Manga of DOOM

Black Bird

2010-06-23T00:42:00.001+09:00

Don’t want to be married to a demon, huh? Or eaten by one? What to do? What to do?

Misao can see the realm of supernatural creatures and is increasingly hounded by them till an old childhood friend, Kyo, returns and keeps them at bay - she’s a magnet for demons now that she’s come of age as the chosen Bride of Prophecy.

Kyo wants to marry her, others want to eat her, but what does Misao want? She thought she loved Kyo all those years ago and has thought of him ever since. But has he returned only to get her power, or does he care for her?

Misao’s dilemma is tough as she really can’t tell what Kyo’s motives are. She’s been thrown into a world of trouble and relies on Kyo to keep other demons at bay. But does he love her? And what does her future hold now?

A very interesting concept with a good touch of humour pulls you into the story. Kyo isn’t an angel but he seems the best of what is on offer. You can see that as the series progresses how Kyo must protect Misao from various other suitors if he wishes to keep her for himself, but what are his true motives?

A very likable romantic (kind of) thriller (kind of).

First Dream of the New Year

2010-04-23T02:32:00.003+09:00

So i got my hands on Azumanga Daioh.

And it's just as charming as the later manga Yotsuba&! I just can't reccommend this author enough.

The manga is very humourous and as it goes along a little bit oddball. Which is all for the good.

It follows a group of classmates as they amble through the school terms, with each one adding their own charm to the mix.

It's hard to describe it and do it justice. At the end of the day this is very readable and as a collected volume it's a bargain.

Flash? Alive?

2010-03-26T07:07:00.004+09:00

yep i'm still kickin'

I've just been so stupidly busy i haven't had time to read anything, let alone mention it! But fear not, for the manga is gettin red once more.

Biomega
It's a dark future, yes it is, and there are zombies too. But despite the cliches, this story is very well paced and engrossing, following a special agent of sorts on a mission to locate a girl and take her into protection. Which means someone else is after her of course.
Some very high action sequences intersperse a steady paced character driven story. I'm enjoying it alot and i do like the atmospheric art. Even the action stuff, which portrays the kinetics of riding a motorbike over rooftops very well indeed.

Ultimo
Marvel dude Stan Lee teams up with Hiroyuki Take to show us a cool little manga about some crazy old guy who makes some dolls who embody good and evil and then gets them activated so they'll prove which is the strongest.
The art style is very appealing and though the premise is as old as sin as usual it's all in the telling.
#1 is out now and i can't wait for #2 to see how things progress, especially as it seems that the two original dolls are now not the only ones that have been made. It's gonna be one BIG battle.

But there's a wait for the sequels so i've started in on Pluto instead, which, though early days is proving to be a satisfying nod to Tezuka, God of Manga.

Yotsuba's at it again!

2010-01-26T03:03:00.004+09:00

What exactly she's at i couldn't say - suffice to say that i'm continuing to read the series as it's just so entertaining in a charming and uplifting slice of a kid's life kind of way.
Awesome reading as always.

I'm looking forward to getting my grubby mitts on Azumanga Daioh, by the same author. There's been looming on the UK release horizon a collected volume, but it keeps getting put back. I think i have to wait till April at the moment..! ..sigh..

Also, i've been honing a new look cartoon style for an Edath manga comic cartoon graphic novel series. It totally suits my personal drawing style better than my previous attempts and i can see this trundling along quite happily once it gets started. I guess it's a case of watch this space. Which is better than a space of watch cases. maybe.

noo fer twentyten

2010-01-12T02:58:00.004+09:00

hooz on thar reedin list?

Gunsmith Cats: Burst vol4
Good old Sonoda weaves another great plot for Rally to unravel. Lives up to the previous outings so far.
If you haven't come across this series it really is good. Think Bullet, the Usual Suspects, Heat, the Untouchables etc, and then throw in all the manga goodness you'd expect from a master of the craft. It's action, it's cunning, it's cool.

City of Spies
Graphic novel about wartime in the states and the paranoia of german spies undermining the american way of life! a good old youngsters-solve-the-crime type yarn showing a side of ww2 not usually portrayed. Very enjoyable.

other graphic novels from the First:Second range that are well worth checking out include (but are not limited to!) Three Shadows, Vampire Loves, Lost Colony, Robot Dreams and the Professor's Daughter.

AMOZING!

2009-12-19T02:11:00.005+09:00

Yotsuba&!
Such a good series, i cannot recommend this enough. Always able to bring a smile, the chapters each put Yotsuba in a mini adventure of her own. Situational humour coming from her misunderstandings or just plain enthusiasm are the rule of the day (or lack of rules..)
A MUST READ!

Advent Elfs
Okay, so this is just what i'm working on at the moment!
The Advent Elfs live at the South Pole and it was their ancient task to check the Naughty List twice and to deliver coal to the Naughty.
They also try to infuse the Xmas spirit into those they feel need it - descrooge them as it were.
You can see a few of them elfs at http://ealdcrow.deviantart.com

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmo

2009-12-01T02:44:00.002+09:00

so who's getting the manga reading treatment?

Ichiroh #2
the first installment was amusing with some quirky (and a little scary) chums. Good enough to warrant picking up the second part.
Just digested the colour intro chapter and it leaves nowt to be desired. all good stuff. Look forward to zipping on through.

Ranma
yep. still reading ranma. onto the next volume now with all hell breaking loose (the usual) with ranma's old master turning up. He's a tricksy old coot.

also got some pics of a cartoon series i want to pursure at some point. so i'll post those forthwith.

Edadh Manga Sketch #4

2009-11-19T22:07:00.003+09:00

So here's the fourth sketch for my manga set in Edadh. It's the same lass as you can see in the blog banner.

She's based on an airimal species but as she's a Vaechi she has various abilities.

This particular Vaechi can divide in to duplicates of herself so that she is one or a few or many at the same time. They are not really duplicates of her SELF but of her FORM, as her consciousness spans however many forms she has out there. The more she has the less attention she can give to each one and so she tends to limit the number of selves she divides into.

At the start of the manga as it stands at the moment she does this dividing trick to search the ruins of an old town, thus speeding up the search time.

Hope you like.

Momentous Momento

2009-11-07T03:11:00.002+09:00

November has pounced quickly and already a week into it i find i haven't read anything. No wonder i was getting withdrawal symptoms..

So what gives?

I've added a new ID to deviant art. this ID, ealdcrow, will cater to all my cartoon and manga stuff. I'll also be posting bits and pieces here as i work on them, or just to share good stuff that's been sitting around forever but only now gets to see the light of the scanner.

see you soon

Oh Mo! Oh yes!

2009-10-28T05:36:00.002+09:00

Yotsuba #2
continues the quirkyness. great fun to be had in this the second of the series. Just picked up #3 aswell so that'll be next.
Very enjoyable fun - i well recommend this excellent manga.

Ranma #6
Oh yes indeed. Enjoying this'n too.

Toxic Planet
Very quirky (seems to be my word of the moment - how quirky..) tale of a future without green, with smog and with everyone wearing gasmasks. Satirical humour in a somehow not-in-your-face in-your-face style of comic. I generally like the french comic style and this translation makes this very amusing and readable collection a great one to have. Hope it's made from recyclable stuff..

Cat Paradise

2009-10-09T23:10:00.005+09:00

Those lucky cats. Getting to live in paradise. Sunny beaches, palm trees. Oh hang on. CAT paradise. All the fish you can eat then? Balls of yarn on demand?

Yumi has just started at Matabi Academy, a school where pet cats are most definitely allowed. As she settles in and her cat does too things take a turn for the bizzare and trepidacious. Trouble, it seems, it close at hand, because this is no ordinary place. Indeed, there’s danger lurking in the form of an old, old enemy of man and catkind, and the student council is the only defence, including it’s newest and most clueless members, Yumi and Kansuke (her cat).

An eye-catching cover drew me in like a cat to moving string and the inside did not dissapoint. Lovely art filled me with the promise of a great tale and as the end of the first volume draws to a close I am left quite satisfied, yet wanting more.

Though the pairing up of human and animal sidekick (or vise versa) has been done before, I’ve only just realised it, which is a testiment to the series feeling fresh and unique amongst that genre, if it absolutely has to be classified at all.

It’s a charming tale with some curious folk, including a very spectral benefactor. The relationship between Yumi and her cat Kansuke is sweet and humorous. It’ll be interesting to see where it winds up in later volumes.

The student council members, both cat and human deserve the attention I think they’re gonna be given in later tales, both peronal lives and powers coming into the spotlight, with the first insight appearing here in vol#1.

Definitely a worthy read.

Cat Paradise by Yuji Iwahara
Volume 1 - ISBN: 9780759529236

www.yenpresss.us

oh mo dear

2009-10-03T02:23:00.002+09:00

oh dear indeed.

not only have i begun reading the afore-post-mentioned (paradox anyone?) manga but i've also just got flashplayer to work and so i find myself seeing dead people ..

Rin-ne by none other than Rumiko Takahashi
oops .. looks like i've got a new addiction to fuel.. just finished chapter One and i reckon without any surprise that this is gonna be a great read.
Now i'm sure you've probably beaten me to it, but for those that haven't, it's a great way to see Rumiko Takahashi's style.
You can find it at her English site, the Rumic World.

If you like this you'll dig Maison Ikkoku and Ranma.

At the Mo&!

2009-10-01T02:22:00.003+09:00

Yotsuba&!
got myself a volume #1 and i'm eager to dive in. This looks like a very promising series.

Mouse Guard: Winter
vying for my attentions, this is the sequel to the most excellent :Autumn (that'll be :Fall) 1152, hardcover being the only justifiable way of getting it.

Ranma #5
aaghh! they all come at once. This too is a great series. i just don't know how i'm gonna read these all simultaneously!

Who will win out? who will i read first? Tune in next week to find out the outcome of this thrilling perplexity&!

Gunnerkrigg Court

2009-09-25T01:24:00.004+09:00

Gunnerkrigg Court is a strange place. Odd, you might say, with odd things going on, but you can quickly see why Neil Gaiman touts this as his favourite webcomic.

Antimony’s new school is no ordinary place and she soon finds herself in the middle of some rather peculiar goings-on. Stuff happening. Things afoot. Robots. Shadows. Chums. And stuffed toys. Curious stirrings from the forbidden forest across the very large chasm betwixt it and the school. And other weirdness within the Court itself. It’s not all that you’d expect.

Classes are oddball, and the teachers mysterious. There seems to be something going on with the robots, but what it is, who can say? There are a whole bunch of mysteries that surround the school and Antimony Carver has found herself amidst it all. With the hint of adventure dogging your footsteps it’s really only a matter of time before the next curiosity awakes.

Nice art. Funny sometimes. Intelligently written. Worthy of your time and investment. It’s a little dark and definitely not just for kids, though the art at first glance would suggest this, with its bold colours and lines. There’s a good use of digital effects too, sometimes subtle, which enhance the already quality imagery, with one section in black and white and I can’t think how better it could have been done.

Antimony Carver has friends and seems to make them easily by simply being willing to help out. Coupled with her seeming indifferent general demeanour, it’s a curious but welcome mix because it’s artfully handled. Her friends and acquaintances complement her well with their own particular quirks. She even seems to wow over a demon who has possessed her stuffed toy.

All in all an intrepid and mysterious adventure well worthy of your time and investment. But I believe I’ve said that already.

Gunnerkrigg Court - Thomas Siddell
Vol.1 'Orientation' ISBN: 9781848561755

at the meowo

2009-09-16T03:54:00.004+09:00

Cat Paradise
heyheyheyhey! I had my eye on this one like a ball of string since i saw it on the yenpress website and now i have a copy and it doesn't suck.
Yep. I'm enjoying this alot. About half way through so far. The art is very nice and it reads fluidly and well. Somehow i knew it would be good.

Yotsuba&!
Diving in at #5 may seem a little odd, but the way the manga goes i think going back to the first volume will be a cinch. I can see myself collecting this as easily as it reads and enjoying buying it as equally as it's an entertaining read.
Cute kid bugs the neighbours, who are very accomodating. The first chapter has Yotsuba meet a cardboard robot and she totally buys in to it. Very humorous and heartwarming.

Finished Gunnerkrigg Court and enjoyed it thoroughly. Will post review here soon.

Edadh Manga: concept sketch 3

2009-09-10T05:16:00.009+09:00

Another fellow who gets to hang out with the heroine of our Edadh manga tale is our friend to the left here.

I wanted the creature to have a natural affinity with rocks and earth and to be very strong. Incredibly so. My original concept (doodled amongst the pages of my A6 notebook) was a round and robust guy with large rocky hands. But i thought that this was too obvious a show of strength.

So i thought about it and recalled that ants are capable of lifting and carrying things ten times their own body weight. Hence the insectoidian anatomy. I maintained the idea of rocky, weighty hands and feet (all interchangeable with this matey, at the very least the forearms) and so the large feet.

Thinking about it now, in lifting things, either the claws could grow out or things could be held by suction. Thinking about it further, given the creature is aethereal in origin, it doesn't actually matter as all lifting will be done 'telekinetically'.

This fellow, like the others, doesn't have a name at the moment. Well, not an Edadh name, for in truth i have nicknamed them as i go with Japanese kanji. (using a kanji that represents the basic idea of the character). It helps to give them a character focus in my mind and the nicknames have kinda stuck for me. When i come to Edadh naming them i'll have to use our languages to give them names that sound / look like the kanji, methinks.

I've done another sketch for our friend here which shows the forearms in play as arms rather than feet. I have yet to do a series of sketches showing characters from different angles, mainly because i'll go back to these concepts and revise them, possibly, when it comes to doing the actual manga.

Also i'll need to do various emotions and poses for each for reference so that i'm consistant in portraying them later no matter the circumstances they find, er, i put them in in the story.

at the real mo

2009-09-03T05:41:00.012+09:00

So what's the distraction at the moment?

Gunnerkrigg Court - Thomas Siddell
I suppose it's aimed at kids, but i'm really enjoying this doorstop of a graphic novel. It comes in chapters of varying lengths, i suppose this is the flexibility of a web comic (which i understand it was originally - this volume is my first introduction to it)
It's got a sense of humour i can appreciate, along with a mix of players who i suppose are left to us to determine if they're good or bad, or somewhere inbetween.
Yeah. I highly recommend it. So does Neil Gaiman actually and as his stuff is really quite good too that's high praise indeed.

And that's about it really, aside from the third installment of Abercrombie's First Law trilogy - which is excellent - but that's a novel so it doesn't count really.

I'm just learning photoshop, so hopefully it really shouldn't be too long before some really lovely colour manga experiments (successful only of course) appears here.

Northlanders: Sven Returned

2009-08-29T05:25:00.004+09:00

Cover art can be so important and sometimes it can be misleading. I’m of the opionion that cover art should reflect the style of art within the comic / graphic novel itself, in some way. I’ve picked up a comic on the cover alone only to put it straight back down again on seeing the inside pages.

Not this time.

A world-wise warrior returns to his homeland, but for what reason? Is it revenge? Or to claim his birthright? Does he care about these things at all? One thing is for sure, his return bodes for change for his old life, and ushers in a new.

While the tale follows some regular themes, it’s well told and grounded. It portrays a harsh life for those of the north, to which Sven returns. His enemy, his uncle who has taken rulership of the clan as his own and abused this power, is a regular bad guy ruling by fear and intimidation.

Sven is no white knight however, with a sketchy past and an uncertain future and certainly morally challenged. However, there is a noble streak in him and this comes to the fore during the tale.

The story is well written and the art is very nice (in a gritty sort of way), helping set the atmosphere of the grim north in the hardy linework and the subdued colour. It’s a swords without the sorcery take on the viking way of life which is so common at the moment, but it is handled with style. The Bernard Cornwell of comics if you will.

I do look forward to the second volume, though I’m guessing that it’s a standalone story with different characters, as this first book rounds off rather well. Here’s hoping it’s the same creative team aswell..

Northlanders: Sven Returned
ISBN:9781845769925

Edadh Manga: concept sketch #2

2009-08-24T04:09:00.006+09:00

Continuing the concept sketchwork for my manga set in the fantasy world of Edadh - this little guy is one of our heroine's pals. He's a Clanspirit of the Cerchae culture and yes, he has grass for hair.

The width of the hairleaves shows he's a smallish fae, but what i want to know is, how long does it take him to get his hair into and through his hat so it pokes out the tops?

You may notice the hat variant, with three tall bits (showing off my vast knowledge of hat terminology there) instead of the usual one (see 'Edadh Manga: 1st concept sketch' post for a comparison).

The jacket and gloves are basically littler versions of normal Cerchae dress, with only a touch variation, being the holes..er ventilation. Designer holes you see, not wear and tear.

He does have no legs in this illu though, just roots / stems. This is typical of Edadh wildspirits. I may endow him with the ability to have legs at whim. Or not. We'll see. Makes him kinds interesting to be legless i think.

My 'ashpyne' avatar has a colour version of a Cerchae clanspirit. For a fuller picture hit my 'dreamcrows' website. link left

Mouse Guard: Autumn 1152

2009-08-17T04:37:00.010+09:00

I came upon this unexpectedly one day, just happening upon it amongst a pile of other books, some vague recollection of having ordered it in in the first place rearing it’s mousy head.

There’s a traitor in the midst of the Mouse Guard and a handful of companions must find out who, and what that means. As the plot unfolds, it soon becomes clear that the consequences could be dire indeed…

The first thing that strikes you about Mouse Guard is the amazing artwork. The combined forces of the inked linework and the traditional-looking colours lend the book a quietly brooding atmosphere, infused with the colours of autumn. The pace of the story is easy, giving each scene the time that it needs to breath.

To say it’s basically about mice with swords wouldn’t do it justice (though it sounds pretty cool), because there’s a fully realised world behind all that, with so much more to the mice way of life and the Mouse Guard themselves that it’s more a story about comradery in the face of danger - the dangers faced by the companions who comprise the heroes of the tale to the greater dangers faced by the entirety of mousedom.

It’s a tale with honour and heroism faced against dark deeds, but it’s down to earth aswell and it’s easy to care what happens to the mice.

The characters feel real and well rounded. The world also, with different mice exercising their different opinions on how to face the threats they all .. um ..face.

This has become a fond favourite and I can’t wait for the next installment. In the meantime I’ll have to content myself with the wealth of information about the world contained in the Mouse Guard RPG.

-
Enemies the Mouse Guard should never have to face:
a cat (yawn! boring!)
an elephant (it would only squeel and run away or try to avoid the mouse by balancing on a ball)
cthulu (actually, they should definitely have to face him/it)
an arch-fiend who's stealing all the cheese

in the States, i understand this is subtitled Fall 1152. i love the word autumn, but i think they could have got away with keeping the american title, being the original. doesn't really matter either way really, just one of those random thoughts you get.

Mouse Guard: Autumn 1152 by David Petersen
ISBN: 9781845766603
Mouse Guard RPG by Luke Crane and David Petersen
ISBN: 9781848561748

so far the RPG is a very interesting read, the world getting more detail with some gorgeous artwork from the MouseGuard creator himself (petersen) complementing the text info. But that's what's great about RPGs, is the worlds.

2009-08-17T04:37:00.001+09:00

Edadh Manga: 1st concept sketch

2009-08-09T03:55:00.010+09:00

Well, it's been a long while, too long a while really, since i said i'd be posting stuff to do with my Edadh Manga. That's because i haven't had the time, what with the first expansion of War for Edadh being due. he says. making excuses.

I have a few rough pages for the intro story, which may get shifted till later on so i can establish some of the characters better. or maybe not. who knows?

What i have done is a proper concept sketch, rather than the little quick pen sketches in my A6 notebook, of the main character. She doesn't have a confirmed name yet, though i'm mulling a few over.

We're big fans of the big, three and four-pointed hats of the Cerchae culture and thus she had to have one. Being someone who enjoys travelling the wild places of the worlds, she adorns her hat with grasses, feathers etc, whatever catches her eye that she thinks will go there well.

Her general attire is common Cerchae clothing, with adornments defining her as an individual, not all obvious. She likes her individuality, but isn't a loner though her profession forces that lifestyle on her alot. As will become obvious from the beginning of the manga, she has companions - just not of her species ..

Anyway, i hope you like the sketch as more will follow in the coming weeks.

mo way mo how

2009-08-05T05:48:00.004+09:00

Well i've finished Abercrombie's second book of what i believe to be a trilogy and it was well worth it. Some unexpected things happen to the various folks therein, but not in an annoying way. no way no how.

so what have i been doing with all this spare time i now have on my hands? (I wish)

Welcome to Wakaba-soh - Chaco Abeno
A good bunch of characters in this slightly kooky manga make this an enjoyable read, getting better as it goes along. And it's all about the characters, cos if you don't identify then it ain't worth the haul. The art is good, very nice linework throughout with a gorgeous colour intro. So far so good.

Mouse Guard: Autumn 1152 - David Petersen
okay, so i've read this before, the first time being some years ago. But given the impending release of the next volume i feel compelled to return to savour it's awesomity. The ink and colour work lend a great atmosphere to the book, taking it out of the realms of cartoonishness that might have been, given it's basically about mice running around with swords. Instead we have a dark and brooding tale of high adventure, hardship and bravery in the face of mounting odds. More later.

moo

2009-07-31T05:41:00.003+09:00

Joe Abercrombie continues apace - i got sucked into the sequel - along with finishing up on the expansion cards for War forEdadh, which is why this has been a one-post month.

So what Manga this month?

Hayate the Combat Butler
Just started this one, about half way through the first volume. It's abit strange, in a zany sense, which is good. Anything that can get me to laugh out loud occaisionally has to have merits. It's outrageous but plays the characters off of each other pretty well. Have to see how it progresses.

the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya #3
Nice follow-on from the first two volumes (which comprise the first arc of the story really, and match up to the first novel). I have the second novel to read, but wanted to read the manga first as they cover the same ground. I beleive novel2 has manga4's story in it, so will i read novel2 now or wait till manga4 comes out and read that one first? If i choose incorrectly, will Haruhi become displeased and conjure up a closed space with rampaging giants included?

and representing the western comics we have ..
Superman - Kryptonite
Don't usually read Superman, which might be considered odd given i was a big fan of the films in 80's even to the extent of collecting the bubblegum cards. This was a treat however, throwing a variant into the mix i haven't seen before, being the way in which the Kryptonite plays a part. Well worth a look see.

mo the at

2009-07-10T02:13:00.004+09:00

so apart from that fantasy book (which is proving excellent (Joe Abercrombie's 'the Blade Itself') and i thoroughly recommend it to anyone who likes great characters) what manga has drifted into my mitts and gotten read?

Higurashi When they Cry: Cotton Drifting Arc - Ryukishi07 / Yutori Houjyou
Having read the first arc, being the 'Abducted by Demons' arc, i didn't know what to expect. This isn't a follow-on story, it's a follow-along-side one. The tale continues to revolve around Keiichi, the new guy in town (well, in village), but we see more of Mion, a girl at his new school. I'm guessing that future arcs will show us more of Keiichi's other friends, and perhaps others in the village? It's good.

Ranma 1/2 - Rumiko Takahashi
Ahh. the series continues. This time Ranma has come a bit of a cropper (from his point of view). He's stuck as a girl and must face the g'ma who fixed him that way to get the 'cure'. Amusing as usual.

momentarily

2009-06-25T03:57:00.006+09:00

Well, i'm reading some fantasy fiction at the moment, so my window of manga-reading opportunity is a little smaller than previously. Still, here's a couple worth a mention.

Ichiroh! - Mikage
College exam flunkette Nanako Konishi enrols in cram school and takes her friends and family with her, knowingly, unwittingly, and unfortunately. There's some truly odd folk in this manga, and by odd i mean deranged and creepy - to humourous effect thankfully. But you sympathise with our heroine's position when all is said and done.
I'm enjoying this thouroughly.

Nabari No Ou - Yuhki Kamatani
The main character attempts to not deal with the life changing changes that affect him by being as indifferent about it as possible. When these changes involve the ability to control the natural forces around him he has quite a challenge ahead. The supporting characters are good foils to this nonchalence. Good fun so far.

Suzunari

2009-06-19T06:45:00.004+09:00

Sissterrrr… twinn sisssterrrr…! Obi Wan was wise to keep her from me, but now she’s suddenly a part of your family, where there was but an only-child before, and no-one bats an eyelid. Don’t you think that’s a little odd?

Kaede wakes up one morning to find she has a sister!. A twin sister with cat ears and a very affectionate nature. Suzu joins Kaede at school and the fun begins aplenty. When Suzu’s not sleeping in class that is, which is most of the time..

This is a very cute story about two girls, (physically almost identical bar key bits, mentally almost opposites), who have a very curious relationship. As the story unfolds throughout various goings-on, we learn how they tick and what drives them as well as how Suzu came to suddenly be a part of Kaede’s life.

Kaede is a serious girl who gets on with her studying in an organised and timely fashion. When Suzu arrives, Kaede takes responsibility for her and is for all intents and purposes the older sister. Though they’re twins, apparently.

Suzu is Kaede’s opposite. She’s all over the place, enthusiatically curious and insatiably energetic. And she luuuuvs her sister. While Kaede isn’t the touchy feely type, Suzu is most definitely the grabby huggy kind.

The manga spans over two volumes, which isn’t enough, in that the story is so cool to read you just want more. But it is neat, and ends tidily. It would be great to see more from these crazy characters, though how one would maintain the depth of the first two volumes I’m not sure. – a depth that came from their hidden apsects and their friction, as well as their uncertain future.

Suzunari is another four-panel style manga, with various themed chapters per volume. I do like this format alot. It makes for a nice difference in reading style, as each four-panel is a self contained quip or event, but relates to others of the chapter.

Of course, the art is gorgeous aswell, with a clean style that fits the story’s tone.

I feel like I should be saying much more about Suzunari, but can’t think what that could be right now…

So, you wake up to find you have a twin with animal-likenesses. But what animal? And what would it mean?

Kitten – this is Suzu. She sleeps during class but can catch a flying piece of chalk in her sleep.
Puppy – everyone’s a pack member! Even your worst enemies!
Rabbit - (but not killer rabbit. That’d make for a horror-suzunari manga. if cute and funny)
Hamster – tends to horde food in her cheeks. Sleeps A LOT. Likes wheels
Budgie – escapes out the window

Suzunari
story and art - shoko iwami
vol#1
vol#2

http://www.yenpress.us/

at the momomo

2009-06-12T06:18:00.005+09:00

well, contrary to the title i'm not reading Sumomomo Momomo as i'm waiting for the next installment (vol#2). Still, I am reading:

the History of the West Wing - Sun Jiayu, Guo Guo
An astounding front cover drew me to this one, and the art is full colour through-out too and gorgeous. It's a love story from an old Chinese play 'Xixiang Ji'.
It reads very smoothly and well, the way in which it is told bringing to life a story as old as, well, a very old thing. Well worth the time.

Jack Frost: the Amityville - JinHo Ko
Very bloodthirsty beginning. It appeared in the YenPlus magazine and i wanted to try it out since then, and now i can for it's out to buy right now!
I don't want to give away the few-pages-in event, but it is funny! and gory. Interesting point of view form the point of view of the protagonist (the new girl in school - you'll see what i mean:) It seems to continue on in the bloodthirsty vein too, and the funny vein while it's at it. I'm looking forward to reading the rest now...

at the momento

2009-06-04T02:58:00.004+09:00

Suzunari by Shoko Iwami
I'm on the second volume - which is the last!! How wrong is that!?!
Cute story with cute art in the dropdown-fourpanel-style layout (you can tell i'm ever so knowledgable of all the technical terms). Some colour introduces the volume but i kind of prefer the black and white .. cos i'm weeird? Basically a cat makes a wish and suddenly is the younger 'twin' sister of Kaede - naturally accepted into the household by their parents with perhaps only a slight flicker of an eyelid.
Very amusing manga and savouring each moment of it's too short run.

Nightmares and Fairytales by Serena Valentina and Camilla A'Erica
The fourth part of this series (i'm missing #3 :(
The artwork continues to express the overall tone well, which is comicly dark and twisted but endearing also. Unifying the stories is Annabelle, a doll with sentience who is filled with love and sorrow for her owners, some who have died most horribly. and come back again afterwards!

Bamboo Blade by Masahiro Totsuka and Aguri Igarashi
Kendo master Kojiro must put together a team to defeat an old rival. After all, a year's supply of meals in at stake!
Very entertaining read so far, i can see it developing well.

Sumomomo Momomo

2009-05-24T05:37:00.007+09:00

When 'The Strongest Bride on Earth' comes a-knocking, just how exactly do you turn her down?

Only daughter of a martial-arts bloodline, Momoko must ensure the continued strength of the clan by having a child born of a union with the strongest of males and she's totally up for it!

Koushi is the lucky chap, but he wants to pursue a life in law, having left behind his martial training years ago. He's not so keen on the idea and Momoko has her work cut out for her. Especially as other clans aren't so keen either..

The manga jumps straight into it and if you didn't know anything at all about the plot, the first two pages pretty much reveal the crux of it.

Momoko is an eager student and will do what she must to preserve the bloodline. She's tenacious like a tick but she has her own charm which comes from her honesty and faith. Koushi has a problem with violence, however, and is pursuing his own course in his studies. He's getting pushed around at the start of the manga and Momoko's entrance into his life stirs things up tremendously.

It's surprising, given the two-page intro, that the main event that the two find themselves in spreads over quite a few pages. Not that you notice the number of pages, i just happened to be flicking back through and saw that the final duel of the volume was practically the second half of the book!

I'm not really an 'action' manga fan as i generally have trouble making out what's going on in the action panels, so it's nice to have alot of character showing through and the page length pays off in this regard.

It's a little zany at times, but it fits with the tone and all in all is very enjoyable.

i saw seashells sitting on the seashore

red lorry yellow lorry

the rain in spain..oh sorry, that's just a rhyming thing

anyone think of any?

Sumomomo Momomo

story and art- Shinobu Ohtaka

volume #1 ISBN:9780759530041

http://www.yenpress.us/

at the mo

2009-05-18T02:50:00.004+09:00

Ranma 1/2
Vol #3
I'm through #2 and onto 3. There's been enemies made and, well, enemies made. Duels galore seem to fill the pages with love triangles, quadrangles and pendrangles thrown in for good measure.
I'm fiding myself laughing a fair bit and enjoying the series thoroughly. It's crazy stuff.

Sumomomo Momomo
Vol#1
Also good for laughs with an enjoyable story. It was the title that got me interested in this one, and i spent a good while making sure i got the right number of 'mo's' in the right place. Apparantly, the title does come from a tongue twister.

the Walking Dead
Vol#2
Reading this one over pitas. Generally i finish the pita first, then read. Sometimes i get a cup of tea. Perhaps with a biscuit.
It's a zombie comic, if you could believe it. Mainly it's about the folk thrown into the soup - the survivors. And how they die. And live. I'm only on vol2 but i like the style so far. I don't generally do 'horror', but i needed something new to read one lunch and it was to hand. I expect i'll read more till i run out of volumes or lunches.

Bone

2009-05-12T06:13:00.006+09:00

A 1342 page tome might put you off, but don't let it! (This is about equivalent to 6 and a bit volumes of manga, except Bone's page size is slightly larger.)

Three cousins - the Bones - find themselves in a distant valley, and strange a place it is. Winter falls fast and their plans to return to Boneville get shelved. As the Rat Creatures begin to tresspass in the valley, so the plot thickens till it is clear that something big is brewing, and The Bones are right in the middle of it!

Of the three cousins, Fone Bone gets the most screen time thanks to his relationship to Thorn, a human girl whose life turns interesting to say the least. I got into the series not knowing how or where it was going, which is why i don't want to say too much about the story. (suckered in by the unique art style)

In the early chapters we learn the nature of the Bones - Fone Bone, easy going, the most sensible and considerate; Smiley Bone, carefree, smoker, happy to follow another's lead whatever the scheme; and Phoncible Bone, or Phoney Bone, materialistic, shark, scammer. These characteristics push the plot aside and along naturally and the story never seems forced or detached in any way from the players.

There's humour to be had from the pages as well as more serious depth, grounded in things that happen that, although out of this world, one can relate to. Jeff Smith is a fine storyteller.

This is one of those graphic novels that makes insomnia worthwhile.

Should i try to sleep? or should i get up and do something. But what? I'm too tired to read. If i put on the TV i won't be able to hear it (can't go waking everyone else up). I'll just lie here awhile and try not to think too much..AAGGHHH what a waste of an hour! i should get up and do something. Hey! There's that graphic novel / manga / comic i've had stacked in a pile for a month, er, a few months. Out of all the books i haven't read yet, i'm actually in the mood to read it! (but not the other ones). but if i read it, i have to try not to finish it. make it last a few days. just read it till i feel drowsy and can go back to sleep...AAAGGHHH i feel tired now but there's only 45 minutes till i have to get up! if only the book wasn't so good i wouldn't have had to read just one more chapter. no point trying to sleep now, i'll just read that book somemore..

Bone
story and art - Jeff Smith

ISBN: 9781888963144

also at the mo

2009-05-03T06:13:00.004+09:00

Forgot to mention:

Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi
About half way through the first volume and it's classic Takahashi. I really enjoyed Maision Ikkoku and so took a risk with this series without too much trepidation and it's great already!

Very interesting situation which i'd forgotten about by the time i got around to actually reading it, so it was as surpriseing for me as it was for Ranma's betrothed.

Also it has a panda skilled in martial arts, which is a bonus

NightSchool - the Weirn Books by Svetlana Chmakova
Really nice artwork and an enjoyable story. I'm only really at the beginning of the first book, but i am reading it 'at the mo' so it gets a mention.

I like the beings that accompany various individuals, spirit-like and wispy, and floaty.

How is it that i'm reading four books at once? It just depends on what and when i'm doing. Different books for different times. For instance, in addition, i've been reading the 'a Lion called Christian' book on the days i get the train. It was my train book (brilliant and touching account. I had to read it after seeing the youtube 're-union' video.)

at the mo

2009-05-01T05:47:00.003+09:00

hey there once again, dear readers

very busy at the mo, so i thought i'd briefly mention what i'm reading at the moment

Bone by Jeff Smith
Got the collected tome ages ago and have just recently picked it up to work my way through it. Secondary insomnia helps as i actually get to read it.

It really has it's own style of art, which is what caght my eye in the first place. Having bought the first two stand-alone trade paperbacks i'd already taken the risk and knew the giant colected volume would be worth it. And it is.

It's got humour as well as genuine feeling and systematically unfolds a plot revolving around the protagonists that builds and builds. I'm about half way through - but i recommend it thoroughly.

Rosario+Vampire by Akihisa Ikeda
Reading this on the odd lunch break (when i'm not developing my comics). A human in a monster school where hmans may not go. So a tricky situation to begin with as he has to keep his true identity secret. He gathers friends along the way, the first being the titular heroine, who's secret monster identity is that of a vampire - the most powerful of monsters, apparantly.

Nice artwork with expressive characters and a good mix of story drama and action. Very enjoyable read. Just finished vol3.

Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro

2009-04-20T02:02:00.007+09:00

Easily one of my favourite mangas for a number of reasons ..

A curious and charming story about a mysterious traveller, often mistaken in identity by those she meets or passes on her way to where, might we wonder? Why does Kuro carry a coffin? Who are her companions?
Many mysteries happily plague this adventure of small tales within a large tale of Kuro's attempt to thwart the fate she has been given unwillingly. And so she wanders, in search of resolution to her strange affliction, crossing paths with all sorts of characters along the way.

The reasons it's great? It's beautiful, it's funny, it's heartfelt, it's charming. It's perilous, ponderous, smileous and gorgeous. There are lots of words that describe it and more that you could invent.

Absolutely stunning artwork illuminates Satoko Kiyuduki's amazing manga, and this is what attracted me to the book in the first place. The author is very talented, enviously so, and it soon becomes apparant that that talent resides in the writing arts also.

The panel layouts threw me at the start, in that they are basically read vertically. Basically, with some exceptions. But it works, and it adds to the charm. Sunshine Sketch reads this way too, except Kuro is a little more flexible about it. Once you get used to that format it flows naturally without you thinking about it, just as reading from right to left falls into place quickly. This was quicker even, and the volume as a whole also follows the right to left format.

The character of Kuro is accompanied by a wise-talking bat, Sen, who comes in many parts, ie there are alot of bats who are all him, as i understand it. He's a great travelling companion and comes in handy, or is that wingy?

The new two who Kuro picks up along the way are adventurous twins, Nijuku and Sanju, once of an experiment by an old inventor type we get to hear about but never see (he abandoned the twins, you see, but they still wait for him). They have abilities as yet not fully revealed, i feel. They're uber cute and often my laugh-out-loud moments have these two at their centre.

You really get to care what happens to these companions, and also the supporting characters they meet on the way; it tells of truly great storytelling to make one care about fleeting folk and bit-part fellows.

I'm eagerly anticipating future volumes. So far there are but the two in the UK. I hope this series goes on for a long time.

You find yourself abandoned by your keeper, for whom you have loyalty. What should you do?

Wait for him to return, despite the growing number of days he hasn't yet done so?
Head off into the world you've never seen in search of him?
Tag along with a mysterious traveller who's been mistaken for a vampire and a boy (not so serious but tiresome i guess), who carries a coffin and is accompanied by a snarky bat?
none of the above, but something else?

Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro
story and art - Satoko Kiyuduki

Kuro #1 ISBN:9780759528970
Kuro #2 ISBN:9780759529014

www.yenpress.us

the Lost Colony

2009-04-11T05:52:00.006+09:00

This is a great series, which at the moment has three parts. It's part of the ':01' , or 'first second' range of graphic novels which i have found to be standardly of high quality reading.

There exists, beyond the Frontier of the Old West, an island. Here, if you find the island at all, you will find a Lost Colony, a ragtag huddle of escapees and frontiersmen who have found solace on it's curious soil, should they prove no threat to the place...
Full of strange and oddball fellows, some of whom don't get along at all, we have 'civilisation' coming head-to-head with the 'Wilderness' and a mythology of it's own come to life. What will become of them?

The artwork is pretty distinctive and really makes the flavor of the graphic novels stand out with it's bold character lines and sweeps of landscaping colour. It's an enjoyable style, sometimes subtle somehow, othertimes in your face, but only appropriately, with cartoonish figures living down to earth existances (if with a touch of magic or madness). It's what caught my eye in the first place.

By the time of the third installment the curious nature of the island has been revealed somewhat and how the folk living on the island are affected by it shows through with greater clarity. We have the fresh intrusion of insidious foes, as well as the consequences of the eradication of old ones.

I love anything with a supernatural or fantasical element to it - it makes a story more alive and real than drudgery-in-mud type plots - and the Lost Colony has it for sure. It also has political blood and social comentary such as slavery and racism attitudes, from both sides of the fence, as in, how either side reacts to each other (and this differently from person to person which shows the individuality of each of the charcaters in the Colony's world) - but it's not preachy, it's more the people themselves coming together and reacting or acting as they would dom given their ideals and motives, etc.

I like the idea of cartoonish graphics telling a 'serious' story (as in, not part of the 'funnies' genre), something manga, particularly, does well at, especially given the penchant for extreme emotional outbursts.

I was going to write a post about Kuro because it's amazing, but the Lost Colony is fresh in my mind and while my enthusiasm for it lingers it gets the upper hand.

Points of particular interest:

Rock Bugs
Nutmeg Tea
Rampaging Inventions
wigs

the Lost Colony
story and art - Klein

#1 the Snodgrass Conspiracy ISBN:1596430974
#2 the Red Menace ISBN:1596430982
#3 Last Rights ISBN:1596430990

Maison Ikkoku

2009-04-02T05:21:00.005+09:00

This series is a short 15 volumes long and quite, quite addictive.

Yusaku finds himself living in an apartment with some very strange people. He needs to progress in his studies but his infuriating neighbours make it tricky at best, so he's moving out! or is he? A new manager arrives and he resolves to stick it out at all costs.

When something gets described as a page-turner i generally don't believe it to be anything but hype. In this case it wouldn't be, as i found myself staying awake just to read the next bit. And the next bit after that. It certainly was that way toward the end when it all came to a head.

Rumiko Takahashi has written Maison Ikkoku in a humerous and charming way, which is clever given the characters involved, by which i refer specifically to Yusaku's neighbours, crazy bunch that they are.

These are some of the best realised cast of supporting characters i've come across in any fiction and certainly they supply many of the laughs, if only for their outrageous behaviours. Somehow they're endearing, despite ganging up on Yusaku to continually dampen his spirits and thwart his endeavours. For me, they make the series, adding that flavour and depth to it to keep it rolling along. They don't steal the show, but they sure do enhance it.

By the end of the series you really care what happens to all the people portrayed therein and that's testament enough to the greatness of the series. Does Yusaku win over Kyoko, the aparment manager? What happens to his rivals? and hers?

Supporting cast who are thorns in our protagonists' sides and yet somehow likable / or who are generally despicable but somehow have some endearing qualities

the afore mentioned cast of Maison Ikkoku
Jayne from Firefly (earlier episodes)
various characters in Deadwood
the monkey from Raiders of the Lost Ark

Maison Ikkoku
story and art - Rumiko Takahashi

Availability: went out of print in the UK. not just a shame. It's just plain wrong, cos it's such a good series. I guess it never got the popularity it deserves. Maybe someone else will pick it up...

comic art video

2009-03-26T03:34:00.009+09:00

Pop through to to my alternative fantasy blog (link on left) to see a video of a sketch in progress.
('have you got a video?' post)

The art style is along the lines of what will be appearing in the more mangafied Edadh comic, which is coming along. I've got the first few pages worked out, provisionally. I tend to go back over things to see if i can't improve things somehow, which is what has happened recently, resketching in my microsized pocket sketchbook (A6). This is where i figure out the panel and page breakdowns. V small.

It gets interesting sizing things up as often i have more room than expected to play with, but outlining small means i get to concentrate on the key imagery. I tend to put in alot of detail in normal sketches (see any of the card designs on the warriorelite website 'card database'. Link: 'the world of edadh' in my links list, left), so this approach will hopefully keep that in check and keep the comic going at an acceptable rate.

I do have some cunning plans on the final look of it now, but it'll take a bit more work than i first anticipated. The end result will be worth it, however, giving it a distinctive look differentiating it from the more 'serious' Edadh comic.

The first comic should get it's intro v soon. I've been putting the final touches on it today!

PS: I've just finished the 15 volume Maison Ikkoku series, so i'll be yakking about that very soon.

what's your style?

2009-03-22T01:41:00.005+09:00

Anyone familiar with the manga format will have been in the position to notice that the first few pages of a volume tend to be coloured. In purely black and white reproductions, as alot of the books are in the UK, this is b/w tone work superior to that of the rest of the volume.

I mention this because the Edadh comic will have this same format. The first panel having a greater tonework to it than the subsequent ones in that chapter.

As you probably know, in Japan manga is widespread and makes up over 30% of all book sales. To my understanding, it can be released in 'magazine' format with other stories, a kind of serialised comic collection like the Eagle or 2000ad comics in the UK, before being collected together into volumes.

In the West there was a textual equivalent - pulp fiction; various short stories or parts of stories serialised in a collected format. There were also episodic comics like Starblazer, where one story was told in one small paperback of around 60 pages in length, followed by another seperate story the next week (as i understand it - certainly the ones i have are like that).

I'm a great fan of the snappy storytelling style, much like the old b/w Flash Gordon TV series. Very swashbuckling high adventure stuff.

For the Edadh comic, there have been other influences too and for myself i tend toward a less actiony approach than, say, the old Commando comics. My favourite comics are in general the character driven ones.

So the Edadh comic. We're releasing it in bit parts on the net, partly due to having a complete lack of time and releasing one whole chapter at a time would mean waiting months for the next installment to arrive.

For the style, well, i suppose it has it's own, but it'll be more like the pulp style than an epic like Dune. Which is why i covered the above.

At any rate, the first little intro part will be posted soon and i hope you swing by to check it out.

Gunsmith Cats

2009-03-17T05:07:00.007+09:00

Just concluded Gunsmith Cats: Burst, a three part series that follows on from the first hefty four volume collection. Hefty, cos each volume is larger than average.

Skipped bail? Wanted? Well, you’re out of luck if you find yourself in Rally Vincent’s neighbourhood. Don’t be fooled by her youth, she’s a relentless Bounty Hunter and an expert marksman to boot. You can run, but not for long, cos boy can she drive! You can’t hide either cos she has contacts and friends on both sides of the law. But she has enemies too, ruthless, possessive and definitely unhinged. You might just get caught in the crossfire. Think you can take the heat?

Kenichi Sonoda likes his girls, guns and gars. He likes fast paced action and suspense and the series oozes with all. Somehow his love of these things is never overbearing and certainly the players take the limelight at all times. You come out of the manga having learned some stuff but mainly having been taken on a sublimely satisfying ride.

The main protagonist is Rally Vincent. She’s young and gutsy, her knowledge of guns having been passed down from her now absent father. She runs a gunshop called Gunsmith Cats, which seconds as her base of operations for her Bounty Hunting. Her closest friend is Minni-May who is established as the plural in the Cats clique. She plays with bombs and stuff.

There are others too, backing her up, but all play second to Rally’s nitro injected fiddle.

They’re all very grounded and individual characters and it’s really them that progress the stories rather than the plot, which is inevitably a gripping showdown with some badguy(s). Rally’s enemies have depth aswell and the most dangerous of them persist through the series, looming like the ominous shadow of storm clouds when it’s not actually thunder and lightening.

The manga comes with an adult content warning, cos there’s blood and nudity and such, but this really is a satisfying story with subtlty and depth. It’s well drawn and unlike some action manga where it’s tricky to tell what’s going on (except that someone’s fighting, maybe) you can easily tell what’s going on. Sonoda gives detail where needed and is no slacker when it comes to portraying cars and vehicles realistically. The action can definitely be larger than life, but that’s what makes it a great read.

-
Can you catch an RPG in your hand at point blank range?
Can you shoot the hammer off a gun at thirty paces?
Can you get shot in the head and still wake up alive? (not sure how you wake up dead – zombies and vampires I suppose, but they’re a no-show in Gunsmith Cats)

Oh, you can?

In that case, what's the most outrageous feat you've seen in comics? (or feet, either's fine)

Gunsmith Cats
story and art - Kenichi Sonoda

vol#1 ISBN: 9781593077488
vol#2 ISBN: 9781593077686
vol#3 ISBN: 9781593078188
vol#4 ISBN: 9781593078621

Burst vol#1 ISBN: 9781593077501
Burst vol#2 ISBN: 9781593077679
Burst vol#3 ISBN: 9781593078034

www.darkhorse.com

out of print and into ...?

2009-03-10T06:51:00.008+09:00

Just bought the last volumes in the Maison Ikkoku series. If you haven't had the fortune to encounter this yet, it's a great character driven manga running over 15 volumes. I was kind of forced into getting them now rather than later as in the UK they've gone out of print, which is a crime of vast magnitude.

This is easily up there with my favourites. I have a few favourites, as with all art forms i enjoy - films, novels, etc. Depends alot on my tastes of the moment what i want to watch/read as well as the quality of the piece, and importantly, if it happens to be on my particular aesthetic wavelength. Like Luc Besson as a director. I personally think Leon is the more accomplished film and perhaps his best, but my favourite for ages was Fifth Element. Go figure. These days i couldn't say as i haven't seen either for years and my horizons have broadened.

Chobits is another manga that's gone the way of the dodo in the UK for some bizarre reason. A great series, artfully crafted in an almost reflective, poetic style and very different from Maison Ikkoku. The ending was a little unsatisfying but the bulk of the journey makes up for it and i still think it's a great manga.

Both Chobits and Maison Ikkoku never seemed to get the attention they deserved instore (I get to run the Manga section at work), even when i highlighted them. Folks tend to go for the mainstream titles their friends have got, etc (nothing wrong with that if they're good manga) and gems like these two get overlooked. Them folks is missing out.

The biggest bugbear is the manga that started me into manga all those years ago. It was a false start really, the manga car stalling for a few years as i got sidetracked into western comics. Partly because my local store didn't have any other volumes of the series and there was no amazon.com at that time. So come on Mr James Cameron. Where's that movie? I need the other volumes.

Of what do i speak? Battle Angel Alita! Great little manga.

Do you have any Out of Print or impossible to find comics / manga / graphic novels you feel should make a return to the shelves? Or do you know where they can be gotten from? (ebay aside)

For myself, i managed to acquire all the French (and as such the original language) Anita Bombas (1-4, it felt as though there would be further volumes...) but the preceding comic with Didier Cromwell seems only an illusion for all it's unavailability...

the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

2009-02-27T07:11:00.009+09:00

Not as depressing as you might at first be fooled into believing, and as such, not Marvin the Paranoid Android’s favourite book.

Life is normal, routine even. But that’s all gonna change for Kyon when he gets forcably enrolled in Haruhi Suzumiya’s strange new club – the SOS Brigade! Haruhi finds everything so dull and boring so she’s out to have fun, specifically with aliens, espers and time-travellers! Gotta find ‘em first though…

This is what I’m reading at the moment - to be precise, the novelisation by the author of the manga or someone with exactly the same name. I find myself grinning sometimes and having read the manga I do know what’s coming, kind of, but it’s all in the delivery, as they say.

Haruhi is the matriarch of the group and the others, well, they’re gluttons for punishment cos they keep turning up. One sympathises with the characters quickly and the novel does well in visualising them (I’d forgotten how they looked in the manga and indeed went back to see, finding that my mental picture of them was different, though not overly so:)

Talking about the manga, it flows nicely with great artwork and isn't exactly the same as the novelisation in terms of story progression, though we're still blessed with the same gang - Kyon, our leaf-in-the-wind protagonist; Yuki, bookish and poker faced; Mikuru, the resigned Moe-esque brigade mascot; Koizumi, amused and willing newbe; and of course Haruhi, mood-swinging and spontaneous idea pursuer, and above all, instigator.

Not all are as they first seem, however (bet you never saw that coming..) and as the story progresses their natures are unveiled to our unlikely hero Kyon and he has to deal with the improbable stuff that that reveals. To say any more would give away too much.

How would you spice up a humdrum, groundhog-day-like life? Here’s a few suggestions and if by some miracle someone’s actually reading this and feels like commenting – leave some PG suggestions, by all means.

So, with no further ado:

1. Read Manga! the first and most obvious option. This of course can be combined with other pursuits, such as

2. Read Manga! (can you see where this could be going? So, to steer it off that most predictable of courses…)
The Real 2. make you own manga! but failing that

3. dress up as manga characters! Cosplay! Bunny, maid and secretary outfits come recommended

4. play unpredictable but harmless practical jokes on your work collegues / school chums, like..um.. stuffing their locker full of Spot plushes, or something

5. prepare for the imminent atack of ‘gargantuan sized people in gargantuan sized creature-suits bent on levelling multi-storey buildings’ by inventing a machine that’ll take you into the movie Digby so to ‘borrow’ some growth serum which can obviously be used to even the odds a little. Got to have a pet willing enough to undergo size alteration in your defense. Preferably not a hamster though.

6. ? this one is a secret

And lastly a lucky 7. Read Manga!

Okay, so not all of the options are practical, and I clearly cheated on the sixth and seventh ones. Gotta make life fun somehow …!
and my sleep deprived mind is too fuzzy to come up with any real suggestions at the moment. maybe i'll come back and edit, giving the impression that someone's messing with the time stream..

the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
characters - Noizi Ito
story - Nagaru Tanigawa
art - Gaku Tsugano

Melancholy manga #1 ISBN: 9780759529441
Melancholy manga #2 ISBN: 9780759529458

Novel ISBN: 9780316039093

www.yenpress.us

the footsteps of Doom?

2009-02-22T06:09:00.003+09:00

What is the Manga of Doom? or are the? (surely that's the best three word sentence you've seen in ages?)

The Manga of Doom are those comics, graphic novels or, yes, manga that have gone and fused themselves to my aesthetic mind due to their beauty, their hilarity, their heartstring tugability or somesuch. Basically, the good stuff!

They are the books that i get addicted to. The Doom of my idle time (which isn't all that plentiful, what with the World of Edadh demanding my spare moments)

So i'm gonna spread the Doom - choosing your destroyers as it were. Why does Ilya edit together yearly volumes of the stuff? Same reason. To showcase works that deserves it. (here i am presuming)

I really hope you'll dig the books that get offered forth for your attention. There are some astounding ones, some entertaining ones, some beautiful ones and some quirky strange ones. I'll try to highlight the perhaps lesser known articles deserving of more attention, but i know that sometimes some well-known ones will creep into the fray, cos, well, one shouldn't exclude genius just cos it's popular.

PLUS i'm gonna annoy you by posting my very own comic in monthly (at first) installments, which i hope you'll enjoy. Please don't take any lack of professionalism or goodness of my own work as reflecting on my tastes in others'. I have much to learn and am but a young Jedi starting out on his very first published series. Which isn't to say that it's crap either..

ENJOY at your peril!