20th Century Boys: A Boy and a Dream

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 14 (See all Manga)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

VIZ Media Titles Earn Eisner Award Nominations

VIZ MEDIA NOMINATED IN MULTIPLE CATEGORIES FOR THE 2011 WILL EISNER COMIC INDUSTRY AWARDS

Naoki Urasawa, NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS and HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES Nominated

San Francisco, CA, April 8, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, announced today that two of its manga titles and one creator have been nominated in several categories for the 2011 Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards for a total of 4 nominations, as announced by Comic-Con International on April 7, 2011.

Named for pioneering writer and comic artist Will Eisner, the awards recognize exemplary comics, graphic novels and other pop writings, and are given each year as part of the annual Comic-Con International convention. Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 22nd during Comic-Con, at which VIZ Media will be a major exhibitor and participant in the programs offered. VIZ Media titles are consistently nominated for the Eisner Awards, and in 2008, took home the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Japan for TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE, by acclaimed creator Taiyo Matsumoto.

The nominated titles from VIZ Media are:

HOUSE OF FIVE LEAVES, by Natsume Ono
• Best U.S. Edition of International Material–Asia

NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS, by Naoki Urasawa
• Best Continuing Series
• Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia

In addition, Naoki Urasawa is nominated for Best Writer/Artist, for his work on NAOKI URASAWA’S 20TH CENTURY BOYS.

“We are thrilled that VIZ Media has several nominees for the prestigious Eisner Awards,” states Alvin Lu, SVP and General Manager, VIZ Media. "The Eisners highlight the best in the comics industry each year, and we are honored to be considered among such a diverse group of nominees.”

2011 Eisner Award Nominees Announced

Nominees Announced for 2011 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards

Nominations Span Full Range of Works

SAN DIEGO -- Comic-Con International (Comic-Con) is proud to announce the nominations for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards 2011. The nominees, chosen by a blue-ribbon panel of judges, reflect the wide range of material being published in comics and graphic novel form today, from heartfelt autobiographical works to books aimed at kids and teens to deluxe hardcover archival editions. Unlike in past years, superheroes are very much in the minority in this year's selections.

Topping the 2011 nominees with 5 nominations is Return of the Dapper Men, a fantasy hardcover by writer Jim McCann and artist Janet Lee, published by Archaia. It has nods for Best Publication for Teens, Best Graphic Album–New, Best Writer, Best Artist, and Best Publication Design. Two comics series have 4 nominations: Morning Glories by Nick Spencer and Joe Eisma (published by Shadowline/Image) and Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (published by IDW). A variety of titles have received 3 nominations, including the manga Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys (VIZ Media), John Layman and Rob Guillory's series Chew (Image), Daniel Clowes's graphic novel Wilson (Drawn & Quarterly), and Mike Mignola's Hellboy titles (Dark Horse).

The creator with the most nominations is Mignola with 5 (including cover artist), followed by Spencer and Hill, each with 4. Several creators have 3: McCann & Lee, Rodriquez, Urasawa, and Clowes, plus writer Ian Boothy (for Comic Book Guy: The Comic Book and other Bongo titles) and cartoonist Jimmy Gownley (for Best Publication for Kids plus coloring and lettering on his Amelia Rules! series). A record 15 creators have 2 nominations each.

DC Comics has the most nominations for a publisher, with its various imprints (DCU, Vertigo, WildStorm) garnering 14 nominations (plus 3 shared). The DC Universe has 5 of those nominations, while the Vertigo imprint has 9, all spread among multiple titles and creators. In addition, 75 Years of DC Comics: The Art of Modern Mythmaking by Paul Levitz, published by TASCHEN, has two nominations.

The publishers emerging with the second-most nominations this year with 12 each are Image (led by Chew and Morning Glories) and IDW, which in addition to Locke & Key has double nods for four titles: Dave Stevens' The Rocketeer Artist's Edition, Polly & Her Pals Sundays, and Darwyn Cooke's Parker: The Outfit. Close behind with 11 nominations each are alt/indy comics publishers Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly. Fantagraphics dominates the U.S. Edition of International Material category with 3 nominees and has 2 nominations each for Carol Tyler's You'll Never Know: Collateral Damage and Jacques Tardi's It Was the War of the Trenches. Besides Wilson, D&Q is on the ballot with two nominations each for Lynda Barry's Picture This, James Sturm's Market Day, and Chris Ware's Acme Novelty Library 20.

Other publishers with multiple nominations include Dark Horse (9, plus 2 shared), Archaia (9), VIZ Media (4), and Marvel (3, plus 2 shared); six publishers with 3 nominations: Abrams Comicarts, Bongo, Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, First Second, NBM, and Scholastic/Graphix; and five with 2 nominations: Abstract Studio (Terry Moore's Echo), Disney/Hyperion, McClelland & Stewart (Scott Chantler's Three Generals), TASCHEN, and Vertical. Another two dozen publishers had 1 nomination each. Notably, many of these publishers are mainstream publishing houses and not standard comics industry companies. In addition to the ones mentioned above, they include Amulet Books, Andrews McMeel, Bloomsbury, Crown, Fulcrum Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Lee & Low, The Library of America, and Yale University Press.

Among this year's nontraditional "discoveries" by the judges are Seymour Chwast's adaptation of Dante's Divine Comedy (Bloomsbury), the "mocumentary" Finding Frank and His Friends by "Clarence 'Otis' Dooley" (Curio & Co.), the Native American anthology Trickster (Fulcrum), Lucidity Press's The Anthology Project, and cartoonist Dave Kellett's Literature: Unsuccessfully Competing Against TV Since 1953.

Named for acclaimed comics creator Will Eisner, the awards are in their 23rd year of highlighting the best publications and creators in comics and graphic novels. The 2011 Eisner Awards judging panel consists of comics store rep John Berry (Metropolis Comics, Bellflower, California), Comic-Con board of director Ned Cato (geekroundtable.com), librarian Karen Green (Columbia University), comics writer/editor Andy Helfer (The Shadow; Paradox Press), publishing consultant Rich Johnson (previously with DC Comics and Yen Press), and retail manager Chris Powell (Lone Star Comics, Dallas, Texas).

Ballots with this year's nominees will be going out in mid-April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. A downloadable pdf of the ballot will also be available online, and a special website has been set up for online voting. The results in all categories will be announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening of Friday, July 22 at Comic-Con International.

Voting in one Eisner Awards category, the Hall of Fame, is already completed. The judges chose the nominees earlier this year, and voting was conducted solely online, with voting ending on March 24.

The Eisner Awards are presented under the auspices of Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture. Jackie Estrada has been administrator of the Awards since 1990. She can be reached at jackie@comic-con.org.

20th Century Boys Beginning of the End

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 13

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

20th Century Boys the Friend's Face

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 12

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (where you can joins the thousands that have already downloaded the Bin's FREE smart phone apps).

20th Century Boys List of Ingredients

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 11

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phone apps).

20th Century Boys the Faceless Boy

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 10

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phone apps and they're FREE).

Rabbit Nabokov

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 9

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has updated its iPhone app).

I Reads You Review: 20TH CENTURY BOYS, VOL. 8

Creators: Naoki Urasawa with Akemi Wegmüller (English adaptation)
Publishing Information: VIZ Media, paperback, 216 pages, $12.99 (US), $16.99 CAN, £8.99 UK
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-2343-9 (ISBN-13)

20th Century Boys, a science fiction adventure series from famed manga creator, Naoki Urasawa, began with Kenji Endo. A hardworking, honorable man that some considered a loser, Kenji ran the family business (a convenience store). Some people, including his big-mouthed mother, thought that he wasn’t doing that well at it. Kenji also took care of Kanna, the infant daughter his sister abandoned before she disappeared. Kenji may have considered himself a failed rock musician, but he turned out to be the most important man in the world. Someone from his past was behind the rise of a bizarre religious cult called the Friends that was planning millennial doom.

On December 31, 2000, Bloody New Year’s Eve brought the world to the brink of destruction. Fourteen years later, Neo Tokyo is a thriving multiethnic, metropolis that lives under the shadow of the worldwide cult of the Friends. Now, Kenji’s niece, Kanna, finds herself caught in another Friends’ plot.

In Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, Vol. 8 (entitled Kenji’s Song), the narrative focuses on Koizumi Kyoko, a student at the high school Kanna’s attends. Because of her history project on Bloody New Year’s Eve, Koizumi has earned herself an extended stay at the surreal, hellish theme park/re-education camp, Friend Land. There she meets a former friend of Kenji’s, which leads her even deeper into the secrets of the Friends. Meanwhile, still more of the events of Bloody New Year’s Eve and an incident from Kenji’s youth are revealed in two separate flashbacks.

As is usual with a Naoki Urasawa manga, 20th Century Boys is an absolutely fantastic read. Once you start, you won’t want to stop. Naoki spins this narrative from the point of view of multiple protagonists and antagonists, which can sometimes be confusing. The suspense, action, and breakneck speed of the narrative, however, delivers such joys that the reader will work hard not to be confused by the menagerie of characters. This manga jumps off the page like a summer potboiler.

A+

"Pluto: Urasawa x Tezuka" Comes to an End

I read Pluto: Urusawa x Tezuka Vol. 8

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which now has an iPhone app).

I Reads You Review: PLUTO: URASAWA × TEZUKA, VOL. 6

Creators: Naoki Urasawa (writer/artist), Osamu Tezuka (writer), Takashi Nagasaki (writer) with Jared Cook and Frederick, L. Schodt (translators)
Publishing Information: VIZ Media, paperback, 200 pages, $12.99 (US), $16.99 CAN, £8.99 UK
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-2721-5 (ISBN-13)

Pluto: Urasawa × Tezuka is a science fiction and conspiracy manga from Naoki Urasawa. Pluto is also a reworking or re-imagination of The Greatest Robot on Earth. First published in 1964, this is the most famous story arc of Astro Boy (Tetsuwan Atom), the late Osamu Tezuka’s beloved manga.

Pluto: Urasawa × Tezuka focuses on a supporting character from the original story, a very human-like, German robot detective named Gesicht. Gesicht investigates a series of murders in which someone or something is targeting the world’s seven most powerful and advanced robots for destruction. Gesicht is one of those robots, and he discovers that the killer may be another robot, an indestructible monstrosity called “Pluto.”

In Pluto: Urasawa × Tezuka, Vol. 6, Gesicht has a meeting with Abullah, hears more about Goji, and searches for Sahad. How are they connected to Pluto? Well, Gesicht finally meets Pluto, and also faces his own fate.

Pluto: Urasawa × Tezuka is a mystery and psychological thriller in the vein of Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, but Pluto is science fiction like Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys. Like Urasawa’s other work, Pluto is a grand puzzle, but Pluto is a joy to read, even if the reader cannot solve the mysteries. Urasawa introduces a multitude of characters and subplots in a slow and deliberate fashion. If reading can be described as delicious, these characters’ motivations, secrets, conflicts, and personalities form a complex meal of complementary savory flavors.

Plus, with all the big reveals, Vol. 6 is a must have for fans of the series.

A

VIZ Media a Hit with YALSA

Press release from VIZ Media:

VIZ MEDIA TITLES RECOGNIZED BY YALSA’S 2010 GREAT GRAPHIC NOVELS FOR TEENS

Annual Booklist By Young Adult Library Services Association Recognize Acclaimed Manga Titles For Quality And Broad Appeal

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced that several of its manga titles have made the list of 2010 Great Graphic Novels For Teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

The noteworthy list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens was presented at the ALA Midwinter Meeting last week. The VIZ Media manga, recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teen readers.


The VIZ Media titles making the list included:
CHILDREN OF THE SEA Vol. 1 • by Daisuke Igarashi • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
KIMI NI TODOKE Vol. 1 • by Karuho Shiina • rated ‘T’ for Teens
KIMI NI TODOKE Vol. 2 • by Karuho Shiina • rated ‘T’ for Teens
OOKU: INNER CHAMBERS Vol. 1 • by Fumi Yoshinaga • rated ‘M’ for Mature Audiences
OTOMEN Vol. 1 • by Aya Kanno • rated ‘T’ for Teens
MIXED VEGETABLES Vol. 1 • by Ayumi Komura • rated ‘T’ for Teens
PLUTO Vol. 1 •  by Naoki Urasawa • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
PLUTO Vol. 2 •  by Naoki Urasawa • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
PLUTO Vol. 3 •  by Naoki Urasawa • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
SOLANIN • by Inio Asano • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
TEGAMI BACHI: LETTER BEE Vol. 1 • by Hiroyuki Asada • rated ‘T’ for Teens
WE WERE THERE Vol. 1• by Yuki Obata • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
WE WERE THERE Vol. 2 • by Yuki Obata • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
WE WERE THERE Vol. 3 • by Yuki Obata • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens
WE WERE THERE Vol. 4 • by Yuki Obata • rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens


“We’re very pleased to announce this diverse collection of manga titles that have been recognized by YALSA’s 2010 Great Graphic Novels For Teens, with 3 making it to the top ten.” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President Sales & Marketing for VIZ Media. “These series were created by some of the most imaginative minds in the manga genre and offer readers great stories ranging from science fiction and historical-based drama to romantic shojo and slice-of-life graphic novels aimed at female readers. YALSA provides librarians with valuable tools and information to help them select compelling titles for readers, and we invite them to consider these series which have been recognized for their innovation and quality.”

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the U.S. leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists.

For more information on these and other manga titles from VIZ Media, please visit http://www.viz.com/. [END]