From Booklist
To anyone whose comics awareness is limited to the mainstream U.S. publishers’ current output, the latest special Comics Journal monograph comes as a real eye-opener. Its main theme is manga, the Japanese comics that have recently gained a toehold in America, and seven essays in it range from profiling pioneering and contemporary manga artists to inspecting English-language translations. Besides manga, 1960s underground cartoonist Vaughn Bode is the focus in three pieces, and others cover the screw-loose 1930s newspaper strips of Milt Gross and Montreal’s alternative-comics scene, respectively. An album of original strips by more than 30 leading alternative-comics artists, including Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez, Bill Griffith, and Carol Lay, round the book off with, mostly, depictions–often quite graphic–of sexual seduction, though Peter Kuper shows how war movies and games lure young males into battle, and Megan Kelso focuses on how Hamilton and Burr became embroiled in their fatal duel. Strips and enlightening articles altogether constitute a convincing demonstration of the comics medium’s astonishing diversity. Gordon Flagg
Copyright ? American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Description
For the first time, TCJ devotes a volume to the most popular comics in the world: Manga.
The now-annual Comics Journal Special Edition focuses this time on the phenomenal Manga (Japanese comics) invasion. In 2003, North American bookstore sales of Manga surged to an unprecedented $100 million?or 75% of the entire sales of comics! Which means it’s time for The Comics Journal, the foremost magazine of iconoclastic criticism, to take a hard look at Japanese cartoonists and translated manga, and separate the wheat from the chaff.
Our cover feature is Manga superstar Hideshi Hino, whose 30-year career and inimitable style have put him at the forefront of Japan’s horror genre. 2004 promises to be the year of Hino here in the States with the publication of English translations of all his major books starting in March with The Red Snake and Bug Boy. Hino will discuss his life and work in an exclusive interview and he will provide the original front cover artwork.
Our Manga section will also include our fearsome critiques of the best and worst of the genre, as well as essential interviews with or profiles of the most notable Manga artists, including Yoshiharu Tsuge, Kan Takahama, and the undisputed king of Manga, the creator of Astro Boy, Adolf and Buddha amongst so many others, author Osamu Tezuka!
Meanwhile, Vaughn Bode, the legendary and enduring underground cartoonist (and current inspiration of graffiti artists everywhere) is given the full treatment with an illuminating profile by Bob Levin (The Pirates & the Mouse), a critical essay by Donald Phelps (Reading the Funnies), a rare interview, and exclusive excerpts from his private diaries. From the archives, we’ve unearthed a 40,000-word biographical essay of Thomas Rowlandson, the great 18th/19th century illustrator, caricaturist, and cartoonist, written by Art Young in1938!
Also: Bill Blackbeard profiles the madcap cartoonist Milt Gross, considered by some to be the first graphic novelist (this essay is amply illustrated with samples form strips such as Count Screwloose of Tooloose and Otto bad Blotto). Tom Spurgeon profiles Rowland Emmett, the brilliant Punch artist (and editor), whose whimsical cartoons graced the magazine for over half a century and who is perhaps best known as for designing the ‘inventions’ of Caractacus Potts from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Finally, there’s our renowned comics section whose theme this issue is “Seduction,” and that will include an international array of some of the most accomplished and innovative artists in the world. 180 pp. illustrated, with color section, 12″ x 12″.
This special issue of the Comics Journal features great articles on some of the most important manga creators out there, including a few that probably fly under the radar of most people. Also included are some other manga related articles as well as some recommendations of some of the greatest books the medium has to offer. This whole section turned me onto a lot of great manga books, especially the work of Suehiro Maruo and Hideshi Hino who both have feature articles here.
The next section focuses on comic legend Vaughn Bode. There’s three really great articles here that provide a wealth of information about Bode. Even longtime Bode fans will probably find plenty of things here that they didn’t know. Of course this section also includes plenty of beautiful reproductions of his artwork and comics.
After this, there’s a section about Milt Gross. I’ll admit I haven’t read this part as I’m not familiar with Gross’ work (yet).
The book closes with a section of comics from many different cartoonists on the topic of seduction. A lot of great work here, and it’s cool to see comics printed in full color at such a large size. The back cover features the most beautiful Tony Millionaire illustration I have ever seen.
Anyway, this is a great book. I’m always pulling this one off my shelf to reread some of the articles and the comics.
This is a pitifully obvious attempt to CASH in on the manga craze. The Comics Journal never covered manga until recently and mostly just scoffed at it. Now they have a huge book supposedly devoted to it. Yet the COMICS SECTION features a bunch of indy cartoonists and TCJ regulars who don’t draw manga at all!!
With the exception of Tezuka the artists covered here are not terribly noteworthy in the scene as a whole and just further the feeling that they just slapped this book together to drain some wallets and ride the trend.
This is just another crass attempt to cash in by a snobby magazine that has traded its elitism in for pure greed.