The Second Tsubasa Character Guide

I recently finished reading Tsubasa Character Guide 2

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. It's strictly for readers and fans.

Inio Asano's New Wonderful World

I finished reading What a Wonderful World!, Vol. 1

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. I liked it, but I wish the focus would have been on a single character rather than an ensemble.

Still Crazy for this Dog Manga

I finished reading Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, Vol. 14

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin. This is an excellent read for dog lovers - whether they read comic books or not.

Ain't Nuthin' But a Man

So when President Barack Obama was in New Orleans, he spoke to a receptive audience. 4th-grader Tyren Scott asked him, "Why do people hate you? And why, aren't they supposed to love you, if God is love?"

Now, the answer is that many of the people who "hate" President Obama are just racist, embittered trash or slimy GOP retards. However, the President told him:

"...I'm a pretty tough guy. Are you a tough guy? You look pretty tough. So you've just got to keep going on going, even when folks are criticizing you, when you know you're doing it for other people."

Read here for more.

I Reads You Review: BLACK LAGOON, VOL. 8

Creator: Rei Hiroe
Publishing Information: VIZ Media, paperback, 198 pages, $12.99 (US), $16.99 CAN, £8.99 UK
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4215-2779-6 (ISBN-13)

Black Lagoon is a seinen manga (comics for adult men) from manga-ka Rei Hiroe. A violent action series that uses action lines in the art for atmosphere, Black Lagoon focuses on four mercenaries who prowl the waters off the coast of Southeast Asia in a modified, 80-foot, Elco PT boat (a World War II torpedo boat) dubbed the Black Lagoon.

The Black Lagoon’s skipper and the leader of this quartet is Dutch the Boss, an African-American Vietnam veteran. Benny the Mechanic, an American ex-patriot on the run both from the FBI and the mafia, is the guy who basically operates the boat and handles the Black Lagoon’s complicated high tech electronics. The sole female of the crew is Revy, a foulmouthed gunslinger nicknamed “Two Hand.” Rokuro Okajima was a Japanese “salaryman” who was abandoned by his employers after the crew of the Black Lagoon kidnapped him; now, he is Rock and a member of the crew.

The current storyline, “El Baile de la Muerte,” began in Vol. 6 and takes up the entirety of Black Lagoon, Vol. 8. It revolves around a former Black Lagoon guest star, Roberta, the head matron of a prominent South American family and a former (supernaturally skilled) mercenary. Roberta has returned to Roanapur, Black Lagoon’s setting, seeking revenge for the killing of the head of the Lovelace family. Roanapur’s criminal overlords have marked Roberta for execution for fear that if she reaches and kills her target (a U.S. special operations unit called “Grey Fox”), she will bring the fury of the United States upon Roanapur. Rock and Revy lead a small motley crew, including the new head of the Lovelace family, Garcia (a boy), to find Roberta.

Black Lagoon is like a John Woo movie delivered with hurricane force. Half of every volume is a wild dance of gun play and a ballet of bodies contorting to deliver the kill shot. Rei Hiroe’s art offers a pandemonium of action lines and facial close-ups that probably are as close as printed graphics will every get to replicating the kinetic feel of the action movie.

It’s not as if the characters and their struggles aren’t interesting. The story of Roberta and the Lovelace family is a tragic one that references the political corruption, drug wars, U.S. interventionism, and poverty that seem to keep much of Latin America in third world status. Rock’s misfortunes alone are worthy of a graphic novel. But all that takes a backseat to the invigorating violence. This rip-roaring series is the comic book for the action-loving guy who doesn’t read comics but would try the right one. This is certainly the right one.

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I Missed Banned Books Week

Connie Schultz wrote this interesting and illuminating piece at Truthout about a banned book incident. Remember to enjoy and fight for the freedom to read.

Hellboy and Umbrella Academy on iPhone

Press release from Dark Horse Comics:

HELLBOY and UMBRELLA ACADEMY NOW AVAILABLE ON THE iPHONE

Dark Horse is proud to announce that Mike Mignola's Hellboy and Gerard Way's The Umbrella Academy are now available on the iPhone.

At the time of their publication, both Seed of Destruction and Apocalypse Suite were immediately renowned by critics as unique and talented debuts by independent creators.

Soon, industry heavyweights joined the chorus. Hellboy: Seed of Destruction is the beginning of the now legendary series Alan Moore calls, "a passport to a corner of funnybook heaven you may never want to leave."

Similarly, Grant Morrison calls The Umbrella Academy "one of the great new comic books of this decade," while Newsarama says the first volume of the series, Apocalypse Suite, is "flawless."

With two blockbuster Hellboy films by Guillermo del Toro and an Umbrella Academy movie in preproduction at Universal Studios, there's never been a better time to have the start of these monumental comics at your fingertips. A perfect way to introduce friends and pop-culture fans to two of the most important comics series today, or a great way to revisit the magic of amazing sequential art, the mobile editions of Seed of Destruction and Apocalypse Suite are a necessary addition for new and serious readers alike.

The first impressive issues of Hellboy and The Umbrella Academy are now available through the iTunes Store, with subsequent issues available soon. Seed of Destruction is available as four issues at $0.99 each, or as a bundle of all four issues for $3.99. The first issue of Apocalypse Suite is available for free, with issues #2–#6 only $0.99 each, or a bundle of all six issues for $4.99.