14 Oct, 2007

This week’s haul is smaller than last week’s, but features some choice manga: the latest crop of Viz Signature titles (including new volumes of The Drifting Classroom, Golgo 13, and Naoki Urasawa’s Monster), more Naruto booty (this time in the form of a coffee table book), the eighth volume of CLAMP no Kiseki (celebrating the apocalyptic fantasy X/1999), and a new series from Seven Seas: I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara. I loved the title enough to read a short preview and wasn’t disappointed. If the rest of volume one is as breezy and entertaining as the opening pages—in which a closet otaku is outed by his fellow nerds—I’d say Seven Seas has a hit on its hands. Manwha more your cup of tea? You have several excellent titles to choose from this week, including the second volume of Chunchu: The Genocide Fiend (Dark Horse) and the sixth volume of Dokebi Bride (NETCOMICS).

By the way, if you rely on The Right Stuf for your weekly manga fix, you’ll want to take advantage of their current promotion: all Del Rey titles (including pre-orders on titles like Aventurra and Pumpkin Scissors) are 33% off when you enter the coupon code treat during checkout. You’ll need to hustle, however, as the offer expires October 21st. Thanks to Tokyopop blogger Mack for the tip!

REVIEWED THIS WEEK:

The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki (Viz)

With the Light, Vol. 1 (Yen Press)

Zombie-Loan, Vol. 1 (Yen Press)

SHIPPING THIS WEEK:

Aegis, Vol. 5 (NETCOMICS)

The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki (Viz; reviewed below)

The Cat Returns Picture Book (Viz)

Chunchu: The Genocide Fiend, Vol. 2 (Dark Horse)

CLAMP no Kiseki, Vol. 8 (Tokyopop)

Claymore, Vol. 10 (Viz; click here for a review of volume 2)

Constellations in My Pocket (DMP)

Dinowars Pocket Manga, Vol. 1 (Antarctic Press)

Dokebi Bride, Vol. 6 (NETCOMICS)

The Drifting Classroom, Vol. 8 (Viz)

Fall in Love Like a Comic, Vol. 1 (Viz; click here for a review)

Full Metal Alchemist Novel 4: Under the Faraway Sky (Viz)

Golgo 13, Vol. 11 (Viz)

Hana-Kimi, Vol. 20 (Viz)

Hanami: International Love Story, Vol. 2 (Dark Horse; click here for a review of volume 1)

I Hate You More Than Anyone, Vol. 2 (CMX; click here for a review of volume 1)

I, Otaku: Struggle in Akihabara, Vol. 1 (Seven Seas)

Inubaka: Crazy for dogs, Vol. 5 (Viz; click here for a review of volume 3)

Iron Wok Jan, Vol. 26 (DrMaster)

Junk: Record of the Last Hero, Vol. 4 (DrMaster)

L’Etoile Solitaire (DMP)

Let’s Be Perverts, Vol. 4 (NETCOMICS)

Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, Vol. 11 (Viz)

Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow Ani-Manga (Viz)

Otaku USA, No. 3 (November-December 2007)

Passion, Vol. 4 (DMP)

Protoculture Addicts, #93

Roureville, Vol. 2 (NETCOMICS)

Shakugan no Shana: Fight Day Novel (Viz)

Shojo Beat (November 2007)

Tales of Magatama: Dragon Sword and Wind Child (Viz)

Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)

Warcraft Ultimate Edition HC (Tokyopop)

Witchblade Takeru Manga #9 (Top Cow/Image)

The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki

By Masashi Kisimoto
Viz, 148 pp.

If there’s a Naruto fan in your household, chances are The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki hovers near the top of her wish list. This smart-looking coffee table book includes over 100 pages of full-color images culled from Weekly Shonen Jump, where Naruto has been a fixture since 1999. These reproductions are complemented by an assortment of extras: an appendix describing the inspiration for each illustration, an eight-page interview with manga-ka Masashi Kisimoto, and a step-by-step explanation of how Kisimoto creates a cover. With no character guides or precis of the main story arcs, newcomers won’t glean much useful information from reading Uzumaki. Anime fans may not respond enthusiastically to Uzumaki, either, as the subtle variations in the artwork (i.e. shading and line weight) may register as imperfections. As someone with no investment in the Narutoverse, however, I found the rough, energetic quality of these drawings a refreshing reminder that Naruto is, in fact, the product of a human hand and not a computer that’s been programmed to create hit manga. I also enjoyed the interview with Kisimoto, who proves surprisingly candid and funny when discussing his own insecurities as an artist. Given its very specific appeal, I can’t give Uzumaki an unqualified endorsement, but I can state with conviction that die-hard Naruto fans would be thrilled to find copies under their Hanukkah bushes and Christmas trees this holiday season.

The Art of Naruto: Uzumaki will be available on October 17th.

With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child, Vol. 1

By Keiko Tobe
Yen Press, 524 pp.
Rating: 13+

Reading With the Light reminded me of watching those disease-of-the-week movies that used to be a staple of network television programming. Like the best of these movies, With the Light dramatizes what it’s like to live with a particular condition—in this case, autism—while educating viewers about its causes, symptoms, and treatment. The story focuses on the Azumas, a typical Japanese family: Masato, the father, is an ambitious salaryman; Sachiko, the mother, is an accountant who quit her job to stay home with their new baby Hikaru. Hikaru proves an exceptionally difficult child, recoiling from his mother’s touch and screaming uncontrollably without obvious provocation. After he fails to reach important developmental milestones, Sachiko takes him to a specialist. The diagnosis: autism. Thus begins the Azumas’ struggle to learn more about the disease, to come to terms with Hikaru’s limitations, and to find a way for their son to live as normal and productive a life as possible.

With the Light is most compelling when showing how autism effects the Azumas’ daily routine. Tobe does a fine job of demonstrating the techniques that parents and educators use to help autistic children communicate their needs, impose order on their lives, and soothe themselves in stressful situations. Tobe also does an excellent job of helping the reader understand what it’s like to be autistic. In one particularly effective scene, we first see a busy hospital waiting room from the perspective of Hikaru’s parents, who can easily filter out distracting noises and snippets of conversation, and then from the perspective of Hikaru, who is overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle.

Tobe stumbles, however, when the focus shifts to the more familiar terrain of adult relationships. After reading the postscript to volume one (”With Dada” and “Nobu’s World,” testimonials written by mothers of autistic children), it’s clear what Tobe is trying to do in these scenes: to reassure parents that moments of frustration, jealousy, and marital strain are normal when raising an autistic child. But these conflicts are too neatly resolved to feel honest; every angry word, cruel comment, or misunderstanding is quickly countered by moments of reconciliation and kindness, reducing some truly painful, trying situations to mere speed bumps impeding the Azumas’ progress.

That said, I found With the Light a surprisingly moving, fascinating read, and commend Yen Press for launching their new manga line with such a thought-provoking josei title. My only question: when will Lifetime air the made-for-TV special that this manga inspired?

Volume one of With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child is available now.

Zombie-Loan, Vol. 1

By PEACH-PIT
Yen Press, 208 pp.
Rating: 16+ (language, violence)

If 28 Days suggested that zombies could be swift of foot, and Shaun of the Dead revealed that zombies were more ubiquitous than previously imagined, Zombie-Loan’s primary insights seem to be that (a) zombies can hide in plain sight and (b) those cute guys in your math class may, in fact, be zombies. The story focuses on Michiru, a timid orphan who’s bullied by her classmates, and Chika and Shito, two boys who are living on borrowed time. Literally. Chika and Shito, you see, both died in a terrible accident. In exchange for a new lease on life, the boys now work for a mysterious criminal syndicate that loans lifespan to the dead and dying; when one of the syndicate’s customers overstays his welcome in the land of the living and begins feasting on people, Chika and Shito are dispatched to kill him. Early in volume one, the boys make a fortuitous discovery: Michiru has the rare ability to recognize zombies. Chika and Shito coerce her into assisting them, threatening Michiru with bodily harm if she refuses to help them find the zombie terrorizing their school.

With a little more imagination or artistry, Zombie-Loan might have been fun. Or scary. But the plot is so generic that one could easily substitute vampires, werewolves, ghosts, ancient demons, or shape-shifting aliens for the zombies without violating any of the series’ basic tenets. The artwork, too, leaves something to be desired. The action sequences are a disjointed mess—it’s as if someone omitted critical panels from every page, leaving the reader to guess how events progressed from moment A to moment C. Most disappointing of all are the characters. Michiru is a whiny pushover, while Chika and Shito are sadists. The boys do have an opportunity to show their softer side at the end of volume one, but that moment is so predictable that it does little to offset the bad taste left by their obvious pleasure in tormenting Michiru.

My verdict: Zombie-Loan may appeal to die-hard PEACH-PIT fans, but offers little in the way of supernatural thrills or compelling drama.

Volume one of Zombie-Loan is available now.

- Katherine Dacey