Spandex Anonymous: David Welsh explains why he cut Marvel and DC out of his comics diet, and a year later he’s happier and healthier. The comments thread turns into an encounter group of sorts.
Meanwhile, at LiveJournal, Yaoi sends a reader over the edge:
This is worse than the Victorian romance novels—it makes Mrs. Gaskell and Wilkie Collins look like wimps. (Though if Louisa May Alcott were still alive, she would be writing these comics…)
(Via When Fangirls Attack.)
This Christian Science Monitor story about tweens and graphic novels is a couple of days old, so you may have seen it already. I just can’t let this bit go:
Graphic novels that follow the Japanese art form of manga – featuring characters with wide-open eyes – are especially popular among girls who like stories about cats and princesses. Other subjects include teenage life and biographies of “American heroes,” including Amelia Earhart.
On the other hand, they quote Robin Brenner and recommend Yotsuba&! so at least they got some things right.
The New York Times gives the new Fullmetal Alchemist movie a good review. (Registration may be required.) And there’s this:
“The Conqueror of Shambala” is the end of Mr. Mizushima’s association with “Fullmetal Alchemist.” He and Mr. Aikawa are already at work on a new television series. Its story “takes place in the Edo period and involves some master craftsmen who are trying to make a gigantic fireworks rocket that can reach the moon,” Mr. Mizushima said. “It’s a slapstick comedy, so it’s very different.”
But Ms. Arakawa has said she has no plans to end the “Fullmetal Alchemist” manga, so the adventures of the Elric Brothers will continue on the printed page.
Sign me up for the gigantic fireworks rocket movie! Is there a manga associated with that?
Blogroll alert: The blogger at Four Voices. One Heart has moved to a new site with a refreshing new style, IsShoKenMai. Check it out and say hello! And while you’re there, take a look at the thorough review of Kuro Gane.
I never thought of comics as a route out of poverty before, but this guy made it work—until he got caught.
Bringing anime to the iPod: Not really. The NegiPod is just an extra-expensive iPod that comes loaded with 38 songs from the Magister Negi Magi anime, plus two exclusives, and a design engraved on the back. All this will set buyers back an extra 20,000 yen (about $170).
The Daily Yomiuri devotes an entire column to tangentially manga-related items, including a manga-ka-turned-TV-commentator criticizing a boxing dad, manga TV dramas, and the need for a swimming instruction manga.
As usual, you have great manga-related news that is very much informative and worth checking out.
Wanted to thank you for the trackback mention, Brigid. Being new to WP, it took me a bit to realize that was what it was, haha.
By the way, aside from Death Note, which hasn’t really struck me as something that would fit my taste (despite it being a favorite of readers right now), would you have any manga series to recommend checking out?
Although I haven’t bought a DC/Marvel comics in ages, I have always asked my self why not? I buy tons of Japanese language manga (Buddah bless Sasuga Books and YesAsia) and English transalated manga at my local B&N. After all, manga is nothing but Japanese comics right?
However, I have no urge to read any of the superhero graphic novels that are stuck in their own little ghetto of a bookcase between the sci-fi and manga sections at the said B&N store.
Why?
I used to think that, since I had outgrown them, why regress and go back to them. You know the been there done that thing? After reading the above link, I finally realized that not only had I outgrown them, they just aren’t very good.
Evil Superboy punching the head off some C-list superhero? Another D list superhero’s impaling another Z list superhero? Painfully emocentric character development and wanktastic OTT story arcs that even a child born in the post Buffy era would not tolerate for more than five minutes. Please! This is ‘Crisis On Infinite Earths’ all over again with second rate comic-writers who think they’re Alan Moore?
Oh Moore, Gaiman and Ellis. What hath thou wrought?
I just can’t get back on the never-ending soap opera that is a superhero comic book. With the above article outlining what the Big Two are doing with their overburdened roster of characters…well it’s just sad.
How many times can you keep rebooting and re-hashing the same ideas and plots, with the same characters for over 70 years? For Marvel and DC the answer is, “As long as they keep buying this crap!”
Alexiel: Thanks! Regarding manga to check out, I didn’t think I would like Death Note either but I was pleasantly surprised, so maybe you should give it a try. One book that I am really enjoying, but I’m only halfway through it, is ES. I love the way the artist visually depicts feelings and emotions. I also really like The Drifting Classroom, which is very dark, and Oyayubihime Infinity, which is very perky (obviously, I like them for different reasons). *eyes to-read stack* I’ll probably have some more suggestions pretty soon.
RedMaigo: When I was young, superhero books were still pretty simple, and you could sit down and read a single story without 1) needing to know all that went before, and 2) feeling like it was a Massive Earth-Shaking Event. If they made superhero comics like that, I’d read them. But I don’t find the current incarnations very interesting. There’s always some huge crisis looming that has to be bigger than the last huge crisis, which just gets tiresome. Plus, people are constantly complaining about how terrible they are, which is a bit off-putting. Of course, manga aren’t exactly believable and down-to-earth either, but I find them easier and more enjoyable to read. De gustibus…
A lot of kids use Ipod to watch anime… I know I sometimes watch episodes of new anime on my Ipod when I’m commuting… it’s not the greatest but if the font is big enough it’s workable. There are great tools for converting anime to ipod, like the Videora iPod Video Converter.
That’s what I thought this iPod was when I first saw the article, but it said “tracks,” not “episodes,” so I really think it is just music. Although I guess you can watch videos with the 30 gig model, which is what this is.
Thanks for the recommendations. I usually choose which manga or anime to check out based on how striking the title is to my imagination…or just sounds like something unique and/or promising. I’ve actually read up a bit on ES while in Borders, and though it seems like something I would read at first, the characters seem quite lifeless. Maybe that’s just the impression I get from the artwork, but mind you, this is after just skimming pages of the 1st volume. Oyayubihime Infinity is one that I’ve heard of, but never actually have seen in Borders or Waldenbooks. And I ALWAYS skim for new stuff I haven’t seen before. I’ll be checking for that series before Death Note though, since I already know the gist of how Death Note begins.
On the topic of Marvel/DC, I have to agree with RedMaigo on the thought that the rehashing of old-school superhero comics is getting tiresome to see time and time again. Also, from what I’ve heard, their plots are nothing short of sub-par, as all the effort is thrown into the art style. This is coming from someone who never bought an American comic in my life, but instantly fell in love with manga from the first time I read the japanese copies of Angel Sanctuary using printed English scantlations. Wonder why that happened.
What comes to mind regarding comics is a short convo I had with a friend while wandering Borders after running into an X-Men Anthology book. At first, he was very reluctant to put it down, but then I asked a general question: “Now, for which of the many X-Mens is that anthology for? You do realize that buying that would be playing right into their money-grubbing hands.” He, being less of a manga fan than me, but a manga fan nonetheless, realized his folly, and quickly slipped the book back. I found that amusing and mildly relevant, so I thought I’d share.
Hey Brigid!
I just wanted to say that cringed at exactly the same line you did, bemoaning the error to my coworkers when I saw the article. SIGH. Well, we all try — it’s always a balancing act trying to give reporters stuff they can use as well as educating them about something they know very little about. Still, it was better than I expected as an article.