Editor’s note: To celebrate the re-launch of Manga Recon, I’ve asked each of our contributors to compose a brief essay introducing themselves, explaining how they got interested in manga, and listing some of their favorite series. Last week, it was Sam Kusek’s turn to tell the mangasphere a little more about himself; this week, it’s Chloe Ferguson’s turn. Chloe, like Sam, is a more recent addition to our reviewing staff, joining PCS in March 2008. When she isn’t writing for us, she’s probably penning a column for ComiPress or posting an essay at her blog Shuchaku East. –KD

To be completely honest, I’m not quite sure how I ended up writing and reviewing my way through the US manga industry. Looking back, I’m of the belief that it began, lo, at the age of nine or so, in a little country called Japan. It was the nineties, and my father had a stint teaching at Keio. We lived in an apartment in the Tokyo suburbs, and I, at one of those proverbial impressionable ages, became fascinated by all things Japan.

Upon our return stateside, I (through a series of fortunate events) came into contact with Alison Morris, now of the (highly recommended) PW ShelfTalker blog. She had an interesting proposition for my (still pretty young) self: review galley editions of young adult books and I could gorge myself silly on anything that came in. Of the reviews I wrote, I’ve no doubt they were probably pretty mediocre, but it’s undeniable that building one’s literary analysis muscle early in life helps when cracking comic spines down the road.

I also had the good fortune to attend a bilingual school, making both French and English applicable reading options from a young age. And believe you me, the French were already clambering atop the manga wave before the US more than a ripple of it. The end result? Access full set of shelves at FNAC, packed with all things that would excite a budding manga reader long before they were available in English. (A trend that continues to this day; we’ve got a volume from Vertical, but the French have no fewer than three—three!—editions of Black Jack out on the market, one of them complete, the other nearly so.)

As to the rest, well—several years, many comments, a blog, a bout of Japanese high school and too many emails later I now write for the good folks at Manga Recon, and am quite content to do so. That said, I think a love of lit should preclude a love of comics; much as I love Tezuka, I’ll always have a deeper affection for, say, Hemingway or Wilde. They go hand in hand- like the comic format? Read Maus. Like Japan? Read something by Murakami. You’ll find yourself better off on both fronts.

Much like Sam, I’ve got five series that earn high marks in my book:

• xxxHolic (Del Rey): CLAMP has this tendency to get shark-jumpingly over the top, but in the case of xxxHolic, gorgeous ink-block style and lovely bits of metaphysical wisdom sucker me in every time. A crew of likeable characters helps oodles: while sister series Tsubasa suffers from cloying goody-goodies, xxxHolic pulls together the pasty spirit boy, the straight man, the bubbly mystery and the sexpot witch to spectacular effect. It’s a vivid, insightful romp through Japanese mythology and mystery, with morals to boot! Sign me up any day.
• After-School Nightmare (Go!Comi): Possibly the best bit of shojo to come out of Japan that I can think of, this series is the perfect cocktail of teenage angst, psychological fantasy and gender bending amplified to dizzying heights. Blood! Backstabbing! Betrayal! In the warped wonderland between illusion and reality, anything goes, and the results are both compelling and addictively absorbing.
• Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Dark Horse): Possibly the most underloved seinen title on the market, KCDS is a dark, violent and occasionally funny look at a bunch of college students whose primary customers are the dead. Not quite a spirit-buster, the series works more as an exceptionally morbid, exceptionally brilliant ensemble piece. Comics critics and probably about three other people are the only consumers out buying this title, so mosey on down to Amazon some time and scoop yourself a copy.
• Eikaiwa School Wars: Okay, so it’s not in English (yet!) but I can look over both of my Japanese volumes lovingly in the hope that some day they’ll see some licensing love. Matsumoto Tomo’s stories are definitely a little offbeat, and on the whole, a lot… quieter than much of the shojo schlock. Key points in here include a can of mackerel, an English conversational school, and a non-grating girl heroine. Viz, where are you when I need you?
• Buddha (Vertical) Oh, Vertical. You may not be king of the sales charts, but you publish some quality, quality titles. Among them is Buddha, a granddaddy of a series from the ever venerated Osamu Tezuka. Slathered in a Chip Kidd design, masterfully drawn and brilliantly recognized, it’s nothing less than crack to manga reviewers. I’m certainly hooked.