Welcome to I Reads You

Welcome to I Reads You, my blog about the things I read (mostly comic books, comics, and related books) and about the things I come across worth reading (mostly about comic books, politics, and entertainment). Sometimes I’ll comment on “real” books and the mass media. I’m Leroy Douresseaux, and I also have another blog: http://www.negromancer.com/.  All images appearing on this blog are copyright and/or trademark their respective owners.

#IReadsYou Review: GOGO MONSTER

 

GOGO MONSTER
VIZ MEDIA

CARTOONIST: Taiyo Matsumoto
TRANSLATION: Camellia Nieh
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Annette Roman
LETTERS: Susan Daigle-Leach
ISBN: 978-1-4215-3448-0; paperback; Rated “T” for “Teen”
459pp, B&W, $27.99 US, $36.00 CAN

GoGo Monster is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Taiyo Matsumoto.  Japanese publisher, Shogakukan, published it in a single tankōbon (graphic novel) volume in October 2000.  VIZ Media published an English-language edition of GoGo Monster as a single-volume graphic novel under its VIZ Signature imprint in November 2009.

GoGo Monster, a thick manga graphic novel by Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), takes readers into the make-believe life of a third grader.  A mystery and sleight-of-hand fantasy, GoGo Monster asks what is real and what is childhood obsession?

Third grader Yuki Tachibana lives in two worlds. In one world, our world, Yuki is a loner ridiculed by his classmates and reprimanded by his teachers for telling stories of supernatural beings that only he can see.  In the other world, these supernatural beings vie for power with malevolent spirits that bring chaos into the school, the students’ lives, and even nature itself.

In Grade 3, Class 2, Yuki is a good student, but he is preoccupied with the struggle between his good supernatural friends and the bad ones who break windows and paint graffiti on the school walls.  Makoto Suzuki is the new kid sitting next to Yuki, and although the other students warn him against this, this boy becomes Yuki’s steady companion.  Yuki also finds sympathy in Ganz, the elderly caretaker of the school’s flower and vegetable gardens and also Sasaki a.k.a. IQ, a boy who wears a large box over his head.  Makoto isn’t sure if Yuki is making up his fantasy world or not, while Ganz and IQ are cagey about what they believe.  As he becomes more withdrawn, Yuki will have to depend on the friends that stick with him – whether he realizes it or not.

THE LOWDOWN:  The answer to whether Yuki Tachibana’s claims are true or not is obvious to most readers, but the validity of this child’s fantasies are not necessarily the heart of GoGo Monster’s narrative.  The genre to which Monster is closest is not fantasy, but rather the coming of age story.  In fact, Monster is a coming of age story presented in such a fashion that the reader must be a detective – searching for the truth by discovering Tachibana’s motivations and by dissecting what little of his past is presented to the reader.  The star of the story is Yuki Tachibana and he doesn’t disappoint.

Taiyo Matsumoto’s tale mixes environmental and green metaphors and symbols which gives the story’s themes of renewal and rebirth, not only for Yuki, but also for his classmates.  What Matsumoto does best, however, is engage the reader.  Matsumoto structures the story so that the reader is constantly trying to find the truth.  The execution of this comics or graphical storytelling is such that the reader is always looking for something – a strange looking creature or a subtle movement in the face of a staff member or student at the school – that will answer a question.

You will want answers, and you will be won over by this maddening complicated child, Yuki Tachibana.  He is our surrogate into this literary world.  GoGo Monster is a monster of a read, filled with a sense of wonder about the natural world, about the supernatural world, and also about living in the real world.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of the manga of Taiyo Matsumoto will want GoGo Monster.

A-
7.5 out of 10

Revised and Posted on Friday, September 18, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Moonstone Books Has "Zombies vs Cheerleaders" in June

JUNE 2010 release:


ZOMBIES vs CHEERLEADERS #1
(W) Steven L. Frank
(A) Benjamin Glendenning
(C) Jason Worthington, Justin Ridge
32pgs, color, $3.99

Morbid or funny, and sometimes morbidly funny, top talent bring eclectic tales of Zombies vs Cheerleaders. Based on the hit trading card series from 5FINITY Productions, read the exciting stories of the two things everyone loves: zombies and cheerleaders!

Writer Steven L. Frank teams with artists Benjamin Glendenning, Jessica Hickman, Frankie B Washington, and David Namisato in this rip roaring first issue! Variant covers by Jason Worthington, Justin Ridge, & Jessica Hickman. The back cover is sketch friendly!

**Retailer Incentive: Buy4 or more copies get one copy free!** (Ridge = 50%, Hickman =20%, Worthington = 20%, Black = 10%)

Marvel Comics Television Sets

I found this at io9 about Marvel licensing their characters to a manufacturer for a line of expensive TV sets (about 1700 to 2000 dollars a set):

These 22, 32, 42 and 55-inch LCDs/40 and 46-inch LED HDTVs feature Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Wolverine, Thor and others embellished on the bottom corners of the frame as well as a themed splash screen that appears for 8 seconds when you turn on the TV.

Tracy Chapman said, "Consume more than you need.  This is the dream."

WWE Comics Announces "WWW Heroes #3"

WWE HEROES COMIC #3


-Issue series & number: WWE Heroes comic #3
-On sale: May 25 2010
-Details: 32 pages, full color
-Writer: Keith Champagne
-Artist: Andy Smith
-Cover Artists (50/50 covers): Andy Smith (cover A) and Gary Erskine (cover B)

Brief synopsis:
After the shock ending of the last issue, the whole roster of the WWE has been left reeling! But there is no time to waste because now that Reverend Josiah is in charge he has some cruel and unusual ideas for how things should be run. First up - Big Show versus the world! Will the biggest man in the WWE be able to take on... everybody?

WWE Heroes comic #3 on-sale May 25 2010.  Available from all good retailers and specialist comic stores. For your nearest comic store, visit: http://www.comicshoplocator.com/

For more information on WWE Heroes comic, visit:
http://www.wwecomics.com/
http://twitter.com/wwecomics
http://www.facebook.com/WWEComics

For more information about WWE Heroes comic artist Gary Erskine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Erskine

For more information about WWE Heroes comic writer, Keith Champagne: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Champagne

Charlaine Harris Willingly Joins Female Force

HBO'S 'TRUE BLOOD' CREATOR NEXT SUBJECT OF 'FEMALE FORCE' BIO COMICS


For most of the more than 20 years that Charlaine Harris has spent writing mysteries, she fit squarely into that later category. She had her fans, but she was nowhere near a household name. Then she created a character called Sookie Stackhouse, and everything changed.

This May, Harris will also star in her first comic book, as the subject of Bluewater Productions' latest entry in its popular Female Force line of biographical comics. Harris herself participated in Female Force: Charlaine Harris, granting extensive interviews to writer Kim Sherman. This marks an important first for Bluewater: Harris is the first celebrity to be interviewed for the Female Force series.

Sookie Stackhouse is now the featured character on HBO's hit southern gothic vampire series True Blood. And Harris, who will release her 10th Sookie Stackhouse book this summer, is finally one of those household names.

This May, Harris will also star in her first comic book, as the subject of Bluewater Productions' latest entry in its popular Female Force line of biographical comics. Harris herself participated in Female Force: Charlaine Harris, granting extensive interviews to writer Kim Sherman. This marks an important first for Bluewater: Harris is the first celebrity to be interviewed for the female empowerment Female Force series.

“Gathering first-hand information and feeling the strength that Harris exudes, both personally and professionally, immensely contributes to the originality and authenticity of this Female Force book,” said writer Sherman.

Nathanlie Ooten provided the interior art for Female Force: Charlaine Harris, while artist Patricio Carbajal provided the cover.

Female Force: Charlaine Harris will trace the writer's career from the publication of the lighthearted Aurora Teargarden mysteries to the phenomenon of her vampire-infused Sookie Stackhouse stories.

This book is an especially appropriate one for Sherman. Earlier, Sherman wrote Bluewater's Fame: Robert Pattison, profiling the actor who stars as the vampire with a conscience in the hit Twilight movies. In profiling Harris, Sherman is again exploring the world of literary vampires.

For Bluewater president Darren G. Davis, the Harris biography provides another chance to introduce new readers to the world of comic books.

“With our Female Force, Fame and Political Power biography comics, we've introduced countless new readers to the joy of sequential storytelling,” Davis said. “These comics have proven to be exceptionally popular. We expect Charlaine Harris' story to attract even new readers to the graphic format.”

Female Force: Charlaine Harris will retail for $3.99, and will include 32 pages.

Moonstone Books Has "Domino Lady: Noir" For June

Moonstone Books JUNE 2010 Release:



DOMINO LADY: NOIR

Story: Nancy Holder
Art: Shawn Van Briesen
Cover: Michael J. Williams
32pgs, 7 x 10, b/w, $3.50

GREAT jumping on point!

Bram Stoker Award winner and NY Times best-selling author Nancy Holder tells of bad love gone bad in the comic novella “D.O.A.”: Steamy white hot passion, the business of violent crime, and a girl who should know better! Gorgeous greyscaled art by Shawm Van Briesen!

**Retailer Incentive: Buy4 or more copies get one copy free!**