News and reviews for the discerning manga fan
“What doesn’t kill you will try again later” — so goes the tag line for Min-Woo Hyung’s Ghostface, a sci-fi thriller in which a female assassin is sent to recover a top-secret drug from a gang of thieves. If only the story was as snappy as the jacket copy! Alas, Ghostface is the kind of [...]
It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted a Short Takes column — chalk it up to travel, conventions, and other commitments — so I’m going to do penance by reviewing the latest volumes of three series that I previously recommended. First up is Chi’s Sweet Home (Vertical, Inc.), a heartwarming comic about a [...]
I’m taking a break from shojo romances and seinen shoot-em-ups in favor of two books aimed squarely at older comics connoisseurs. The first is Helen McCarthy’s The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga (Abrams Comics), an award-winning biography of Japan’s best-known manga-ka. (Her book just nabbed a Harvey in the Best American Edition of [...]
This week’s Short Takes column looks at three recent arrivals. The first, Sarasah (Yen Press), is a time-traveling adventure in which a lovelorn teen has a chance to repair her romantic karma; the second, Seiho Boys’ High School (VIZ), is a comedy about an all-boys’ school located on a remote island (feel free to make [...]
It’s time for a fresh batch of Take Two Reviews, in which I look at the second (or third, or fourth) volume of a series that debuted strongly. On today’s agenda: the second and third volumes of Daisuke Igarashi’s Children of the Sea (VIZ), my pick for Best New Manga of 2009; the third volume [...]
For your consideration: the eleventh volume of Osamu Tezuka’s classic medical drama Black Jack (Vertical, Inc.), the first two volumes of YoungBin Kim and Hyun You’s supernatural horror story Laon (Yen Press), and the latest volumes of Naoki Urasawa’s twisty sci-fi thriller 20th Century Boys (VIZ). I must admit that reviewing Black Jack and 20th [...]
Like Water for Kimchi – that’s how I would describe 13th Boy, a weird, wonderful Korean comedy with a strong element of magical realism. The plot is standard sunjong fodder: Hee-So, a teen with a flair for the dramatic, believes that the handsome Won-Jun is destined to be her twelfth and last boyfriend, the man [...]
Continuing the theme of my previous Short Takes column, I’m taking a second look at three Yen Press series that got off to a strong start. First up is Black Butler, a supernatural thriller about a manservant who’s frighteningly good at his job; next is Kobato, a comedy about a clueless girl on a mission [...]
There are two things to know about Bride of the Water God before you begin reading: first, the artwork is stunningly beautiful, and second, the story takes frequent, confusing detours that are almost impossible to explain, given what we know about the characters. If you find yourself vacillating between “Oh, so pretty!” and “Sweet Jesus, [...]
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to review a greater variety of titles than I did in 2009, when I focused primarily (though not exclusively) on seinen and shojo manga. To that end, I’m dedicating the first of this week’s Short Takes columns to two areas of the graphic novel publishing scene that don’t [...]
When I lived in New York City, I went on my share of awesome first … [Read More...]
GTO: 14 Days in Shonan is loud and silly, the kind of manga in which … [Read More...]
Among the many books I read and loved as a child, few left as … [Read More...]
Below is a list of helpful English-language web resources about manga and manhwa. I update this page … [Read More...]
Since joining the Good Comics for Kids team in 2008, I've reviewed a variety of comics, graphic … [Read More...]
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