#IReadsYou Review: TEACH ME, TUTOR

TEACH ME, TUTOR
DMP BOOKS/Juné Manga – @junemanga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Sakira
TRANSLATION: Valeria Paolini
LETTERING: JF
EDITOR: Lindsay M
ISBN: 978-1-56970-834-7; paperback, (April 2020)
194pp, B&W, $16.95 US

Yaoi/Drama/Romance/Manga; Rated “18+”/Mature

Teach Me, Tutor is a yaoi manga anthology collection from manga creator, Sakira (the creator of Sailor Men).  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those male leads.  The main feature of Teach Me, Tutor, a five-chapter serial that finds two old friends in a master-pupil... sexual situation.

Teach Me, Tutor opens with the title story, “Teach Me, Tutor.”  Mitsuhashi Minami needs a tutor to improve his grades in college.  Along comes his old neighbor, Arakawa Uta, whom Minami once called “Uta-kun.”  It isn't long before Uta's tutelage leads to improved grades for Minami, and then, Uta-kun is demanding that Minami call him “Sensei.”  Next, Uta it tearing Minami's clothes off and tying him up.  It seems as if it is time for the tutor (Uta) to teach his pupil (Minami) about the joys of rough sex.  But does Minami hate... or love this new direction in his education?

Later, in “Stalking Love,” Minami and Uta are a couple living together, and Uta's jealous side often rears its ugly head.  When a friend of Minami's, a straight student named Irie Tadakuni, starts asking Minami for relationship advice, Uta is suspicious.  Minami thinks his lover is just being jealous as usual, but is there something to Uta's concerns about Takakuni...?

In “My Dear Teddy Bear,” 27-year-old Asari Soushi, a beautician, finds a small apartment.  Much to his surprise, however, he gets an unexpected roommate, 36-year-old Momoi Atsumu, an office worker.  Soushi can't help but wonder if his landlords aren't pulling a “double contract scam.”

Soushi soon finds out that this tall, dark, and handsome older man is hugely muscular... romantic... horny... and apparently shy and embarrassed about that.  With the help of some choice root vegetables, can Soushi be the aggressive “seme” (top) that Atsumu's uke (bottom) needs?  Plus, what happens when Atsumu's young daughter(!), Umika, moves in?!

[This volume includes an “Afterword” and a bonus comic, “Manga Report of L.A.'s Autograph Session!!”]

THE LOWDOWN:  The “Teach Me, Tutor,” serial is not the best that this Teach Me, Tutor collection has to offer.  Arakawa's Jekyll and Hyde personality is more Hyde... if Hyde were a sexually sadistic, bondage maven... and rapist.  “Teach Me, Tutor” is a bit odd even for my odd tastes, but it does have its humorous moments.  I do like that the fact that Sakira fills her illustrations with the depictions of copious amounts of flowing bodily fluids.

The two-part “My Dear Teddy Bear” story is the best of this volume.  It is sweet, romantic, cute, silly, and ultimately heartwarming.  The Soushi-Atsumu dynamic is a winner, and it gets even better when Atsumu's bold and sassy daughter, Umika, is added to the mix.  I wish Sakira would have given us an entire volume featuring the “My Dear Teddy Bear” characters, who eventually form a family of endearing characters.

Teach Me, Tutor finishes off with a ridiculous, but mildly amusing story about two dudes who have been fightin' friends since childhood.  “Our Cowgirl/Riding Situation” is one of those “just-get-a-room” state of affairs.  I think that this single-chapter story would also make for an interesting stand-alone volume.

Sakira fills this volume will tall, brawny, muscular men, and she draws the muscles and muscularity in exacting detail.  The muscles bulge, and just about each big, muscly ass has an anus waiting to be penetrated by finger... or by one of those long, thick dicks that every male character seems to swing in this book.  In Teach Me, Tutor, yaoi means yowza!

Valeria Paolini, via her English-language translation, manages to find both drama and comedy in Sakira's script.  JF deftly letters around all the bulging muscles and... the bulges.  Teach Me, Tutor isn't the greatest yaoi manga, but it is great to see gay sex depicted in comics (or, in this case, manga) as big, sweaty, and sticky fun.  Also, I do have to give Sakira much credit for celebrating the rip-roaring joy of masturbation in these stories.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Yaoi manga fans and Sakira fans looking for big men with the big stuff will want to get the education of Teach Me, Tutor.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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


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Book Review: THE THIRD DAUGHTER

THE THIRD DAUGHTER
HARPERCOLLINS/William Morrow – @HarperCollins @WmMorrowBks

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

AUTHOR: Talia Carner
ISBN: 978-0-06-289688-9; paperback; 5.31 in x 8.00 in (September 3, 2019)
432pp, B&W, $16.99 U.S., $21.00 CAN

The Third Daughter is a 2019 historical novel from author Talia Carner (Jerusalem Maiden).  The novel illuminates a little-known piece of history – the sex trafficking of teen girls and young women kidnapped from Russia and sent to South America in the late 19th century.  The Third Daughter recounts this story via the fictional story of a fourteen-year-old year Jewish girl whose family is sold a fairy tale, the first of many lies that enslaves a girl into prostitution.

The Third Daughter opens in Russia, 1889.  Fourteen-year-old Batya and her family:  her father, Koppel; her mother, Zelda; and her youngest sister, Surale, have been exiled from their home in the Russian village of Komarinoe.  As Jews, Batya and her family have just suffered the latest round in the centuries-old Russian pogroms, and this one has found Batya and her family thrown from their home and land.  Batya is the third daughter of four, and as the elder daughter still living at home, she is determined to do everything she can to help her family.  At the same time, she prays to God for a miracle, perhaps a wealthy man who will come and take her away from all her suffering.

Fate brings a wealthy man who arrives by carriage to rescue Batya and her family from the hard traveling of the road.  This apparently, worldly, wealthy stranger is Yitzik Moskowitz, called “Reb” Moskowitz, by the Russian Jews who know him.  Reb makes a generous financial offer to Koppel for a chance to marry Batya, and her father leaps at the opportunity to give his third daughter to a man who can guarantee her an easy life and passage to America, as Reb claims he can do.

Batya feels like a princess in a fairy tale as she leaves her old, impoverished life behind.  But that all soon turns into a waking nightmare.  Her new “husband” does indeed take her to America – South America!  Batya is kidnapped to Buenos Aires, Argentina, a vibrant, colorful, growing city... where prostitution is not only legal, but is also deeply embedded in the culture of the city.

Reb Moskowitz turns out to be a pimp, an influential pimp in an organization of pimps known as “Zwi Migdal.”  And Batya is one of the thousands of girls and young women from Eastern Europe who are tricked and sold to the brothels of Buenos Aires.  Over the next five years, Batya takes on the identity of an alluring older woman named “Esperanza,” and uses her body to bring sexual pleasure to hundreds of men.  When an opportunity to bring down Zwi Migdal arises, however, Batya takes it, but will saving herself mean abandoning her family that is still suffering the antisemitism of Russia?

THE LOWDOWN:  I was totally unaware of that little-known piece of history that chronicles the sex trafficking of young women from Russia to South America from the late 19th century and into the 20th century.  It turns out that the modern scourge of sex trafficking is not something new.  Girls and women have been trafficked into sex slavery long before the Internet made it easier and more wide spread and perhaps, more underground.

I began reading The Third Daughter during the high heat of the summer, and this historical novel is a true summer potboiler.  It is as much a thriller and perhaps, as much a horror novel as it is a historical novel filled with the details of Jewish religious life.  Author Talia Carner's historical detail and evocative prose will force many readers to tear through the book, always trying to find out what happens next.  Will Batya finally find a man to rescue her?  Or will she finally end up getting killed by her madam or pimp... if they find out that she is involved in a conspiracy against them?

Carner's vivid prose brings late 19th century Buenos Aires to life, but her best writing is in her character work on Batya.  Carner makes her readers feel what Batya feels – the highs and lows, the sorrow and the despair, the fear and the bravery, and ultimately, the determination.  By the end of The Third Daughter, Carner will make sure that you don't want to leave Batya.  The third daughter is the heroine and inspiration of this heartbreaking, wonderful, and redemptive novel, The Third Daughter.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Readers interested in historical fiction, especially related to Jewish history, will want to read author Talia Carner's novel, The Third Daughter.

8 out 10

This book contains the following:
An “Acknowledgments”
A glossary of Yiddish, Hebrew, Latin, Polish, Russian, and Russian terms
“Meet Talia Carner”
“Buenos Aires, 1996,” which details the 1994 bombing of “Asociacion Mutual Israelita Argentina” building
“The Historical Background of The Third Daughter”
“Ezrat Nashim Poster”
a “Reading Group Guide”

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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#IReadsYou Review: OUR LAST CRUSADE... Volume 2

OUR LAST CRUSADE OR THE RISE OF A NEW WORLD, VOL. 2
YEN PRESS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGA-KA: okama
ORIGINAL STORY: Kei Sazane
CHARACTER DESIGN: Ao Nekonabe
TRANSLATION: Jan Mitsuko Cash
LETTERS: DK
ISBN: 978-1-9753-0837-7; paperback (April 2020); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $13.00 U.S., $17.00 CAN

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World is a Japanese light novel series written by Kei Sazane and illustrated by Ao Nekonabe.  Fujimi Shobo has published the series since May 2017 under its “Fujimi Fantasia Bunko” label.  A manga adaptation by writer-artist, okama, began serialization in Hakusensha's Young Animal magazine in May 2018.  Yen Press is producing English-language editions of both the manga and the light novel series.

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World is set in a world where “the Nebulis Sovereignty” and “the Empire” are embroiled in a war without end.  Aliceliese Lou Nebulis IX a.k.a. “Alice” is the “Ice Calamity Witch,” a Nebulis “Astral mage” of incredible power.  Iska is the youngest swordsman of the Empire ever to become a “Saint Disciple.”  Alice and Iska find themselves face-to-face, and each seeks to bring a close to this ceaseless conflict.  Little do they know, however, that their meeting will be the catalyst that shapes the fate of the world!

As Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, Vol. 2 (Chapters 6 to 13) opens, fate has guided Iska and Alice together once more as they cross paths at an Imperial painter's art exhibit in “the Desert Neutral City Ain.”  There, they agree to meet again; only this time, it will be on the field of battle to settle the score.

When an ancient power awakens to threaten their very lives, however, Alice is forced to choose between her country (Nebulis) and her ideals.  Iska must forsake the will of the Empire and save a witch – an unforgivable act.  Up against an all-powerful foe, will the two heroes form an unlikely alliance, or will they find themselves unable to overcome their allegiances?

[This volume includes an original short story set in the world of Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World.]

The Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World manga is new to me.  Its source, the light novel series by Kei Sazane (with character designs and illustrations by Ao Nekonabe), is also unfamiliar to me.

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World Graphic Novel Volume 2 is a thrilling manga (or graphic novel).  Writer-artist okama offers action sequences that recall that found in Tite Kubo's beloved manga, Bleach.  Okama manages to present the complex, international dynamics and intrigue while also offering exciting action.  Even if a reader missed Vol. 1 (which I have), Vol. 2 is good enough to tempt readers to return for more of the series.

Jan Mitsuko Cash offers an English-language translation that makes the back story and politics readable.  Cash also captures the rapidly developing relationship between Alice and Iska.  DK's lettering conveys the drama and action and... romance?  Let's come back for more, dear readers.

7.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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#IReadsYou Review: YONA OF THE DAWN Volume 19

YONA OF THE DAWN, VOL. 19
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Mizuho Kusanagi
TRANSLATION: JN Productions
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane
LETTERS: Lys Blakeslee
EDITOR: Amy Yu
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8801-8; paperback (August 2019); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Yona of the Dawn is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Mizuho Kusanagi.  It has been serialized in Hakusensha's shojo manga magazine, Hana to Yume, since August 2009.  VIZ Media has been publishing an English-language edition of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series since August 2016 under its “Shojo Beat” imprint.

Yona of the Dawn focuses on the only princess in the Kingdom of Kohka, Yona.  She lives an ideal life, and her father, King Il, dotes on her.  Her faithful guard, Son Hak of the Wind Tribe, protects her.  Yona even cherishes the time spent with the man she loves, her cousin, Lord Su-won of the Sky Tribe.  However, everything changes for Princess Yona on her 16th birthday when the king is killed, and Hak is blamed.  Soon, Yona is on the run with Hak, but she is determined to reclaim her throne.  To do so, she begins a journey to find the Four Dragon Warriors.

As Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 19 (Chapter 106 to 111) opens, Yona, Hak, Jun, the Four Dragon Warriors: Gija, Jaeha, Sinha, and Zeno, arrive in the “Blue Forest.”  While gathering firewood, Sinha the Blue Dragon finds a stone dragon idol.  When the idol's mouth begins to close down on his animal companion, “Ao,” Sinha slices the idol's head off.  Sinha does not realize that his actions have also released an ominous spirit – one with a connection to his past!

Then, it is on to a reunion with Princess Riri of the Water Tribe and her two guardians, Ayura and Tetra.  Once again, Riri must call upon Yona and company for help.

[This volume includes the bonus chapter, “Sleep Well Tonight,” and also miscellaneous comics.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Yona of the Dawn manga is a historical shojo romance manga, one of my favorite genres of manga.  I also like that it is somewhat based in Chinese history and mythology.

Yona of the Dawn Graphic Novel Volume 19 offers a glimpse into the past of one of its Dragons.  Creator Mizyho Kusanagi uses this opening story not only to reveal some things about Sinha, but also about the other characters.  “The Blue Forest” mini-story arc is also a brief interlude that allows readers to enjoy the series' seven main heroes.  Kusanagi also gives us some intense moments between Yona and Hak that bring the two closer together than ever.

The work of JN Productions (translation) and of Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane (English adaptation) helps to deliver some strong scenes of personal moments – within characters and between characters.  Plus, Lys Blakeslee's lettering sets the mood, as usual, for this more intimate Vol. 19.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of historical romantic adventure will want to try the “Shojo Beat” title, Yona of the Dawn.

A
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 reprint and syndication rights and fees.



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#IReadsYou Review: PORTRAIT OF A DRUNK

PORTRAIT OF A DRUNK
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS – @fantagraphics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONISTS: Olivier Schrauwen and Ruppert & Mulot
TRANSLATION: Jenna Allen
EDITOR: Eric Reynolds
ISBN: 978-1-68396-289-2; 8.75 x 11 – trim size (April 2020)
188pp, Color, $29.99 U.S.

Portrait d'un buveur is a French graphic novel created by Belgian comics creator, Olivier Schrauwen, and the French comics duo of Ruppert and Mulot (Florent Ruppert and Jérôme Mulot).  It was published in France by Dupuis in 2019.  Fantagraphics Books recently published an English-language edition of Portrait d'un buveur as a hardcover graphic novel entitled Portrait of a Drunk, which is the subject of this review.

Portrait of a Drunk is the story of an 18th century guy named Guy Fleming.  A sailor, he is no master mariner.  A drunk, he manages to pass himself off as a carpenter aboard sailing vessels.  It would be just fine if he were an ordinary member of a sailing crew, but he is lazy, a liar, a coward, a thief, a drunkard, and, on special occasions, a killer.  He is not a swashbuckler, but he will unbuckle his pants to urinate wherever he can, including on bar counters and on people.  His story could be a grand tale of the sea with great battles, treasure-hunting adventures, and some gallows humor, but this is simply the portrait of a drunk.

The editor of the American edition of Portrait of a Drunk recommended the book to me, which under normal circumstances could be considered a conflict of interest.  But Portrait of a Drunk is such a joy to read and to experience.  It's fucking great, and you gotta say that shit like “Tony the Tiger,” growling and letting that growl roll over the word “great.”

First, I have to say that some have referred to the pairing of Olivier Schrauwen and the French duo of Ruppert and Mulot as a “supergroup.”  The term is often associated with rock music.  A supergroup comes together when members of two or more established rock bands unite to form an all-star band.  One of the earliest and most famous supergroups was “Cream,” which featured the pairing of Eric Clapton (formerly of The Yardbirds) with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker (formerly of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers).  I grew up on such 1980s supergroups as “Asia,” “The Firm,” “The Power Station,” and “Traveling Wilburys.”

I cannot say that the union of Olivier Schrauwen and Ruppert and Mulot is a comic book supergroup based on their past work, of which I am not familiar.  However, I am willing to call them a union made in comic book heaven after reading this one fantastic graphic novel, Portrait of a Drunk.

I did not read Portrait of a Drunk as a narrative told in two allegorical parts, “The Blowout” and “The Hangover,” which is apparently what it is.  Of course, it is obvious that multiple artists and storytellers worked on Portrait of a Drunk.  That can be seen simply in the mixture of color, black and white, and two-color art.  If there are two story lines or two parallel narrative threads, then, one of them is a stream of conscious-like, drunken adventure in which the reader tags along with Guy.  The other is like a side-story set in surreal shadow land or afterlife dimension where Guy's victims, accidental and otherwise, gather to observe him and also to plot against him.

Portrait of a Drunk is a great high-seas adventure.  It might seem dark, but quite the opposite.  It is a black comedy that takes many of the familiar literary elements and Hollywood ingredients of the high-seas adventure and strips away the glamour.  What is left is a bumbling, rough-and-tumble, violent, piss-laden adventure with someone who is such a drunkard that he needs professional help, the kind of which I assume did not exist in the 18th century.

Often in this graphical narrative, Schrauwen and Ruppert and Mulot don't even bother with panels.  They draw Guy bumbling from one side of the page to the other – row by row until he gets to the next page and starts all over again.  While Guy might be a drunk and a killer, but he is a comic book star, no less so that Spider-Man and Batman.  His adventure here is so... well, adventurous.  Colorful and exotic, we follow Guy from one port town to another, with stops at vibrant locales and in alien lands.

There is something so alluring in Olivier Schrauwen and Ruppert and Mulot fantastic bandes dessinées.  Perhaps, it is that they experiment with the medium and with comics and push past the boundaries of the expected.  Yes, Fantagraphics Books publishes comics for thinking readers, but it is just fine that high-falutin' comics, like Portrait of a Drunk, are as fun to read as say... Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

I can say with confidence that in this awful year of 2020, Olivier Schrauwen and Ruppert and Mulot's Portrait of a Drunk is one of the few truly magnificent graphic novels I have have come across.  And it is a fun summer read for me today, just as a Marvel comic book was for me decades ago.

10 out of 10

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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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BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for September 9, 2020

BOOM! STUDIOS

JUL200897    BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW #3 CVR A MAIN    $3.99
JUL200898    BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER WILLOW #3 CVR B ANDOLFO VAR    $3.99
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JUN200786    FIREFLY NEW SHERIFF IN VERSE HC VOL 01    $19.99
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JUL200869    LUMBERJANES #73 CVR B MOULTON VAR (RES)    $6.99
JUL200902    RED MOTHER #8    $3.99
JUL208196    SEVEN SECRETS #1 (3RD PTG)    $3.99
JUL200919    SOMETHING IS KILLING CHILDREN #10    $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for September 9, 2020

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUL200264    BILL & TED ARE DOOMED #1 (OF 4) CVR A DORKIN    $3.99
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