May 28, 2010 Johanna Viz Manga Reviews One comment

Saturn Apartments Volume 1

Inspired by the To Terra… Manga Moveable Feast this month, I’m looking at some more modern stories of young people in space. Saturn Apartments has a very similar premise to Terra, in that humans have moved to an artificial structure surrounding the Earth, which is now an uninhabited nature preserve. But the approach is very different — where Terra tackles big philosophical themes, Saturn Apartments makes its points through quiet stories of everyday life for a lower-class worker. The society […]

May 25, 2010 Johanna Vertical Manga Reviews One comment

Twin Spica Volume 1

Inspired by the To Terra… Manga Moveable Feast this month, I’m looking at some more modern stories of young people in space. Twin Spica, which originally began serialization in 2001, is the story of Asumi, a plucky young girl who wants to make it into space school so she can become an astronaut. She’s got an uphill climb ahead of her — no money, her tiny size, and her lack of family support. Her mother’s dead and her father, a […]

May 25, 2010 Johanna Vertical Manga Reviews Leave a comment

To Terra … Volume 1

I tried to read To Terra… once before, three years ago, just after it came out. I didn’t make it through. It was so old-fashioned in both look and story — as the copyright page notes, it was originally serialized from 1977-1980. It’s also got what I call the 2001 problem, after the movie. I am told that Keiko Takemiya was an originator, that her work here inspired so many others that what was then innovative quickly became cliché as […]

May 24, 2010 Johanna Viz Manga Reviews 2 comments

Flower in a Storm Volume 1

This breezy shojo romantic comedy by Shigeyoshi Takagi answers the question, “what would action movies be like if they were aimed at women instead of men?” It’s a high adrenaline piece about finding the person who likes you for you, a twisted love story for a jaded generation super-saturated with media. Riko desperately wants to be normal, although she’s got the athletic prowess of Batman (but with a lot less control). Her abilities are described as “superpowers” in the promotional […]

May 23, 2010 Johanna Other Publishers One comment

Dolltopia

Abby Denson continues exploring the themes of fitting in and coming out she tackled in Tough Love: High School Confidential, only with more symbolism in Dolltopia. Kitty is a ballerina doll who wants to take charge of her own life instead of being manipulated by others. She and a renegade soldier doll set out for Dolltopia, where they can be themselves. They learn to appreciate their independence, their unwillingness to fit in, and their unique fashion sense. Dolls who aren’t […]

May 20, 2010 Johanna Comic Book Films One comment

Tokyopop’s Dreaming to Become Movie

Tokyopop has announced a deal (link no longer available) to make a live-action movie of The Dreaming, Queenie Chan’s OEL manga series about a mysterious boarding school in the Australian wilderness. This “manga graphic novel series” (as the press release has it) originally ran three volumes, although Amazon has a listing for a Dreaming Collection due at the end of August. It sounds like Tokyopop plans to put out a single-volume omnibus of the story. Much emphasis is made in […]

May 20, 2010 Johanna Other Manga Publishers One comment

The Name of the Flower Volume 4

This final volume of one of my favorite CMX series comes at a sad time — not only is The Name of the Flower ending, but so is the manga line overall. This may be the last CMX book I review, which adds a melancholy air that’s well-suited to the bittersweet tone of the story. It’s all about learning to survive the pain of loss, and the hope of love afterwards to fight depression and give life some purpose again. […]

May 19, 2010 Johanna Comic News Leave a comment

Making the World Better LinkBlogging

Fighting Sexism How do you find out what girls want in comics? Try asking them! Author Hope Larson (Mercury, Chiggers) conducted an informal survey among her LiveJournal and Twitter followers, asking almost 200 girls and women about their comic reading. Now, she’s summarized the results (link no longer available). There are a number of similarities. Most female fans were hooked before their teens. TV adaptations and male relatives were key introductions. They’re looking for satisfying characters, compelling stories, and strong […]

« 1 … 475 476 477 478 479 … 619 »