Another month has passed and my collection of books and manga continues to grow. (I am, however, in the process of pulling together a rather large library donation, so at least there will at least temporarily be space for new acquisitions.) I had quite a few Kickstarter rewards arrive last month which I was happy to see. I’m especially looking forward to reading the TJ and Amal epilogue comic Five Years Ago and Three Thousand Miles Away by E.K. Weaver and the queer science fiction and fantasy comics anthology Beyond. Last month I started trying to collect Kyoko Hikawa’s manga series From Far Away, which may take some time to complete since it’s out of print, but if that fails at least it’s now available digitally. I also managed to find a fairly nice copy of Hideshi Hino’s out-of-print Panorama of Hell for a reasonable price, which is one of the best horror manga that I’ve ever read. (It’s definitely not for the weak of heart or stomach, though) Speaking of horror, Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu, probably my most anticipated October release, is now available! Expect an in-depth review to come soon, but for now know that I absolutely loved it.
Manga!
Alice in the Country of Clover: March Hare by Soyogo Iwaki
Alice in the Country of Clover: The March Hare’s Revolution by Ryo Kazuki
Battle Angel Alita, Volumes 1-5 by Yukito Kishiro
Because I’m a Boy! by Asia Watanabe
Boys Over Flowers, Volumes 1-4 by Yoko Kamio
Citrus, Volume 2 by Saburouta
Devil Survivor, Volume 1 by Satoru Matsuba
Fairy Tail, Volume 50 by Hiro Mashima
From Far Away, Volumes 1-3 by Kyoko Hikawa
Horimiya, Volume 1 written by Hero, illustrated by Daisuke Hagiwara
Imadoki!, Volumes 4-5 by Yuu Watase
Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu by Junji Ito
Kare Kano: His and Her Circumstances, Volumes 2-3 by Masami Tsuda
Kiss Him, Not Me!, Volume 1 by Junko
LDK, Volume 1 by Ayu Watanabe
Love at Fourteen, Volume 4 by Fuka Mizutani
My Little Monster, Volume 10 by Robico
Ninja Slayer, Volume 1: Machine of Vengence written by Yoshiaki Tabata, illustrated by Yuki Yogo
Noragami: Stray God, Volume 7 by Adachitoka
Otouto no Otto by Gengoroh Tagame
Pandora Hearts, Volume 4-9 by Jun Mochizuki
Panorama of Hell by Hideshi Hino
QQ Sweeper, Volume 1 by Kyousuke Motomi
Say I Love You, Volume 9 by Kanae Hazuki
Slam Dunk, Volumes 3-14, 17-20, 23-25, and 27 by Takehiko Inoue
Tenshi Ja Nai!!, Volumes 1-3 by Takako Shigematsu
Tokyo ESP, Volume 1 by Hajime Segawa
Tokyo Ghoul, Volume 3 by Sui Ishida
Witchcraft Works, Volume 7 by Ryu Mizunagi
Wolf Magic by Natsuki Zippo
The World’s Greatest First Love, Volumes 2-3 by Shungiku Nakamura
Comics!
Beyond: The Queer Sci-Fi & Fantasy Comic Anthology edited by Sfé R. Monster
Check Please!, Year One by Ngozi Ukazu
Darlin’ It’s Betta Down Where It’s Wetta, Volume 1 by Megan Rose Gedris
The Fall of the House of West written by Paul Pope, JT Petty, illustrated by David Rubín
Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi written by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose
Five Years Ago and Three Thousand Miles Away by E.K. Weaver
Last Man, Volume 3: The Chase by Bastien Vivès, Michael Sanlaville, and Balak
Lost in the Snow, Volume 2 by Velvet Toucher
The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal by E.K. Weaver
Lumberjanes, Volume 2: Friendship to the Max created by Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, and Shannon Watters
Meaty Yogurt, Volume 1: Small Town Blues by Megan Rose Gedris
Anthologies!
Hanzai Japan: Fantastical, Futuristic stories of Crime from and about Japan edited by Nick Mamatas and Masumi Washington
Artbooks!
Art Collection, Volume 1: 2011-2015 by Inuyoshi
Anime!
Kitaro directed by Katsuhide Motoki
Paprika directed by Satoshi Kon
Tekkon Kinkreet directed by Michael Arias
How on EARTH did you get a copy of Panorama of Hell for a decent price? I am jealous!
I, too, received my copy of TJ and Amal. I hadn’t read it online (I tend to blind support comics on Kickstarter for some reason, and all the Tezuka ones), but I’ve read it, it was pretty awesome, I wish I had the epilogue! It seems it might be getting reprinted so I can buy it later.
Also, congrats on trying to collect From Far Away! I lucked out on a complete set on eBay, glad it’s digital too now. It’s well worth your time, it only got better as it went on too. And I really like both Noriko and Izark. They start out as more stereotypes, but they’re actually very well developed. Izark’s is more obvious as the ice queen trope, but he actually emerges naturally and it’s because the manga understands that Noriko really is just a normal, sweet girl. And that’s kind of her strength as a character, she’s not whiny, she’s not idolized by the author undeservedly (like Bella in Twilight), she doesn’t tend to get kidnapped due to purposely doing stupid things, she’s just really sweet with a positive attitude and actually does her best to make herself useful without massively misunderstanding the term (in some misguided effort to make her “cute” to people who like helpless and stupid ditzy girls for their main characters, I can’t stand them). None of those annoying “frills” that ruin lesser characters.
There’s a used bookstore near where I work that occasionally has random volumes of hard-to-find, out-of-print manga. I make a point to visit every so often, which is how I ended up with Panorama of Hell! The cover shows a bit of wear, but the inside pages are in great condition; the find made my day.
TJ and Amal is wonderful! I initially collected the individual volumes, but I was interested in the extra bonus material included in the omnibus as well as the epilogue comic, so I backed the Kickstarter. (And yes, the epilogue comic is being reprinted!)
I’m really looking forward to starting From Far Away. I’m hoping that if I wait patiently, I might be able to snag a complete set somewhere. A few of the individual volumes can be quite pricey!