IDW Publishing from Diamond Distributors for August 12, 2020

IDW PUBLISHING

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Image Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 12, 2020

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Marvel Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 12, 2020

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BOOKS

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JUN201183    WONDER WOMAN WAY OF AMAZONS HC    $19.99

DC Comics from Lunar/UCS Distributors for August 11, 2020

DC COMICS:

Aquaman Deadly Waters Deluxe Edition HC, $39.99

Batman And The Outsiders #15 (Cover A Tyler Kirkham), $3.99

Batman And The Outsiders #15 (Cover B Cully Hamner), AR

Batman And The Outsiders Volume 2 A League Of Their Own TP, $16.99

Batman's Grave #9 (Of 12)(Cover A Bryan Hitch), $3.99

Batman's Grave #9 (Of 12)(Cover B Stephen Platt Card Stock Variant), AR

Dark Nights Death Metal #1 (Of 7)(Greg Capullo 2nd Printing Recolored Variant Cover), $4.99

Dark Nights Death Metal #3 (Of 7)(Cover A Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion Card Stock Foil Variant), $4.99

Dark Nights Death Metal #3 (Of 7)(Cover B David Finch Card Stock Foil Variant), AR

Dark Nights Death Metal #3 (Of 7)(Cover C Jerome Opena Card Stock Foil Variant), AR

Dark Nights Death Metal #3 (Of 7)(Cover D Doug Mahnke Card Stock Variant), AR

Dark Nights Death Metal #3 (Of 7)(Cover E Greg Capullo & Jonathan Glapion Black And White Card Stock Variant), AR

Dark Nights Death Metal #3 (Of 7)(Cover F Stanley Artgerm Lau Card Stock Variant), AR

DCeased Dead Planet #1 (Of 6)(David Finch Minimal Trade Dress 3rd Printing Variant Cover), $4.99

Detective Comics #1025 (Cover A Kenneth Rocafort), $3.99

Detective Comics #1025 (Cover B Lee Bermejo Card Stock Variant), AR

Flash #759 (Cover A Howard Porter), $3.99

Flash #759 (Cover B In-Hyuk Lee), AR

Green Lantern Earth One Volume 2 GN, $24.99

Green Lantern Season Two #6 (Of 12)(Cover A Liam Sharp), $3.99

Green Lantern Season Two #6 (Of 12)(Cover B Tony S. Daniel), AR

Hawkman #26 (Cover A Mikel Janin), $3.99

Hawkman #26 (Cover B Gerardo Zaffino), $3.99

Justice League Odyssey #23 (Cover A Jose Ladronn), $3.99

Justice League Odyssey #23 (Cover B Skan), $3.99

Justice League Of America The Silver Age Omnibus Volume 1 HC (New Edition), $99.99

Lois Lane And The Friendship Challenge TP, $9.99

MAD Magazine #15, $5.99

RWBY TP, $16.99

Superman #24 (Cover A Ivan Reis & Joe Prado), $3.99

Superman #24 (Cover B Bryan Hitch), AR

Wonder Twins Volume 2 The Fall And Rise Of The Wonder Twins TP, $16.99

Wonder Woman #750 The Deluxe Edition HC, $17.99

Wonder Woman #760 (Cover A David Marquez), $3.99

Wonder Woman #760 (Cover B Joshua Middleton Card Stock Variant Cover), AR

Wonder Woman The Many Lives Of Maxwell Lord TP, $16.99

#IReadsYou Review: THE ALCHEMIST WHO SURVIVED... Volume 2

THE ALCHEMIST WHO SURVIVED NOW DREAMS OF A QUIET CITY LIFE, VOL. 2
YEN PRESS

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGA-KA: Guru Mizoguchi
ORIGINAL STORY: Usata Nonohara
CHARACTER DESIGN: ox
TRANSLATION: Erin Husson
LETTERS: Liz Kolkman
ISBN: 978-1-9753-0853-7; paperback (April 2020); Rated “T” for “Teen”
160pp, B&W, $13.00 U.S., $17.00 CAN

The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life is a fantasy manga written and illustrated by Guru Mizoguchi.  It is a manga adaptation of the light novel series of the same title, written by Usata Nonohara with character designs by ox.  Yen Press is publishing an English-language edition of the manga.

The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life focuses on a young woman named Mariela.  She awakens from a deep sleep that has lasted two hundred years to discover that she is the last alchemist alive in a place called Labyrinth City.  She wants to keep the fact that she is an alchemist a secret, but she does make a living brewing and selling potions.  With her bodyguard/assistant, Siegmund, at her side, Mariela wants to live the quiet life.

As The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life, Vol. 2 (Chapters 7 to 12) opens, Mariela is making good money selling potions, but she is warned that she must hide the fact that she is an alchemist.  She decides that she is going to live undercover as a chemist and seeks a guild license with the hopes of opening her own apothecary.  Meanwhile, Siegmund wonders if he is really of any use to Mariela, who once saved him poverty.

[This volume includes bonus manga, “The Humble Alchemist's Everyday Life: The Difference Two Hundred Years.”]

The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life manga  is another new title to me.  As I gradually delve deeper into Yen Press' catalog, I am finding manga that I like and may want to follow as a series.

The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life Graphic Novel Volume 2 is a quite pleasant read because Mariela is a quite pleasant, if not endearing, character.  I am not at all familiar with the light novel series upon which this manga is based, so I don't know its author, Usata Nonohara's intentions for the narrative.

However, this manga adaptation by Guru Mizoguchi presents this fantasy-set narrative as something like a medievalist slice-of-life serial.  The readers follows the everyday activities of Mariela, as if this were a domestic comedy-drama.  Erin Husson's translation gives the narrative an engaging quality and also hints at some darker moments to come later in the series.

Vol. 2 probably makes as good an introduction as Vol. 1, which I have not read.  I would recommend The Alchemist Who Survived Now Dreams of a Quiet City Life on this volume alone because... well, I intend to read more.

7 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 or syndication rights and fees


--------------------------------

#Yaoi Review: ESCAPE JOURNEY Volume 1

ESCAPE JOURNEY, VOL. 1
SUBLIME MANGA/Libre Publishing – @SuBLimeManga

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Ogeretsu Tanaka
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Mara Coman
EDITOR: Jennifer LeBlanc
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0131-5; paperback (September 2018); Rated “M” for “Mature”
266pp, B&W, $12.99 U.S. (6.99 digital), $17.99 CAN, £8.99 UK

Escape Journey is a yaoi manga from manga creator, Ogeretsu Tanaka.  Yaoi manga is a subset of boys' love (or BL) manga, which depicts amorous situations between male romantic leads.  Yaoi manga usually features explicit depictions of sex between those male leads.  Escape Journey focuses on two former high school lovers forced back together when they attend the same university.

Escape Journey, Vol. 1 (Chapters 1 to 5 plus “Last Escape”) introduces Naoto Hisami and Taichi Hase.  In high school, they were lovers.  Naoto thought they were dating, but during a heated argument, Taichi tells Naoto, “You're nothing but a fuck buddy I blow off steam with sometimes.”  That leads Naoto to dump Taichi's ass.

One year later, Naoto is a student at a liberal arts college, and he is still angry about what Taichi said to him.  So Naoto is shocked to discover that Taichi, a science track student, is also a student at this liberal arts college.  The two soon find themselves forced together, again, with Taichi being an aggressive seme (top) to Naoto's submissive uke (bottom).  Taichi pounds Naoto's ass until it is raw, and all Naoto can do is howl and pant in pain and pleasure.

Taichi, however, is not verbal about his true feelings concerning Naoto.  Does he want them to be a “couple,” again?  Naoto begins to wonder about their future when he discovers that a young woman and fellow student, Fumi Matsuyama, has a crush on Taichi.  Will this discovery finally end the slowly mending relationship between Naoto and Taichi?

[This volume includes “Escape Journey Bonus Story” and “Afterword.”]

Yaoi manga is not pornography.  Explicit depictions of sexual intercourse may be inevitable in this genre, but yaoi mangaka deliver boys' love stories that are about drama, character, and romance.  In the best of the genre, the creators also take their characters' careers, professions, jobs, and/or social status seriously.

Still, Escape Journey Graphic Novel Volume 1 features some of the most explicit depictions of sexual intercourse between two men that I have ever seen in manga.  The artist includes full depictions of Taichi's penis penetrating Naoto's anus, but there is often a white stripe right at the point of penetration.  Sometimes, a series of three white stripes will cover portions of an erect penis in a pattern-like fashion.  Also, sometimes, the erect cock and balls are entirely in white silhouette.

The “bonus story” contains this volume's most explicit depictions of sex... by far.  That is saying a lot, because the main chapters have plenty of intense sex, including a scene that would probably qualify as rape in the real world.  The last three pages of the bonus story are... a riot.

That aside, there is a sweet and edgy side to the romance in Escape Journey.  It is the story of boys who don't quite understand the emotional side of their relationship, although the sexual side is quite prodigious.  This first volume is about the journey Naoto and Taichi take to understanding the inevitable relationship that they will share.  I have to say that this is a rich rewarding read, both as a romance and as a sex romp.

9 out of 10

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

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