Seven Seas’ decision to release this series by Kaoru Shintani in double-sized omnibus form seems even smarter now, since the first half of this book is taken up by one long story, that of “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. It’s one of the classic Holmes stories, but frankly, all I remember of it is that it includes a giant dog. That’s on display here, so I’m satisfied. It’s a fun reread, and the manga design suits the character types well, […]

It could have gone horribly wrong, but by inserting a cute little prodigy into classic Sherlock Holmes cases, I found the mysteries taking on fresh enjoyment for me. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I ordered Young Miss Holmes blind. I was hoping for a mystery manga series, since there aren’t as many of those as I’d like to read, but any time a series is promoted based on its young female lead, there is the potential for all […]

This dynamite concept didn’t quite come together for me, although I’ve been anticipating Mangaman since it was first announced. The idea — a manga-styled character transfers universes to the “real” world, where what he considers normal is perceived as freaky — is terrific and playful, but the execution tries to combine too many elements, and the result winds up short-changing some of the themes. Artist Colleen Doran is certainly well aware of and capable of drawing in the stereotypical manga […]

Guest review by Ed Sizemore ***Warning: This Review Contains Spoilers*** Shuichi Nitori and Yoshino Takatsuki are mirror images of each other. Both are in fifth grade and have just recently transferred to a new school. They are classmates who sit next to each other and quickly become good friends. Both share a secret. Shuichi is a feminine-looking boy who dreams of being a girl. Yoshino is a masculine-looking girl who dreams of being a boy. Wandering Son by Takako Shimura […]

I’ve found the best yaoi series. Future Lovers by Saika Kunieda is so good that I can recommend it without reservation to manga readers (except those put off by the concept of a male/male love story, because that romance does include a physical component). It’s a shame that Aurora’s Deux imprint is now defunct, although these books are still easily available. Kento has just been dumped by Yukie. He proposed to her, but his approach was practical, not romantic, and […]

I’d been looking forward to seeing the work of est em, since she was recommended by Matt Thorn, and I need to expose myself to more of the best yaoi. Age Called Blue (published by Netcomics) had an immediately gripping hook — it’s about wannabe rockers, British guys struggling to make a go of music. Unfortunately, my entrance into the book was stymied by the atrocious computer lettering. It’s so wrong for the passionate material that I kept being reminded […]

I liked the idea behind The Story of Lee, but the execution wasn’t as successful as I hoped. It seems like it should work well — it’s the story of a Chinese girl in Hong Kong who gets involved with a visiting Scot (to the horror of her traditional father), written by a Scot living in Japan (Sean Michael Wilson) and drawn by a Japanese living in London (Chie Kutsuwada). If anyone should understand cross-cultural stories, this team should. But […]

I am very glad anthology collections like AX: Alternative Manga exist, but I don’t care much for actually reading them. It’s an important book, and it’s a good thing that this kind of material is being translated into English, to give a more diverse portrait of what kind of manga is being created, but the male-centric viewpoint of many of them is off-putting, and I don’t find these stories particularly enjoyable or enlightening. That’s probably because I don’t find it […]