Putting Up Links On A Tuesday

I totally and completely meant to post last week but between getting ready to move into my dorm, said move into my dorm, and starting fall classes, updating the blog fell by the wayside. I hope y'all enjoy this round-up of links to pieces I've enjoyed lately as some sort of apology; this month's Fujoshi O'Clock update will come later this week!

• This Wondermark strip about computer support speaks to me on a molecular level as a former A/V assistant. Your dongle's totally rebooted.
• Zack Davisson wrote up a brief history of yokai for Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai back in 2013, but it is still a worthwhile read for yokai enthusiasts. Also, read Shigeru Mizuki!
• More yokai? Why not! I find this piece on the gendering of yokai across the shojo/shonen demographic divide a really fascinating look at how Japan's mythology is skewered based on the target audience.
• Naoki Urasawa and Hisashi Eguchi talk about manga in the 70s and 80s. I think that's all you need to know there.
• A lot of Patreon sponsored posts at Ogiue Maniax have been really worth reading, but with a title like 'Diners, Saiyans, and Drives', how can I not link to it?
• Contemporary Japanese Literature looked at one of my favorite sub-sets of manga - the shojo manga - as part of the 'cultural cross-pollination' which has inspired current women in English language comics. They talk about Bizenghast as well as Bee and Puppycat, which are both awesome. Also, look, a Smile cover!

PR: Viz Reprinting Naoki Urasawa's Monster Manga With New Perfect Edition

MONSTER KANZENBAN © 2008
Naoki URASAWA/Studio Nuts
Story coproduced with Takashi NAGASAKI
Original Japanese edition
published by SHOGAKUKAN

New Definitive Edition Of The Acclaimed Psychological Manga Thriller Delivers A Tense Crime Drama Filled With Conspiracy, Political Intrigue And Murder

San Francisco, CA, June 24, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, is proud to announce the release of the ultimate collection of creator Naoki Urasawa’s acclaimed manga (graphic novel) suspense masterpiece. MONSTER: THE PERFECT EDITION, Vol. 1 will debut on July 15^th. The new print-only oversized release will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint, is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN.

MONSTER: THE PERFECT EDITION is the ultimate version of the acclaimed psychological crime thriller. This new release features a new translation, remastered pages, and a generous amount of full-color content. Future volumes of MONSTER: THE PERFECT EDITION will be released four times a year in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand for a total of nine volumes covering the entire series.

In Naoki Urasawa’s MONSTER, Johan is a cold and calculating killer with a mysterious past, and brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! 

PR: Viz Media To Publish Master Keaton Manga

VIZ MEDIA ACQUIRES NAOKI URASAWA’S THRILLING SUSPENSE SERIES MASTER KEATON

Manga Series About An Investigator With An Unorthodox Set Of Skills From The Award-Winning Creator Of MONSTER And 20^th CENTURY BOYS Debuts In English In December

San Francisco, CA, March 4, 2014 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of manga and anime in North America, has announced it has acquired the North American publishing rights for Naoki Urasawa’s post–Cold War suspense thriller, MASTER KEATON. The 12-volume manga (graphic novel) series has never before been available in English and is scheduled to launch in print in December under the VIZ Signature imprint.

MASTER KEATON was created and drawn by the award-winning manga artist Naoki Urasawa, story coproduced with Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki. MASTER KEATON will be rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens and carry an MSRP of $19.99 U.S. / $22.99 CAN. Each paperback volume will receive a deluxe treatment, including 18 pages of full-color artwork. In addition to publishing MASTER KEATON in North America, VIZ Media will also release it in print in the United Kingdom and Australia.

News: Naoki Urasawa's Monster To Get TV Adaptation

Via Crunchyroll: "Pacific Rim" Director Developing Adaptation of Naoki Urasawa's "Monster" Manga At HBO. The pilot will be written by Steven Thompson, who has written for Doctor Who ("Curse of the Black Spot"; "Journey To The Center of the TARDIS" and Sherlock ("Blink Banker"; "Reichenback Fall").

From the article:

"This project was originally considered for a movie at New Line, but proved too sprawling to confined to a feature film. Deadline also notes that it took del Toro a long time to woo creator Urasawa into being comfortable with Hollywood again after the original idea was scuttled."

It seems like a good number of manga are getting live action adaptations - XXXHOLiC, Library Wars, and now Monster - but this is the first for HBO. Will Monster find a good home along such programs as Game of Thrones and True Blood? 

Signal Boost: Naoki Urasawa Manga Moveable Feast

Last month's MMF was for manga-ka Moyoco Anno; this month is for a manga-ka arguably more well known for English language manga readers - Naoki Urasawa, author behind works such as Monster, Pluto, and 20th Century Boys. At one point, the Monster anime even aired on the SyFy channel on their anime Monday block.

Organization Anti-Social Geniuses will be hosting this next MMF and it will run from February 17th-24th.

The great thing about this Manga Moveable Feast is that a good amount of his work is available in English, making him much more accessible to fans new to his work. Below are his works that have been licensed for English language release:

• Monster (manga and anime)
• 20th Century Boys
• 21st Century Boys
• Pluto
• Master Keaton (anime)
• Yawara! (anime)

Much of his work can be purchased online or at your local book/comic book store. You can follow the Naoki Urasawa MMF on Twitter with the #UrasawaMMF hashtag.

The Greatest Robot on Earth: Astro Boy, Pluto, and the Power of Stories.

Note: Post contains some spoilers for both Astro Boy and Pluto. Read on with caution!

Back when Viz Manga was still routinely churning out volumes of Astro Boy in English (for blogging purposes I will refer to him as Astro Boy instead of Tetsuwan Atomu), I managed to get my paws on a couple of them via my local library and fell in love with the story arc known as "The Greatest Robot on Earth", which soon became one of my favorite Tezuka story arcs ever. It's classic Tezuka: a battle between robots and humanity, illustrating how humans work and feel even through the mouth pieces of robot characters.

In "The Greatest Robot on Earth", a robot named Pluto is built and sent across the world to fulfill his creator's task: destroy the world's seven most powerful robots, thus making Pluto the most powerful of them all. Naturally, the seven robots include Astro Boy, which draws Astro and his friends into a race to stop Pluto from achieving his goal. In the end, Pluto's true self is revealed, but is inevitably destroyed to save the world. It's a story arc chock full of action and drama and it is an utter enchantment to read. 

I only wish my library still had their copies of the Astro Boy manga; I would have loved to re-read them one last time before writing this post! Alas. I could go into a whole thing about libraries and their dwindling stock, but I won't because this is a Tezuka post, dang it.