Weekly Recon, 5/7/08

When we launched Weekly Recon nearly one year ago (on June 20, 2007, to be exact), the goal was to highlight the best new manga arriving in stores each week with a mixture of off-the-cuff recommendations and brief reviews. The vagaries of the book distribution system, however, have frustrated our efforts to synchronize reviews and shipping lists. So this week, our column goes under the knife for a tummy tuck and a brow lift, with the goal of producing a leaner, meaner rundown of Wednesday’s new arrivals. You’ll still find the complete Midtown Comics shipping list here, as well as recommendations (now expressed as a top three or top five list) and, when appropriate, helpful hints for saving a buck or two. Reviews will be handled in a separate column, to be rolled later this month.

But enough about us—let’s talk about manga!

More than seventy new titles are appearing on store shelves this week, making this an especially onerous Wednesday for anyone with a serious manga habit. My top picks for the week:

CLAMP no Kiseki, Vol. 11 (Tokyopop): I’ll be honest: $19.99 seems a little steep for a beautifully produced thirty-two page magazine and three plastic chess pieces. But if you’re a rabid CLAMP fan, you’ll hate yourself in the morning if you pass up the opportunity to assemble a full run of CLAMP no Kiseki. And if you’ve just discovered this prolific, four-woman collective, you’ll be delighted to learn that volume eleven celebrates their current hit Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNICLES with artist interviews, full-color pin-ups, original manga, and exhaustive lists of tie-in products and publication milestones.

Color of Rage, Vol. 1 (Dark Horse) Does manga get any manlier than Kazuo Koike? This odd historical drama focuses on two slaves—one Japanese, one African-American—who escape from a transport ship, only to find themselves shackled together on the shores of Edo-era Japan. (No, this wasn’t conceived as a vehicle for Toshiro Mifune and Richard Pryor, though that pairing might have been sublime. Or sublimely awful—take your pick.) Expect plenty of sex, violence, and social commentary, as well as a few scenes that may strike American readers as naïve or misguided in their presentation of racial issues.

In the Starlight, Vol. 3 (NETCOMICS) Kyungok Kang’s unabashedly romantic sci-fi saga owes a considerable debt to Moto Hagio and Keiko Takemiya, both in terms of visuals—sparkling eyes! untamed manes! androgynously beautiful characters in tight pants!—and story—telekinesis! aliens! princesses switched at birth! The script is a bit tin-eared at times, but Kang’s artwork and richly layered characters more than offset a few clunky lines of dialogue.

King of Thorn, Vol. 4 (Tokyopop): Jurassic-sized lizards and killer plants terrorize a group of seemingly ordinary souls who waited out a pandemic in cryogenic sleep. The plot has a paint-by-numbers feel, but Yuji Iwahara’s knack for staging scary chases makes this monster mash an entertaining read.

Sand Chronicles, Vol. 2 (Viz): This lovely, understated story about a teenager coping with the fallout from her mother’s suicide is proof positive that “shojo” is not a catch-all term for “cheesy romances about boy-crazy girls.” Yes, it touches on such perennial coming-of-age topics as first love and fitting in, but manga-ka Hinako Ashihara’s gift for finding truthful nuance in everyday situations makes Sand Chronicles an engrossing read whether you’re thirteen or thirty-three.

Look for the complete shipping list after the cut.

SHIPPING THIS WEEK
100% Perfect Girl, Vol. 5 (NETCOMICS)
Absolute Boyfriend, Vol. 6 (Viz)
Archlord, Vol. 5 (Tokyopop)
Black Cat, Vol. 14 (Viz)
Black Magic Second Edition (Dark Horse)
B.O.D.Y., Vol. 1 (Viz)
Brave Story, Vol. 4 (Tokyopop)
Cherry Juice, Vol. 3 (Tokyopop)
Chronicles of the Cursed Sword, Vol. 20 (Tokyopop)
Chun Rhang Yhur Jun, Vol. 5 (Infinity Studios)
CLAMP no Kiseki, Vol. 11 (Tokyopop)
Click, Vol. 7 (NETCOMICS)
Color of Rage, Vol. 1 (Dark Horse)
Crayon Shinchan, Vol. 2 (CMX)
Crimson Hero, Vol. 8 (Viz)
D. Gray-Man, Vol. 9 (Viz)
Dark Edge, Vol. 9 (DrMaster)
Do Whatever You Want, Vol. 2 (NETCOMICS)
Dr. Slump, Vol. 15 (Viz)
Eden: It’s An Endless World, Vol. 10 (Dark Horse)
Fairy Cube, Vol. 1 (Viz)
Fantamir, Vol. 3 (Tokyopop)
Gatcha Gacha, Vol. 7 (Del Rey)
Gin Tama, Vol. 6 (Viz)
Good Luck, Vol. 5 (Tokyopop)
Good Witch of the West, Vol. 6 (Tokyopop)
Great Catsby, Vol. 6 (NETCOMICS)
Heavenshield, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
Hell Girl, Vol. 2 (Del Rey)
High School Debut, Vol. 3 (Viz)
Hikaru no Go, Vol. 12 (Viz)
Honey Senior Darling Junior, Vol. 1 (NETCOMICS)
Hunter X Hunter, Vol. 20 (Viz)
In the Starlight, Vol. 3 (NETCOMICS)
Initial D, Vol. 30 (Tokyopop)
June, Vol. 2 (NETCOMICS)
Kannazuki no Miko: Destiny of the Shrine Maiden, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
Kaze Hikaru, Vol. 9 (Viz)
Kiichi and the Magic Books, Vol. 1 (CMX)
Kindaichi Case Files, Vol. 17 (Tokyopop)
King of Thorn, Vol. 4 (Tokyopop)
Kitchen Princess, Vol. 6 (Del Rey)
Knockout Makers, Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
Kurohime, Vol. 5 (Viz)
Let Dai, Vol. 12 (NETCOMICS)
Little Queen, Vol. 6 (Tokyopop)
Love*Com, Vol. 6 (Viz)
Monochrome Factor, Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
Nana, Vol. 10 (Viz)
Naruto, Vol. 29 (Viz)
Nodame Cantabile, Vol. 13 (Del Rey)
Oh My Goddess, Vol. 29 (Dark Horse)
Operation Liberate Men, Vol. 3 (NETCOMICS)
Pirates vs. Ninjas, Vol. 2: Up the Ante (Antarctic Press)
Prince of Tennis, Vol. 25 (Viz)
Puri Puri, Vol. 5 (DrMaster)
Rhysmyth, Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
Romance Papa, Vol. 2 (NETCOMICS)
S.A., Vol. 4 (Viz)
Sakura Taisen, Vol. 7 (Tokyopop)
Sand Chronicles, Vol. 2 (Viz)
Satisfaction Guaranteed, Vol. 7 (Tokyopop)
Shaman King, Vol. 16 (Viz)
Short Sunzen, Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
Skip Beat, Vol. 12 (Viz)
Totally Captivated, Vol. 2 (NETCOMICS)
Whistle!, Vol. 19 (Viz)