The Scottish Play, Retold

At some point during the mid-1950s, writer/artist Mort Meskin created the following retelling of Shakespeare's "MacBeth". Meskin's version moved the action from 11th century Scotland to 20th century America, and replaced the competing clansmen with gangers. Enjoy this rarity (and click on each page for a larger, more easily read version).

 
 
 

 

For more obscure (but fascinating) comics and art, check out The Bristol Board.

A great collection of early work by Richard Sala

Black Cat Crossing (Kitchen Sink Press, 1993)
Writers: Richard Sala and Tom De Haven 

Artist: Richard Sala

Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

"Black Cat Crossing" collects 17 short stories done by Richard Sala during from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. There are also a pair of Sala's intrigue- and mystery-drenched "pin-up pages" that serve as endpapers for the book, a table of contents that is executed in the style of an illuminated manuscript; and another Sala's activity-packed one-pagers serving as a frontis-piece. So, it's like we're being treated to a few opening acts before the main event! 

Many of the stories had previously appeared in comics anthologies (which were, sadly, dying out once and for all during the period Sala was contributing to them), and a few were original to this book. Most are examples of Sala's ability to capture the feel of randomness that permeated many pulp short stories of the 1930s while crossing them with a 1940s and 1950s B-movie or film noir sensibility. A few also shows how he can masterfully he can use the "unreliable narrator" in his stories.

The rating I give this book is an average of the stories within it.

The collection opens with three long stories (each more than ten pages). The first two, "The Fellowship of the Creeping Cat" and "The Big Dark Zero" feature equal parts mystery, drama, and humor. They are loving spoofs of pulp-fiction and film noir mystery tales with ludicrous set-ups and overly tangled dark secrets that nonetheless are executed every bit as serious as "The Maltese Falcon". And this is why they work. Both stories also sport genre-appropriate endings that are a satisfying mix of tragic and justice that will leave even the most critical reader satisfied.

"The Fellowship of the Black Cat" focuses a writer of limited success who finds himself at the center of a string of murders related to a long-defunct secret society of vigilantes. It is full of goofy elements, but it is also features escalating tension, because the reader clues into the trouble the protagonist is getting himself into before he does. The mystery of who is behind the plot is also an interesting one. The only complaint I have about the story is that the ending could have been a little stronger, so it rates an 8 of 10 Stars.

"The Big Dark Zero" is a pulp-fiction, film-noir style mystery tale about an amnesiac who has to rediscover his forgotten past to discover why people are suddenly trying to kill him. As the mystery unravels, the facts become increasingly ridiculous, but the story is played perfectly straight throughout, with even a touch of tragedy, which makes this a very effective tale. This is a solid 9 of 10 Stars.

The third and final of the longish stories in "Black Cat Crossing" is also one of the very best in the book. It may even be the best short story Sala wrote and illustrated, period. (It also has an amusing bit of crossover with another story in the book, perhaps the earliest example of the Salaverse, which is hinted at in some of the Peculia and Bloody Cardinal stories, and elsewhere.)

"Where is Christine Broder?" is one of the finest examples of how Richard Sala was an expert of the unreliable narrator. Throughout this whole film-noirish mystery tale involving a burned-out investigator looking for a missing woman the reader has the sense that something is off. It's a sense that keeps growing, but you're never quite sure WHAT is off about the first person narrative that's unfolding and when Sala finally reveals the truth of what's going on, in a perfectly timed and executed fashion, readers feel a mixture of  empathy for the narrator and a twinge of horror about his situation. It's a 10 of 10 Stars without question.

In the middle of the book are six one- and two-page stories in color. They are generally the weakest of what is collected in this volume, with four of them feeling more like story sketches or outlines than full-fledged works; I give most of these collective 6 of 10. The only two that are worth commenting on are a chilling spoof of romance comics titled "A Newlywed's Heartache" (in which the bride discovers chilling facts about her husband) and "Night Delivery which is a pun-based one-page story that I probably found more amusing than any adult should. Both of those rate 8 of 10 Stars.

The black-and-white stories resume with "Another Mad Doktor", which you can read in its entirety, here at Shades of Gray; and "Psychorama", which is the earliest of at least three spoofs of the kids' "alphabet primers" that Sala did. Each letter of the alphabet stands for a deadly lunatic in a psychologist's casebook, and each of these one-panel, rhyming gags are a mixture of cute and creepy. Both of these earn a solid 8 out of 10 Stars.

Next up, we have "The Proxy", a story drawn by Sala but written by . I'm not sure what to make of this one. I read it four times, carefully, and I am still not certain what's going on or what the point it. I am not even sure if there is a point, beyond telling a story about a guy who is is drawn back into the web of deceit and lies and manipulations that exists around his shady kinda-sorta friend, Doc. By the end of the story, I had the sense that the protagonist is screwed and that Doc... well, I really don't know about Doc. Still, it was an engaging story, so it's getting a 7 of 10 Stars.

 With "The Peculiar Case of Dr. V", Sala presents a mystery tale that features his trademark mix of suspense and goofiness, blended with a twist ending that elevates the take from average Sala to excellent Sala. It's another 7-Star effort!

Next is one of the weaker efforts in the book, "Hypnorama", which is a comics summary/dramatization of a tell-all book about how subliminal messages were/are concealed in advertising art and logos. While Sala did a good job of both summarizing the topic of the book and infusing his adaptation with a sense of insanity, it just didn't grab me. Maybe it's because I am already very familiar with the topic, or because it's been done to death over the 35 or so years that have passed since Sala delivered his take on it? Whatever the reason, this one gets 6 of 10 Stars.

The last story in the book, "Judy Drood, Girl Detective", is a Sala milestone. It marked the first appearance of one of Sala's signature characters, Judy Drood. Over the space of two pages, Sala delivers a fun spoof of classic kid/young adult adventure fiction (specifically the novels starring teenaged amateur detective Nancy Drew) as well as bringing us a great example of his ability to tell complete stories in single panels--or, even better, feed the readers' imaginations with summaries of great stories . All-in-all, it's clear why this, which was initially conceived as a one-off by Sala ws something that his friends encouraged him to expand into something bigger. This tale is a solid 10 of 10 Stars, and it's another one of those that you can read here at the Shades of Gray blog.

Rounding out the anthology is the expected author's bio--although Sala delivers one that is not at all one would expect... and in perfect keeping with his forever tongue-in-cheek approach to his storytelling, one final single panel cartoon, and another of his one-page pin-up style pictures--the endpaper I mentioned at the top. These all get a solid 8 of 10 ratings.

 "Black Cat Crossing" is a spectacular collection of Richard Sala's early work, which remains as fresh and exciting as it was when it was first created three decades ago. That shouldn't be surprising, since he drew his inspiration from pop-culture and artistic evergreens.

When I average out the ratings, this anthology is a solid Eight of Ten Stars... and one that I think is well worth checking out by anyone who enjoys well done comics, film-noir, silent movies, and mystery fiction. I think you'll have a great time while in the Salaverse. (It's still in print, but it's impossible to say for how long. Sala is rapidly joining the ranks for unjustly forgotten comics creators.)

It's a Sala Saturday!

Here's another early one-page comic from the great Richard Sala. Created in 1985, it's another prime example of how how easily Sala mixed the creepy and strange with the comedic. (Click on any panel for a larger, more readable version.)

'Lovesickness' is more greatness from Junji Ito

Love Sickness (2021, Viz Media)
Script and Art: Junji Ito
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

"Lovesickness" is the latest hardcover collection of tales by Japanese horror comics master Junji Ito. I refrain from calling Ito's work "manga", because I think his style should appeal even comics readers who usually claim to dislike Japanse comics. (I still have issues with the lazy translations that have been the norm for the past couple decades, but that war was lost long ago, so now all I can do is knock a star or two off my final rating.)

The majority of the book is taken up by the multi-part saga from which the book draws its title. Structurally, it occupies a place between Ito's "Remina" series (where all the sections add up to a novel-length horror story) and Ito's "Tomie" (where most of the stories stand alone, but are linked thematically and by recurring characters). The parts of "Love Sickness" stand individually, but they add up to a chilling tale of a curse and restless spirits that almost destroy a small town. The story threads involving the main characters add up to a greater tale, but the way the individual smaller story arcs intertwine with each other to form a larger, unified story plays to Ito's strengths in spinning short horror yarns while also delivering a novel-length experience. 

Individually, each story in the "Lovesickness" cycle delivers haunting tragedy and blood-chilling gore, but they also build upon each other, bringing the reader an increasing sense that this is going to end badly for everyone involved. Even the final chapter, which serves as a denouement to the greater "Love Sickness" story cycle stands on its own, and it provides closure to the story that's equal parts spooky and uplifting and completely perfect.

"Lovesickness" is further noteworthy, because it will surprise longtime Ito readers with the directions it goes in as it unfolds. There are characters who you expect to survive who don't, and visa-versa. It's also nice to see a long-form story from Ito with a young guy as the main character instead of the young girl we're used to seeing. Finally, both the main ghost in the story--a tall, impossibly handsome young man--and the mystery surrounding his origin is among Ito's best-drawn and -written work so far. The mists swirling around the mystery man, as well as the spirits he assembles around him are goosebump-inducing. (I won't go into the details of the horror scenarios in each individual story, other than to say they all invoke elements of traditional Japanese ghost stories while incorporating elements of modern youth- and pop-culture, bringing new levels of darkness and horror to each.

Once "Lovesickness" wraps up, Ito introduces us to the Hikizuri Siblings. This group of unpleasant freaks are featured in two stories, both of which are dark comedies. I've said in previous reviews of Ito's work that it's generally very different than any other horror comics, but that is not the case here. The two tales starring the Hizikuris--one where the youngest sister (the beautiful one) runs away from home and finds a boyfriend, the other where the ghost of the family patriarch seems to appear during a seance--are surprising only because they are similar in nature to the tales one used to read in comics like "House of Mystery" and "Scream" and numerous titles from NUELOW Games. They are not among Ito's best works (even if, artwise, the second story has some very impressive moments), but it's nice to see him flex his talent for funny stuff. 

Rounding out this collection are three stand-alone short stories--one that is among the best Ito's ever done, one that is average for him, and one that makes me wonder if something was lost in translation or if he has some personal significance to him, because it's pretty weak.

"The Mansion of Phantom Pain" is an intriguing idea about a house that seems to be haunting its occupants and crushing them in body and spirit. It's got some great art, is very atmospheric, but the story itself is badly executed and left me with too many "why don't they do this?" and "why did they do that?" moments in regards to the characters. Ito's done worse, but he's also done much better; this might be an idea that he should return to later and perhaps develop over several stories ala "Uzumaki" or "Tomie".

With "The Rib Woman", however, we Ito at his best and most horrific; everything he does well is featured in this story. We start with a girl, who, feeling pressured by society's standards of beauty, undergoes surgery to have a couple of her ribs removed. This sets her, and her friends and loved ones, on a collision course with the supernatural... which Ito's pen and brush bring to life in spectacularly gory fashion. There are many reasons why this story will stay with you after you're done reading it. Further, similar to the way "Lovesickness" contained commentary on youth culture, "Ribs Woman" is something of a metaphor for the dangers of unnecessary, body-altering surgery just to conform to some arbitrary standard of beauty forced upon us by others.

The final story, "Memories of Real Poop", may or may not be autobiographical, but it is definitely an attempt at lighthearted humor drawn from from every day life. Unfortunately, it's not very successful... or maybe I just don't get this story of a kid who buys a hyper-realistic, plastic poop and then plays a prank with it. 

"Lovesickness" may end on a bit of a low note, but the vast majority of the book is well worth any horror fans time, especially if you're already familiar with Junji Ito's work. Even horror fans who have convinced themselves they hate "manga" will like this book. (That said, I will repeat the complaint I've been making for 20 years: This book is another lazy translation that's marred by the fact the "localization" is half-assed in the sense that you have to read the book "backwards", because Japanese is read from right to left instead of left to right as English is.)

A collection of clever and funny short comics

Stark Plug Book(.com) (Rolling Tire Productions, 2017)

Art and Writing: Chap

Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Experience fragments from the life of a comic book character who, at one point, decides to quit his job to star in a newspaper strip.

"Stark Plug Book(.com)" is a collection of stories of varying lengths by Steven Chappell (aka Chap). The look of the art reminded me mostly of Gilbert Sheldon (best known for the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers), but the tone of the humor was generally more genteel, as well as more surreal, than Gilbert's work, as is even evident from the book's cover. 

The material presented is as much about the experience of reading comics and the act of creating stories and art, as it is about chronicling Stark and his surroundings, something which becomes increasingly clear as you read. There's even a page that makes fun of the "classified ad"-style encouragements for kids to order toys and other items that used to be commonplace in comic books. There's even a "contest" that involves finding all the airplanes in the book.

Stark Plug and his dog are the main characters in the book, with Stark's chatty coworkers, his mean boss, and a street musician named Bernie the Banjo Bum making up the main supporting cast. I found Bernie to be the most amusing character here, even outshining Stark himself. (The supporting characters mostly drop out during Stark's turn starring in a newspaper strip, but they are back afterwards.) 

Humor-wise, there is a little bit of everything--social commentary, along with commentary on social commentary; sit-com style comedy; self-referential and fourth-wall shattering jokes and situations that both illuminate and poke fun at artistic creation and processes and comic book story-telling techniques; observations on the nature of art; and metaphysical musings in satirical wrappings. The blurb on the cover announces that this book is "nice alternative to television"... and that is truth in advertising!

I ordered my copy of "Stark Plug Book(.com) directly from the creator at www.starkplugbook.com. To my surprise and joy, my package included several little bits of the merchandise that I thought was just humorous fictions on the amusing "classified ad" page I mentioned earlier. So--I was a proud owner of a Bernie the Banjo Bum guitar pick... until it went missing in my recent move. (At least I still have my sticker... and I still hold out hope that my Bernie guitar pick will resurface somewhere!)

'Peculia' is a swift and entertaining read

Peculia (2002, Fantagraphics)
Story and Art: Richard Sala
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Peculia wanders the countryside and neighborhood around her mansion and encounters various supernatural menaces, usually after disregarding advice from her faithful servant, Ambrose.

Peculia was one of Richard Sala's signature characters. She's a young woman who usually appears wearing a "little black dress", When she's not being menaced by odd creatures or villains who seem to have stepped out of B-movies or gothic romances, she's being stalked by the mysterious Obscurus and his agent Justine. Exactly what the relationship is between Obscurus, Justine, and Peculia is never revealed, but there are hints that Obscuras and Peculia were once romantically involved, or at least very good friends, and that Justine is jealous of them. What caused the rift between Peculia and Obscurus, why he is isolated in a secret base and always masked is also never revealed--although he seems to be suffering under some of magical curse--but his spying on Peculia through Justine just as often puts Peculia in danger as saves her from it.

"Peculia" collects nine short tales that originally appeared in "Evil Eye" 1-9 during 1998 and 1999. Each is a self-contained story, and each feature a mix of horror and humor for which Sala's whimsical, simple art style is the perfect vehicle. The tone of stories reminds me of Poverty Row 1940s horror flicks with more than a little 1960s/70s Eurotrash horror movies and sex comedies throw in--and I'm invoking those in a positive way, as I find many of those movies quite fun and these comics capture the best of what they have to offer.

Over the course of the nine tales, Peculia's strolls brings her into encounters with weird gremlins who are attracted to music; three witches with a strange secret; a crazed widower who would cause many Edgar Allen Poe characters to reexamine their choices in life; a strange mystic sorority and the chutuloid monster that ends up dooming them, a homicidal girl battling a cult devoted to Bast; hoards of zombies and maniacs; a psychopathic psychiatrist conducting unholy research on unwilling subjects; Death himself; and more weird townsfolk than you think could be packed into one book. And all of this while Justine and Obscurus lurk nearby to either cause or solve problems.

While the first five tales in the book get increasingly good, and the remaining four hold steady-qualitywise, I still have to quibble with the fact that we never get an explanation for why Obscurus is seemingly cursed with total anonymity toward anyone but Justine; it's the one thing that I was disappointed over when I got to the end of the book. On the other hand, I was so delighted by the tiny continuity detail that tied the first story and eighth story in the book together that I am almost able to overlook my annoyance and so keep my rating of Seven of Ten Stars for the book.

"Peculia" is a swift and enjoyable read. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys crisp, straightforward cartooning and horror stories told with a sense of humor. (As a final note, I should mention that the book also contains a never-before-published color story. It's a fun, wordless little tale, but we don't talk about things that aren't in black-and-white in these parts!)

Post-Script From the Department of Odd Observations

In her first appearance--originally in "Evil Eye" #1 (1998)--she wore a pair of black shoes, perfectly matched to her little black dress.

There was a time where Peculia wore shoes...

She left those shoes behind halfway through her second appearance appearance--in "Evil Eye" #2 (1998)--and she went barefoot everywhere from then on (which was 10 more issues of "Evil Eye", various pin-ups., and "Peculia and the Groon Grove Vampires" (2005).

... but, once she left them behind, she never wore shoes again.

What does this mean? We have no idea, but we further observed that most female characters that appeared in the Peculia stories were barefoot. (The four panels above were excerpted from the first and second stories in the "Peculia" (2002) collection.)

'Dissolving Classroom' delivers large doses of social commentary with the horror

Dissolving Classroom (2017, Vertical Comics)
Story and Art: Junji Ito
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Whereever handsome Yuuma and his hideous little sister Chizumi go, horror follows in their wake. Beautiful young women are left disfigured, classrooms of students are reduced to mysterious puddles of slime, and the all residents of entire apartment buildings vanish mysteriously. Guilt-ridden Yuuma is constantly apologizing to those who are doomed while Chizumi cackles madly and prances about. What is the terrible truth behind these happenings?

Many of horror master Junji Ito's stories deliver bits of social commentary along with the creepy scares. In "Dissolving Classroom", these messages are more front and center that is usual, and they are the driving force of them. There are two issues tackled in the five stories of "Dissolving" cycle--which are all collected in this volume--and these are that it's sometimes difficult to recognize who is the abuser and who is the abused in relationships; and the ever-growing popularity of call-out culture and the attendant displays of empty apologies. This dual messaging and commentary on how damaging it is to individuals and society as a whole are most clearly on display in the second story, "Dissolving Beauty", and the final tale "Interview with the Devil", which wraps up the cycle with a literally cataclysmic event.

The "Dissolving" stories bear a resemblance in their nature to Ito's most famous cycle of stories, Tomie: In each story, the recurring characters visit doom upon the hapless individuals who cross their paths. Ito was wise in wrapping this one up quickly, though, because there's no mystery behind Yuuma and Chizumi and why people are meeting gruesome ends around them--Yuuma's apologies are actually rituals that sacrifice people to Satan. There's also nothing sympathetic about them; as monstrous as Tomie is, there's an occasional glimmer of humanity that the reader can sympathize with... and her victims sometimes are deserving of their fates. Although Ito tries to inject some humanity in Yuuma and Chizumi toward the end of the cycle, it's too little and it's too late.

Aside from the five "Dissolving" stories, this anthology contains two brief tales. I'm going to take a guess that they were inspired by headlines or news articles that Ito read, and they are both quite thin and at the low end of the quality spectrum that we can expect from him. ("The Return" is curiously touching while "Children of the Earth" is nonsensical--not to mention covering ground that he's already trod more effectively in other stories).

The stories collected in "Dissolving Classroom" aren't among Ito's best work. They're still better than the majority of horror comics that have been published over the years, but there were were none of the moments of dread I've felt reading his previous works. In many ways, Ito has delivered a cycle of stories that felt more like standard horror comics than his usual work. Artistically, there also wasn't much that impressed--nothing was bad, but the only truly standout images were the ones where Ito drew Satan as Yuuma perceived him.

If you're familiar with Ito's work, and you've read everything else, this book is worth checking out. If you're a newcomer, "Uzumaki" is his greatest work to date. "Frankenstein", "Smash", "Shiver", or "Flesh-Colored Horror" are all short story collections that will give you a view of the range of horrors he can deliver when he is at his best.

Horror master Ito adapts 'Frankenstein', and tells the weird tale of Oshikiri's many lives

Frankenstein (2018, Viz Media)
Story and Art: Junji Ito
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

Junji Ito is an undisputed master of horror comics. He is one of the few creators who can make comics as unsettling as a good piece of horror fiction, or a well-made horror movie. He's been writing and drawing horror tales since 1987, and he's only been getting better as the years have passed; almost every artist reaches a peak and then starts to decline... Ito, thankfully, hasn't gotten to that point yet.

One of the most recent collections of his work to be printed in English is "Frankenstein." The book draws its title from a rare long-form effort, an adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel that takes up roughly have the pages, with eight shot horror tales, and two cute little pet stories, filling the rest of book.

Ito's "Frankenstein" is a little over 180 pages in length, and it is one of the best comics adaptations of Shelly's novel that I've read; it's almost as good as the one by Mike Friedrich and Mike Ploog published by Marvel Comics in the early 1970s, which remains my favorite. Where the Marvel adaptation took its visual inspiration from Universal Pictures movies released during the late 1930s and early 1940s, Ito's visualization of Victor Frankenstein and his creation seemed more inspired by the movies from the 1950s and 1960s released by Hammer Films; there is more than one panel where Frankenstein has an uncanny resemblance to Peter Cushing. The monster also bears a passing similarity to the make-up job on Christopher Lee in 1957's "The Curse of Frankenstein"... but it's a very slight one.

Lovers of Ito's typical style may find his "Frankenstein" adaptation a little long-winded, because it contains none of the Lovecraftian horror they are used to. Further, unlike his other adaptation of a classic--his take on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves", which can be summarized as "Tomie Meets Fantasy"--Ito doesn't stray far from his source. Some events from the novel are condensed or glossed over, but it's far more faithful an adaptation than most, and thus it's something that may be appreciated more by general horror fans, or fans of gothic horror, than Ito's dedicated followers.

In fact, the only thing about Ito's "Frankenstein" adaptation that I'd peg as Signature Ito is the appearance of the monster. Everything else about the story seems more restrained and in keeping with the tone and style of the source novel than his usual output. This makes the grotesque nature of Frankenstein's monstrous creation such a striking element that the reader easily shares in the horror felt by the characters in the story. On the reverse side, Ito's characterization of the monster is such that the reader initially feels great sympathy for it, because all it wants is safety and acceptance and love. Once the creature realizes it will never have those things, and embarks on its quest for revenge against Frankenstein, the reader loses that sympathy, although retains a full understanding of why the monster behaves as it does, even if Frankenstein may not. At the end of the adaptation, however, readers will once again feel sympathy for the monster, because, like an abused child or animal, all the violence and acts of evil it committed were a cray for its creator's acceptance, attention, and even the love it so desperately wanted.

Also included in this collection are all the tales focusing on a teenaged boy named Oshikiri. The first couple of tales seem like they are completely unrelated except for the fact that they, strangely, feature the same main character. There appears to be no continuity between them since in the first story he is a psychopathic killer and in the second story he's a lonely boy who becomes attracted to a similarly lonely girl... who turns out to be unhinged. The strange twist ending of the second story, however, sets the stage for the revelation in stories that follow that Oshikiri's house is riddled with portals to other realities, and that people are passing back and forth between them, sometimes at will, sometimes by accident. The last tales in the Oshikiri Cycle (to give the group of stories a name) are a two-part tour-de-forces that include everything regular readers associate with Junji Ito's work--unexplained supernatural horrors, strange bodily transformations, and creeping insanity--and ends with a very creepy final image that implies the multi-universal horror continues on.

Rounding out the book are two stand-alone horror stories and two brief tales about Non-Non, Ito's mother's dog. The pet stories have a charming, rather than chilling, vibe to them, just like the cat stories in Yon & Mu. The two horror stories are some of the weaker efforts I've seen from Ito, with mercifully brief "The Hell of the Doll Funeral" being among his worst (treading similar ground to that he covered so much better in "Dying Young"  from the Flesh-Colored Horror anthology), and "Face Firmly in Place", a tale that must have been inspired by Ito's days working in the dentistry field, but which, while a solid excursion into terror, is undermined by an unrealistic situation--unless clinics and hospitals in Japan are run in a completely incompetent fashion.

Despite the inclusion of two weak short stories, this book is a great read that I recommend highly. Once again, I feel that Ito's work will appeal to horror fans who even like to say they don't like "manga". In fact, those two weak stories barely impacted my rating at all... I'm giving the book Eight Stars because I will forever knock a Full Star off any book that features the sort of sloppy translations that have become the accepted standard in the marketplace where the book reads from what is normally the back and to the front and from right-to-left, because that is how it reads in the original Japanese. Most readers don't mind, so it's just my personal issue. .

The Complete 'Tomie' in One Big Book

Tomie: Complete Deluxe Edition (2016, Viz Media)
Story and Art: Junji Ito
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

High school girl Tomie is found dismembered by an unknown killer. When she later shows up at school, alive and well and insisting she doesn't know anything about being murdered, it's the beginning of an ever-expanding web of madness, violence, and murder.

"Tomie" is the best known and most commercially successful work by Japanese horror comics writer and artist Juni Ito. It lasted for 20 installments in the magazines "Halloween Monthly" and "Namuki", running from 1987 to 2000, and has so far been adapted into seven live-action horror films (the first in 1999 and the most recent in 2011). It has been translated into English and published in collected volumes a number of times, most recently by Viz Media.

The series revolves around its title character, who, although she is mostly absent in a few of the stories, is always at the center of a maelstrom of lust and violent murders. Invariably, Tomie herself ends up murdered herself... but she never stays dead for long. (While I would normally consider that a spoiler that aspect of the series is given away on the cover of the collection this review is about.)

Whether she's a demon, the manifestation of an angry spirit, or some sort of evil parasitical creature that feeds off lust and homicidal violence, Tomie is both the beauty and the beast in this series. She uses her beauty to fill men and women with obsession and spur them onto committing murderous acts against each other and Tomie herself, all in an attempt to possess her, or to keep others from possessing her.

The latest English-language edition of "Tomie" collects all the stories that Junji Ito did with the character, in one big 700+-page book. They are a fascinating read, because you get to see how Ito's improved as an artist from his first professional work (which was also the first Tomie story) through to when he perfected his style. Reading all these stories also gives you a survey of the themes that are common in this writer/artist's tales--obsessions turning into madness, horrific bodily transformations, and mysterious terrible horrors that arrive unexpectedly and remain forever unexplained. This complete collection also lets readers see that the Tomie stories come full circle, in the sense that the series opened with a series of linked stories that mixed science and the supernatural, and it ends with a series of linked stories that mix science and the supernatural.

Sandwiched in between these are other multi-part stories, and many single episodes... all of which are deeply horrific. In some other reviews of I've done Ito's work ("Gyo" and "Uzumaki", the latter being his greatest work so far), I've stated that he is among the very few creators whose horror comics are actually scary on the level that a movie can be scary. That great talent is on display time and time again in this book. If you are a fan of well-made horror films, and you haven't experienced Junji Ito, you are missing out, big time. A few of the "Tomie" stories are the typical twist-ending, poetic justice type affairs that make up the bulk of horror comics, but the vast majority of them are far beyond that.

Some of the most chilling stories I've read from Ito are included in this volume, and my most favorite are "Revenge" (where a search-and-rescue team find a naked girl in a snow storm, and solve a mystery), ""Little Finger" and "Boy" (stories that show Tomie at her monstrous), "Gathering" (where Tomie tries to break a man who is immune to her powers), "Moromi" (where a pair of men try to dispose of a dismembered Tomie in a creative fashion... with disastrous results), and "Waterfall Basin" (where strange happenings in a village culminate in a bizarre nocturnal parade).

Another aspect that I've always liked to the Tomie stories, and which is front-and-center in a number of the ones in this book, is the way that pieces of Tomie will grow into a full-fledged Tomie who then goes out in the world to wreak havoc. She's almost like a virus that keeps spreading. ("Gathering" reveals that someone can resist the Tomie Virus... but that even those who fight it off will be impacted by it. It also shows that as long as there is vanity, lust, and greed in the world, Tomie will never be stopped.)

"Tomie" is a must-read for horror fans... and that includes those who otherwise might be put off by the art style that is usually associated with Japanese comics. Ito's visuals fall closer to what until the past decade or two was the standard story-telling techniques in American comics. The only drawback I see to the book is that it is presented to read from right-to-left and back-to-front--opposite with how Western books and comics read, but in keeping with the original Japanese version. I still don't care for such half-assed translations, but it's long since become the standard, and I'm willing to accept it when it gives me access to great works such as the stories in this collection.



One final note: Junji Ito's favorite Tomie story ("Painter") was one that I could take or leave. It contained almost all the elements that are found throughout the various tales--which is why it may be Ito's personal favorite--but I thought it was average for this book and way below average for Ito's output in geneal.

That time Junji Ito traded horror for cats!

Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Kodansha Comics, 2015)
Story and Art: Junji Ito
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

When Junji's fiancee and her two cats move into his house, he slowly learns to love the two strange creatures that she loves... and then tries to get them to love him back.

Japan's Junji Ito is quite possibly the best creator of horror comics to ever put pen to paper, and I've lavished praise on his work in other posts, such as this one. "Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon and Mu" is a bit of a departure from what he's known for as it's a series of autobiographical humorous stories about him adjusting to life with cats.

The end result is mixed. The stories are all cute, very true-to-life--both long-time cat owners and newbies will nod and smile about some of the situations that Junji finds himself in--and both his moments of disappointment and joy will strike chords with any reader who has spent time around house cats. Unfortunately, his perchant for the grotesque that serves him so well in his horror comics is mostly distracting here. It's too strange and too ugly for the light-hearted and harmless material in the book; the more absurd moments where Ito is poking fun at himself tend to be the most excessively surreal and twisted drawings. (Interestingly, he shies away from such excesses in the one truly surreal tale included, which makes it more effective.)

If you like Junji Ito's horror work, I think you'll enjoy "Yon & Mu". This goes double for cat lovers, or those who became cat lovers because they were "forced" on you. (Also, be aware that the book is printed "backwards", in the sense that it reads from right to left.)

Collections of Rumiko Takahashi short stories both delights and dissapoints

Japanese writer/artist Rumiko Takahashi has been referred as the 'Queen of Romantic Comedy.' This is a title that works such as "Ranma 1/2" and "Maison Ikkoku" proves that she richly deserves.

I've referred to Takahashi in articles as one of the greatest living comic book creators in the world. In this post, I review two volumes of short stories where she shows her range as a story-teller, especially when it comes to telling stories that aren't usually presented in the sequential art medium.



Rumic Theatre (American Edition published by Viz Media)
By Rumiko Takahashi
Rating: Ten of Ten Stars

Rumic Theatre is a collection of six of the finest Rumiko Takahashi stories that I've read so far. As always, the characters are likable and engaging, the tender moments touching, and the comedy top-notch. All of the elements that her fans love are displayed here, but we also find that she is capable of creating far more sedate stories than usually flow from her pen.

All the tales in Rumic Theatre are more down-to-earth than Takahashi's usual output, dealing primarily with the trails and tribulations of everyday people--all of whom are characterized in a believable and three-dimensional fashion--but that typical Takahashi magic is still very clearly evident on every page. What's more, the art in this collection is among the best she's produced.

My personal favorites in this collection are 'The Tragedy of P,' (which revolves around a pet penguin in an apartment building where animals are absolutely not allowed), 'Hidden in the Pottery (where reality, perception, and the dangers of gossip are examined), and 'Extra-large Happiness' (where a young wife sees her future happiness endangered by a gremlin that only she can see). The remaining stories are also of high quality, but the characters and situations in the three mentioned above are the ones that moved me the most.

Even those who don't typically appreciate the 'standard' style of Japanese comics should consider buying this book. If you appreciate the art of comic books for more than just slam-bang superheroics, you won't be dissapointed.



One or Double (American Edition published by Viz Media)
Story and Art: Rumiko Takahashi
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars

One or Double is a collection of short tales that don't fit into any of Rumiko Takahashi's ongoing series. Unlike the first volume, which contained mostly recent stories, this one seems to cover a range of years, judging from the art styles. They're not all winners, but over all this book is yet more solid evidence that Takahashi is a master of the graphic story telling medium. Whether you're a fan of "manga" or not, there's no denying that she's a skilled artist and writer who deserves the accolades and success she has enjoyed.

Most of the standout stories in the book are, sports-themed. 'Excuse Me for Being a Dog!,' (a young boxer turns into a dog whenever he gets a bloody nose) 'Winged Victory,' (the tale of a rugby team that's lost 999 games in a row and the ghost who watches over it), 'The Grandfather of All Baseball Games' (a young man plays hardball with his obnoxious grandfather), and the title story (in which a kendo instructor is put in the body of the club's pretty manager) all use sports either as the backdrop or motivation for the story and its characters. The characters in these stories are Takahashi at her most charming.

'The Diet Goddess' (about a girl who buys a dress with the intention of losing enough weight to look good in it) and 'Happy Talk' (about an adoptee who embarks on a search for her biological mother) are two slice-of-life stories ala the majority of the shorts from the first 'Rumic Theater' volume, and the 'Maison Ikkoku' series. Again, Takahashi presents us with charming characters the reader can't help but care about, in stories both funny and touching.

Dissapointments in the book include 'To Grandmother's House We Go' (about a pair of hardluck cases who try to collect the large birthright of a deceased friend for themselves) and 'Reserved Seat' (a curious tale about a rock singer who is haunted by his grandmother and Tarakazuka). The first story is simply too short and it feels rushed on every level--the ending feels particularly unsatifactory--while the second is the only Takahashi story I've read where I felt no sympathy or good will toward any of the characters present in it.

Finally, there's 'Shake Your Bhudda,' a tale that is to very early Takahashi. It's clear she was still mastering her craft when it was created, and there's very little to recommend this tale. In fact, I feel the book might have been better served if it had been left out all together.