The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volume 9

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 […]

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The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Volume 7

Volume 8 is a better starting point, if you’re picking up The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service in the middle, but I thought this installment had some interesting things to say about fame and the movies. The first story in volume 7 is a one-shot, about a robot powered by a zombie with a video game for a brain chip. It’s full of fan humor, making fun of gamers and other obsessive types. I found myself wishing writer Eiji Otsuka had […]

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PR: What Not to Do: Forgetting Where You Are

It’s very important, with a press release, to realize that you’re talking to an international audience. So if you want coverage for your local event, it’s a huge help if you put the physical site of your news in at least the first paragraph of your release. I was reminded of this with a recent email. The headline conveniently said “A Comic Ship Is Reaching Out to Local Artists: The Shop Will Be Hosting a Monthly Art Jam and Other […]

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Butterflies, Flowers Volume 5

After being very confused by how I felt about this series after reading the two previous books, I’m back for more in volume 5. And a key contrast between two chapters clarified my reaction for me. In the first, Choko is conflicted between her lover and her family. They’re all eating breakfast together, since boss and boyfriend Masayuki drives her to work every morning, picking her up at home. The two want to live together, but she’s not sure it’s […]

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Kodansha Comics Announces Upcoming Titles for Summer 2011

Today, Kodansha Comics announced their much-awaited lineup of manga. Since they replaced Del Rey Manga at the beginning of this month, fans have been eager to hear which ongoing series will be continuing and which new titles may be coming. The front page of the Kodansha US website currently reads as follows: The following new titles will make their English-language debut next summer: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney returns in this new manga series written by Kenji Kuroda and illustrated by […]

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Iron Man: Extremis

Following up the first Marvel Knights Animation/Shout! Factory release, Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, comes another movie tie-in: Iron Man: Extremis. This disc contains six motion comic episodes, each from 10-14 minutes. (The first is 20 minutes long.) The storyline is based on the comic of the same name by Warren Ellis and Adi Granov, a revamp of the Armored Avenger for the modern technological age, where computer chips replace the original transistors and hardware. (It also reportedly influenced the movie, as […]

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Fantasia / Fantasia 2000

Fantasia, in my experience, has been more talked about than seen. I was eager to experience it for myself, since I had the impression of it as almost pure animation, art for its own sake. This new Disney release is available as a four-disc special edition — two Blu-rays, one each for Fantasia and Fantasia 2000, plus the two movies each on DVD — or a two-disc DVD package. I’m talking about the Blu-ray versions here, since that seems the […]

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The Fart Party Volume 2

I enjoyed reading Julia Wertz’s Drinking at the Movies so much that I picked up her previous book, The Fart Party Volume 2. I’m glad I did. It was a different experience than the book I’d read, but equally enjoyable. This book is much more a webcomic collection than the newer book, which has some longer stories. I like reading these volumes in backward chronological order, because it’s like getting to know a new friend and then hearing more stories […]

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