I’m so glad to get another volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service! (The previous book, volume 13, last appeared at the end of 2012.) Although it’s horror, it’s one of my favorite manga series, with each volume featuring creative deaths and victim quests that say something about the modern human condition. And The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volume 14 was well worth the wait, with two unique takes on the corpse-assisting team. The first story incorporates a hypocritical, corrupt […]

Following up on their re-release of Legal Drug, Dark Horse next week puts out the CLAMP sequel Drug & Drop. It’s just like the first series (although promised to continue, unlike the aborted first run), with the addition of “many crossover references to the CLAMP universe.” That’s what drove me away from their work previously — I got enough of that when I read superhero comics — but I admit, it’s fun to see Watanuki from xxxHOLiC requesting the boys […]

Although it’s horror, I really enjoy The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, because it’s attractively drawn, and the twists in the stories give me something to focus on beyond the occasional gory or scary element. While I wait for it to return, I decided to check out the earlier Mail. It’s a three-volume series written and drawn by Housui Yamazaki, the artist of Kurosagi, and it’s got a similar “ghost investigator” premise. The books, originally released 2006-2007, are out of print, […]

It’s never a good sign when a creepy girl says, early on, “Loving someone or hating them… it’s the exact same thing.” I’d forgotten just how spooky this series can be, but the lead story here in The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service volume 13 rams it home in spades. The story is by Eiji Otsuka and art by Housui Yamazaki. A vengeful young woman is taking control of men who prey on runaway young women new to Tokyo — by […]

story by Eiji Otsuka art by Housui Yamazaki It’s been a long time — 18 months since the previous volume of The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service — but I found no gap in my knowledge of these characters, and I welcomed them and their grotesque misadventures back in volume 12. I was also glad to have back the annotations and endnotes by editor Carl Gustav Horn, as he’s credited for his adaptation. He begins by explaining and apologizing for the […]

story by Eiji Otsuka art by Housui Yamazaki The last corporation I worked at made a priority of installing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on every floor and in common rooms, due to an unfortunate past incident with a worker who had a heart attack and passed away before emergency services could arrive. The company also provided training to interested employees, in conjunction with CPR instruction. I took it, and I was very impressed at how easy to use AEDs seemed […]

story by Eiji Otsuka art by Housui Yamazaki As this black humor/ghost revenge manga series enters its second “decade” of volumes, we begin with a redesign. In place of the previous “brown paper wrapper” approach, in which a khaki cover gives the feel of reading something to be hidden away from the view of others, now the books have a prominent block of black, symbolizing death and the unknown mystery. In another change from previous books, most of volume 11 […]

As was the case with volume 7, volume 9 starts with an exploration of fandom. A young idol, a girl famous for being cute, is finding creepy possessed dolls in her apartment. She assumes they’re being left by obsessed fans, but when the toys move on their own, that suggests something more. The best part of this story is how involved Kereellis gets. That’s the alien puppet, channeled by Yata, who reacts in a protective fashion toward the dolls. Of […]