20th Century Boys: A Boy and a Dream

I read Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 14 (See all Manga)

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

I Reads You Review: INVISIBLE LOVE (YAOI)

Creator: Rie Honjyo (cartoonist) with Vivian Chien (translator)

Publishing Information: Juné Manga/DMP, paperback, 184 pages, $12.95 (US)

Ordering Numbers: ISBN: 978-1-56970-770-8 (ISBN-13); 1-56970-770-7 (ISBN-10)

Rating: “M” for “Mature Audiences 18+”

Invisible Love is a yaoi manga short story collection from creator, Rie Honjyo. Eight stories focus on five couples, each couple a perfect match, except that love is having a hard time being seen or coming to fruition.

The title story, “Invisible Love,” and the stories, “Impossible Lover” and “Extra Time,” focus on Inori and Senou, longtime friends. Inori is a hound dog and lothario who sleeps with many women, but he is always being dumped by them. Senou is the best pal who listens to Inori’s complaints, but Senou has feelings deeper than friendship for Senou. What happens when they act on those feelings?

“In a Box with You” finds two roommates at a boys’ boarding school who enjoy mutual masturbation. Is something wrong with them, or is masturbating merely a prelude to a more meaningful relationship? In “The Warmth of Your Hand,” Takeru meets a pretty blond boy named Yukihiko. Takeru thinks Yukihiko’s doll-like face looks familiar, but at the bottom of his memory hole is a childhood accident… and maybe love.

Rie Honjyo is quite talented at cartooning the male figure. In fact, Honjyo has a knack for cartooning the male figure as gorgeous male models. Her work is like manga as fashion photography. However, all that pretty boy art does not translate into erotic comics or even romantic boys’ love manga. The stories in Invisible Love aren’t bad; they’re just average.

The exception is “In a Box with You,” which I find interesting. I’ve never before read a yaoi story in which the sex is mainly mutual masturbation. Reading the story, I couldn’t help but wonder if the relationship between the characters, Sugawara and Nishimura, is representative of how women imagine budding sexual relationships between young men to be.

I ask this because the story is visualized in a sensitive manner, featuring compositions that are emotionally evocative. All the sex scenes in this story are depicted in a manner to suggest that each youth is considering the other’s pleasure. Too bad all of Invisible Love does not go into such intimate detail.

B

Invisible Love (Yaoi)

March Story Meets Belma

I read March Story, Vol. 2

I posted a review at the Comic Book Bin (which has FREE smart phone apps).

Leroy Douresseaux on ABATTOIR #4

4

ABATTOIR #4 (OF 6)
RADICAL PUBLISHING

CREATOR: Darren Lynn Bousman
CONCEPT: Michael Peterson
WRITERS: Rob Levin and Troy Peteri
PENCILS: Wayne Nichols and Rodell Noora
LAYOUTS: Bing Cansino
COLORS: Andrei Pervukhin and Drazenka Kimpel
LETTERS: Troy Peteri
COVER: Tae Young Choi
28pp, Color, $3.50 U.S.

The horror comic book miniseries from Radical Publishing, entitled Abattoir, is the creation of Darren Lynn Bousman. Bousman was the director of three films in the Saw franchise. The Abattoir comic script is written by Rob Levin and Troy Peteri with Bing Casino and various artists illustrating the script.

Abattoir is set in the late 1980s and follows real estate agent, Richard Ashwalt, who was struggling to sell a house where a brutal massacre took place. Then, a strange old man named Jebediah Crone wanted to buy the house before Richard even finished cleaning it. Richard comes to see Crone as the source of all his problems, including being the lead suspect in a murder investigation.

In Abattoir #4, Richard convinces his friend, police Detective Al Sperry, to help him continue his investigation of Crone. However, Newt Washington, the elderly gentleman who decades earlier had a run-in with Crone, helped Richard. Now, Newt faces someone else who was supposed to be Richard’s friend. Meanwhile, Richard thinks that he has discovered a pattern behind Crone’s activities.

Although Abattoir is a comic book, it reads like a fine horror novel and suspense thriller. The series is also improving with each issue, and I think that by publishing it in a traditional comic book format, Radical heightens the tension and thrills Abattoir offers. This story is a like cliffhanger with Hell the destination, and every horror comic book should aspire to be as exciting to read.

A-

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 20 2011

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DEC100279 ASTRO CITY SHINING STARS HC $24.99

FEB110151 BATMAN #709 $2.99

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FEB110261 DMZ #64 (MR) $2.99

FEB110255 FABLES #104 (MR) $2.99

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FEB110114 GREEN LANTERN #65 (WAR OF GL) $2.99

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JAN110327 HITMAN TP VOL 04 ACE OF KILLERS NEW PTG $17.99

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FEB110168 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES #12 $2.99

DEC100250 LEGION OF SUPER HEROES HC VOL 01 THE CHOICE $24.99

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JAN110333 SUPERMAN BATMAN WORSHIP TP $17.99

FEB110185 TEEN TITANS #94 $2.99

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JAN110435 TRANSMETROPOLITAN TP VOL 09 THE CURE NEW ED (MR) $14.99

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Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for April 20 2011

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FEB110528 AVENGERS #12 $3.99

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FEB110505 FEAR ITSELF SINS PAST #1 FEAR $4.99

FEB110633 GENERATION HOPE #6 $2.99

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FEB110556 SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #1000 $4.99

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IDW from Diamond Distributors for April 20 2011

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