While I do my best to appreciate manga art, I generally do not choose to read a particular series solely because of it. The exception to this is BLAME!, a ten-volume series by Tsutomu Nihei that boasts “an endless labyrinth of cyberdungeons filled with concrete and steel.” Thinking that sounded pretty durn awesome, and prepared to encounter an occasionally incomprehensible … [Read more...] about BLAME! 1-10 by Tsutomu Nihei: B+
Comics
K-ON! 1 by Kakifly: C-
From the back cover: When their high school's pop-music club is about to be disbanded due to lack of interest, four girls step up to fill the membership quota. Unfortunately, lead guitarist Yui Hirasawa has never played an instrument in her life. Ever. And although she likes the idea of being in a band, standing in front of the mirror posing with her guitar is a lot easier than … [Read more...] about K-ON! 1 by Kakifly: C-
Two by Natsume Ono
For my latest column at Comics Should Be Good, I reviewed the debut volumes of two (relatively) new Natsume Ono series: House of Five Leaves and Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso. I really loved House of Five Leaves, with its story of a hapless samurai drawn into the schemes of a fascinating criminal. Gente is more a collection of low-key short stories than a single … [Read more...] about Two by Natsume Ono
Maid Sama! 1-4 by Hiro Fujiwara: B
When I started reading Maid Sama!, it was with the goal of catching up on the series so that I could cover the review copies I received of volumes five and six. I planned to give my personal copies of volumes one and two—as far as I ever got in actually buying the series—to my (awesome) local library when finished. Volume one went into the to-donate box as planned, but … [Read more...] about Maid Sama! 1-4 by Hiro Fujiwara: B
The Dreaming Collection by Queenie Chan: B+
From the back cover: Where dreams turn into living nightmares... Behind the gates of the exclusive Australian boarding school, Greenwich Private College, wait beautiful Victorian architecture, an excellent education, and a terrible secret: students have been known to wander into the surrounding bushlands and vanish... without a trace! Mysterious forces are at work, and as the … [Read more...] about The Dreaming Collection by Queenie Chan: B+