Review: FRAGMENTS OF HORROR

FRAGMENTS OF HORROR
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

CARTONIST: Junji Ito
TRANSLATION & ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Jocelyn Allen
LETTERS: Eric Erbes
EDITORS: Masumi Washington, Nick Mamatas
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8079-1; hardcover with dust jacket (June 2015); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
224pp, B&W, $17.99 U.S., $21.00 CAN, £10.99 UK

After an eight-year absence from the genre that made his famous, mangaka Junji Ito returned with Fragments of Horror, a collection of macabre manga short stories.  Ito is the creator of such stellar horror manga as Uzumaki and Gyo, as well as numerous short manga.

Fragments of Horror contains eight short stories and an “Afterword” written by Ito in 2014.  VIZ Media recently published an English edition of Fragments of Horror under its VIZ Signature imprint.  The release is a deluxe, hardcover print edition carrying a MSRP of $17.99 U.S. and $21.00 CAN, and it is rated “T+” for “Older Teens.”

Fragments of Horror opens with the story, “Futon.”  The story focuses on a young couple who eloped and are currently living together.  However, Madoka discovers that her boyfriend, Tomio, has basically sealed himself inside a futon.  He blames “dark nature spirits” as the reason for his current predicament.  Madoka is getting tired of this nonsense, but what if Tomio is telling the truth?  Madoka and Tomio return in another story, the neck-traumatizing “Tomio · Red Turtleneck.”

In “Wooden Spirit,” a beautiful and historic wooden house turns crazy-creepy after a new tenant moves in with the current owners.  Feeding and eating turn gruesome and bizarre in the tale, “Blackbird.”

In previous reviews of Junji Ito's manga, I have basically revealed myself to be an acolyte of this modern master of horror.  There have been many adaptations of the work of famed horror and dark fantasy author, H.P. Lovecraft.  There have also been countless comics inspired by Lovecraft.  Junji Ito has named Lovecraft as an influence on his work.  I will take that one step further and say that Ito is the true comics descendant of Lovecraft, and the stories in the Fragments of Horror manga convinces me that I am right.

I will say that not all of the eight stories contained in this volume are exceptional or great.  The stories, “Futon” and “Magami Nanakuse,” are good ideas that fall somewhat flat in execution.  “Whispering Woman” is a classic Gothic tale of troubled and haunted unions, but the ending snatches defeat from the jaws of literary, short story victory.

“Dissection-chan” is creepy and ultimately chilling.  In this volume, the macabre “Blackbird” follows it, and together, the two stories make a blood-curdling one-two punch that might have made even Lovecraft gasp.  Like a Sam Rami movie, “Tomio · Red Turtleneck” is gleefully gruesome.  “Gentle Goodbye” is a masterpiece; it is one of the best short comics that I have ever read.  Every short story collection needs one truly great story that alone can make that collection memorable.  The beautifully haunting “Gentle Goodbye,” with its creepy poignancy, is that story.  Fans of Junji Ito and of horror/dark fantasy comics must have Fragments of Horror on their shelves.

A


Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux; support me on Patreon.


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Review: THE BATTLE ROYALE SLAM BOOK

THE BATTLE ROYALE SLAM BOOK
VIZ MEDIA/Haikasoru – @VIZMedia; @haikasoru

EDITORS: Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington
COVER: Tomer Hanuka
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6599-6; paperback, (April 2014)
192pp, B&W, $14.99 U.S., $19.99 CAN, £9.99 U.K.

The Battle Royale Slam Book: Essays on the Cult Classic by Koushun Takami is a collection of essays about the world of Battle Royale.  Battle Royale is a Japanese horror novel written by Koushun Takami.  Originally completed in 1996, Battle Royale was not published until 1999 by Ohta Shuppan, but it went on to become a surprise bestseller.  In 2000, the novel became a manga which Koushun Takami co-wrote with artist Masayuki Taguchi, who drew the manga.  A controversial film adaptation directed by Kinji Fukasaku was also released in 2000.

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the publication of Battle Royale the novel, Haikasoru (the fiction imprint of VIZ Media) published The Battle Royale Slam Book.  This original paperback release is a collection of essays by writers of popular fiction on the impact of the novel, the two film adaptations, and the Battle Royale manga on pop culture.  The essays also discuss the controversy and continuing social debate that has surrounded the novel ever since its first release.  The Battle Royale Slam Book is offered in print and also in digital editions as an eBook for $7.99 (U.S. / CAN), available for the Amazon Kindle and through Apple’s iBooks Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Book Store, and the Kobo eBooks Store.

Nick Mamatas, co-editor of The Battle Royale Slam Book, and 16 other authors offer an array of opinions on Battle Royale and about the enduring power of the acknowledged cult classic.  New York Times best-selling author John Skipp (The Light at the End) connects the novel to his childhood.  Cassie Cuinn talks about girl power.  Sam Hamm, who wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film, Batman (directed by Tim Burton), speculates on the survival chances of Hollywood cinema’s leading teen icons in a battle royale.  Jason S. Riddler (Blood and Sawdust) discusses the novel in the context of the popularity of professional wrestling.  Douglas F. Warrick closes out the book with an essay on Zen.

In order to enjoy and understand The Battle Royale Slam Book, the reader needs to be familiar with Battle Royale the novel or its adaptations.  I saw the film six years ago via a DVD available through Netflix.  The manga adaptation was collected in 15 graphic novel volumes, which were published by TOKYOPOP during the middle of the previous decade.  I read TOKYOPOP’s Battle Royale Ultimate Edition Vol. 1, which collected the first three manga volumes in one hardcover edition.  So I understand much of the context or what is being discussed in The Battle Royale Slam Book, although I have not as yet read the novel.

I think the best essay is the introduction to the book, “Blood in the Classroom, Blood on the Page: Will ‘Battle Royale’ Ever Be on the Test,” written by Nick Mamatas.  Basically, this piece is “what becomes a cult novel most.”  Mamatas discusses other controversial novels (such as Catcher in the Rye and Lord of the Flies) that eventually end up on high school and collegiate reading lists, which, in a way, serves to take away the edginess these works originally had.  I agree with a terrific instructor I had in college:  controversial novels with something meaningful to say about the human condition end up becoming children’s literature.  It is almost as if adults believe that turning such books into juvenile fiction can rob these works of their power to affect change.  I liked how much Mamatas’ essay engaged me and made me think, rather than just be passive, reading for amusement; I read the essay twice and picked through it a third time.

Two other essays also grappled with my imagination.  John Skipp’s “Death for Kids” uses his experience as the child of a U.S. government employee in late 1960s Argentina as the launching point for his essay.  The harrowing personal tale he tells should already be a memoir.

Before it was published, Battle Royale was entered into the 1997 Japan Grand Prix Horror Novel competition.  It did not win any prizes, as it was eventually rejected in the final round due to its content.  Japanese literary critic and editor, Masao Higashi, was there in the competition as a judge.  Higashi’s essay “‘Battle Royale:’ The Fight the Night Before” talks about his thoughts on the novel and why he voted the way he did.

Anyone who has experienced Battle Royale and/or its adaptations will find that The Battle Royale Slam Book is a collection of insightful essays.  Even those who normally don’t read essays will find the essays here worth reading.

A-

www.haikasoru.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

Graphic Novel Review ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (OGN)

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL GN
VIZ MEDIA/Haikasoru – @VIZMedia; @haikasoru

STORY: Hiroshi Sakurazaka
SCRIPT ADAPTATION: Nick Mamatas
ART: Lee Ferguson
COLORS: Fajar Buana
LETTERS: Zack Turner
EDITOR: Joel Enos
ISBN: 978-1-4215-6081-6; paperback, (May 2014)
96pp, Color, $14.99 U.S., $17.99 CAN

There is a new Tom Cruise movie arriving in theatres in the coming weeks.  This movie is entitled Edge of Tomorrow, and it is based on the novel, All You Need is Kill. Bestselling author John Scalzi (author of Old Man’s War), called All You Need is Kill “science fiction for the adrenaline junkie.” 

First published in 2004, All You Need is Kill is a Japanese science fiction novel written by author Hiroshi Sakurazaka.  Back in July 2009, All You Need is Kill and The Lord of the Sands of Time (by author Issui Ogawa) were the first two novels published by Haikasoru, a science fiction imprint of North American manga publisher, VIZ Media.

In the past few years, VIZ Media has been producing original graphic novels based on various media properties (Hello Kitty, Ben 10 – for example).  Now, its Haikasoru imprint is publishing an original English-language graphic novel of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s All You Need is Kill.

All You Need is Kill: Official Graphic Novel Adaptation is created by Nick Mamatas (script adaptation of the novel), Lee Ferguson (artist), Fajar Buana (colors), and Zack Turner (letters).  The story focuses on Keiji Kiriya, a Japanese soldier of the 301st division of the United Defense Forces (UDF).  Kiriya is just one of many recruits shoved into a suit of battle armor, which is called a “Jacket,” and then, sent out to kill the alien invaders called “Mimics.”

Keiji dies on the battlefield, only to be reborn each morning to fight and die again and again.  However, he is not only starting to remember the previous iterations of his fight, but he is also learning more about the enemy and how to fight them.  After one particular rebirth, Keiji gets a message from a mysterious ally, Rita Vrataski – the American female soldier known only as the Full Metal Bitch.  And she may have a way to stop the Mimics.

Of course, All You Need is Kill is a fantastic title for a book, for a manga, and even for a movie.  Yes, producers of the Tom Cruise movie, All You Need is Kill is an even better title than Edge of Tomorrow, which is itself a cool title.

What about the quality of this original graphic novel?  It is a fantastic read.  When VIZ Media first sent me a copy for review, I did not expect much from it, after giving the book a cursory glance.  What surprised me the most is that the graphic novel is not like any other comic book on the market and shelves today.  And it is not Groundhog Day meets Starship Troopers.  If I had to compare it to anything I would compare it to Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film, Full Metal Jacket.

Like Full Metal Jacket, All You Need is Kill the graphic novel tackles the absurdity of the war machine – from training soldiers and equipping them to sending them into battle.  At the same time, writer Nick Mamatas finds space in cutting the original text to present Keiji’s training method for survival as something that is plausible.  Basically Mamatas has adapted the novel into a graphic novel that does not seem like a collection of plot points and a narrative stream of the original novel’s best action scenes.  It is a complete comic book story with a good plot and well-developed characters and settings.

Artist Lee Ferguson draws the story in a spare style that establishes mood, captures the sense of desperation, highlights the absurdities, and clearly tells the story.  Fajar Buana’s colors depict the bloody horror of war, and some of the coloring also captures that otherworldly sense which classic science fiction has.

After enjoying this truly fine science fiction original graphic novel, I really want to read the original prose novel.  Readers looking for imaginative alien invasion science fiction will realize All You Need is Kill.

A

www.haikasoru.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.