The Shipping News, 8/26/09

Welcome to the NHK! Domo-kun, the Japanese station’s ubiquitous mascot, makes his manga debut this week in a new, full-color book from Tokyopop imaginatively titled Domo: The Manga. All of Domo-kun’s associates appear in this collection of gag strips: Mr. Usaji, the long-suffering rabbit, Tashanna, a weasel girl with a passion for fashion, and the batty mother-and-son duo Maya and Mario. As Julie of the Manga Maniac Cafe observes, this one-shot proves a surprisingly fun and fast read, thanks to its attractive art and abundant sight gags:

Domo the Manga is a series of slice of disasters  featuring Domo going nuts and wrecking everything in his path.  He doesn’t mean to be so destructive, but that’s just the way he rolls.  Nothing is safe from his rambunctious attention… Several artists contribute to Domo’s riotous daily activities; the art is bright and lively, and packed with a surprising amount of charm.  I will admit that I pooh-poohed the book when it first arrived, but it is such a rapid read, and it provided a lot of stupid fun, so I couldn’t help but be won over by it.  I even wish that it had a few more chapters, because I don’t often sit down with a book like this, and it was a nice change of pace.

If the charm of a square, brown, sometimes flatulent TV mascot escapes you, you might prefer one of Tokyopop’s other new offerings, which include Mad Love Chase, a supernatural comedy about a demon prince who impersonates a school nurse to avoid being dragged back to hell (feel free to insert your own joke here), and Maria Holic, a yuri comedy with a nasty twist (hint: the heroine’s dream girl turns out to be a cross-dressing boy who’s infiltrated an all-girls’ school). Other noteworthy arrivals include the ninth volume of Crayon Shin-chan (CMX), the sixth volume of the ultra-violent Gantz (Dark Horse) and the final volume of the sugary-sweet Kitchen Princess (Del Rey).

NEW SERIES/ONE-SHOTS

• CSI Interns, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
• Domo: The Manga (Tokyopop)
• Mad Love Chase, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)
• Maria Holic, Vol. 1 (Tokyopop)

CONTINUING SERIES

• .hack//GU, Vol. 5 (Tokyopop)
• Animal Academy Hakobune Hakusho, Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
• The Color of Heaven (First Second)
• Crayon Shinchan, Vol. 9 (CMX)
• Future Diary, Vol. 3 (Tokyopop)
• Gantz, Vol. 6 (Dark Horse)
• Gurren Lagann, Vol. 2 (Bandai Entertainment)
• Kitchen Princess, Vol. 10 (Del Rey)
• Me & My Brothers, Vol. 9 (Tokyopop)
• Oh! My Goddess, Vol. 33 (Dark Horse)
• Takeru Opera Susanoh Swords of the Devil, Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
• Vassalord, Vol. 3 (Tokyopop)
• Warcraft Legends, Vol. 5 (Tokyopop)