Gantz

Kei Kurono is a bit of a brat who is accidentally killed by an underground train.  As his decapitated head rolls around the station platform, he suddenly finds himself transported into a game where he and other recently deceased people have to fight for their continued survival.  Gantz offers no further explanations, and so the next round begins.

It’s violent, sex-obsessed and batshit crazy - this is Gantz in a nutshell.  It really goes all out with a live-fast-die-young attitude with entire volumes flying as the plot is sacrificed in favour of pure action.  Some people may be familiar with the anime series which covered only the first few volumes before ending on an entirely different note to the manga, which instead continues into new areas.  The gore was certainly there in animated form, particularly in the second half, but for my money the pacing too was slow for a series so entrenched in action.  To be honest I also found the manga a little difficult to get on with, partly because I already knew what would happen, but also because Kei is such a scumbag I struggled to care about whether or not he got destroyed.  His sexist pervy ways are pretty repulsive along with his shitty attitude, but from the second stage (starting at volume 11 where the book covers turn blue) even worse characters are introduced which propels Kei into becoming more of a hero role and more appealing as a main character.

At this point in the story more layers are gradually added as Hunters are introduced as well as other Gantz teams.  Only now are the answers starting to show themselves (Dark Horse’s release has currently reach the late 20s).  I’ve got no idea where things will head further down the line, and Gantz offers no guarantees.  Frankly, I am hooked.

As a side note the artwork of Gantz is very detailed with CG used extensively for the backgrounds and other little fixes.  It makes you wonder just how much or little of this manga is actually drawn by hand, and while early volumes produce slightly wonky art, later volumes are pretty spectacular.  I do find Dark Horse’s sound effects a little distracting at times however.  The original Japanese ones are big and bold, yet translucent.  The English ones on the other hand are filled in with pure white so you lose a little of the impact, sometimes to the point where it’s more difficult to keep track of proceedings.  It’s still a great manga though.  It’s a nasty, sadistic thrill ride, but with enough of a sense of fun about itself to throw a random panda into the middle of the carnage.  Volumes are quite expensive and are read quickly due to the low word count, but is worth the expense.

English/Japanese sample comparison

Blacksad

I’m going to stretch a bit outside of my safe zone and check out some comics to time that are not manga-related at all. It’s in keeping with the Japanese definition of manga at least (comics, right?), and if that explanation doesn’t gel then fine it’s my blog so I can write about whatever I fancy! ^_^

In terms of American comics I’ll be honest and say most mainstream superhero comics bore me. There have been shockingly few new significant characters introduced over the last couple of decades, and the old ones are so ingrained that no one dares change anything about them, which kind of kills any attempt at credibility in the drama as you know you’re pretty much guaranteed a predictable happy ending each time. Manga’s a bit more risky and suits my taste, but every so often I still get a little worn out with that too start to crave something… different. And so I turn my eyes to the mainland…

Known locally as bandes dessinées, or simply BD, the French and Belgian comic industry is well-established with comic volumes regularly selling in the hundreds of thousands. Not as big as Japan, but I’d hazard bigger than the US and certainly more so than in the pitiful UK. A standard volume is around 50-odd pages, A4-ish in size, hardback and therefore quite expensive. They’re premium goods with titles seemingly holding their value several years after their initial release. Aside from the anomalies such as Asterix and Tintin, most BDs are inexplicably ignored and unknown in English-language territories, but thankfully the walls are slowly bringing broken down.

John Blacksad is a private investigator cat who works in a world where corruption, sleaze and crime run rife throughout society. This is pulp territory of crime fiction with an animal twist. Mammals and reptiles mix as well as black horses and white wolves in this tense 50s-style world where prejudice only barely runs under the surface. The animal designs create archetypes that enhance characterisations rather than distracting from the plot or making it look silly. There’s a strong style to this substance, and the sublime watercolours brim every page with a finesse that is very rarely seen in comics of any sort.

Dark Horse released a volume that compiles the first three comics into one solid hardback. It’s lovely stuff and serves as a real showcase to the work. A fourth volume did come out in France last year, but as yet there’s no sign of a translated release and as years go by between individual releases, it might be quite a long while before a second triple-volume book is feasible (assuming it would even be considered). All the same Blacksad is an amazing comic, and well worth risking regardless of your normal taste in comics.

What's Michael?

A bit of an old classic this. Cat lovers unite!

Michael is a cat like any other, but as any owner knows their cat is like no other. Each 6-page self-contained chapter puts Michael in a different setting, with new owners and perhaps the ability of being able to speak to fellow animals, and just some good clean fun. Life of everyday situations such as cat fights and clawing up the furniture are covered well alongside more unusual activities such as playing baseball or having a judo match. It's a mixed bag of content, but the consistently silly sense of humour allows it to all blend together.

The best thing about the series is how well observed the humour is. Mannerisms such as how cats tuck their paws in when sitting down as well as their natural pride no matter how stupid they're acting are recognizably portrayed. Even funnier are the human characters where the true-to-life depictions of the allergics, the lovers, the haters, and those who simply care for the cats far too much are totally identifiable.

Sadly these books appear to be mostly out of print. I did hear a rumour a while back that Dark Horse were considering printing compiled volumes, but there's nothing forthcoming for the moment. Get them!