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Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga: Comics Underground Japan




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Shay Guy



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 2092
PostPosted: Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:12 pm Reply with quote
Missed a closing italic on the author bio at the end.
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leafy sea dragon



Joined: 27 Oct 2009
Posts: 7163
Location: Another Kingdom
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 1:53 am Reply with quote
A few of those stories towards the end of the article sound like the sort of thing I'd expect Comedy Central to pick up for its animated programming. (To me, that's neither a good thing nor a bad thing.)

It's pretty interesting to see that even the underground comics scene has to deal with maintaining a profit too and occasionally has trouble with it. I've met many artists who have never even considered if the stuff they make will turn a paycheck. Of course, I'm sure the artists mentioned here are smarter than that.
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Cloe
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Joined: 18 Feb 2004
Posts: 2728
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 3:49 am Reply with quote
Ahhh, Comics Underground Japan. This, combined with Secret Comics Japan, was my first foray into the world of underground manga, and it's still a personal favorite. It's awesome to see it (and Garo!!) getting some well-deserved exposure here. "Planet of the Japanese" (ha! ANN's foul language filter isn't even going to let that one pass) is one of the most wildly offensive things I think I've ever read... in a good way. I don't know what you have in the pipeline, Jason, but it would be pretty amazing to see an entire column about Suehiro Maruo in the future. Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show, perhaps? His work is always fascinating and always worthy of further investigation.

I'm thankful for the comeback of underground/art manga. While I can't remember the name the last mainstream manga I picked up, there seems to be something new from Drawn & Quarterly or Ponent Mon every time I go to the comics shop. I love it!

Great work with the column; I'm really enjoying it.
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Moomintroll



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: Nottingham (UK)
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 5:08 am Reply with quote
Comics Underground Japan is pretty much number one on my wants list - I've been looking for a reasonably priced copy for years now. If it's as good as Sake Jock (or half as good as Secret Comics Japan) it will have been worth the effort when I finally get hold of it.

Jason Thompson wrote:
If you've checked out Top Shelf's Ax (and you should) and liked it, this is a book you shouldn't miss.


I don't think the Ax anthology is actually out yet. Isn't it supposed to be due in mid-July? I have it pre-ordered so I guess I'll find out when I visit my local comic shop tomorrow.

Cloe wrote:
I don't know what you have in the pipeline, Jason, but it would be pretty amazing to see an entire column about Suehiro Maruo in the future. Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show, perhaps? His work is always fascinating and always worthy of further investigation.


Seconded.
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miken



Joined: 08 Mar 2008
Posts: 52
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:04 am Reply with quote
pretty nice book. luckily i got an almost new one for a good price a couple of years ago.


here's a very interesting & touching article about nekojiru:

http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php?title=yoshiaki_yoshinaga_on_nekojiru&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php?title=yoshiaki_yoshinaga_on_nekojiru_pt_2&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1


Last edited by miken on Fri Jun 25, 2010 8:12 am; edited 1 time in total
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fuuma_monou



Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 1816
Location: Quezon City, Philippines
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:39 am Reply with quote
My local comic shop used to have a copy of Comics Underground Japan. Too bad I never bought it.
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6199
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:22 am Reply with quote
miken wrote:
pretty nice book. luckily i got an almost new one for a good price a couple of years ago.


here's a very interesting & touching article about nekojiru:

http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php?title=yoshiaki_yoshinaga_on_nekojiru&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
http://www.pelleas.net/aniTOP/index.php?title=yoshiaki_yoshinaga_on_nekojiru_pt_2&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1


wow, thanks. This has to be the most in-depth article I have ever read about Nekojiru.
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Teriyaki Terrier



Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 5689
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 5:08 pm Reply with quote
So am I the only one who noticed what that guy was doing with a dollar bill? Yeah, it's not a topic that you would talk about with your grandparents, but I imagine some people actually do that in real life.

Anyway interesting article.
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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:07 pm Reply with quote
I love hearing about stuff I've never heard of before through this column, even if I know you can't do it for everyone, every time. The great thing about this particular topic however is you can always revisit it.

Since this column started my list of manga to buy has gotten considerably larger, yet my income has grown none. Crying or Very sad

I know she's a bit more mainstream, but I'd to see something highlighting Junko Mizuno in the future, especially since she's left the main manga publishers here in America and now works with more indie comic publishers. It's a shame most of her stuff released here is now out of print.
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The Human Spider



Joined: 19 Jan 2007
Posts: 334
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 10:10 am Reply with quote
This anthology got me into Maruo and Hino, so it will always be one of my favorites
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_Emi_



Joined: 16 Feb 2008
Posts: 498
Location: Langjökull
PostPosted: Sun Jun 27, 2010 2:42 pm Reply with quote
Moomintroll wrote:
Comics Underground Japan is pretty much number one on my wants list - I've been looking for a reasonably priced copy for years now. If it's as good as Sake Jock (or half as good as Secret Comics Japan) it will have been worth the effort when I finally get hold of it.

Comparing the two, I'd give the edge to Secret Comics Japan, if only for Palepoli. It's a crime that it hasn't been released complete over here.

Quote:
I don't think the Ax anthology is actually out yet. Isn't it supposed to be due in mid-July? I have it pre-ordered so I guess I'll find out when I visit my local comic shop tomorrow.

July 15

Quote:
Cloe wrote:
I don't know what you have in the pipeline, Jason, but it would be pretty amazing to see an entire column about Suehiro Maruo in the future. Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show, perhaps? His work is always fascinating and always worthy of further investigation.


Seconded.

Thirded. I'm glad that I was able to get my hands on Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show. Speaking of Maruo reminded me to pre-order The Strange Tale of Panorama Island. I also threw in A Drunken Dream and Other Stories. A column on Moto Hagio would also be nice.
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jimpac



Joined: 10 Jun 2010
Posts: 69
Location: London, UK
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 12:58 pm Reply with quote
moomintroll wrote:
Comics Underground Japan is pretty much number one on my wants list - I've been looking for a reasonably priced copy for years now. If it's as good as Sake Jock (or half as good as Secret Comics Japan) it will have been worth the effort when I finally get hold of it.


Comics Underground Japan is worth 2 or 3 Secret Comics Japan's, IMHO. Comics Underground Japan seems to represent more of the truly underground/arty manga's than Secret Comics Japan. This may be because all of the selections were taken from Garo. Also, the fact all of the stories came from the same Japanese publication, and from a similar time period within that, means that there is a stronger feeling of cohesiveness, even though the strips do vary greatly from one to another.

I've always felt that the selection of strips in Secret Comics Japan weren't as evenly weighted, so the overall reading experience is hit and miss. Although, Mutant Hanako and Palepoli more than make up for the shortcomings of that book.



_Emi_ wrote:
Cloe wrote:
I don't know what you have in the pipeline, Jason, but it would be pretty amazing to see an entire column about Suehiro Maruo in the future. Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show, perhaps? His work is always fascinating and always worthy of further investigation.


Seconded.

Thirded. I'm glad that I was able to get my hands on Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show. Speaking of Maruo reminded me to pre-order The Strange Tale of Panorama Island.


Yeah, I wouldn't moan about a column all about Maruo. Especially, around the time when The Strange Tale of Panorama Island is released. More than that though, how about a full column on Takashi Nemoto? Confused
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Moomintroll



Joined: 08 Oct 2007
Posts: 1600
Location: Nottingham (UK)
PostPosted: Mon Jun 28, 2010 4:10 pm Reply with quote
jimpac wrote:
Comics Underground Japan is worth 2 or 3 Secret Comics Japan's, IMHO.


Thanks - I will certainly keep on looking for a copy.

Quote:
I've always felt that the selection of strips in Secret Comics Japan weren't as evenly weighted, so the overall reading experience is hit and miss.


I find that with most anthologies (and the early reviews seem to indicate that the Ax book is similar in that regard) so it's not something that bothered me too much but, yeah, a more cohesive collection certainly wouldn't be a bad thing.

Quote:
Although, Mutant Hanako and Palepoli more than make up for the shortcomings of that book.


I'm certainly with you on Palepoli. The other real stand out for me though was Swing Shell - it's maybe not the story that immediately leaps out at you but it's the one that stays with you. If anybody from Fantagraphics or Vertical is reading this, I want a Yuko Tsuno collection so much I can taste it.

Pretty please?
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