My Darling! Miss Bancho Volume 1

by Mayu Fujikata This cute school story is great “brain popcorn” — something entertaining that only occupies your attention while you’re reading it. No nutritional value, no lasting effects, but enjoyable while it lasts. The first thing you need to know is that “bancho” means something like “gang boss” or “chief”, since it’s untranslated throughout the book. And it’s key to understanding the situation in My Darling! Miss Bancho. Whoever defeats the current bancho becomes the new one, ruler of […]

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The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volumes 1-5

When I first heard of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, it was well-recommended, but I wasn’t sure it was for me, given that it was classified as horror and the premise involved lovingly depicted dead bodies. I’m glad I went ahead and tried it, because I very much enjoyed it. It reminded me of Pushing Daisies, if that show was more laconic and Japanese. The series stories are by Eiji Otsuka with art by Housui Yamazaki. Five students at a […]

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Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths Interview With Bruce Timm

The next DCU original animated film, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, is out tomorrow. Here’s a sample clip that explains the premise. Also of note is that this disc contains the first DC Showcase short cartoon, starring The Spectre. Right now, while it’s still technically a pre-order, Amazon has the two-disc special edition at just about half off, making it $13. To promote the movie, Warner Home Video has provided the following interview with executive producer Bruce Timm. Question: […]

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Who Wants to See Kick-Ass?

Kick-Ass, a comic by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr., is also a movie due out April 16. It’s about a teenage boy who wants to be a superhero but has no powers or abilities, so all that’s left is violence and blood. One of the lead characters is Hit Girl, an 11-year-old with killer swordplay and a foul mouth. Her father, creatively named Big Daddy, is played by the biggest name in the picture, Nicolas Cage. (From being considered […]

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Disney Releases New Miyazaki/Ghibli Special Edition DVDs

On March 2, Disney will release Ponyo on both DVD and Blu-ray. The hand-drawn Ponyo, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, tells of the story of a five-year-old boy and his magical goldfish, who becomes a girl. The film’s “star-studded voice cast” includes Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, and Betty White, although the children are new voices Noah Lindsey Cyrus (Ponyo, the fish-girl) and Frankie Jonas (the boy). Ponyo DVD Special Edition Ponyo Blu-ray List […]

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Will Eisner’s Instructional Books: Comics and Sequential Art, Graphic Storytelling, Expressive Anatomy

At the end of 2008, W.W. Norton issued updated editions of Will Eisner’s classic instructional manuals on creating comics. Comparing the revised Comics and Sequential Art to the original edition (first published in 1985) showed me immediately how much of an improvement the new printing was. The presentation is much sleeker and more modern, with a layout that looks like it was created by a professional art designer, instead of the high school research paper appearance of the original. There […]

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Doctor Who: The Complete Specials

It’s long been said that your favorite Doctor is the one you first watched. For many Americans of a certain generation, that was Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, whose run from 1974 – 1981 was the longest and most commonly shown in the U.S. I first saw him in the role when I lived in England during the 70s, but he wasn’t my favorite. That was Peter Davison, the first time around, and then it was David Tennant, the star […]

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20th Century Boys Volume 7

I so admire Naoki Urasawa’s skill. Just when my interest in this series was starting to wane a bit — I loved the original idea of contrasting kid friends with adults trying to save the world, but I was less involved with the Buffy-like tough future girl and the self-indulgent manga artist in prison storylines — he reels me back in in volume 7, both with flashbacks to the characters I missed and by ramping up the action on the […]

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