VIZ Media Fights Illiteracy and Fosters Manga Love

VIZ MEDIA OFFERS LIBRARIANS FREE HEROES OF MANGA LIBRARY KITS

New Kits Highlight Popular VIZ Media Manga Properties And Help Foster Literacy And A Love Of Japanese Pop Culture Among Library Patrons Of All Ages

San Francisco, CA, June 2, 2011 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, gives librarians across the country a useful new tool to promote reading, literacy and love of manga (graphic novels). The company has made available Heroes of Manga Library Kits, full of items to entice patrons to explore the exciting world of Japanese pop culture and comics.

Manga is one of the most requested categories in libraries today. The Heroes of Manga Library Kit features some of VIZ Media’s most popular properties, such as NARUTO, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, NURA: RISE OF THE YOKAI CLAN and POKÉMON, designed for a range of readers from All Ages to Young Adult. Each library kit contains 50 book covers, 300 bookmarks, 50 buttons, 5 assorted VIZ Media bags, and a full-color poster featuring NARUTO, and is available for FREE to library professionals. For more information, or to receive a kit, please submit information here before June 8, 2011. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

“VIZ Media celebrates its 25th Anniversary this year and throughout our history, we have made it our mission to help fans of all ages foster a love of reading through manga,” says Candice Uyloan, Director of Marketing. “Our latest campaign provides librarians with a free Heroes of Manga Library Kit that contains a variety of fun premiums that highlight some of our most popular properties. Our first efforts to promote the kits resulted in such an enthusiastic response that we have decided to extend the program and increase the number of kits produced. We invite librarians to send in for their free kit today and use the goodies exclusively created for them to inspire their patrons to explore the exciting world of comics from Japan!”

VIZ Media manga titles are regularly recognized by leading library associations for their imaginative stories and high quality. The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) recently recognized several notable VIZ Media manga titles recommended for those ages 12-18, meet the criteria of both good quality literature and appealing reading for teen readers. For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the U.S. leader in selecting books, videos, and audio books for teens.

For more information on VIZ Media manga titles, please visit www.viz.com/manga.

Matthew Vaughn's "Stardust" the Review

I'm still in the process of reposting reviews that were on my old site, Negromancer, to the the new, blog version.  Since X-Men: First Class, directed by Matthew Vaughn, is in theatres today, I posted my review of Vaughn's film adaptation of Stardust, the illustrated novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess.

Leroy Douresseaux on ABATTOIR #5

ABATTOIR #5 (OF 6)
RADICAL PUBLISHING

CREATOR: Darren Lynn Bousman
CONCEPT: Michael Peterson
WRITERS: Rob Levin and Troy Peteri
PENCILS: Hugo Petrus
COLORS: Andrei Pervukhin and Drazenka Kimpel
LETTERS: Troy Peteri
COVER: Tae Young Choi
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

American filmmaker Darren Lynn Bousman directed Saw II, Saw III, and Saw IV. His latest creation is Abattoir, a horror comic book miniseries from Radical Publishing.

Set in the late 1980s, Abattoir follows real estate agent, Richard Ashwalt, who was struggling to sell a house where a brutal massacre took place. Richard falls into a murderous conspiracy involving a strange old man named Jebediah Crone who buys the house in spite of Richard’s best efforts to stop him. Soon, Richard is also the lead suspect in a homicide investigation.

In Abattoir #5, Richard’s friend and former colleague, police Detective Al Sperry, continues his investigation of Crone. Sperry receives a visit from a very strange old man with intimate knowledge of just how much darkness is behind Crone. Meanwhile, Richard finds the horrible mansion Crone has built, or has he?

I said before that Abattoir is a comic book that reads like a horror novel or suspense thriller. I’ve also said that the series improves with each issue, but #5 is the least of the series yet. The part of #5 that deals with the old man recounting his past with Crone to Detective Sperry is riveting and intriguing, and I wanted more. The half of the story that belongs to Richard’s surreal journey into manse Crone is part good and part story padding. Still, it does set up for a potentially great final issue.

B

Rasetsu the Final Volume

I read Rasetsu, Vol. 9

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

Library Wars the Phony Do-Gooders

I read Library Wars: Love & War, Vol. 5

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

Leroy Douresseaux on HATE ANNUAL #9

HATE ANNUAL #9
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

CARTOONIST: Peter Bagge
COLORS: Joanne Bagge
28pp, Color, $4.95

It’s one of my favorite times of the year, whenever it is that it happens during the year. It’s time for our annual dose of Hate because the new Hate Annual is out!

Hate Annual #9 opens to find Buddy Bradley and his wife, Lisa Leavenworth-Bradley, enjoying the American dream… or some off-kilter, but nonetheless sweet version of it. In “Heaven,” Buddy is a thriving businessman with Buddy & Jay’s Scrap Metal Emporium, a business he owns with his pal, Jay. Lisa is happy (or as happy as she is capable of being) and their son, Harold, is a thriving, red-bloodied American boy.

Next up is “Hell,” which depicts a trip to Seattle to visit Lisa’s parents. They find Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, perverted relatives, swinging neighbors, a shady “brother,” and more dysfunction than the law should allow. Plus, Bagge takes on the modern state of the state in “The Home of the Brave,” and he gives readers the all-you-need-to-know about Belgium in “Stuff I Know About Belgium.”

Readers needing their Peter Bagge and/or Hate fix will always get it, to some degree, in the Hate Annual. Hate Annual #9, however, is one of the better editions, and that’s probably because of what Bagge presents here. “Heaven” and “Hell” appeases by giving us a peak at what’s going on in Buddy’s life right now, but we also get a hefty narrative that gives us something akin to the classic madness that was Buddy and Lisa’s life in Seattle.

“Heaven” is fluffy and sweet, and I must admit to being happy that Buddy is happy and doing fairly well. “Hell” offers what Bagge has always been good at – character writing. He can nail down a character in just a few panels, so even bit players can have a major impact in shaping the story. The “Hell” installment of Buddy and Lisa Bradley’s adventures is simply good stuff and makes me miss Hate even more.

Meanwhile, Bagge’s sharp wit and knack for social commentary and criticism (one of the hallmarks of the original Hate) is evident in “The Home of the Brave.” In eight single-panel cartoons, Bagge skewers the attitudes born of our past decade of hatreds and fears. Bagge can spin satirical gold and poke fun at our national nightmare as well as people paid much more than him for doing it (John Stewart, Stephen Colbert).

A

June Reads You

Happy Juneteenth!  Welcome to I Reads You, my blog about the things I read (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 have another blog: http://www.negromancer.com/. I also write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps).

All images and text appearing on this blog are copyright © and/or trademark their respective owners.