RAN AND THE GRAY WORLD, VOL. 7
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
MANGAKA: Aki Irie
TRANSLATION: Emi Louie-Nishikawa
LETTERING: Joanna Estep
EDITOR: Amy Yu
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0368-5; paperback (May 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
304pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN, £9.99 UK
Ran and the Gray World is a fantasy manga written and illustrated by Aki Irie. The manga was serialized in the manga magazine, Fellows!, from December 2008 to April 2015. VIZ Media published an English-language edition of the manga as a graphic novel series under its “VIZ Signature” imprint from November 2018 to May 2020.
Ran and the Gray World focuses on Ran Uruma. Ran can't wait to grow up and be a sorceress like her mother, Shizuka. With the help of a pair of magical sneakers, Ran sometimes transforms herself into an adult and takes off on various (mis)adventures.
As Ran and the Gray World, Vol. 7 (Chapters 38 to 45 to Final Chapter) opens, Ran finally awakens from her long sleep. However, everyone is afraid to tell Ran that Otaro Midado, the older man who courted and wanted to marry the adult Ran, has died. After her friend and rival, Nio Gekkoin, tells her, Ran's tears affect everyone around her and in the town of Haimachi.
As she works through her grief, Ran thinks about her future and about how she can become a stronger sorceress. After she makes her decision, she informs her mother, father, and brother, and her plan sends her family into a tizzy. And how will she handle her budding relationship with her human classmate, Makoto Hibi, the boy who is very much in love with her?
[This volume includes two bonus stories, “Shizuka's Vagabond Diaries” and “Hibi's Heart Isn't In It.” It also has the illustrated 24-page “Character Introduction,” an “Afterword,” and a bonus illustration.]
THE LOWDOWN: The Ran and the Gray World manga spent a few volumes being in the middle of an intense story arc. But once the fighting was over, it was apparently time to say goodbye.
Ran of the Gray World Graphic Novel Volume 7 is the final volume of the series. While Vol. 6 wrapped up the bug invasion story arc, Vol. 7 finds Ran learning to grow up in a normal way (as normal as it can be in a world of sorcery). “You know how kids only think about themselves?” Makoto asks Ran. “Well, we're not kids any more,” he answers his rhetorical question.”
The crux of the series seems to be that Ran wanted to grow up too fast, and, in the process, she took on an adult relationship with an adult man, a relationship for which she was not prepared on a number of fronts. When she had to save the one she loved, Ran made bad decisions concerning a person that no one could save. Death was inevitable, and consequently, so was her soul-wrenching grief – to say nothing of the fallout experienced by her community and her hometown.
The fact that Ran could put on a pair of magical shoes that would transform her into a woman always felt like a gimmick to me. Now, I know that the series' hook about the woman-child and the magical shoes was an important part of a coming-of-age story. The shoes were not a gimmick, but they were going to lead to a lesson learned, one that could be passed on in the future. Like the circle of life, the story ends with some else wanting to be “big” too soon, but with age comes wisdom. This time, Ran knows exactly what to say when a child comes to her looking for a shortcut.
Emi Louie-Nishikawa's translation is spry and lively, and, in Vol. 7, she captures all the bittersweet essences that imbue the drama of this manga's final chapters. Joanna Estep's precise lettering matches creator Aki Irie's art with its detailed line work and intricate crosshatching. The art's layered toning, thick blacks, and lush brushwork coalesce into beautiful storytelling that carries the reader's gaze and imagination on a magical ride through this final volume.
I will only complain that this final volume seems a little long at 250+ pages of narrative, but even after that long finale, I didn't want to leave the Gray World. Still, this excellent seven-volume fantasy manga will be waiting for new readers.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of coming-of-age stories about young magic users will want to try the “VIZ Signature” title, Ran and the Gray World.
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
-------------------------
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Wednesday, July 8, 2020
#IReadsYou Review: RAN AND THE GRAY WORLD Volume 7
Labels:
Aki Irie,
Emi Louie-Nishikawa,
manga,
Review,
VIZ Media,
VIZ Signature
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #1
KILLADELPHIA No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander with Luis Nct
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Francesco Mattina; Jason Shawn Alexander
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(November 2019)
Rated “M/ Mature”
“Sins of the Father” Part 1: “A Call to Arms”
Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes (Lando: Double or Nothing for Marvel Comics) and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Spawn for Todd McFarlane/Image Comics). The series focuses on a police officer who falls into a lurid mystery set in the corrupt and vampire-ridden historical city of Philadelphia. Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.
Killadelphia #1 (“A Call to Arms”) opens with James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. dealing with the death of his father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr. Ten days earlier, Sangster, Sr. got a tip that took him to “Harvest Green Homes,” a low-income housing project that had its glory days in the 1970s. Now, it's known as “Hell Hall,” and it is the place where Detective Sangster was murdered.
Jim hated his father, but he more or less stumbles into reading his father's journal. What he finds makes him think that Sangster, Sr. was loosing his mind. What Jim finds when he makes his own trip to Hell Hall will shake his beliefs to their core.
I once believed that if talented and accomplished African-American writers got the comic book writing opportunities that DC Comics' imprint, Vertigo Comics, gave to white writers, they would produce some incredible work. Of course, I was right, and Image Comics is proving it by publishing Black writer-penned titles like Bingo Love, Bitter Root, Farmhand, and Jook Joint, to name a few. Now comes Killadelphia from Rodney Barnes, who wrote the ambitious 2017-2018 Falcon comic book series for Marvel Comics. [After an epidemic of white-devil fever swept through Marvel's management and editorial, Falcon was unceremoniously canceled.]
Killadelphia #1 is incredible. What Barnes does with his first-issue script takes most other comic book writers five or six issues to do. Barnes, who is also a television writer and producer, presents the personalities of both Sangster men, while detailing their contentious relationship and its history in startling detail. Plus, he unveils quite a bit of Killadelphia's back story and mythology in a few pages. Wait! He also gives us some hot vampire action, y'all! [I'd say that I got more than my money's worth, but Image Comics did send me a PDF review copy.]
Jason Shawn Alexander's graphical storytelling is long and strong. Powerful graphics and page design strike out at the reader – the way they should in a vampire comic book. Alexander creates a milieu that is perfect for both horror fiction and for a contemporary tale of public corruption in a rotten metropolis.
Luis Nct's coloring is fantastic; it seems that every page suggests a different mood, which plays up Killadelphia's devious atmosphere and gritty and surreal ambiance. Marshall Dillon's lettering also changes, moving and shifting with the narrative, conveying the notion that this story wants to sink its... something into you.
Killadelphia #1 can't stop, won't stop. It is proof that comic books can do what movies like Us and Queen & Slim are doing for film – showcase the creativity of potent new or different storytelling voices.
10 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
----------------------------------
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander with Luis Nct
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Francesco Mattina; Jason Shawn Alexander
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(November 2019)
Rated “M/ Mature”
“Sins of the Father” Part 1: “A Call to Arms”
Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes (Lando: Double or Nothing for Marvel Comics) and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Spawn for Todd McFarlane/Image Comics). The series focuses on a police officer who falls into a lurid mystery set in the corrupt and vampire-ridden historical city of Philadelphia. Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.
Killadelphia #1 (“A Call to Arms”) opens with James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. dealing with the death of his father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr. Ten days earlier, Sangster, Sr. got a tip that took him to “Harvest Green Homes,” a low-income housing project that had its glory days in the 1970s. Now, it's known as “Hell Hall,” and it is the place where Detective Sangster was murdered.
Jim hated his father, but he more or less stumbles into reading his father's journal. What he finds makes him think that Sangster, Sr. was loosing his mind. What Jim finds when he makes his own trip to Hell Hall will shake his beliefs to their core.
I once believed that if talented and accomplished African-American writers got the comic book writing opportunities that DC Comics' imprint, Vertigo Comics, gave to white writers, they would produce some incredible work. Of course, I was right, and Image Comics is proving it by publishing Black writer-penned titles like Bingo Love, Bitter Root, Farmhand, and Jook Joint, to name a few. Now comes Killadelphia from Rodney Barnes, who wrote the ambitious 2017-2018 Falcon comic book series for Marvel Comics. [After an epidemic of white-devil fever swept through Marvel's management and editorial, Falcon was unceremoniously canceled.]
Killadelphia #1 is incredible. What Barnes does with his first-issue script takes most other comic book writers five or six issues to do. Barnes, who is also a television writer and producer, presents the personalities of both Sangster men, while detailing their contentious relationship and its history in startling detail. Plus, he unveils quite a bit of Killadelphia's back story and mythology in a few pages. Wait! He also gives us some hot vampire action, y'all! [I'd say that I got more than my money's worth, but Image Comics did send me a PDF review copy.]
Jason Shawn Alexander's graphical storytelling is long and strong. Powerful graphics and page design strike out at the reader – the way they should in a vampire comic book. Alexander creates a milieu that is perfect for both horror fiction and for a contemporary tale of public corruption in a rotten metropolis.
Luis Nct's coloring is fantastic; it seems that every page suggests a different mood, which plays up Killadelphia's devious atmosphere and gritty and surreal ambiance. Marshall Dillon's lettering also changes, moving and shifting with the narrative, conveying the notion that this story wants to sink its... something into you.
Killadelphia #1 can't stop, won't stop. It is proof that comic books can do what movies like Us and Queen & Slim are doing for film – showcase the creativity of potent new or different storytelling voices.
10 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
----------------------------------
Labels:
Black Comics,
Francesco Mattina,
Image Comics,
Jason Shawn Alexander,
Luis Nct,
Marshall Dillon,
Neo-Harlem,
Review,
Rodney Barnes,
vampires
Monday, July 6, 2020
BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for July 8, 2020
BOOM! STUDIOS
MAR201400 ALIENATED #4 (OF 6) $3.99
APR208180 ALIENATED #4 (OF 6) CVR B WARD VAR $3.99
APR201333 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW #1 CVR A BARTEL $3.99
APR201334 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW #1 CVR B ANDOLFO $3.99
DEC191233 EAT AND LOVE YOURSELF ORIGINAL GN $14.99
MAR201390 FIREFLY #17 CVR A MAIN ASPINALL $3.99
MAR201391 FIREFLY #17 CVR B KAMBADAIS VAR $3.99
APR208179 RED MOTHER #6 10 COPY INFANTE VAR $3.99
MAR201362 SOMETHING IS KILLING CHILDREN #8 $3.99
MAR201400 ALIENATED #4 (OF 6) $3.99
APR208180 ALIENATED #4 (OF 6) CVR B WARD VAR $3.99
APR201333 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW #1 CVR A BARTEL $3.99
APR201334 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW #1 CVR B ANDOLFO $3.99
DEC191233 EAT AND LOVE YOURSELF ORIGINAL GN $14.99
MAR201390 FIREFLY #17 CVR A MAIN ASPINALL $3.99
MAR201391 FIREFLY #17 CVR B KAMBADAIS VAR $3.99
APR208179 RED MOTHER #6 10 COPY INFANTE VAR $3.99
MAR201362 SOMETHING IS KILLING CHILDREN #8 $3.99
Labels:
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Buffyverse,
comics news,
Diamond Distributors,
Joss Whedon
Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 8, 2020
DARK HORSE COMICS
FEB200266 STRANGER THINGS INTO THE FIRE #4 (OF 4) CVR A KALACHEV $3.99
FEB200267 STRANGER THINGS INTO THE FIRE #4 (OF 4) CVR B MCKERNAN $3.99
FEB200268 STRANGER THINGS INTO THE FIRE #4 (OF 4) CVR C CAGLE $3.99
FEB200266 STRANGER THINGS INTO THE FIRE #4 (OF 4) CVR A KALACHEV $3.99
FEB200267 STRANGER THINGS INTO THE FIRE #4 (OF 4) CVR B MCKERNAN $3.99
FEB200268 STRANGER THINGS INTO THE FIRE #4 (OF 4) CVR C CAGLE $3.99
Labels:
comics news,
Dark Horse,
Diamond Distributors
DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for July 8, 2020
DC COMICS
APR200653 BATMAN HC BOOK 13 CITY OF BANE PART TWO $24.99
MAR200508 DC SUPER HERO GIRLS WEIRD SCIENCE TP $9.99
APR200667 DREAMING TP VOL 03 ONE MAGICAL MOVEMENT (MR) $19.99
MAR200642 FLASH FORWARD TP $17.99
MAR200652 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA BY BRAD MELTZER DLX ED HC $39.99
MAR200671 SUPERGIRL BEING SUPER TP NEW ED $16.99
JAN200676 WONDER WOMAN HER GREATEST VICTORIES TP $12.99
APR200653 BATMAN HC BOOK 13 CITY OF BANE PART TWO $24.99
MAR200508 DC SUPER HERO GIRLS WEIRD SCIENCE TP $9.99
APR200667 DREAMING TP VOL 03 ONE MAGICAL MOVEMENT (MR) $19.99
MAR200642 FLASH FORWARD TP $17.99
MAR200652 JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA BY BRAD MELTZER DLX ED HC $39.99
MAR200671 SUPERGIRL BEING SUPER TP NEW ED $16.99
JAN200676 WONDER WOMAN HER GREATEST VICTORIES TP $12.99
Dynamite Entertainment from Diamond Distributors for July 8, 2020
DYNAMITE
APR208236 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 11 COPY CASTRO B&W VIRGIN FOC INCV $3.99
APR208237 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 15 COPY GEORGIEV B&W VIRGIN FOC INCV $3.99
APR208238 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 21 COPY PARRILLO TINT VIRGIN RED FOC $3.99
APR208239 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 25 COPY PARRILLO TINT VIRGIN PURPLE F $3.99
APR208235 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 7 COPY CASTRO B&W FOC INCV $3.99
APR208234 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CASTRO FOC BONUS VAR $3.99
MAR201201 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR A PARRILLO $3.99
MAR201202 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR B GEORGIEV $3.99
MAR201203 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR C LINSNER $3.99
MAR201204 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR D GEDEON HOMAGE $3.99
MAR201205 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR E TASHA COSPLAY $3.99
MAR201227 NANCY DREW & HARDY BOYS DEATH OF NANCY DREW #2 CVR A EISMA $3.99
APR208236 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 11 COPY CASTRO B&W VIRGIN FOC INCV $3.99
APR208237 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 15 COPY GEORGIEV B&W VIRGIN FOC INCV $3.99
APR208238 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 21 COPY PARRILLO TINT VIRGIN RED FOC $3.99
APR208239 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 25 COPY PARRILLO TINT VIRGIN PURPLE F $3.99
APR208235 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 7 COPY CASTRO B&W FOC INCV $3.99
APR208234 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CASTRO FOC BONUS VAR $3.99
MAR201201 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR A PARRILLO $3.99
MAR201202 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR B GEORGIEV $3.99
MAR201203 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR C LINSNER $3.99
MAR201204 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR D GEDEON HOMAGE $3.99
MAR201205 DEJAH THORIS (2019) #6 CVR E TASHA COSPLAY $3.99
MAR201227 NANCY DREW & HARDY BOYS DEATH OF NANCY DREW #2 CVR A EISMA $3.99
IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for July 8, 2020
IDW PUBLISHING
FEB200696 COBRA KAI KARATE KID SAGA CONTINUES TP VOL 01 $15.99
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MAR200751 MARVEL VAULT OF HEROES CAPTAIN AMERICA TP $15.99
OCT190831 MICHAEL RECYCLE & BORAT SPACE CAT HC $15.99
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JAN200721 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ANNUAL 2020 CVR B FOURDRAINE $7.99
JAN200787 SPEED BUMP ANNIV ED HC $19.99
JAN200751 STARCADIA QUEST HEART OF A STAR TP $9.99
JAN200704 TRANSFORMERS GALAXIES #7 CVR A MIYAO $3.99
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FEB200675 USAGI YOJIMBO COLOR CLASSICS #4 CVR A SAKAI $3.99
FEB200696 COBRA KAI KARATE KID SAGA CONTINUES TP VOL 01 $15.99
DEC190619 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS INFERNAL TIDES #4 (OF 5) CVR A DUNBAR $3.99
DEC190620 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS INFERNAL TIDES #4 (OF 5) CVR B CHARACTER $3.99
MAR200751 MARVEL VAULT OF HEROES CAPTAIN AMERICA TP $15.99
OCT190831 MICHAEL RECYCLE & BORAT SPACE CAT HC $15.99
JAN200720 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ANNUAL 2020 CVR A SONIC TEAM $7.99
JAN200721 SONIC THE HEDGEHOG ANNUAL 2020 CVR B FOURDRAINE $7.99
JAN200787 SPEED BUMP ANNIV ED HC $19.99
JAN200751 STARCADIA QUEST HEART OF A STAR TP $9.99
JAN200704 TRANSFORMERS GALAXIES #7 CVR A MIYAO $3.99
JAN200705 TRANSFORMERS GALAXIES #7 CVR B MILNE $3.99
FEB200675 USAGI YOJIMBO COLOR CLASSICS #4 CVR A SAKAI $3.99
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comics news,
Diamond Distributors,
IDW,
Marvel,
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