Manga Monday: Briefly
I didn't have a chance to check out any new manga this week, as I'm working a long string of days leading up to C2E2. But here are some books that I'm following and some brief thoughts on the latest volumes...
Pluto (Volume 8)
Naoki Urasawa
Based on Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka
I don't want to give away anything for anyone who hasn't picked up this amazing series, but the conclusion is wholly satisfying, with a nice tribute to Tezuka's ending, and a great little epilogue after the final scene of the main story that I really enjoyed. Urasawa's art and storytelling are top-notch consistently throughout the book, right up until that last page. Urasawa more than deserves his Eisner nominations.
Hot Gimmick VizBig Edition (Volume 4)
Miki Aihara
After the big conclusion to Aihara's popular Hot Gimmick, I was left a little unsettled. Hatsumi is just too passive of a character. Coupled with her attraction to a verbally abusive guy and her weird relationship with her step-brother, and this ends up being a really messed-up book. I hope no girls look to Hatsumi as a role model, because in the end, she's pretty pathetic.
Honey Hunt (Volume 4)
Miki Aihara
Thank goodness Aihara redeems herself with her new work, Honey Hunt. Yura may be a bit passive sometimes, but she stands up for herself when she has to. She's confident when she steps into the role of the characters she plays, and knows that she can't settle for a guy who doesn't see her for who she is. I feel like Aihara really took what worked in Hot Gimmick and brought the best of that into this new series, filtering out the skeezy elements. And with her art stronger than ever, this is shaping up to be quite an amazing series.
And this really upsets me. The first volume of X-Men: Misfits is an awesome book - having the plug pulled on the second and final installment is just sad.
Naoki Urasawa
Based on Astro Boy by Osamu Tezuka
I don't want to give away anything for anyone who hasn't picked up this amazing series, but the conclusion is wholly satisfying, with a nice tribute to Tezuka's ending, and a great little epilogue after the final scene of the main story that I really enjoyed. Urasawa's art and storytelling are top-notch consistently throughout the book, right up until that last page. Urasawa more than deserves his Eisner nominations.
Hot Gimmick VizBig Edition (Volume 4)
Miki Aihara
After the big conclusion to Aihara's popular Hot Gimmick, I was left a little unsettled. Hatsumi is just too passive of a character. Coupled with her attraction to a verbally abusive guy and her weird relationship with her step-brother, and this ends up being a really messed-up book. I hope no girls look to Hatsumi as a role model, because in the end, she's pretty pathetic.
Honey Hunt (Volume 4)
Miki Aihara
Thank goodness Aihara redeems herself with her new work, Honey Hunt. Yura may be a bit passive sometimes, but she stands up for herself when she has to. She's confident when she steps into the role of the characters she plays, and knows that she can't settle for a guy who doesn't see her for who she is. I feel like Aihara really took what worked in Hot Gimmick and brought the best of that into this new series, filtering out the skeezy elements. And with her art stronger than ever, this is shaping up to be quite an amazing series.
And this really upsets me. The first volume of X-Men: Misfits is an awesome book - having the plug pulled on the second and final installment is just sad.
Comments