Wednesday, December 16, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: HAIKYU!! Volume 37

HAIKYU!!, VOL. 37
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Haruichi Furudate
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Erika Terriquez
EDITOR: Marlene First
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1169-7; paperback (March 2020); Rated “T” for “Teen”
192pp, B&W, $9.99 US, $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Haikyu!! is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate.  This manga was serialized in the manga magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump, from February 2012 to July 2020.  VIZ Media has been publishing an English-language edition of Haikyu!! as a paperback graphic novel series under its “Shonen Jump” imprint since July 2015.

Haikyu!! focuses on Shoyo Hinata.  As a child, Hinata saw the legendary volleyball (haikyu) player known as “the Little Giant” compete at the national volleyball finals.  From that point, Hinata began a quest to be the best volleyball player ever.  In a sport in which tall athletes dominate, however, Hinata's height of 5'4” is considered too short.  Now, he plays for Karasuno Public High School with his rival, Tobio Kageyama.  Hinata does not believe that a player needs to be tall in order to play volleyball, especially when a player can jump higher than anyone else – as he can.

As Haikyu!!, Vol. 37 (Chapters 323 to 331; entitled “The Party's Over”) opens, it is Day 3 of the “National Spring Tournament.”  The third set in the match between Karasuno (representing Miyagi Prefecture) and Nekoma Municipal High School (Tokyo Venue Sponsor representatives), which some call the “Dumpster Battle,” nears its end.  This longtime dream match between Karasuno and Nekoma on center stage must come to an end.  So who will end?

Then, the narrative moves away from Karasuno for another big showdown.  It is Mujinazaka High School (representing Oita Prefecture) versus Fukurodani Academy (Tokyo second representative).  And Fukurodani's Kotaro Bokuto is hyped to face one of the top three aces in the nation, Mujinazaka's Wakatsu Kiryu!

[This volume includes a bonus story, “Couples.”]

THE LOWDOWN:  I am continuing my run through the Haikyu!! manga.  This calendar year I have read six volumes in a little under ten months, after not reading the manga for a year and a half.

Haikyu!! Graphic Novel Volume 37 brings the Karasuno-Nekoma Dumpster Battle to an end.  Since the series does not end with this volume, it must be obvious which team creator Haruichi Furudate made the winner.  Furudate's big twist is that the series focuses on the volleyball journey of two other schools.  I won't lie.  Focusing away from Karasuno's journey makes the series feel different, and it does affect my concentration on the main narrative.  I don't know which team to support because both are sympathetic, so …

Adrienne Beck's translation deftly captures the end of the Dumpster Battle and quickly moves onto a new story angle.  Letterer Erika Terriquez continues to shine in creating the furious comic book noise of Haikyu!! and of the game of volleyball … regardless of which school is in battle.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of sports manga will want the “Shonen Jump” title, Haikyu!!

A-
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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Tuesday, December 15, 2020

#IReadsYou Review: CRIMINAL VOLUME 1: Coward

CRIMINAL VOL.1: COWARD
MARVEL COMICS/Icon

WRITER: Ed Brubaker
ARTIST: Sean Phillips
COLOR: Val Staples
ISBN: 0-7851-2439-X; paperback (May 2007)
128pp, Color, $14.99 U.S, $24.00 CAN

Criminal, the comic book series by writer Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, is less than a year old, and it has garnered acclaim from trendy comics critics and Brubaker and Phillips’ colleagues, who are all too eager to provide quotes for book covers.  Word is that Criminal is some kind of meditation of the clichés of the crime genre – the authors’ chance to play with and to examine what makes crime fiction.  Whatever.  Along comes Criminal Vol. 1: Coward, the first trade collection of this series.

The truth of the matter is that to hold Coward is probably what it’s like to hold a rattlesnake in your hands.  People wondered if there would ever be another great, long-running crime series like Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s 100 Bullets, and this little mean sonuvabitch could be it.  This is crime fiction.

Criminal Vol. 1: Coward collects the first five issues of the series and focuses on Leo Patterson.  He learned the art of being a pickpocket from his father Tommy Patterson and his “Uncle” Ivan.  Leo has never been arrested because he’s careful and he follows “the rules” to the tee.  His troubles begin when two old associates (from a job that went bad when Leo didn’t follow his rules) coerce him into a job with Jeff Driscoll, a dirty cop.  Leo takes control of the heist to make sure that everyone sticks to his rules, but the best laid plans mean nothing when dealing with a dirty cop.

Who will like this?  Fans of the aforementioned 100 Bullets and also admirers of David Lapham’s Stray Bullets are hungering for Criminal even if they don’t know it exists.  You can think of this as a hard-ass remix of elements of John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle, Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing, and Samuel Fuller’s Pickup on South Street.

Does this concept really work?  Brubaker’s writing is actually pretty elegant for such a down and dirty tale.  While the characters all fit a crime genre type, not all are stereotypes.  The female character Greta is a layered, rich personality and is completely believable as a former junkie.  If there is a movie version of this, a good actress can take Greta and turn her into an Oscar nomination.

Sean Phillips’ art isn’t so much gritty as it’s hard.  Where as 100 Bullets is crime fiction as slick, high art, Phillips paints Criminal as severe and as tough as a world in which people do kill without blinking.  He draws the characters in such a fashion that we know they’re hiding secrets and thoughts, but when something comes to the surface, Phillips makes sure it’s plain to see.

Ultimately, there is hardly a bump in the road here, making Coward a seamless crime comics classic.  There were times when I had to back away from this murderous little treat.  Read it.  Enjoy it, but don’t turn you back on it.

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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Monday, December 14, 2020

BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for December 16, 2020

BOOM! STUDIOS

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Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 16, 2020

DARK HORSE COMICS

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Dynamite Entertainment from Diamond Distributors for December 16, 2020

DYNAMITE

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IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for December 16, 2020

IDW PUBLISHING

APR200791    INVISIBLE MEN TRAILBLAZING BLACK ARTISTS OF COMIC BOOKS HC (    $34.99
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Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for December 16, 2020

IMAGE COMICS

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