Forum - View topicREVIEW: The Heart of Thomas GN
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neocloud9
 Posts: 1178 Location: Atlanta, GA |
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I read this omnibus in a single, 3-hour sitting and it felt like I'd run a marathon once I'd finished - beautiful!
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sepherest
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I was kind of bummed out that the extra story about Oskar and Erich that takes place post-HoT wasn't included, but I wasn't sure if it was included with the manga volumes in Japan or if it was separate entirely.
Also the omnibus is still available on Amazon for around half-price, it's been like that for a while so I can't imagine anyone paying the full $40 unless there's no way for them to buy it online. It's absolutely worth picking up for either amount though. 
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zawa113
 Posts: 7357 |
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Hey, I marathon read it too! I wasn't paying attention to the clock, but I'd wager it was around 3 hours. I simply didn't want to put the book down, even, as the review points out, if I wasn't 100% sure where it was going. But as for the ending, I was like spoiler[a convent? seriously? wtf?] so that didn't make me happy. Other than that, I thought it was satisfying. But I still think that A Drunken Dream was better. Not every story in there necessarily, but Hanshin/Half-God is nothing short of a 20 page masterpiece. It's a bit cheaper, so people who might still be wary should go for that first. Moto Hagio is just awesome either way, they're both worth owning. |
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st_owly
 Posts: 5234 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland |
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There is a copy of this in my local comic shop and it is a thing of beauty. One day, it wil be mine.
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neocloud9
Posts: 1178 Location: Atlanta, GA |
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I would love to hear about this! |
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musouka
Posts: 707 |
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I'm assuming they're talking about the short originally included in Hagio Moto's artbook, "Strawberry Fields". It's less a comic and more text with accompanying pictures. I don't think it's really fair to expect it to be included in the English release, considering it was out of print in Japan for ages and was only recently included in the Hagio Moto Perfect Selection edition of "Heart of Thomas"--and even then in a small supplemental booklet outside the two bound volumes for HoT. |
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Keichitsu0305
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Bought my copy two days ago at my local comic book store and I'm planning to "marathon" it this weekend.
I read the excerpt in the back by Matt Thorn, honestly, he's probably one of the most prolific English translators still working. The research he did on how Haigo "got into BL" after Keiko Takemiya took her to see a French film, the fact her publisher gave her free range for her story, etc. That, plus the lovely hardback and colored pages, were worth paying full price. I figured the omnibus was going to be big since it's in hardback but WOW! It's almost as thick as Yoshihiro Tatsumi's Drifting Life! And that's 840 pages in paperback. |
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PinkChardam
 Posts: 7 Location: Canada |
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I haven't read this one yet but I have read the authors other work Zankokuna Kami ga Shihai suru which I have to finish catching up in. If it's anything like that one then I know I'm it for a good ride.
Since this got licensed any chance Zankokuna will come over anytime soon? Doesn't seem really likely to me from what I read though (material it deals with seeming to be the biggest issue).
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emmapeel
Posts: 15 |
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No matter what people end up paying for the book, it's a shame about the typos in what is supposed to be a significant work available in english for the first time. Besides the ones mentioned in the review, "altar" is misspelled "alter" at one point, "Juli" is used instead of "Thomas" in a panel on p. 507, and on and on.
Also I wonder about the phrase "le bebe," often used as an endearment in referring to Erich. That's fine when people are talking *about* him, but I would think it should be "mon bebe" when people are talking *to* him. (p. 332, p. 410) Eh, my french is not great so I could be wrong. Worse than the typos is that there are omissions in the text on one page, which Matt Thorn has blogged about here: http://matt-thorn.com/wordpress/?p=609. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
 Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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It's a shame, but going on and on about the typos as though a handful of mistakes in hundreds and hundreds of pages is the most significant and therefore most important thing to talk about in regard to this work does it a massive disservice and will only hurt sales, which means you won't get more stuff like this in the future. I understand the internet's need to point out the flaws in literally everything, but focusing on them so much tends to create a narrative that ultimately winds up being really unfair and can threaten the future of publishers taking risks on huge projects like Heart of Thomas. Copyediting is something that is done by human beings, not robots, and mistakes get made (especially since the publishing world now regularly employs maybe 2 people to do the copy and content editing work of what was previously maybe 6 or 7). It's important to be understanding. Unless those few typos really ruin the work for you, is it worth slamming the entire book over and over? Answer: no it isn't. But you can make up your own mind about that, I guess. |
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sepherest
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Basically it's a short story with illustrations that's narrated by Erich.spoiler[ It's about the relationship he develops with Marie's fiancee a bit after HoT, and it also includes Oskar visiting the two at their house. I had a feeling it wasn't going to be in the english release because it was never brought up by Matt, but I liked it because it gives a really nice conclusion to the whole story with Erich, Marie and Szyd. Plus Oskar was my favorite character in HoT and having him still being around and keeping an eye on Erich was really touching. I really wish there were more characters like him.] |
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neocloud9
Posts: 1178 Location: Atlanta, GA |
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Neat, thanks for the info! Yeah, I really enjoyed the way each of the main three characters' story arcs were wrapped up with such optimism - I was expecting more of a downer ending, so it was a pleasant surprise. |
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emmapeel
Posts: 15 |
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I don't think anyone's slamming the entire book over and over here, I just think it's a shame, and evidently so does the translator. And really, these things are a huge distraction for a lot of people and do diminish the experience. I understand that times are challenging, but publishers should be aware that these little things can add up, and look into alternatives if they're getting rid of copy editors. This would be the perfect application of some kind of crowd sourcing imo, because yes, the internet does love to point out errors. |
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor
Posts: 7912 Location: Anime News Network Technodrome |
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Matt Thorn is apologizing to folks like you. I know where he's coming from - I feel pretty bad whenever I miss a typo, and I edit many thousands of words of text every day. The book is an achievement regardless of a small handful of mistakes, but anyone who takes pride in their work boots themselves in the rear when they make mistakes. Thorn is a pro, and deserves your respect and empathy, not your scorn or thinly-veiled suggestions about how these things could be prevented if only you'd been paid to work on the book. Crowd sourcing copyediting would be like herding cats and you'd be asking your already overworked editors to deal with entitled, overconfident amateurs trying to content edit when they've just been asked to copyedit and worse, likely trying to take your job or prove you as horribly incompetent every time you make even the smallest mistake. I wouldn't wish that scenario on my worst enemy. |
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Surrender Artist
 Posts: 3264 Location: Pennsylvania, USA |
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I really want to read this; it seems like an emotionally rich and moving story. I found that I more and more appreciate unabashedly, but sincerely emotional works. Its historical significance certainly adds interest. I imagine that my desire will be amplified by reading my recently obtained copy of A Drunken Dream and Other Stories.
I don't think that the errors come anywhere near crippling the book, but since I've already tapped my entertainment budget for the present quarter out and can generally afford to way, I think I'll wait and see if Fantagraphics release a corrected edition. If not, it's very little to deal with. |
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