• Increasingly I find that, if I’m reading and enjoying a comic published by Marvel, it is in spite of its connections to Marvel continuity. The trend probably began with the “Avengers: Disassembled” storyline, but in recent years it seems that Marvel is incapable of launching a new title unless it’s tied into a cross-over event or spun out of one.
  I tried the Fraction/Brubaker Iron Fist in trade form, and while it had all the traits of a good book, I couldn’t bring myself to care about the post-Civil War status of the character and his supporting cast. It didn’t help either that the character is himself, at best, a D-lister, but the presumed reader was familiar with his history. I’m intensely curious about Incredible Hercules, as people whose taste I usually trust assure me it’s good, but it launches out of yet another cross-over event. Hence, trepidation.
• The only Marvel book that seems to be immune to the disinterest stirred in me by cross-over-itis is Guardians of the Galaxy. I don’t care that it launches out of the Annihilation story-line. I don’t care that the current arc is bogged down in Civil War and War of Kings detritus.
  It’s the book that gives me not only Rocket Raccoon each month, but batshit-crazy 70′s Starlin-esque cosmic antics as well. And that’s all I ask out of my sci-fi comics.
• On that note, I think the current space comics by Starlin at DC are a hoot. Yes, I’m the one.
  I honestly don’t even care if he’s just retelling Dreadstar stories. You could do worse than just retell Dreadstar stories.
• While we’re talking space comics, my only complaint with the current arcs in Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps is that there aren’t enough different colors for space cops.
• It should be noted that the above statement is a huge vote of confidence in what Geoff Johns is doing on Green Lantern, because for years I hated the character and concept. Particularly when it involved Hal Jordan. Especially when it involved Hal Jordan. And it’s become one of my favorite titles of late.
• I still think Green Lantern: Rebirth is one of the fucking dumbest retcons in the entire history of comics, and Skateman level bad, though.
• One of the problems with being in a two-comic-reader household is that whether or not to drop or continue to buy shared titles has to be negotiated from time to time. For example, Pete really likes Fables.
  I’m desperate to drop it.
  Chiefly, it’s because the main-storyline is as over and done with as it’s possible to be, and no matter how much Willingham wants to drag out the conclusion, it’s done. But then, on top of the book being continued past it’s glaringly obvious and natural conclusion, a third title is being launched. In the midst of a cross-over.
  It’s like Joe Quesada took over Vertigo.
  But, apart from all that, it’s getting increasingly hard to overlook Willingham’s politics. Especially now that he’s writing for one of those websites that specialize in propagating the myth that conservatives are an oppressed minority with no access to the mass media.
• Usually the cue for me to drop a manga title is when it stops being quirky and unique and turns into a fight comic. With the most recent volumes, that’s what has happened to Reborn, the book about an infant assassin training a clumsy Japanese school-boy how to be a Mafia don.
  The change-over is working, because honestly, turning into a fight comic represents a move to more placid and laid-back storytelling for a book like this.

This message brought to you by Yukiya Sakuragi and volume eleven of Inubaka.

So, you know how some people keep insisting that manga is the great hope of the comics industry, because the lack of sexism and misogyny won’t drive new readers away the way super-hero comics allegedly do?
(And how those of us who have been reading manga for longer than the current shojo boom hear this sort of thing, and just shake our heads?)
Well, I bought Ral Grad, the new manga from Death Note artist Takeshi Obata. And while it’s twisted in the ways I usually like I’m not sure I’ll be picking up any future volumes.

That sort of thing? All over the damn book. Hell, Ral’s primary motivation to become a hero is so that he’ll have ample opportunity to grope women.
This was published by Viz, as part of their Shonen Jump line. So it’s a kid’s comics.

And I’m not calling for a ban on the comic, or hoping to prompt an outcry, or anything like that. I’d just like to take this opportunity to remind people that, you know, Japanese comics are just as bad, if not worse, than American comics when it comes to the whole sexism thing.

And on a lighter note:

So, the message for this ad seems to be: if I use their product, I’ll miss out on seeing hot guys make out. Yeah, I think I’ll go without Bluetooth accessories for my phone a bit longer, in that case.

When I was at my Friendly Neighborhood Conglomo-Chain Bookstore today, looking for a particular series-ending DVD (though I also found this fantastic little book), I spotted this:

Manga-themed romance novels. I’d be surprised if I’m the first person to catch this, but it caught me by surprise, anyway.

Astonishing X-Men to become readable. Beast to spout slightly more techno-babble than usual. Kitty Pryde to become world-weary chain-smoker.

Every single character in Runaways to become a lesbian. Yes, even Chase.
Man, I can’t wait for the letters page to fill up with bad poetry.

Viz hopes no one remembers Raijin Comics.

IDW finally manges to put out a book I’ll buy. I mean, sure, it’ll cost about $1 to $2 more than it should, but it’s Doctor Who!
Of course, I’m not optimistic about it’s sales potential. Doctor Who is pretty much a cult show in the U.S. Comic books are a niche market. Comic adaptations of TV properties are even more of a niche market…you see where I’m going with this, right?

With Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones Final Crisis has got to be good, right? Right? Guys?
A fan asked what would make Final Crisis different, and Morrison said it would have Anthro the First Boy on the first page, and Kamandi the Last Boy on the last page.
…Okay, yeah, it’ll be good.

This week, the comics controversy was over how manga aimed at adult men doesn’t sell, and those people who like manga aimed at adult men should just shut the fuck up because manga isn’t for YOU, it’s for girls!

Gosh, that sounds familiar…where have I heard that before?
Oh, yeah, when female fans of super-hero comics ask if they could have a little less misogyny in their escapist entertainment, please?
Now, some folk might say that “turnabout is fair play.” I think it’s just slightly hypocritical, myself. Especially since it’s not a question of “boys manga” not selling while “girls manga” is. It’s a question of “adult manga for men and women” not selling while “manga for teens and preteens” is. As usual, go read what Chris says for a good approach to the topic that doesn’t mince words and has the added benefit of coinciding with my own position.

Of course, my mind gets to turning on these things, and somehow my own experiences don’t seem to jibe with everyone else’s reality. For example, when I worked in the comic shop, where everyone said that the adult manga is selling like gang-busters, most of our customers were teenage girls and little kids. In fact, apart from blatant fan service titles for which I know we have guaranteed sales with a couple of customers, I tend to avoid ordering too heavy on more mature titles. But when I go to my local chain bookstore, who do I always see in the manga aisles? Not teenage girls. Nope, I see Asian male UCSB students, Goth and hipster girls in their late teens/early 20s, and a smattering of jock and skater-type teenage boys.
(Hey, guess who I always catch reading the yaoi when I stroll the aisles? Hint: I think American manga publishers are idiots for not licensing some manga aimed at actual gay men…particularly gay men who might not identify with wispy, effeminate eunuchs, but are still of an age where they’re looking to the mass media for role models.)

Now, my own manga tastes tend to the eclectic, so I can’t really draw any broad conclusions based on what I like. I mean, I like Yotsuba!, xxxHolic, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, Monster, MPD Psycho and Reiko the Zombie Shop.
Crap, based on how the Japanese categorize manga, those are all aimed at adult men, aren’t they? Well, maybe not MPD Psycho, but you wouldn’t know that from the way it’s being marketed in the U.S.
Well, maybe my tastes have simply evolved…what’s on my “discontinued manga shelf”?
City Hunter, Worst, Apocalypse Meow and Ginga Legend Weed. Dammit. Oh, and a handful of Inu Yasha volumes I pre-ordered but never read before dropping the title because, seriously, they’re still looking for that damn jewel?

Well, what manga specifically for boys am I reading? Musashi #9…that’s about a female spy. Reborn…that’s about a toddler who trains people to join the mafia. Death Note…that’s about a sociopath. Inubaka…that’s about a girl working in a pet shop. Tsubasa…that’s more of an ensemble comedy/continuity porn book. Welcome to the NHK…no, that’s a biting satire of otaku culture. Dammit! Don’t I read any manga about young boys fighting so that they can become the best fighters so that they can win the big fight! Everyone keeps telling me that’s what shonen manga is all about!
Wait, there was Ranma 1/2…no, that’s finished. Damn!
Kindaichi Case Files maybe?

Well, what about the girly manga? Surely my tastes align with the mainstream with my girly manga! Let’s see The Wallflower…no, that’s a total inversion of the formula. Angel Sanctuary…no, that’s apocalyptic melodrama with extra bonus incest. There’s a ton of Fumi Yoshinaga stuff…no, that’s yaoi, or may as well be. Fruits Basket is pretty cliche-ridden. Oh, wait, of course! Yu Watase! All of her comics are about a spunky yet clumsy girl who somehow manages to get all the pretty boys to fall in love with her! It’s damn near the Platonic ideal of a shojo manga. Yes, all of them.

So, yes, I think this whole controversy is just a little bit silly. Though, I do think those rushing to defend the primacy of teen and pre-teen manga would do well to glance over the history of American comics. You know, that form that used to publish works in a large variety of genres for multiple age ranges…and is now something like 90% super-hero books written for teenagers and adults. Avoiding the stigma of “that stupid kiddie stuff” now might be a good idea.

Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #13, by Marc Guggenheim and Tony Daniel, published by DC Comics

I’m hard-pressed to think of what the point of this comic was. If we are expected to take DC creative types at their word, that the entire point of this Flash series was simply to kill off Bart Allen so that we’d be grateful that they brought back the “one, true Flash,” it strikes me as nothing more than proof that there is a death fetishism running rampant through modern super-hero comics. That interpretation certainly seems borne out by the comic, in which it is emphasized over and over again that Bart Allen isn’t “worthy” of being the Flash. A more likely explanation would be that, rather than ignoring the fans, as super-hero publishers are often accused of doing, DC looked at the steadily declining sales of the title, replaced the creative team (a better creative team, that was actually starting to do something interesting with the title, in my opinion), and went out of their way to give the vocal message boarding and blogging fans what they seemed to have wanted: Bart dead, Wally back. Which leads to a final issue that’s frankly a creative train-wreck.

The Highwaymen #1, by Marc Bernardin, Adam Freeman and Lee Garbet, published by DC/Wildstorm

A near future crime-caper with snappy dialogue, slick art and action-movie ludicrousness that doesn’t devolve into self-parody. In other words, a good, surprising little treat that appears to have snuck in under the radar. Two ex-, well, secret agents supposedly, but it’s not quite clear, are activated when a (supposedly) rogue element in national security attempts to track down a decades old secret. There’s just enough of a teasing and ambiguity in this introduction to make it plausible that we don’t quite know who the good guys are supposed to be, but the tale is told so strongly and entertainingly that finding out more promises to be fun.
Garbet’s art is new to me, and he has a very good sense of storytelling, with good action scenes, and unique and expressive characters. Visually, it reminds me slightly of a cross between Steve Dillon and Frank Quitely, without aping either of those styles, but occuping a kind of middle-ground between them.

Gintama volume 1, by Hideaki Sorachi, published by Viz

I was looking for something high concept, but not too serious, and I got it. Mostly. In an alternative Japan, aliens have invaded and corrupted the government. To secure their position, they’ve outlawed the samurai and confiscated all their swords. But, really, that’s all just a pretense for allowing Sorachi to draw anachronistic technologies and funky aliens in his farcical samurai comedy. And farce it is, with broad characters and slapstick comedy, and an oddly literal approach to comedy and jokes that seems at odds with the surreality of the situation. Many of the characters are stock types to the point of stereotypes: ooh, the hard-bitten tough guy, the wacky nerd sidekick, the tough-girl side-kick, the crusty landlord with a heart of gold, the mysterious ally/enemy from the past, etc. It’s hard to tell whether the characters are meant as parodies of the type, or simply the result of lack of experience as a writer. But there’s the root of something there, and Gintama wouldn’t be the first manga with a rough opening to improve in later volumes. The art, scrunchy and distorted, but with a careful detail, has some attraction, and between that and the potential in the work, I think I can give it the benefit of the doubt for a couple of books.

Black Diamond #1, by Larry Young and John Proctor, published by AiT/Planet Lar

The Black Diamond is the kind of high-concept, patently ludicrous idea you might have expected to see in a movie from one the less reputable production companies in the late 70s or early 80s. And I say that with love. I was a kid who grew up on Hawk the Slayer and Cannonball Run and Radioactive Dreams, and it probably warped me into the kind of person who, frequently, will value entertainment value over “logic.” And so, this book, which suggests that American conservative movement would build a transcontinental highway and abandon it to gear-heads, criminals and filthy hippies in order to keep normal surface roads safe for family values voters. It’s the next logical step to every car chase movie ever made. And while Young puts together a plot, something about a wife being kidnapped by terrorists, thus neccessitating the mild mannered dentist hero to embark on a cross-country drive, it’s really just a pretext to set up the potential for mayhem. If there’s a significant flaw in that, it is that this issue serves only as prologue: we don’t get to see the mayhem. Though a short back-up strip by Dennis Culver provides a humorous insight into daily life on the Black Diamond. Jon Proctor’s art on the main story is highly stylized and expressionistic. I suspect it’s probably going to be too stylized for many readers, those accustomed to a slicker, more commercial style, but for me it works on this book.

Elephantmen #9, by Starkings and Moritat, published by Image

The outstanding sci-fi comic does a quiet, “day in the life” story about Hip Flask trying to get home with some groceries. It’s a short seeming story, but it still is typical of the deft characterization and humanity that informs the Elephantmen series as a whole. In just a few pages we get a telling character sketch about Hip, a truck driver, some peril and an action sequence. It could almost act as a model for comics shorts.

MPD Psycho vol. 1, by Sho-U Tajima and Eiji Otsuka, published by Dark Horse

I’ll admit I have something of a preference for the dark in my manga. I’ve been waiting eagerly for this series, particularly after the spectaculr Kurosagi Corpse Deliverey Service, also by Otsuka. This is a bit of a different beast from that series, though. While Kurosagi is ultimately optimistic, this is a much more pessimistic book, viewing humanity through a far more jaundiced view. It mixes the horror, sci-fi and thriller genres, with heavy elements of paranoia through a conspiracy sub-plot. Oh, and the protagonist is a detective with multiple personalites. One of which is a killer.
The brutality of the book probably deserves some special mention. It’s shocking and graphic, but it never comes off as lurid or titilating or pandering. Thanks to Tajima’s clear, smooth-line art style and carefully detailed work, the horrible nature of the crimes are presented almost dispasionately and analytically. It’s that coldness that communicates the horror.

The topic of the day seems to be the cancellation of Seven Sea’s forthcoming manga title Nymphet. And, yeah, it’s my fault it got cancelled.

See, even though I don’t work in comics retail day to day anymore, I still assist my former employer by helping set order levels on the manga titles. Because there’s a hell of a lot of them, and he’s not that familiar with them. And I’ll be honest, my first reaction to seeing the solicitation for Nymphet was “What the holy hell? A comedy series about an eight year old girl trying to have sex with her teacher? Who the fuck thought this would fly in the US, and why do they still have a job?”
My second reaction was “Gee, as much as it might amuse me to see Mike go to jail, I’m not sure I want it to be for selling this comic.”
And so, I declined to order it.

Now, I’m not a prude. Far from it (just ask poor, put upon Mike). I’ll happily order hentai manga for the store, sexually suggestive yaoi, and risque manga titles of all genres from all publishers. And even though I understood that this particular title was not anything other than extraordinarily raunchy (no actual sex is in the book, in other words), I didn’t feel that sexually suggestive material featuring elementary school age children was a good fit for the store. And seeing some of these sample pages, out of context as they are, hasn’t persuaded me that I made a mistake.

In the long run, I think a title like this would have done more harm than good in the US marketplace. We’ve all been sort of bracing for a big manga backlash from the forces of social conservatism and religious authority, and this could easily have been the book that tipped it off, as the mere suggestion of sexuality in children is enough to set off major moral crusades in this country. You can sort of see it happening already, with the “all manga is porn” responses that have appeared in reaction to this news. And as stupid and short-sighted as those responses are, I have trouble seeing the “CENSORSHIP! CENSORSHIP! WE DEMAND OUR LOLI!” responses from some of the books defenders as any more helpful.