FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS
ISBN: 12 X 12
204 pp., full color, $22.95
COVER: Hideshi Hino
BACK COVER: Tony Millionaire.
In my estimation, the point of
The Comics Journal Special Editions is for the editors to take a theme or two or three, present in depth articles about that theme, and lavishly illustrates those articles with high quality black and white and color photography and art. And at that, the TCJ staff has succeeded both in terms of quality and style. And if that weren’t enough, each TCJ Special Edition has about a third of its content devoted to original comix. Damn, they make a hard pitch at the old wallet.
The subject that gets the cover of Volume 5 (2005) is manga. Articles focus on important manga-ka, both innovators and artistes. Kosei Ono writes an appreciation of his father, Saseo Ono, a modernist painter and satirical cartoonist whose work in the 1930 and 40’s influenced the development of manga; 17 pages in gorgeous color accompany the article. There are also abundantly illustrated articles on Yoshiharu Tsuge, Suehiro Maruo (a master of graphically erotic and violent images, all alluring), and Hideshi Hino. The highlight of the manga section may be Bill Randall’s introduction to the work of
Osamu Tezunka, often known as the “God of Comics in Japan” or “God of Manga.” Many American fans of both manga and anime know his seminal character
Astro Boy or his novelistic manga,
Adolf.
Also included are three feature articles on the late
Vaughn Bode (1941-1975). A shining light in Underground Comix whose vibrant color work graced the pages of
Cavalier, he is one of the few great sci-fi/fantasy comic book artists, certainly one of the few superb talents outside of E.C., and this edition has page after page of color comix to prove it. Each day I become more impressed by Bode’s body of work and more interested in the man.
However, as much as I like to feed my growing interest in manga, my favorite section of The Comics Journal Special Edition Volume 5 (2005) is the “Cartoonist Section.” Part of the comics section has a few comix entries devoted to the life in Montreal (the city’s comix scene is the subject of an article in “Features”), but the main of the “Cartoonist Section” is devoted to the theme, “On Seduction.” Various art and alt-cartoonists weigh in on the issue of seduction, covering everything from sex to politics, all the way to the deeply disturbing. Contributors include Colleen Coover, Arnold Roth, Peter Kuper, Jaime Hernandez, Spain, and Gilbert Hernandez, with exceptional entries from Rick Altergott, (the sublime) Ted Jouflas, and Megan Kelso. If manga, Vaughn Bode, Montreal comix, and seduction interest you, this is you journal.
