Toriko: Gourmet Casino!!

I read Toriko, Vol. 18

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which has free smart phone apps and comics).

#IReadsYou Review: UZUMAKI: Deluxe Edition

UZUMAKI: DELUXE EDITION
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Junji Ito
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Yuji Oniki
LETTERS:  Susan Daigle-Leach
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6132-5; hardcover (October 2013); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
656pp, B&W, $27.99 U.S., $32.00 CAN, £17.99 U.K.

I would put Uzumaki, the masterpiece of horror manga from creator Junji Ito as one of the greatest horror comic books every published.  It is one of the few horror comic books that I would place on parity with the horror comics produced by the legendary American comic book publisher, EC Comics.

Uzumaki was originally published in 1998 and 1999 in the manga magazine, Big Comic Spirits.  In 2001, VIZ Media first published the series in North America in three volumes, and re-released the three volumes in 2007 in new editions.  Now, VIZ Media has collected this tour de force of fear in a deluxe hardcover edition, simply entitled Uzumaki: Deluxe Edition – a 3-in-1 edition that collects all three Uzumaki graphic novels.

Uzumaki is set in Kurôzu-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan and focuses on one of its citizens, Kirie Goshima, a quiet, reserved teen girl.  Being quiet and reserved makes Kirie an astute observer of the peculiar events that strike her hometown.  The pattern uzumaki – the spiral – haunts the town, and the inhabitants of Kurôzu-cho are pulled into something from which there is no return.

In Uzumak, Volume 1, Kirie Goshima gets strange news from her withdrawn boyfriend, Shuichi Saito.  He tells her that their town is haunted not by a person or creature, but by a pattern, the spiral (uzumaki), but Kirie quietly has her doubts.  Eventually, even she cannot deny how the spiral pattern manifests itself all over town – in seashells, in the clouds above, and even in the whirlwinds (or dust devils) that plague the streets.

In Uzumaki, Volume 2, the horror of the spiral is actually becoming increasingly more bizarre.  First, Kirie finds herself plagued by a practical joker who is obsessed with her.  Then, Kirie’s hospital stay becomes a lesson in pre and post-natal care when hungry mothers and their infants become very picky eaters.

In Uzumaki, Volume 3, the citizens of Kurôzu-cho find themselves cut off from the outside world.  Titanic typhoons (hurricanes) and whirlpools keep the Japanese Navy from reaching the village.  As the pattern of the spiral completely takes over the town, Kirie and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, embark on a final quest.

It opens with a benign landscape of a young woman standing on a mountain road that overlooks her coastal hometown.  The second and third pages, a double-page spread, are decidedly less benign.  Now, the young woman, our heroine, is ever so close, yet not so close, to a vague maelstrom of swirling, imprecise wind.

This is Uzumaki, and we are about to follow heroine/lead character/protagonist, Kirie Goshima, into a bizarre tale of a cursed town.  Through her, we experience one of the weirdest of weird horror stories.

Uzumaki is “manga;” in fact, it is a manga masterpiece.  However, creator Junji Ito offers a work that goes beyond borders.  Some may call it manga simply to keep it in a ghetto, away from other kinds of comics.  Comic book, graphic novel, bandes dessinee, manga:  This is visual storytelling that transcends language and national origins.

Many comics and graphic novels make little sense to readers other than to their intended audience.  [This is the case with some superhero comic books.]  Uzumaki does not suffer from this because Ito’s story is built around the kind of fears with which we can all identify – the specter of death, loss of control of our lives, and our own paranoia.  Like the citizens of Kurôzu-cho, our lives are often delicately constructed.  Hit a weak point and much if not all of it comes tumbling down.  Some people don’t even have the strength or the time to save or rebuild their broken lives.

As it begins, Uzumaki presents a town full of people slowly sinking into madness, unable to stop decay and eventual death.  All the readers have to hold onto is Kirie, who’s sane… for now, because it is going to get worse.  Reading Uzumaki again, I am struck by how the story feels not so much fresh as it does feel like an old horror that is always ready to get inside the reader’s mind.

Readers who are looking for the best of the best comics and manga will find it in Uzumaki: Deluxe Edition.  Readers who are searching for crazy/cool horror will find a big massive serving of scary in Uzumaki: Deluxe Edition.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Case Closed: The House of the Evil Spirit

I read Case Closed, Vol. 48

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.

I Reads You Review: BATMAN #22

BATMAN #22
DC COMICS – @DCComics

WRITER: Scott Snyder
PENCILS: Greg Capullo
INKS: Danny Miki
COLORS: FCO Plascenia
LETTERS: Nick Napolitano
COVER: Greg Capullo with FCO Plascenia
VARIANT COVER: Mikel Janin
40pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (September 2013)

Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger

Zero Year – Secret City: Part Two

Dear Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo,
Apparently, your “Zero Year,” a most pleasing, is what I wanted Grant Morrison’s Batman to be.  Of course, I enjoyed Mr. Morrison’s Batman stories, but I always thought that they should somehow be... better?  His Batman and Robin series started with such hope and promise, but quickly went flat, whereas your own “Zero Year,” seems to be on an upward trajectory, as they say. We’ll see...

The latest Batman event storyline is “Zero Year.”  Written by Scott Snyder and drawn by Greg Capullo, this 10-issue story is currently running through the ongoing, eponymous Batman series.  And thank you, DC Comics, for not making it a crossover with other Bat-titles and keeping the publication schedule pure.

Batman #22 (Zero Year – Secret City: Part Two) opens with Bruce Wayne facing down the Red Hood and his gang.  He discovers a shocking connection to the criminal and to Wayne Enterprises, but Bruce doesn’t know the half of it.  Meanwhile, a flashback to the past shows little Bruce gone cave exploring.  And adult Bruce has a spat with his butler, Alfred Pennyworth.  See ya’ next issue.

As I said in my review of Batman #22:  Wow!  I’m ready to read more.  Snyder is killin’ it, y’all.  I so don’t look forward to a refraction period, so I hope this story arc stays strong.  Style aside, Greg Capullo is doing some tremendous storytelling.  “Tremendous,” did I say?  I guess you can tell that I am enjoying this.  But I look forward to enjoying this, almost as much as I look forward to each new appearance of Love and Rockets – my favorite comic book.

Bruce Wayne: “That One Time”

WRITERS:  Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV
ART: Rafael Albuquerque
COLORS: Dave McCaig
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito

This issue’s Bruce Wayne flashback story is “That One Time.”  It takes place when Bruce is 21.  He’s trapped in a hole of some kind.  The theme is “doing the impossible.”  I like some of what artist Rafael Albuquerque is doing here.  The rest of the art serves the story, so I won’t complain.

Artists, writers, and other creative types will find some words of wisdom in this story.  They may even find it inspirational.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Real: Goes to "A-Camp"

I read Real, Vol. 12

A review was posted at ComicBookBin.

Afterschool Charisma: Enter... Jesus Christ?

I read Afterschool Charisma, Vol. 8

A review has been posted at the ComicBookBin.

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for October 23 2013

DC COMICS

APR130219 ABSOLUTE JOKER LUTHOR HC $99.99
AUG130275 ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN #6 $3.99
AUG130266 ALL STAR WESTERN #24 $3.99
AUG130198 AQUAMAN #24 $2.99
AUG130277 ARROW #12 $3.99
JUN130257 BATGIRL HC VOL 03 DEATH OF THE FAMILY (N52) $24.99
AUG130239 BATMAN THE DARK KNIGHT #24 $2.99
AUG130319 BEWARE THE BATMAN #1 $2.99
AUG130250 CATWOMAN #24 $2.99
JUL130216 DC VS MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE #2 $2.99
JUN130286 FABLES ENCYCLOPEDIA DELUXE ED HC (MR) $39.99
AUG130202 FLASH #24 $2.99
AUG130268 GREEN TEAM TEEN TRILLIONAIRES #5 $2.99
AUG130278 INJUSTICE GODS AMONG US #10 $3.99
AUG130172 JUSTICE LEAGUE #24 (EVIL) $3.99
AUG130175 JUSTICE LEAGUE #24 COMBO PACK (EVIL) $4.99
AUG130180 JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #24 (EVIL) (NOTE PRICE) $3.99
AUG130264 LARFLEEZE #4 $2.99
AUG130262 RED LANTERNS #24 $2.99
JUL130239 SUICIDE SQUAD TP VOL 03 DEATH IS FOR SUCKERS (N52) $14.99
AUG130224 SUPERMAN #24 $2.99
AUG130254 TALON #12 $2.99
AUG130183 TEEN TITANS #24 (EVIL) $2.99
AUG130343 TOM STRONG AND THE PLANET OF PERIL #4 $2.99
AUG130340 UNWRITTEN #54 (MR) $2.99
AUG130312 VERTIGO ESSENTIALS THE SANDMAN #1 (MR) $1.00

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

JUN130313 AME COMI STEAMPUNK BATGIRL PVC FIGURE $59.95
JUN130320 BATMAN ARKHAM CITY BATMAN VS BANE AF 2 PACK $59.95
MAY130282 BATMAN VS KILLER CROC STATUE 2ND EDITION $299.95
JUN130314 DC COMICS COVER GIRLS BATWOMAN STATUE $99.95
JUN130310 DC COMICS NEW 52 PANDORA AF $24.95