Wednesday, January 16, 2008

NEW COMICS DAY: DRAGONS, DOOM, SEX & MUSKETEERS

A short post to inform you of the latest in the manga/graphic novel form; Here are some books hitting the shops today!

DRAGON HEAD Vol. 9

+ Why you should buy: It's the pentultimate volume to this series, and we FINALLY get to see what's been happening in Tokyo, meet a community of "survivors" and see what's become of Teru's home. (HINT: IT'S ALL BAD NEWS).

+ Ryan says, I got this on Sunday at Kinokuniya but stalled for hours before reading it because I don't really want the series to end. While it's not the strongest possible entry (as second-to-last, it doesn't have the luxury of answering any big questions), it succeeded in convincing me that Dragon Head is NOT going to have a happy ending (DUH) but will end with a bang. Only three more months until Volume 10!


MANGA SUTRA Futari H Vol. 1

+ Why you should buy: It's a romantic comedy about newlyweds learning how to please eachother. It's a manga-style sexual self-help guide. And it's the closest thing you can get to hentai without having to head to that "special section" of the comic store, in the back beyond a beaded curtain.

+ Ryan says, I saw this at Kinokuniya but passed (for now) because of the huge size-- it's large and in a box that is also shrinkwrapped-- and the huge price ($20). That said, I'm gonna check it out next week, if only to see if it fills the hole left when Dance 'Til Tomorrow was died alongside Pulp magazine.


THE LAST MUSKETEER

+ Why you should buy: It's another tiny masterpiece by Jason. This time we get the story of Athos, last of the Musketeers, finding himself increasingly irrelevant and annoying until Martians attack Earth. Nested in the adventurer frame story are some really brilliant conversations and small jokes. Oh, and the coloring by Hubert is meticulously great, especially for the Mars scenes.

+ Ryan says, I read this today on my lunch break, and I really, really enjoyed it. Once you get over paying 13 bucks for what should cost around $8. Jason's lastest comics are getting the formula just right for mixing nostalgia, genre tropes and deadpan humor-- it's the kind of comic I wish I could pull off. My favorite bits were the not-too-subtle bits about Mars being like a pre-colonial Renaissance Fair and that every chatterbox (in this case, Athos) thinks that they're really a thoughtful, taciturn guy.


DOOM PATROL Vol. 6

+ Why you should buy: The final volume of Grant Morrison's infamous run on this series. Includes the original covers by Simon Bisley and Mike Mignola, along with a one-shot special title DOOM FORCE-- a really offensive Liefeld parody with lots of huge thighs and SO MANY POUCHES.

+ Ryan says, I'm a loser and still stuck back reading volume 3. That said, based on my GF talking nonstop about how fucking rad this last volume is gonna be, I'm planning a Morrisonathon this weekend to get up to speed.


New scanlations tomorrow, I promise!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

OO! I absolutely love Futari Ecchi. It is such a great series, thank you so much for pointing out the English translation here! :)

Claytonian said...

Yup futari ecchi (mangasutra) is still in the combini-sold magazines here in Japan. Such a cute exploration of kink.

Amósis Calazans said...

Hey, Ryan! XD

I'm making my own comics. It's a detetive story...

Here is the link: http://blogdosra.blogspot.com/2008/01/as-aventuras-de-quepe-o-detetive.html

If you want read this or post in your site, tell me, I think i can found a person to translate it for english! XD

Sorry for the bad english, I think I will never write right in english! XD

Ryan S said...

@amanda/clay: i passed it up because i'm cheap, but i am gonna give it a read this weekend. i'm still quite unclear what to expect but looking forward to it!

Ryan S said...

@sr.a: Thanks for the links and congratulations on creating the comic! I am gonna look over all the pages tomorrow am--- i'm developing a bit of a cold and gonna try to rest up tonight.

i'll send you an email about the translation this weekend!

thanks again :)

Anonymous said...

I finally linked to you guys on my blog.

Doom Patrol is the shiznite. Simon Bisley's paintings always have such aggression and humor.

Anonymous said...

Grant Morrison's Doom Patrol is AWESOME.

zytroop said...

HOLY SHIT I just found out that Drawn&Quarterly are releasing Red Colored Elegy, my knowledge of superlatives isn't big enough to porperly describe how much I am looking forward to this. I'm frothing from all my orifices.

Ryan S said...

I KNOW! I just want to point out that I was the first one to post this scoop!!! ahemahem:

http://samehat.blogspot.com/2007/06/bea-roundup-same-hat-edition.html

Check it out :)

bittermelon said...

oh my god.

1) manga sutra - SO SWEET i love it. i'm all about that shit

2) jason is so damn prolific. ANOTHER ONE? he's a fave of mine

3) i like zytroop's expression of enthusiasm: "frothing from all orifices" - can i borrow?

Ryan S said...

@BT:

1) It's so porny but also really charming. You can borrow it if you wanna-- A, my friend Nate and I were all three poring over it at the breakfast table, which is sortof odd if you think about it, but also cute.

2) My lady just gave me a used copy of HEY, WAIT... this weekend. FUCK. It felt like someone had kicked me in the heart and stomach repeatedly. That shit is SO BRUTAL. And maybe his best comic!

3) That is the phrase I will be using to describe bday skating shennanigans. HEY-O

bittermelon said...

cheese alert

but i just think it's awesome when sex is presented as a totally healthy fun thing, cuz it is!

jason is awesome. he did a signing once at comic relief when i was working and it was terribly awkward trying to communicate with him but he rules

i'm frothing from all orifices, ya hear?!

ICHIGO1! said...

Just a question, do you perchance live in San Francisco?

Ryan S said...

@ICHIGO1!: Yes, I do :)