D.Gray-Man Art Book Due Next Week

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE

New Full-Color Art Book Features The Memorable Work Of Series Creator Katsura Hoshino And Includes A Double-Sided Poster, Artist Interviews And More!

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, will delight manga (graphic novel) art fans with the release of D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE on December 6th. The new art book arrives just in time for the holidays and will carry an MSRP of $21.99 U.S. / $25.99 CAN.

Enter the lavish fictional 19th century world of D.GRAY-MAN in this new collection featuring nearly 100 pages of full-color character art, magazine covers, and other original compositions by series creator Katsura Hoshino. Also featured are insightful Q&A’s between Hoshino and two manga creators that inspire her: Takeshi Obata, the artist behind HIKARU NO GO, BAKUMAN｡, and the smash hit DEATH NOTE (all published in North America by VIZ Media); and Osamu Akimoto, whose manga series, Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen Mae Hashutsujo, has been serialized in the best-selling boy's manga magazine in the world, Weekly Shonen Jump, for 35 years and remains the magazine’s longest-running manga series. D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE also includes an exclusive, double-sided full-color poster.

Set in a fictional version of 19th century England, D.GRAY-MAN (published by VIZ Media’s SHONEN JUMP ADVANCED imprint; rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens) is the story of Allen Walker, a 15-year-old boy who roams the earth in search of Innocence. Washed away to unknown parts of the world after The Great Flood, Innocence is the mysterious substance used to create weapons that obliterate demons known as akuma.

“D.GRAY-MAN ILLUSTRATIONS: NOCHE is an ideal collection of the work of Katsura Hoshino, and shows off many of her most memorable characters from the hit series,” says Andy Nakatani, Editorial Director. “Fans can savor lush renderings of Allen Walker, Lenalee Lee, and the evil Millennium Earl and learn more about Hoshino’s background, influences and the evolution of D.GRAY-MAN in an enlightening interview conducted by two of the biggest names in the manga world! This new release also makes a thoughtful gift for that special fan this holiday season.”

Born in 1980 in Japan’s Shiga Prefecture, Katsura Hoshino's hit manga series D.GRAY-MAN has been serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2004. Her first series, Continue, debuted in Weekly Shonen Jump in 2003.

For more information on D. GRAY-MAN, or others SHONEN JUMP titles from VIZ Media, please visit ShonenJump.viz.com.

Bakuman: Panty Shot and Savior

I read

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE comics).

I Reads You Review: PORTRAIT OF M&N, VOL. 2

Creators: Tachibana Higuchi with Jamie S. Rich (English adaptation) and Satsuki Yamashita (translation)
Publishing Information: TOKYOPOP, B&W, paperback, 192 pages, $10.99 (US), $13.99 CAN
Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-4278-1725-9 (ISBN-13)

Romance/Comedy; Rated “T” for “Teen Age 13+”

Portrait of M&N is a shojo manga focusing on two high school students with embarrassing, even debilitating secrets that cannot be shared with people outside their homes. First, 15-year-old Mitsuru Abe is an extreme masochist who delights in receiving brutal beatings. Mitsuru meets fellow student, 15-year-old Natsuhiko Amakusa, an extreme narcissist who is mesmerized by his reflection.

They keep each other’s secrets. Then, another student, 17-year-old Eiichi Hijiri, inserts himself into their relationship, claiming to be in love with Abe. Is he really, and does Natsuhiko even care if another guy is in love with Abe?

It’s meet the parents in Portrait of M&N, Vol. 2. Mitsuru meets Natsuhiko’s parents, but she is deathly afraid that they will learn her secret life as a masochist. However, the Amakusa clan has its own secrets, including Natsuhiko’s mother. Natsuhiko makes things worse by inviting the inquisitive Hijiri.

Next, the school’s Ball Games Tournament reveals the jealousies that the other female students have against Mitsuru because they believe she stands between them and Natsuhiko. And they plan to give her hell for it. After he is hurt in an accident, Hijiri plays on Mitsuru’s guilt and turns her into his nursemaid, which is probably making Natsuhiko jealous. So why won’t he admit it?

I didn’t enjoy this second volume of Portrait of M&N as much as I did the first. In Vol. 1, the art by creator Tachibana Higuchi (Gakuen Alice) reminded me of the work of famed New Yorker cartoonist, Charles Addams. This time around, Higuchi’s work lacks the macabre flourishes, and the wicked sense of humor is now more slapstick. The stories are more like traditional high school shojo (comics for teen girls) romance, and the secrets that made the leads seem weird now seem more like debilitations than dirty secrets. I enjoyed reading this volume of Portrait of M&N, but now it is quaint rather than edgy and comic.

B-

Digital Art Book, "Art for Hope" Benefits Japan Disaster Recovery

VIZ MEDIA TO RELEASE ART FOR HOPE DIGITAL ART ANTHOLOGY IN DECEMBER

Innovative Art Book Created In Partnership With Autodesk To Benefit Japanese Disaster Recovery; Exhibit Of Artwork Also Takes Place In Las Vegas At Autodesk University

VIZ Media has announced the upcoming debut of ART FOR HOPE, a limited edition digital art book anthology created in partnership with Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) to benefit Architecture for Humanity. The anthology will be available for a limited time, from December 1, 2011 to May 31, 2012, for $4.99 through VIZManga.com and the VIZ Manga App for iPad™, iPhone™ and iPod™ touch. 100% of VIZ Media’s net proceeds will support Architecture for Humanity’s ongoing disaster reconstruction efforts in Japan. To learn more about these rebuilding projects, please visit: http://www.architectureforhumanity.org/.

Each of the 40 artists participating in the ART FOR HOPE anthology used Autodesk® SketchBook® digital paint and drawing software applications in some way to create original pieces for the anthology. The artists, both professional and amateur, hail from around the world and from diverse fields, and range in style from the realistic to the fantastic, each illustrating the theme of “Hope.” Notable contributors include Eisner Award and Harvey Award winner Rob Guillory, Harvey Award Winner Lark Pien, muralist Sirron Norris, and MAMESHIBA artists Jorge Monlongo and Gemma Corell.

Selections from ART FOR HOPE will also be exhibited at the Autodesk annual user conference, Autodesk University, taking place at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV from November 29th to December 1st. Access to the exhibit is free to the public within the Creative Studio a unique hands-on space to celebrate the creative spirit and showcasing a variety of Autodesk software and products. More information on the exhibit and conference is available at:

http://www.sketchbooknews.com/news/creative-studio-art-exhibit.html.

VIZ Media and Autodesk are very proud of and grateful to the following artists for their contributions to the ART FOR HOPE digital art anthology:

Janet Alvarado-Don’t Lose Hope
Asuka 111 (Patipat Asavasena-Hope
Azure-Untitled
Greg Baldwin of CreatureBox-Sheltered
Alan Bay-A Little Piece of Hope
Drew Blom-Calvin Hedge and the Iron Golem
Steve Boura-Bright Future
Carsten Bradley-A Wish for You
Matthew Britton-Regrowth
Veronica Casson-The Guest Room
Geikou Chen-Rainbow Bridge to Tomorrow
Gemma Correll-Pierre, le Chat Français
Kalii Delarosa-The Rainbow in the Rain
Conrado Hernan Villa Gil-Untitled
Dave Guertin-First Flight
Rob Guillory-Hope
Rodolpho Langhi-A New Sunrise
C. Lijewski-Light Side of Dark
Chris Lui-Birds of a Feather
Holly Mongi-Good Morning, Friend
Jorge Monlongo-The Sprout and the Bean
Brian Muelhaupt-Ojizo-sama
Shaun Mullen-Kodama (Tree Spirits)
Susan Murtaugh-Enduring Beauty
Ray N.-Deliverance
Joe Ng-Rise Above the Storm
Sirron Norris-Kibou
Jacques Pena-Love
Luis Peso-Gathering Hope
Lark Pien-Wishes, Dreams
Kyle Runciman-Ready to Roll
Francesco Salvati-DEAR HOPE
Janet Shaw-The Hope of Japan
Brad Silverman-Dancing Dragon
Joseph Strachan-Flight of the Phoenix
James Turner-Never Give Up
Colie Wertz-Sea Turtle
Pinar Yalcin-Beam of Light
John Yandall-One Little Sign
Jim Zub-Seed Starter

For more information on the ART FOR HOPE project, please visit www.VIZ.com/artforhope.

For more information on VIZ Media digital initiatives, please visit VIZManga.com or www.VIZ.com/apps/.

I Reads December

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 have another blog: http://www.negromancer.com/. I also write for the Comic Book Bin (which has smart phones apps and comics).

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

I Reads You Review: ANGEL AND FAITH #1

ANGEL & FAITH #1
DARK HORSE COMICS

WRITER: Christos Gage
ART: Rebekah Isaacs
COLORS: Dan Jackson
LETTERS: Jimmy Betancourt
COVER: Steve Morris (alternative cover by Jo Chen and 25th anniversary cover by Georges Jeanty, Dexter Vines, and JD Mettler)
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S.

Angel & Faith is a new comic book series that ties into Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, and both reportedly will run for 25 issues. Angel and Faith are characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the television series created by Joss Whedon. Angel (portrayed by actor David Boreanaz) is a vampire whose soul was restored as punishment for his crimes. Faith Lehane (played by Eliza Dishku) is a Slayer, a girl endowed with supernatural abilities who battles evil creatures like vampires and demons.

Angel & Faith #1 (“Live Through This” Part One) opens after the events of Twilight, which saw Angel kill the Watcher, Rupert Giles. Now, with access to the Watcher files, Angel is picking up Giles’ old cases with rebel Slayer, Faith, along for the fun. Meanwhile, two figures from Angel’s Twilight past, Nash and Pearl, are looking for some serious payback.

You don’t have to be familiar with the recent Buffy or Angel spin-off comic book series to enjoy or understand Angel & Faith, although knowing even a little about the two characters helps. First, I should say that I enjoyed reading this… for the most part. The art by Rebekah Isaacs is well-drawn and the storytelling is good. The writing by Christos Gage is technically good. Why technically?

Like most comic books published over the last decade (and longer for some publishers), Angel & Faith #1 is the first chapter in a serialized “graphic novel” or story arc that will eventually be published in a trade paperback edition. This first issue hops around from one subplot to the next, and there are multiple points of view or narrators. There is so much exposition and dialogue that one could see this as an illustrated short story or chapter of an illustrated novel more so than it is a comic book. Still, I must emphasis that this is a good comic book, but it’s like reading a part of a story instead of being a story.

B

One Piece: The Death of Portgaz D. Ace

I read One Piece, Vol. 59

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