Tuesday, September 27, 2005

MANGA WISH LIST

HERE ARE COMICS I WANT TO READ . . . RIGHT FUCKING NOW!

Oh lord! There's a slew of really amazing books that either just came out, I just heard about, or are coming soon. I wish i could teleport my future paychecks into the psychic coffers of these publishers and have the books in my meaty paws immediately. Here, for your enjoyment-- more Same Hat Library fodder!


The Push Man and Other Stories by Yoshihiro Tatsumi: Amazon says it's not released yet, but I saw it at a local bookstore on Sunday. This thing is GORE-GEE-OUS! The book is bound nicely and the panels and printing look really smooth. It's flipped, rather than the right-to-left I prefer, but apparently Tatsumi actually helped with these changes to make sure they were done right. Aside from being a collection of really masterful, twised and shocking tales, all the lettering was done by Adrian Tomine! Only 20 bucks! I want to take my time on digesting this one.



Doing Time by Kazuichi Hanawa: Okay, so this isn't new in the least, but I finally put it together in my brain that this is THE Kazuichi Hanawa (of previous monkey brain fame), and THE 'Doing Time' that was made into a Japanese movie a few years ago. Like David Choe's hilarious/depressing article about his weeks in a Japanese prison in Giant Robot a year or so ago, this book is a collection of true stories from Hanawa's time in prison. Read about what got the old man into jail in this review. Sounds (not to be totally lame here) really illuminating about some real post-war Japan, not more samurai and courtesan crud. Put out by a UK(?) publisher and sometimes hard to track down.



Scary Book Volume1: Shadows by Kazuo Umezu: FINALLY! Another English translation of Kazuo Umezu's stuff is going to be released. Guess they're going literal with this one-- SCARY BOOK! The drag is that it won't be out until early next year. I'm hoping that they don't follow the Orochi:Blood lead and only put out one book of a series. MORE UMEZU! YAY!



Black Hole by Charles Burns: It's not manga, but this is the one I'm MOST EXCITED ABOUT! Charles Burns' BLACK HOLE is finally being collected into a hardcover trade. I've read issues of this here and there (and being totally creeped out and floored by most everything) but purposefully avoided reading more because I had heard this would be coming out one day. And not that day has come (well, nearly). There isn't another book that I'm looking forward to more this fall! (except maybe this)

PS: Hellen is almost done with her night paralysis comic!! You can see a cellphone photo of one of the pages on her blog. Yay Hellen! Finish that damn thing, cuz we're DYING to read it!!!

PPS: NEW KOJI AIHARA STRIP GOING UP VERY SOON

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Aftermath Relax

Gross hats off to you, Mr. Aihara!
as usual, please read from right-to-left.

Friday, September 16, 2005

BROUGHT YOU BACK SOMETHING NICE

Enjoy another Koji Aihara! Also, just re-started work on Junji Ito's 'Falling' --coming in a few weeks, hopefully!

as usual, please read from right-to-left.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

EVEN A MONKEY CAN DRAW MANGA

Quick post today... Just wanted to mention another book you might want to add to your ERO/GURO/COMEDY 'SAME HAT LIBRARY' !



If Koji Aihara's name sounded familiar, it might be because he was 1/2 the team behind the infamous and slick parody manga instruction book, "Even A Monkey Can Draw Manga!" This is a really sweet marriage of picking on otaku nerdboys and outright self deprecation (He is awesome, YES, but the the dude does write queef & poo jokes, for god's sake!). A really hilarious book for anybody in the know-- Evan has a copy from waaaay back that we broke out again this week. It's still available via Amazon or Viz's homepage.

Thought it'd be a good mention as we move into a big batch of his 4-koma gag stuff in the coming week(s)! PLEASE ENJOY! Does anyone know - is there any truth to the rumors of a second volume of this title?


SAYS THE ABOVE REVIEW:
This mock-instructional tome is actually a hilarious parody in graphic novel form of those books which seek to advise one on "how to draw manga." But it is also a gripping comic book narrative in its own right about the struggle of two bumbling and desperate would-be know-it-alls — the authors of the book — in their vainglorious pursuit of comic book technique, wealth, and fame

wheeeee

PS: NEW AIHARA STRIP ON FRIDAY!!

Monday, September 12, 2005

gross & grosser

WE PROMISED IT, AND WE DELIVER
as usual, please read from right-to-left.



Even better if you've read Natsume Soseki's "I Am a Cat."
Click to check out the opening lines.

Friday, September 09, 2005

SEX JOKES, FART JOKES, POOP JOKES

NEW GAG COMICS by Koji Aihara

Here is the first of a bunch of short strips by a weirdo manga artist we like. Straying from the absurd Sensha stuff into more... colorful pastures (read: BODY HUMOR!!). We're talking: Grandpa farting on his deathbed, a dying warrior seeing a cow shitting as his last earthly moment, highschool boys begging for a peek at their gf's nekopai's-- you know, the USUAL STUFF.

We'll do our damnedest to translate these as smoothly as possible; I've already put in extra hours looking up the precise term for various types of farts, and Evan's is sharpening his WACOM sylus to be sure we get those wanking off sound effects just right. As always, any kind of comments/suggestions are VERY appreciated by both of us.

ENJOY!

as usual, please read from right-to-left.

RIGHT HAND OF THE DEVIL


This dude got a Kazuo Umezu TATTOO!

It is an image from "Left Hand of God, Right Hand of the Devil". That is pretty fucking sick-- talk about DEEP CUTS!

Thanks to technorati.com, I am finding all sorts of weirdo horror manga fans like us!

Thursday, September 08, 2005

KAZUO UMEZU'S DRIFTING CLASSROOM

SHARING THE SCANLATION LOVE.



I came across this recently (because it is one of a few long stories we were thinking to do ourselves) and was totally geeked about it. Available at the link below are the first three volumes of this surreal, horror/fantasy tale about a school that literally disappears -- transported to a sick alternate reality that sortof resembles the future (or is it HELL?)!!!

(For more info on Kazuo Umezu, please click HERE!)

This thing is a really cool read (the story is way more interesting than Orochi:Blood), and the scanlation isn't bad at all. I had some issues with the translation-- sortof stuntingly formal and stiff-sounding in a few spots, but very nice work overall. I wanna give credit where it's due, so here's the info on this one: (and to note, if it wasn't obvious DUHHH, this one wasn't done by SAME HAT... we're just linking it!)

A post-apocalyptic manga. An entire elementary school of 862 students and staff are somehow transported into a barren future, after a series of disasters has wiped out the human race. The students must try to survive the harsh conditions, disease, strange mutated creatures which have taken over the planet, and more than anything the insanity that slowly takes over them and turns them against one another.

Joint project with Band of the Hawks.
Vol 1 - Vol 2 Chapter 1 were done jointly with Jinmen-Juushin.


THERE YOU HAVE IT! please enjoy!

as usual, please read pages from right-to-left!

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

BEAUTY LABYRINTH OF RAZORS

1. SO MANY RAZORS



There's been talk about this new collection of Jun Hayami's comics being released by Creation Books for a while now. It was supposed to come out September 1, but seems to have been delayed so far. BOOOO!

Anyone who enjoys this blog (and specifically, you Maruo-freaks who keep showing up!) will dig this collection of depraved, erotic-grotesque-nonsense comics. Hats off to Creation, who were responsible for the (in)famous Ultra-Gash Inferno collection by Maruo, for going ahead with this books-- the first time Jun Hayami's stuff has been translated and made available in English. Determined types (read:otaku) can call or visit their LA store, info here.

Here is a quote about Jun Hayami's stuff-- "Readers thought Jun Hayami must be mentally ill until the reclusive artist was discovered two years ago." What the hell kind of quote is that? I'm guessing that this book will be extreme-to-the-max, and not for soft-stomached/sane folks.

Has anyone read this book yet? It has been released in the UK (I believe), so I'd love to hear how other people like this book. I'll be lined up (electronically) for when it becomes available on the Creation site or Amazon.





2. NEW COMIC: CHURCH OF MUTILATION by aaronk!



Our friend aaronk has started selling his new comic, Church of Mutilation. It's a 15-page B&W, available direct from him for $3.00 > I posted my dollars to him today, and can't wait to see this thing. Check out his site for more information on ordering it!

Coming next from him: "A romance story called "Fort Purgatory" and will contain no sex or violence or shit"


3. WE ARE POSTING A NEW KOJI AIHARA COMIC TOMORROW!
wheeeeee!