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This month in MANGA DOESN’T SUCK: Kaori Yuki’s GODCHILD.

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Feb 072012

Fairy tales are often warped for the enjoyment of comic book fans—see GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES and FABLES as two obvious examples. In GODCHILD, Kaori Yuki has done similar things with nursery rhymes, and the effect is simultaneously gorgeous and horrifying.

This is an eight-part series about an Earl named Cain, who has a cursed heritage and even more disturbing hobbies—in this case, collecting poisons and solving other royals’ mysteries with them. The mysteries that Cain solves involve blood-draining parasites, human embalming, medieval torture masks, and reanimated dead people. It is truly mad Victorian mayhem, with brief moments of subtle emotion. The characters can barely breathe between plot elements, and when they do, it’s usually in the form of self-reflection… or self-hatred.

Cain himself is a curious cross of Sherlock Holmes and The Shade. He enjoys solving mysteries but has moral loyalty to no one but his valet, Riff. His actions can be arbitrary and dictated by mere curiosity, but he also seems to be capable of great love—as far as it serves his own interests, that is.

Kaori Yuki’s artwork, while amazing, is difficult to defend in an American comics context, because it is very, very Japanese. Yuki is a master of spidery lines, wandering limbs, and slender faces. Her attention to detail is shocking; even a straining neck seems elegant, and the imagery—spiders, petals, candles, the tarot—makes Dracula seem tame and dry. But Yuki never apologizes for her style. It’s rich and genre-filled like a classic Hammer horror film.

I have a friend who used to say that Kaori Yuki is ‘like Shakespeare with pictures’, and that has never been more accurate than in the case of GODCHILD. Meet your manga Macbeth, your comic King Lear, your gothically illustrated Titus Andronicus. And if this comparison puts you off, then perhaps it’s just as well, for there are no happy endings here, and Cain’s Victorian London is darker than any Green Lantern can light.

There is a translated prequel series, entitled THE CAIN SAGA, which is no less disturbing or poetic but slightly more difficult to read, seeing as Yuki’s art style has matured so drastically since she first wrote it. GODCHILD bewitches all on its own. In fact, if you buy Volume One at Meltdown, we’ll take ten percent off of it and everything else. Do you still dare to resist?

LAST MONTH: Junji Ito’s UZUMAKI.

For more of why Kaori Yuki is so diabolically different from Western writers, read my blog: http://concretesoul.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/why-kaori-yuki-is-my-favourite/
For more comic & manga ramblings, follow my twitter: http://twitter.com/junkstory
#comicgeeksagainstmangadiscrimination

This month in MANGA DOESN’T SUCK: Junji Ito’s UZUMAKI.

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Jan 102012

What always made the best horror comics work is a sense of unpredictability—confronting the unknown in brand-new circumstances (see 30 Days of Night, Severed, The Courtyard). Traditional monsters are fun and funny—especially when featured in ‘monster mash’ titles like Screamland and DC’s new Frankenstein book—but there is no real sense of fear there. Unless you break the rules, monsters can be fairly unscary.

What Junji Ito does so well in UZUMAKI (as well as his other titles) is introduce unknown horrors that have no real precedent and no ‘explanation’ or reason for happening. There is no ghost to be pacified, vampire to be staked, or alien to be blown away. These are phenomena without source or relief.

In UZUMAKI, there are spirals. The shapes invade a small coastal town, infect the locals, cause smoke rings and tornadoes. Characters become obsessed with their own cochleae. People turn into giant snails. Babies grow spiral-shaped mushrooms from their stomachs. Hair hangs its owners by wrapping around telephone poles. And there is no why, here—no secret answer to the chaos.

Ito’s art style takes grotesque situations and makes them tangible—the sweat, the decay, the snail skin. His characters’ hollow eyes scream of desolation and desperation. It is not pretty, and not for the faint of heart. These lines are scaly and horrifying. There is nothing remotely ‘magical’ about it.

UZUMAKI goes places that few American mainstream comics would dare. Are you a fan of Avatar titles like Crossed? Sick of the usual villains? Pick up a volume of UZUMAKI at Meltdown and receive 10% off of your purchase. Just don’t get caught staring at your fingertips for too long…

LAST MONTH: Shiro Miwa’s DOGS.

Follow my twitter for more thoughts: @junkstory #comicgeeksagainstmangadiscrimination

Introducing… MANGA DOESN’T SUCK: A monthly column-thing by HOLLY, your friendly neighborhood manga reader

Commentary, GIRLS WITH GLASSES, Reviews 2 Responses »

Dec 012011

It’s true: readers of American superhero comics often look at manga with disdain. They roll their eyes and pick up their single issues, snubbing black and white volumes, intentionally avoiding what has somehow become a ‘teen market’. But, surprise: not all manga is about magical schoolgirls traveling through sparkly dimensions! Manga is just the Japanese word for comic. And remember how pissed off you get when people think of American comics as cheesy fairy tales about men wearing tights?

Every month, I’ll be laying a new series upon you, my lovely, single-issue-reading, Batman-loving Meltdown-goers, as proof that Japanese comics can kick just as much ass as Aquaman has been doing lately.

This month: Shiro Miwa’s DOGS.

One thing that American comic book fans love is an assembly of great characters—each with his or her own unique abilities. I mean… Justice League, The Avengers, even less mainstream ventures like Umbrella Academy and Doom Patrol. There’s something really exciting about teaming up all that power and watching it crack down on whatever force is threatening the universe.

The four main characters in DOGS are assassins, and although not a traditional ‘team’ per se, fulfill different thematic purposes: an old man who lost everything to leave his gang but hasn’t lost his hitman skills, a one-eyed tabloid photographer who goes homicidal when he doesn’t get a smoke, a quiet (but lethal) swordswoman covered in scars and regret, and a white-haired, quick-healing, dog-collared meta-human called Heine. Get these four together in the same book and it’s like watching a great ensemble heist film—with a little more genetic mutation, psychological trauma, and decapitations involved. There’s a reason each volume is marked with a Parental Advisory label. The manic gun battles and shakingly violent combat found in DOGS make the Suicide Squad seem like a bunch of pussies.

This is also not your average doe-eyed manga artwork. Miwa paints his characters with savage lines, sharp teeth, and crazed, shadowy eyes. The action sequences cut across the page without heed to a ‘grid’ format. The conspiracies run so deep that each volume demands a reread, since no panel has been left untouched by stylistic plot devices. Heine, Naoto, Badou, and Mihai each have their reasons for becoming ‘stray dogs’ (there’s a Volume 0 with character introductions, but it’s not a necessary read for understanding their current exploits), and I guarantee they are as mythological as any superhero origin story.

Don’t let these sleeping dogs lie. Grab Volume 1 at Meltdown and get 10% off your entire purchase. Your gunplay skills will thank you.

For more (possibly less formal) thoughts, follow my twitter @junkstory. #comicgeeksagainstmangadiscrimination

Awards season is coming to a close with the grand finale of the Oscars this Sunday. But not to be outdone, we present last, but certainly not least, the esteemed nominees for the 2010 Meltdown Comic Awards!

It’s been an amazing year for our favorite genre and choosing the best of the best was no easy task. This year’s Golden Melty list was comprised from multiple “Best of” lists, sell-through numbers, reviews, Publisher’s Weekly lists and combing through dozens of message boards to hear what true comic fans are saying. So, without further ado, the nominees are:

Best Indie Comic Series

Green Hornet (Dynamite)
The Walking Dead (Image)
Scarlet (Icon)
Chew (Image)
Stumptown (Oni)

Best Superhero Comic Series

Invincible Iron Man (Marvel)
Batman and Robin (DC)
Thor: The Mighty Avenger (Marvel)
Irredeemable (Boom!)

Best Non-Superhero Comic Series

Daytripper (Vertigo)
American Vampire (Vertigo)
Kill Shakespeare (IDW)
The Unwritten (Vertigo)

Hero of the Year

Captain America/Steve Rogers (Marvel)
Scott Pilgrim (Oni)
Kick Ass (Icon)
Zack Overkill – “Incognito” (Icon)

Villain of the Year

Nemesis (Icon)
Skinner Sweet – American Vampire (Vertigo)
Red Skull – Captain America (Marvel)
Norman Osborn (Marvel)

Most Horrific Death

Ares – “Seige #2″
Nightcrawler – “X-Force #26″
Bras – “Daytripper” (all issues)
Cable – “X-Force #28″
Multiple robots – “Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers”

Best Return from the Dead

Aquaman, Hawkman, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter, etc. – ”Blackest Night #8″
Batman – ”Batman and Robin #8″
Dracula – “X-Men #3″

Best New Series

Northlanders: Plague Widow (Vertigo)
Black Widow (Marvel)
Green Hornet (Kevin Smith, Dynamite)
Secret Avengers (Marvel)

Best Graphic Novel

Dark Tower: Fall of Gilead
Absolute Justice
Batwoman: Elegy
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8

Best Writer

Ed Brubaker – Captain America (Marvel)
Mark Millar – Nemesis (Icon)
Jason Aaron – Scalped (Vertigo)
Geoff Johns – Brightest Day (DC)
Mark Waid – Irredeemable (Boom!)
Grant Morrison – Batman and Robin (DC)

Best Artist

J.H. Williams – Detective Comics (DC)
Steve McNiven – Nemesis (Icon)
Fiona Staples – North 40 (Wildstorm)
Naoki Urasawa – Pluto : Urasawa X

Best Celebrity-Written Title

Green Hornet – Kevin Smith
The Guild – Felicia Day
Frenemy of the State – Rashida Jones
Pantheon – Michael Chiklis

Best Event of the Year

Artifacts (Top Cow)
Heroic Age (Marvel)
Brightest Day (DC)
Second Coming (Marvel)

Best WTF Moment

DC issues go back to 2.99
Nick Simmons accused of plagiarizing “Bleach”
Lady Gaga gets her own comic
The ending of Greek Street
Sony Pictures making “Green Hornet” with that script instead of Kevin Smith’s
Tron – ’nuff said

Best Cover of the Year

Spiderman #641 ”One Moment in Time”
Batwoman #0
The Avengers #1 – Variant 7
I Zombie #1
Superman #702
We Will Bury You #1

Were your favorites nominated? Who gets your vote this year for the best of the best in comics? To find out who will take home the Golden Melty, check back here next week for the winners of the 2010 Meltdown Comic Awards!

O, where for art thou, Tron?

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Dec 202010

by: Stacey Levin

(WARNING! SPOILERS BELOW!)

Where is Tron? And before you look at me like I’m from another planet, I know “Tron: Legacy” is in the theaters. Actually, I saw it and… Yawn (oh, I’m sorry, yawningmid-sentence is rude.) Well, what I should say is that I saw whatever parts of it I managed to stay awake through. Wow, what a snooze fest. And it also leads me back to my original question – where is Tron? Considering the movie is named after him, he was barely in the flick I saw. In fact, if you’re new to the franchise, you might even be asking “who is Tron?” That’s not a good sign, folks.

Jason and I don’t cover movies often in this column, but Tron is one of those magical properties from our youth that most comic book readers loved and cherished. And like any good geek, we were beyond excited to see “Legacy.” Have you guys seen it yet? ‘Cause I have questions, people.

Here’s the rub: “Tron: Legacy” is a flashy, visually cool film with no story. Well, most of the visuals were cool. I mean, who doesn’t like to look at the pretty neon suits and flying disks? But, of course. And sure, the light cycles still look fun to ride. But all of the hype about “Clu” and how they aged Jeff Bridges backwards? Um, he looked like a character straight out of “Final Fantasy.” Not impressed.

Now let’s discuss the story… or lack thereof. Such wasted opportunities at almost every act break. “Tron: Legacy” has one beat that repeats over and over again. We get it, Sam wants to get his father home. Is there anything else to it? Uh, nope. That’s it. Gotta get him home. And logic? Right out the cyber window. From the biggest points like: How did Clu turn into a Hitler-like dictator from a program that was originally designed to be utopian? Ok, the program wasn’t perfect because its creator Kevin Flynn (old Jeff Bridges) wasn’t perfect, but he wasn’t inherently evil. Where did Clu’s evil Caeser-like reign come from? Here’s another one: What the hell happened to Tron all this time? How about this: how the heck would Quorra be able to manifest herself in the real world and live like a human? Seriously?

But maybe I’m thinking too hard about this, right? Let’s take a look at some smaller points instead. What do Programs do all day aside from trying to score tickets to the gladiator games being held in the giant glass Rubik’s cube? Do they have apartments? Jobs? What was Kevin surviving on all of these years? Where did that huge dinner he served Sam come from? Wait a minute, while we’re on the topic of ingesting – why do Programs drink or eat at all? Aren’t they cyber beings living in a cyber world?? And quite possibly the biggest conundrum of them all: Clu designs a world he believes to be Utopia, but it doesn’t have anything comforting or nice about it at all, and the one thing he does create is a dance club complete with electronica music? All of that time and energy spent on making a perfect world and he re-created the same stupid club scene we have here on earth? I don’t know about you guys, but in my version of Utopia, maybe there’s a lounge or two, but definitely no clubs.

All of these questions and more can be found in “Tron: Legacy.” Instead of the writers taking this amazing opportunity to write a layered and emotional story to explain what’s been happening in Cyber Land for the last 25 years, they chose to go the lazy Hollywood route and flash a shiny object at us so we’ll forget it doesn’t make any sense.

I hate to rain on Disney’s Christmas parade (and believe me, I’m the hugest Disney fan there is), but “Tron: Legacy” was a total disappointment. You know what? The more I think about it, this movie sucked. Final analysis: fatal error.

Peace, love and all that jazz.

Follow me on twitter: @TVStaceyLevin