The complex setup for this series is mostly wasted in its episodic chapters, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, if you enjoy the stand-alone stories that result.

Detective Toyama is sent to pretend to teach a fifth-grade class because their former teacher mysteriously killed herself. He’s supposed to find out what happened while protecting the children. That’s the part that gets forgotten, until the very last few pages. Presumably, it will be followed up in the next book, due out in March.

Deka Kyoshi Book 1
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Bullied student Makoto sees what are first thought to be demons. Toyama is the only person who believes in and helps him, and Makoto’s the only one who knows Toyama’s a cop, so the two bond. Makoto’s visions later turn out to be symbols of the conflict to be resolved; he sees other people’s stress as visual metaphors.

While he’s supposed to be the authority figure, in practice, Toyama winds up being a goofy, oversized plot device, since Makoto is the one who drives resolution but he can’t take certain actions because of his age. The stories are really about how mean kids can be to each other. The results are simple morality tales, correcting injustice and resetting order in predictable, comforting ways. It’s like a much kinder, gentler Hell Girl.

One girl is made fun of for her height and early development, for example, so she appears as a rag doll (symbolizing her still-young mind and desire to return to a simpler time) bursting at the seams (representing her discomfort and pain at her growth). Other stories teach a kid not to shoplift manga and help a wristcutter stop injuring herself and repair her broken family. The final one is a school ghost story, running around campus after hours. That one takes a slightly different tack, turning Makoto’s disadvantages into strengths in a setting where the normal students are discomfited.

The characters are alternately cute or creepy, as needed. The style is old-fashioned (for manga), clean and with distinctive character designs. I was confused by the rating — it’s marked “Teen Plus”, which is suggested for 16 and up, but they’re likely to be bored by the lack of real drama. Perhaps the rating is due to the creepy demonic images, combined with the story about wrist-cutting.

An online preview is available at the publisher’s website. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

KC’s column this month at the Westfield Comics site recollects what it was like working for a comic distributor in the early 80s, with overnight breakdowns and repacking of comics. Plus, the Poison Room, Mount Baron, soda cans, cockroaches, a bidding war, and an unusual use for the boss’ credit card.

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Book 4

Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Book 4
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by Koji Kumeta, Del Rey Manga, $10.99 US, due out November 24

I have given up trying to make sense of all the Japanese references in this series. Although there are plenty of endnotes, I’d rather just focus on the clean graphic design of the art and the humor based around stupid things people do. I don’t need to know the name of a Tokyo baseball player to find, for example, an over-organization fetish funny, especially when it makes a house wind up looking like a 3-D game of Tetris.

I’m pleasantly surprised that Kumeta can make humor out of the pain one feels at being left out of a party, while the misery of holidays is a familiar subject given a very different twist with an unusual reason for the suffering. Cutting students slack no matter what they do is a tendency shared between cultures, and the virtue and benefit of silence is thought-provoking. There is one story that makes no sense without the explanation, which is based on manzai comedy, but I just considered it an exercise in surreality, so it fit right in with the rest of the book. Other chapters focus on concepts already familiar to Americans, like cooling-off contract periods or getting a second opinion.

I’m still enjoying reading this odd series, enough to continue.

Gakuen Prince Book 3
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Gakuen Prince Book 3

by Jun Yuzuki, Del Rey Manga, $10.99 US

This series, on the other hand, I quit with no regrets. I wasn’t appalled by the concept, as shown in the first book, as others were (with justification). I just didn’t care enough to continue, and flipping through this third book didn’t show me anything to change my mind. I’d also clearly missed something important in the second volume, since this entry opens with everyone talking about whatever it was, but I wasn’t interested enough to puzzle it out.

One sample was slightly amusing, but continuing this bit of perversion just seems tawdry. I have more entertaining things to read. This now feels like a waste of time.

Kitchen Princess:
Search for the Angel Cake
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Kitchen Princess: Search for the Angel Cake

by Miyuki Kobayashi, art by Natsumi Ando, Del Rey, $9.99 US

This new story is a novel using characters from the manga series by the same creators. Each of the four sections of the book ends with a new recipe, and each section has about four illustrations. I don’t think the characters and situation — recreating a cake beloved in memory — are strong enough to support the story without more art, myself, but perhaps that’s my preference for manga over prose text. Others may find the flipped responsibility, having the writing partner carry more of the work, a valuable comparison to the other way around they’re already familiar with.

(The publisher provided review copies.)

I don’t think I’ve laughed so much at any movie in a theater as I did at Pirate Radio. (Known as The Boat That Rocked in its original UK release.)

Like Richard Curtis’ other feature as writer/director, Love Actually, it’s a sprawling story with a variety of goofy character bits, an ensemble comedy composed of vignettes. I was also reminded of Almost Famous, with its story of a boy coming of age thanks to the transformative power of rock. Pirate Radio is set in England in 1966, with tons of great rock’n'roll music (then called pop), none of which the BBC would play. So ships anchored off the coast, outside of the legal limit, would broadcast what the people wanted to hear. (One of the best-known was Radio Caroline.)

The cast is amazing — you’ve probably seen ads featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman as one of the DJs, but another is played by Nick Frost (previously best known as Simon Pegg’s buddy in Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead). Additional cast members include Chris O’Dowd and Katherine Parkinson, both from The IT Crowd. My favorite, of course, was Bill Nighy as Quentin, who in addition to his performance is astounding-looking in 60s mod suits, especially when he dances. (Given the time period and setting, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear that the women are Mom, cook, and lust objects. But at least the clothes they wear are cool.) I was also surprised to see that the coolest of all DJs, a supposed sex machine, was played by Rhys Ifans, whom I best remember from the Curtis-penned Notting Hill as the gross roommate Spike. That’s versatility!

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Nick Frost are DJs

Now, typical of Curtis, the end favors optimism and unrealistic happy results over plausibility, but I don’t mind that much. I did leave wishing I’d seen the three-hour version (or however long it would have been with the footage they cut from the UK version put back in along with whatever other deleted scenes — something to wait for the DVD on, I guess). I felt like I could have learned more about some of the characters, and there were intriguing bits hinted at (like Jack Davenport’s interaction with his boss Kenneth Branagh’s daughter) that were never followed up on. That’s another Curtis touch, overstuffed, messy sprawl, but in a way I enjoy.

Rhys Ifans as King of the DJs

I’m telling you, theaters are missing out by not selling merchandise in their lobbies. I would have gladly purchased, upon departure, the DVD and the CD soundtrack. (Plus a couple of books on the subject, although there doesn’t appear to be a definitive history yet.) A vending machine would make extra money with minimal staff costs. And the DVD is already out in the UK, because the movie came out there in April. I have no idea why they’d rather sell messy snacks, with all the cleaning costs, than tangible mementos.

Bill Nighy and cast party

Sadly, while researching options, we discovered that there are two soundtrack versions. The British version has four more tracks than the American one, although the four missing songs (”Crimson & Clover”, “The Letter”, “Hang on Sloopy”, and Skeeter Davis’ “End of the World”) are fairly common. Personally, I think the UK one also has a better cover, but I like seeing more of the cast without the overly literal pirate metaphor.

If you’re looking for a wonderfully entertaining movie, check out Pirate Radio. Highly recommended.

I love my husband, because he just handed me this CD collection, We Love the Pirates, featuring rare music and hits from the era interspersed with jingles from Radio London, another of the pirate stations. Apparently, it’s now out of print and goes for $50 or more. For a cheaper take on the era, try The Who Sell Out, an homage to the broadcast style with commercial parodies and actual jingles.

Sachiro has just declared her love for an upperclassman, because she thinks he’s adorable in his glasses, but he turns her down flat. Then she moves in with her mother, whom she’s never met [1], Mom’s new husband, and her new stepbrother … who turns out to be the same guy who just rejected her. But wait! That’s not the only weird element of the premise: The guy, Akihiko, has a bartending job where he doesn’t wear his glasses and is worshipped by all the girls who see him. Sachiro is rescued by him but doesn’t recognize him.

Four-Eyed Prince Book 1
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[1] This sounds more complicated than it is. Sachiko’s mother bailed when she was an infant. She was raised by her dad, who recently passed away. This is explained in only two panels.

This story is full of “only in fantasy stories” elements, and none of these concepts are explored in any depth, but if you can suspend your disbelief, it’s not a bad read. Light and silly, true, but full of good-hearted escapism. The characters keep getting thrown together through suspicious plot devices: a couples contest, a prize vacation trip to a hot spring, etc.

The idea that someone looks completely different without their glasses, so much so that they’re unrecognizable, is unbelievable but a staple of romance fiction. The book is full of teen girl fantasies like that: What would it be like to live under the same roof as the guy I have a crush on? What if that shy guy at school had a “secret life” as a stud who would single me out from the crowd for his attention and take care of me? And so on.

Given the focus of the premise, it shouldn’t surprise you to know that the art is full of huge glistening eyes. Sachiko is the typical “find the optimism in anything!” manga young lady, inspiring those around her to love and protect her. Akihiko puts up with her because she’s the only one who sees the real him under his two personas. For a first manga romance, perhaps for a young teen reader graduating up to love stories, I don’t think this is that bad a choice.

There’s an unrelated backup story in which a girl has to clean a rich boy’s house, which leads to her getting a makeover and him giving up his player ways for her. See? Total female fantasy. (The publisher provided a review copy.)

I realized that this webcomic series had put out a new collection purely by serendipity — I found myself wondering what had happened to it and visited the website just in time to see that the second book was available. I was thrilled, since the first book was one of my top 10 of 2007.

Nothing Better 2: Into the Wild
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Or order direct from the artist

I’d missed reading about odd-couple college roommates Katt (art student and questioning atheist) and Jane (religious but seeking, uncertain about her future and beliefs). Both remind me of me, at different periods in my life. I want to know more about what they’re learning and how they’re growing.

It’s also refreshing to see comics tackle the question of faith without taking a dogmatic position on it. I love the way that they each learn from and advise each other, in different situations.

In a more typical portrayal, the assumption would be that Jane needs to loosen up and learn to be more like Katt, who’s more comfortable with boys and more of a free-thinking, drinking, typical college student. But here, we open with Katt realizing that she needs help from Jane. Although they both enjoy their biology class, Katt may be reaching the limit of what she can learn on her own using her typical study habits. Moreover, Katt’s temporary hookup has blown her off, and Jane has some sensible things to say about how you should start interacting with a boy if you want a relationship instead of just sex.

I appreciate the way that, although much of the book is driven by conversations among the two and their various friends, Tyler Page keeps the pages active by having them talk as they walk between classes or visit the cafeteria or engage in other typical college activities. He’s not afraid of backgrounds or costume design or populating his panels with supporting characters, as you can well see in the Halloween party that kicks off this book.

A costume dance is a great excuse to try out some different behavior and maybe meet someone. All the relationships (mostly defined by who’s interested in whom, nothing more yet) get swizzled around as some of the cast overindulge and some try something new. The question of sex — how much to make out, how it changes relationships, how you feel after — is the big theme of this volume.

Tyler’s willing to have his characters tackle major issues, but he approaches everything in a light-handed fashion. Obviously, these debates and decisions are important to their participants, and they ring true to the reader, but most with a sense of age and perspective will realize that it all wasn’t as significant, as all-encompassing as students make it to be at the time. His touches of humor are realistic as well, and they make this story well-rounded and even more true to life.

This volume sort of reverses the roles of the roommates. Jane is the one hanging out with boys. Katt is second-guessing herself, unsure of her choices and feeling like she’s lonely and missing out. That gives the reader a different view of the two girls, giving them more dimension. I also liked seeing more group interaction with the friends they (and we) have come to know.

With a series like this one, run free on the web and self-published when there’s enough material to do so, you always wonder if a new book will be the last you see of a much-liked series. I fervently hope that’s not the case (and I have no reason to think it would be), but even if this is the only book of the series you read, you’ll find it satisfying. I want to see a lot more of these characters, though, and I hope nice-guy artist Darby finally gets a happy ending!

I loved Up when I first saw it in theaters this summer, so I knew that I wanted to own it when it was released on DVD. I just wish Disney didn’t make it so difficult.

Up (Blu-Ray)
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As is typical of their recent releases, they’re strongly pushing the Blu-Ray edition, which comes with four discs: the standard DVD movie with extras, the digital copy disc (why? does anyone use these?), and two Blu-Ray discs. Unfortunately for me, since I still see no reason to “upgrade” formats, the standard DVD with extras is no longer comparable in features to the Blu-Ray. This is an incredibly disappointing decision. The more studios try to force customer “choice” to what benefits them, the less likely I am to succumb, and I don’t appreciate being treated like a second-class customer because I’m not willing to shell out more money for new equipment when what I have works just fine for me.

Then there’s the DRM-restricted “extra” that makes the standard version a “two-disc deluxe edition”. The second disc is nothing but the digital copy. I’m not interested, because I don’t want to watch a movie of great visual scope on a postage-stamp-sized screen. Thus, I got the two-disc pack. Because although you would think the single disc would be the same as the DVD in the two-disc pack, it lacks the director commentary and possibly the travel featurette. How confused does Disney want customers to be? Of course, you can’t be sure of this in the store, because Disney doesn’t list full contents on the back cover, leaving that phrase “and more” to cover who knows what.

Given that many places are discounting the Blu-Ray version below the price of the special DVD edition — a choice I don’t understand, since I thought the point of pushing Blu-Ray was to make up for declining DVD revenue — I really resent having to pay for a “digital copy” disc I didn’t want anyway. It used to be an extra bonus, something free to make it easy for those who wanted to watch the movie on the go, but now it looks like I’m having to pay more for a useless plastic disc.

Up (Two-Disc DVD)
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Anyway, if one of the Amazon reviewers is correct, the first Blu-Ray has the same extras as the DVD:

• The six-minute “Partly Cloudy” cartoon that ran with the movie in theaters, about a bad-luck stork and his cloud dispatcher.
• A new original five-minute cartoon, “Dug’s Special Mission”, in which the beloved pup tries to help his pack capture the bird in his usual clumsy fashion. It leads into the movie scene in which Dug meets Carl and Russell.
• “Adventure Is Out There”, 22 minutes, showing the crew traveling the amazing real-life locations that inspired Paradise Falls.
• “Alternate Scene: The Many Endings of Muntz” — Five minutes about possible different ends for the bad guy.

The second Blu-Ray has all of the making-of material unavailable to DVD customers, showing interviews and sketches about the character designs for Carl, Russell, bird Kevin, the house, the balloons, and the dogs. Plus there’s a game and an alternate version of the opening married life sequence.

While I consider this movie the best Pixar has ever made, a beautiful meditation on loss and how to find new purpose in life, in terms of the DVD packaging, all I can say is “buyer beware”. They’re not interested in making it easy for you to watch what you want the way you want it. Let me make this clear, just in case Disney happens to be listening: withholding features from my preferred DVD format will not make me buy into Blu-Ray. It will instead make me stop buying your DVDs. In my reviews, I would rather talk about how great the movie is and the insight the special features gave me into the creation of such a wonderful film, instead of having to wade through all this format crap just to figure out what I should buy. I wish Disney would support that.

So here’s why you should watch Up: Pixar is known for making very good funny movies, but Up makes it clear that they’re just as interested in other deep emotions. It was a huge dramatic gamble that they pull off in expert fashion. The idea of an old man and a Boy Scout taking a flying house to a South American jungle, rescuing a near-extinct species, and defeating a corrupt hero and his band of talking dogs sounds like a bad joke, but it’s a movie that will show you great insight into the human spirit and its sense of wonder.

I’m sure this piece sounds angry, but it’s really frustration. I don’t understand why Disney is being so heavy-handed about all this, given their core audiences. A lot of families don’t have the money to upgrade right now, and do kids really care what format they watch?

What a clever format for a how-to book!

The Manga Artist’s Workbook
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The book is bound with a top spiral, and the content — repackaged from Hart’s Manga for the Beginner: Everything You Need to Start Drawing Right Away — is presented in such a way that the reader is encouraged to try the lessons immediately. The wrap-around cover keeps everything neat and together. The whole thing was designed by Melissa Chang, who deserves a lot of praise.

When the workbook is open, the lesson is on the top page, with room to draw on the bottom page. The reader is asked to copy or trace or embellish partially started images as a way of getting them drawing and putting the instruction into practice.

The material of the lessons focuses on creating stereotypical manga characters — teen girl head from various perspectives, for example, and several pages on big, sparkling eyes — and the reader isn’t going to learn to draw until they fill up a few more sketchbooks all on their own, although there are a few blank pages included here for more free-form exploration. But as a starting point, this is a really neat idea, having samples, tracing paper, and sketch paper all bound into one.

(The publisher provided a review copy.)