Wednesday, August 20, 2014

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.



Tuesday, August 19, 2014

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 20, 2014

DC COMICS

JUN140219     BATMAN AND ROBIN #34 (ROBIN RISES)     $2.99
APR140275     BATMAN ARKHAM UNHINGED HC VOL 04     $24.99
MAY140377     BATMAN ARKHAM UNHINGED TP VOL 03     $16.99
JUN140209     BATMAN ETERNAL #20     $2.99
MAY140369     BATMAN INCORPORATED TP VOL 02 GOTHAMS MOST WANTED (N52)     $16.99
JUN140227     BATWOMAN #34     $2.99
APR140272     BRIGHTEST DAY OMNIBUS HC     $75.00
JUN140303     FABLES #143 (MR)     $2.99
JUN140243     GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #34     $2.99
JUN148151     HARLEY QUINN #0 DIRECTORS CUT 2ND PTG     $4.99
JUN140255     INFINITE CRISIS FIGHT FOR THE MULTIVERSE #2     $3.99
JUN140181     INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE #3     $2.99
MAY140365     JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK TP VOL 04 THE REBIRTH OF EVIL (N52)     $16.99
MAY140368     KATANA TP VOL 01 SOULTAKER (N52)     $19.99
MAY140408     LUCIFER TP VOL 04 (MR)     $29.99
JUN140145     MULTIVERSITY #1     $4.99
JUN140162     NEW 52 FUTURES END #16 (WEEKLY)     $2.99
JUN148150     NEW SUICIDE SQUAD #1 2ND PTG     $2.99
JUN140236     RED HOOD AND THE OUTLAWS #34     $2.99
JUN140260     SCRIBBLENAUTS UNMASKED CRISIS OF IMAGINATION #8     $2.99
JUN140247     SENSATION COMICS FEATURING WONDER WOMAN #1     $3.99
JUN140206     SUPERGIRL #34 (DOOMED)     $2.99
JUN140178     TEEN TITANS #2     $2.99
JUN140291     TEEN TITANS GO #5     $2.99
JUN140184     TRINITY OF SIN PANDORA #14     $2.99
JUN140311     UNWRITTEN VOL 2 APOCALYPSE #8 (MR)     $3.99

DC COMICS/DC COLLECTIBLES

FEB140310     BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM HARLEY QUINN STATUE     $124.95
FEB140312     BATMAN BLACK & WHITE STATUE BY JAE LEE     $79.95

Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 20, 2014

MARVEL COMICS

JUN140651     ALL NEW GHOST RIDER #6     $3.99
JUN140639     ALL NEW ULTIMATES #6     $3.99
JUN140704     ALL NEW X-FACTOR #12     $3.99
MAY140944     CAPTAIN AMERICA EPIC COLLECTION SOCIETY SERPENTS TP     $34.99
JUN140619     DAREDEVIL #7 SIN     $3.99
MAY140946     DAREDEVIL BY MARK WAID TP VOL 06     $15.99
JUN140660     DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU #4     $3.99
JUN140697     DEADPOOL DRACULAS GAUNTLET #7     $3.99
JUN140694     DEADPOOL VS X-FORCE #3     $3.99
JUN140669     ELEKTRA #5     $3.99
MAY140940     JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY BY GILLEN TP VOL 02 COMPLETE COLL     $34.99
MAY140936     LOKI AGENT OF ASGARD TP VOL 01 TRUST ME     $19.99
JUN140698     MAGNETO #8     $3.99
JUN140636     MIGHTY AVENGERS #13     $3.99
JUN148106     MS MARVEL #1 6TH PTG PICHELLI VAR ANMN     $2.99
JUN148088     MS MARVEL #4 2ND PTG MCKELVIE VAR     $2.99
JUN148089     MS MARVEL #5 2ND PTG ALPHONA VAR     $2.99
JUN140673     MS MARVEL #7     $2.99
JUN140630     NEW AVENGERS #23     $3.99
JUN140615     NOVA #20 SIN     $3.99
JUN140614     ORIGINAL SINS #5     $3.99
MAY140933     PUNISHER TP VOL 01 BLACK AND WHITE     $17.99
JUN140708     SAVAGE WOLVERINE #22     $3.99
JUN140633     SECRET AVENGERS #7     $3.99
JUN148086     SPIDER-MAN 2099 #1 2ND PTG BIANCHI VAR ANMN     $3.99
JUN140705     STORM #2     $3.99
MAY140934     WINTER SOLDIER TP BITTER MARCH     $16.99
JUN140685     WOLVERINE ANNUAL #1     $4.99

IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for August 20, 2014

IDW PUBLISHING

JUN140340     (USE JUN148390) LITTLE NEMO RETURN TO SLUMBERLAND #1 SUBSCRIPTION     $3.99
JUN140457     AIRBOY ARCHIVE TP VOL 02     $29.99
JUN140364     JUDGE DREDD #22     $3.99
JUN140339     LITTLE NEMO RETURN TO SLUMBERLAND #1     $3.99
JUN140377     MONSTER & MADMAN TP     $17.99
JUN140390     MY LITTLE PONY FRIENDS FOREVER #8     $3.99
JUN140395     SAMURAI JACK #11     $3.99
JUN140368     SINISTER DEXTER TP     $24.99
JUN140446     STAR SLAMMERS REMASTERED #6     $3.99
JUN140383     SUPER SECRET CRISIS WAR GRIM ADV OF BILLY & MANDY #1     $3.99
JUN140384     SUPER SECRET CRISIS WAR GRIM ADV OF BILLY & MANDY #1 SUBSCRIPTION     $3.99
JUN140405     TMNT ADVENTURES TP VOL 08     $19.99
FEB140386     TMNT ANNUAL 2014     $7.99
JUN140412     TRANSFORMERS ROBOTS IN DISGUISE #32 DAWN O/T AUTOBOTS     $3.99
JUN140430     X-FILES YEAR ZERO #2     $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 20, 2014

DARK HORSE COMICS

JUN140015     BPRD HELL ON EARTH #122     $3.50
JUN140028     BRAIN BOY MEN FROM GESTALT #4     $2.99
JUN140023     BTVS SEASON 10 #6 MAIN CVR     $3.50
FEB140110     CLASSIC MARVEL UNCANNY X-MEN 94 #2 WOLVERINE     $49.95
JUN140010     DARK HORSE PRESENTS 2014 #1     $4.99
JUN140079     EYE OF NEWT #3     $3.99
APR140075     SECOND CHANCE AT SARAH HC     $14.99
JUN140069     STAR WARS DARTH MAUL SON OF DATHOMIR #4     $3.50
JUN140009     STRAIN NIGHT ETERNAL #1     $3.99
JUN140014     WITCHFINDER MYSTERIES OF UNLAND #3     $3.50

Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 20, 2014

IMAGE COMICS

JUN140537     ARTIFACTS #38     $3.99
JUN140545     DARK ENGINE #2 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140463     FADE OUT #1 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140480     GENIUS #3 (MR)     $3.99
JUN140556     MANIFEST DESTINY #9     $2.99
MAR140586     PETER PANZERFAUST #20     $3.50
JUN140564     PROTECTORS INC #8 (MR)     $2.99
MAR140593     SAVAGE DRAGON #197 (MR)     $3.99
FEB140627     SAVIORS #5 (MR)     $2.99
JUN148174     SOUTHERN BASTARDS #1 3RD PTG (MR)     $3.50
JUN140580     STRAY BULLETS THE KILLERS #6 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140581     SUPREME BLUE ROSE #2 (MR)     $2.99
JUN140584     TREES #4 (MR)     $2.99
JUN140585     UMBRAL #8 (MR)     $3.50
JUN140587     WICKED & DIVINE #3 (MR)     $3.50
JUN148168     WICKED & DIVINE #3 HANS CVR B (MR)     $3.50