Because of a recent fight with my coblogger Snuffles the Dragon, which I lost, I was forced to read and review an entire fifteen-volume series of manga,
Maison Ikkoku, by Rumiko Takahashi.
So if you're interested in comics from across the Pacific,
I have a review for you.
I cannot recall any other books over which I have laughed out loud or cried out loud so frequently. Once, I had to drop the book because I was laughing so hard I couldn't read. Another time, I had to drop the book because I was sobbing so hard I couldn't read. Takahashi's artistic skill is marginal; she tends to overuse certain formulas; her work features frequent low humor and fanservice; yet for all that, or because of it, Rumiko Takahashi has an almost freakish ability to convey powerful emotion. By the middle of volume 8, my nerves were frazzled and remained so until the end. I haven't recovered from reading this series and don't expect to for a few days. [more...]
, and Prince Of Heroes
, are an ambitious project; Espinosa is apparently chronicling a single powerful family over multiple generations as it grows increasing decadent, something like a superhero space opera Amerimanga version of Buddenbrooks
. It will be interesting to see how this project turns out, or if Espinosa takes it beyond three volumes. [more...]
