Couldn't find a comic/graphic novel thread.

After watching MTV's The Maxx I decided to read Sam Kieth's following comic 4 Women.  Ended up being very different from the action/psychological drama that The Maxx was. The book starts with a woman named Donna talking to a psychiatrist about her roadtrip with three friends. When their car stalls in the middle of nowhere two men show up in a large 4x4 and begin to harass them. What starts as annoying turns into something vile and ugly. The oldest member of the group gets out of the car to save her friends and starts to fight back. When she returns to the car the driver won't unlock the door.

The series is about Donna coming to terms with what really happened on the trip and why she is so angry.

I've just read it but it is definitely in my top 5 comics. It's horrifying and chilling, I've never felt my heartbeat so quickly while reading a comic book. The characters are strong/lovable and the aftermath of the assault is haunting. The ending is just wow. I really hope you fans of alternative comics will give this a try.

dlaire wrote:

I fell in love with Alichino once again.

I love the artwork in Alichino! It's one of the most aesthetically beautiful manga I've ever read. It's too bad that it's been on hiatus for so long though...I'd love to see an end to the story.

Video Girl Ai can be cliche at times but it also has some very genuine moments. I remember in the anime the first night Ai and Yota sleep in the same bed and Yota's depression really gets to him. When Ai touches him and tell him it'll be all right... well that just gets me every time.

While volume 1 didn't do much for me, I liked volume 2 of Video Girl Ai more, and I loved volume 3.  The art is just so beautiful, the characters are actually showing growth...it's quite a surprise after not being so sure about volume 1.

Alas, in order to get through my massive manga backlog, I do not allow myself to read more than 3 volumes of any given series in a row (unless it's a 4-volumes series), so time to shift gear and start reading Monster.

Crystalline_Dream wrote:

Start reading Monster? Ah, enjoy it. It's a wonderfully suspenseful series that my words can't do justice to. I mean, it's Naoki Urasawa; he has quite a reputation for creating amazing things.

Oh definitely know, I'd already watched the first 15 episodes of the anime, and I've been reading 20th Century Boys so I'm familiar with Urasawa's style and reputation. But there's always a new series to start sometime, so some series don't get read until rather late (especially with my massive manga backlog).

Speaking of the backlog, I've been beating my way through it recently. 

Honey Hunt (v. 5-6) - all caught up with it now. It's a guilty pleasure sort of series. I like Aihara Miki's art (although a lot of the guys look exactly alike), I just wish her characters and story were as good. That said, sometimes I enjoy some teen melodrama.

Sand Chronicles (v. 9-10) - I really liked SC. It had such a melancholy undertone throughout, but still had perseverance.  Plus, it's been interesting reading Ashiha Hinako's works in order, so I was able to see how her storytelling and art developed in evolved over the years.

Ayako - With rare exceptions (*cough*Metropolis*cough*) Tezuka's works get me every time. I still find that he tends to get a little too convoluted and melodramatic during final climax chapters, but his beginnings and endings are always amazing, and the final scene of Ayako will stick in my mind. Read it.

Ouran High School Host Club (v. 15) - Back to caught up with this series. The slow releases are really problematic though, because I completely forget what's going on between volumes. However, it's still so much fun, although I do long for the early days when it was all silliness and not romantic entanglements.  (Plus, I'm grumbling because I still feel Kaoru is the best pick :p)

Bunny Drop (v. 1-3) - Such an amazing, slice-of-life series for women! In some ways there's an essence to it that reminds me of With the Light, but it's a bit better written and chooses moments of drama over melodrama. I saw the trailer for the live action movie that's coming out this summer and started crying, it was so poignant.  The manga is quite so cry-worthy (definitely looks like the movie's going a slightly different direction), but it is completely engaging, and the protagonist's inner narrative is actually enjoyable to read!

Yotsuba&! (v. 9) - Manages to maintain it's consistently funny and spirited look at the life of a little kid. I love Azuma Kiyohiko's series...

The Quest for the Missing Girl - I loved Taniguchi Jiro's A Distant Neighborhood, so I had really, really high hopes for Missing Girl.  It's not that it wasn't good, but it didn't quite match my expectations. I felt certain elements were rushed, and the protagonist wasn't as easy to relate to.

And that takes me back to having read the first 3 volumes of Monster, which pretty much caught me up to where I had left off in the anime.

Last edited by Mylene (05-14-2011 08:03:12 AM)

Mylene wrote:

While I never start new threads, from time to time I've seen mention of manga in the Current Anime and Book threads, usually with a note of "not sure if I should put this here, but..."

So, let's allow manga it's own little place in the Rose Garden.  Currently reading, recommendations, whatever -- it's all welcome!



I'm also working on Angel Sanctuary.  I'm trying to get the courage to start volume 3 now that I have the entire series, but man, it can get rather confusing, particularly when I can't tell some characters apart (or what their sex is.)

.

yeah the first few voulumes are a bit awkward to get through ( has read like all of it) First i was like wth am i reading, then it became like a delicious sinful candy. Any how i love ANYTHING by Kaori Yuki and she makes up most of my collection ( I love Godchild and Cain saga!)

Reading now:  Guignol Orchestra- its alright. The "zombies" are pretty cool.

Oran highschool host club

also march story, i have not seen past volume one, i hope its not canceled

I think I remember Alice 19th having a good ending, Yuzukelly.  I haven't read many of Watase's series, but I did like that one quite well.

I watched the anime of Aishiteruze Baby and didn't like it, but I did rather like the first volume of the manga. It just felt like the lead character had a different feel to him in either versions.  Kind of like how I loved the Paradise Kiss manga, but was left kind of cold by the anime, I suppose.

Hiraku wrote:

Off-topic: Did you hear about how there's gonna be a Paradise Kiss live action?

I'd like to be excited, but I can't help but remember that horrible live action adaptation of Hana Yori Dango. The only live action version of a manga that I enjoyed was LIFE because it cut out a lot of the the unnecessary material but remained faithful to the manga at the same time.

The only whole manga I've ever read is Ceres... It was also my first I love that.

I also was trying to read Angel Sanctuary, I have like 12 or so volumes, but at some point I just...stopped. And I didn't feel like spending all my money on manga anymore.. I probably won't pick it up again unless I really decide I want to.

Just got through to the last chapter of Usagi Drop

OMG!!!! The character development, especially for Rin, it was awesome!
And, I think there's gonna be some kind of encore volume coming up after Chapter 56? If that is the case, I am going to roll in my bed and cry because that's too awesome to be true!

Catchup thread! 4 of months of manga read (since I'm already on a kick after writing about my non-manga reads in another thread):

We Were There v. 4-6 - I wish I had more of this series...

20th Century Boys 8-10 - Ditto...

Suppli v. 1-3 - I need to finish buying this before it goes completely out of print and gets expensive. Not my favorite josei, but since we so rarely get any over here these days, I'll take what I can get.

Monokuro Kinderbook - I was actually a bit disappointed by this one, I liked some of the stories, but overall it wasn't as good as some of the other non-mainstream pieces I've read.

Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu v. 1 - I really, really hope the second volume of this gets released.  It's utterly bizarre, trippy, and hilarious all at once Junko Mizuno is one helluva weird writer.

Video Girl Ai v. 4-6 - Continuing to thoroughly enjoy the series.

Monster v. 4-6 - Still good, although reading the manga and watching the anime is really redundant.

Honey and Clover v. 1-4 - I think I'm liking the manga a bit more than I did the anime, but it's also making me want to rewatch the anime.

Anne Freaks v. 1-2 - A bit generic, but interesting enough.

Boys over Flowers v. 11-18 - A continued guilty pleasure, although there's a lot more guilt than pleasure to it.

Cinderalla - Another work by Junko Mizuno, but I didn't like this one so much.  Zombie Cinderella just doesn't do it for me.

Bunny Drop v. 4 - Continues to be wonderful, ends up just about where the anime ended.  I'm betting the time skip will be coming soon, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.

With the Light v. 8 - The final chapter of the story about raising a child with autism.  Tobe died before she finished, so the final chapters are just early storyboards, which kind of broke my heart because it made it so clear that she wanted to keep working but just could not finish for her illness.  They also snuck in a couple of pre-With the Light one-shots she'd done.  She always had a strong sense of optimism in her work, usually with a touch of bittersweet snuck in.

Codename Sailor V v. 1 - I had read part of this in Japanese, but really didn't pick up on the comedy with in it.  Such a fun, light romp!  And still sitting at #6 on the Bookscan list for manga and graphic novels.

Sailor Moon v. 1 - Fantastic first volume.  I'd read some of the series in English as well as French, but I haven't actually completed all of the manga, so I'm really looking forward to the continued release.  And I doubt we have to worry about it stopping--it's still #1 on Bookscan for the second straight month, and they already had to do the first reprint, so there are 100k copies of this in the world right now.

Chi's Sweet Home v. 1 - I didn't realize this was being released in color!  Vertical also chose to flip it in order to reach a broader audience, and since it's been one of their best sellers, I think they made the correct choice.  This is the perfect gift for an anime fan, but also for a young child.  It's just the cute adventures of a cute kitten--can you ever really go wrong with that?

Kitchen Princess v. 7-10 (complete) - I am going to try all of the recipes shared in this book, I swear.  It's a pretty standard shoujo, but it v. 6 left me crying, and I enjoyed the rest of the series as well.  Fairly predictable in parts, with a couple of twists thrown in that weren't hugely telegraphed.  Sweet little series if you enjoy shoujo romantic dramas.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya v. 8-9 - I somewhat regret reading these before watching the corresponding movie.

Twin Spica v. 1-2 - I can't believe I waited so long to start this amazing series! I'm also kicking myself for not getting more than just the first two volumes.  It's a fantastic character drama with the trappings of space travel.

Saikano v. 1-3 - Another great one that I shouldn't have waited so long to read (and I hope I can someday get the final volume at a reasonable price). 

The Devil Does Exist v. 1-2 - First couple of chapters were so stereotypical I nearly quit reading. It's a by the numbers sort of tale of good girl and bad boy, but fairly enjoyable after awhile.  Guilty pleasure material for sure.

Penguin Revolution 1-5 - Speaking of series that I wish I had the final volumes off without having to overpay...v. 6 has gotten way to pricey for my taste, although I've found the final volume at an OK price.  It reminds me somewhat of Kitchen Princess with a bit of W Juliet tossed in.  It's not flashy, but it's a fun little story.

Right now I'm most of the way through The Drops of God v. 1, the wine manga.  I like it well enough, but since I have no interest in wine, I'm not getting nearly so into it as others.

In my latest Book Off adventure, I found all of Rose of Versailles; it's the 2004 reprint collected in six volumes. I managed to score the first five volumes for $15 total. Yes, it's in Japanese, but there's furigana, so I'll be able to muddle through if I don't feel like consulting my dictionary the whole time.

I've only skimmed it a bit, and the costumes are so detailed and stunning. That figures, since this is Marie Antoinette we're talking about, AND the series is old-school shōjo of the highest order.

Last edited by mercurynin (11-19-2011 01:28:47 AM)