingly well. Pluto seems like it will end at 8 or 9 volumes. 20th Century Boys is 22 volumes and 21st Century Boys is another 2. As far as long manga go 20th Century Boys is among the best out there, so I'd suggest giving it a chance. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Cloe
Moderator
Posts: 2728 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
|
|||||
Woah, that blog is awesome! The ABe take on moe had me laughing my ass off. |
||||||
|
||||||
|
Generic #757858
Posts: 1354 |
|
|||||
I could never get into Monster actually, mainly because surgery makes me kinda queasy (even Black Jack was pretty bad). Might have to give it another chance someday. Pluto and 20th Century Boys sound pretty good though, I'm at least gonna check out the first volumes. Length is okay too, one Berserk is enough for me
|
||||||
|
||||||
Not a Jellyfish
 Posts: 539 Location: Boston, MA |
|
|||||
|
Ah, I'm so behind in this thread! I have a lot of catch-up I need to do! But I just wanted to let you guys know that Taniguchi's Quest for the Missing Girl is indeed available stateside. I ordered it and the Ice Wanderer (finally available!) from my B&N the other day! Just waiting for them in the mail, now!
|
||||||
|
||||||
|
Generic #757858
Posts: 1354 |
|
|||||
|
What's the current status of Black Jack? I know Viz dropped it years ago, but I seem to remember there being some talk about relincensing. I have the old Viz volumes, but since there are only two of them and they are left-to-right I wouldn't mind starting again from the beginning.
|
||||||
|
||||||
CorrosiveMeso
 Posts: 58 |
|
|||||
|
Black Jack? Vertical licensed it and have released the first three volumes, out of 17. They've done an awesome job, too.
A Drifting Life looks amazing; I can't wait. Has anyone here read Monster Men Bureiko Lullaby? I wouldn't mind discussing it, because I think the third story traumatized me. |
||||||
|
||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group