#28DaysofBlack Review: ME AND THE DEVIL BLUES Book One

ME AND THE DEVIL BLUES: THE UNREAL LIFE OF ROBERT JOHNSON, BOOK ONE
DEL REY MANGA

CARTOONIST: Akira Hiramoto
TRANSLATION & ADAPTATION: David Ury
LETTERING: North Market Street Graphics
ISBN: 978-0-345-49926-4; paperback; (July 29, 2008); Rated “T Ages 16+”
544pp, B&W, $19.95 U.S.

Me and the Devil Blues is a seinen manga written and drawn by Akira Hiramoto.  It is a fictional biography of legendary blues musician and singer-songwriter, Robert Johnson.  It was first published in Japan in Kodansha's manga magazine, Monthly Afternoon, from 2003 to 2008, before going on hiatus.  When Hiramoto resumed the series in 2015, it moved to Young Magazine the 3rd Magazine.  Del Rey Manga published an English-language edition of the first four book collections of the series in two two-volumes-in-one paperback graphic novels.

[Since the publication of this book, Del Rey Manga ceased operations in 2010.]

Me and the Devil Blues mixes myths and legends and mythological and legendary figures.  Likely because of the stories told by fellow blues legend, Son House, the story of Robert Johnson says that he made a deal with the devil to become an expert blues guitarist and singer, with the cost being his soul.

Me and the Devil Blues: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson, Book One begins in 1929.  It is set deep in the impoverished Mississippi Delta where a nigga’s life ain’t worth crap and lynching is a community event much like a church social.  This is where we meet Hiramoto’s stand-in for Robert Johnson, RJ, a poor farmer who just doesn’t want to spend his life hoeing a field.  Despite the protestations of his pregnant wife, the former Virginia Travis, her family, and his friends, RJ wants to learn to play the blues.

Fate brings him into contact with the popular traveling bluesman, Son House, and his partner, Willie Brown.  House insists that understanding and playing the blues is about more than a guitar technique, but RJ ain’t hearing it.  As far as RJ is concerned, all he needs is someone to show him how to make his fingers work guitar magic, so his stubbornness leads him to a fateful night at an abandoned church.  [This tale co-stars Clyde Barrow.]

THE LOWDOWN:  There’s some powerful mojo in Me and the Devil Blues manga.  Akira Hiramoto’s manga sparkles with wild magic and sets the imagination afire.  What drives this superb manga is not just the excellent contents of the word balloons (OK, dialogue), but the stunning visuals, which Hiramoto composes using a variety of styles, techniques, and media.

Me and the Devil Blues: The Unreal Life of Robert Johnson, Book One is the story of an individual African-American.  However, it tells the story of the struggles of Jim Crow-era black people in a way that has rarely been told in such passionate and astonishing pictures outside of cinema and fine art.  I would say this manga belongs with the few great comics about black people like Ho Che Anderson’s King, Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner, and Sue Coe’s X, which like Me and the Devil Blues are works by cartoonists or writer/artists.

Imagining a Japanese man drawing such beautiful and beautifully-human African-Americans in a story that captures the Black American experience with such authenticity seems unreal.  It’s not that Hiramoto presents black people as a noble, oppressed people.  It’s simply that he made me believe that these cartoons, these comic book characters really lived.  They haunt me, yet I want to share the trials and tribulations of RJ and his people, as seen in this special work.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  People who read great comics will want to read Del Rey Manga's Me and the Devil Blues.

A+
10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: 3-in-1 Edition Volume 2

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION 3-IN-1 EDITION, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTOONIST: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
ORGINAL CONCEPT: khara GAINAX
TRANSLATION: Lillian Olsen, William Flanagan, David Ury
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Fred Burke, Carl Gustav Horn
LETTERING: Wayne Truman, John Clark
EDITORS: Megan Bates, Carl Gustav Horn
ISBN: 978-1-4215-5305-4; paperback (March 2013); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
572pp, B&W, $19.99 U.S., $22.99 CAN, £12.99 UK

The anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion, first aired on Japanese television in late 1995. The manga adaptation of the anime, also entitled Neon Genesis Evangelion, actually debuted in 1994. VIZ Media is publishing single-volume Neon Genesis Evangelion graphic novels and is reprinting the series in 3-in-1 editions, which gather three graphic novels in one large-sized, single volume.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is the story of humans at war with hostile beings called Angels. The human side of the conflict is led by NERV, a paramilitary organization. NERV created giant biomechanical units (or mecha) called Evangelions (also known as EVA or Evas) that are piloted by teenagers. The lead character is 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, EVA “Unit-01” pilot, who is also known as the “Third Child.”

Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 Edition, Vol. 2 (Chapters 20 to 40) reprints Neon Genesis Evangelion, Volumes 4 to 6. In Volume 4, Asuka Langley Soryu (the “Second Child”), the EVA Unit-02 pilot, comes to the fore. The golden-red-haired teen is dismissive of Shinji. When they meet a powerful Angel with a surprising ability, Shinji and Asuka must learn to work together. That training will bring them closer than they ever wanted to be.

In Volume 5, roommates Shinji and Misato Katsuragi, the 29-year-old NERV operations chief, get a new roommate. Shinji confronts his father, 48-year-old Gendo Ikari, the Supreme Commander of NERV, at this mother’s grave. Misato also discovers secrets about Ryoji Kaji and his loyalties.

In Volume 6, meet 14-year-old Rei Ayanami, the “First Child” and EVA Unit-00 pilot. Wait; you’ve already met her… Shinji’s pal, Toji Suzuhara, has an admirer. Also, NERV recruits the “Fourth Child,” who receives a baptism by fire.

Having never seen Neon Genesis Evangelion the anime, I was curious to read Neon Genesis Evangelion the manga, once I learned that it existed. The more I read the manga, the more I liked it. I would suggest that readers start at the beginning with these 3-in-1 editions. I started reading Neon Genesis Evangelion with Volumes 12 and 13 of the graphic novel series. They were enjoyable, but I was somewhat lost.

The early chapters of Neon Genesis Evangelion the manga are simple and straight forward. They develop slowly, and author Yoshiyuki Sadamoto allows the reader to get to know the characters – some more than others, but always enough to tell the story or to entice the reader to keep reading to learn more.

Shinji Ikari is the vehicle through which we are introduced into the world of NERV and the Evangelions. Shinji starts off a bit soft and unfocused for a lead. By Vol. 4, Sadamoto has fleshed out Shinji, so the moody, sad boy has developed a playful side and even becomes more forceful. Why am I writing about a character and not about the giant robot battles – because I want more of the characters than I want of the giant robots, which are cool, though.

Readers looking for classic mecha must look for Neon Genesis Evangelion 3-in-1 Edition.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux