Wanted: Cheap Manga

Vertical, one of my favorite publishers of ink on paper, continues their not-at-all well-rounded approach to manga (at least in their case, it’s a very good thing). Two new titles, the manga-ization of The Guin Saga, and a new Tezuka tome, MW (pronounced “moo”). They’ve posted 30+ page previews of each volume, and they’re worth checking out: Guin Saga Vol.01 & MW. But seriously, work on the preview format, guys, I can’t hardly read the text!

To my knowledge, this is the first time that a manga has been published in the states in support of a novel (or series of), so congrats to Vertical on another first (they should have a trophy rack). The Guin Saga is series of fantasy novels, so far clocking in at 114 volumes! That’s got to be a non-romance novel record for a series. There’s an additional Guin Saga Gaiden series that has 21 volumes. Check out the cover of each volume from both series here: Guin Covers. And, you can look at a plush doll of Guin himself here: Plush Guin + Me. Isn’t that adorable.

The Guin Saga seems pretty legit. I read about half of the first volume (the novel), and it was quite good (traveling caused me to have to stop). It read fast and there were lots of interesting plotlines. The manga, actually, looks like it will be more difficult to read. I’ve never been a big fan of fantasy manga, mainly because so many fantasy manga are shit. Berserk, what little I’ve read, is really amazing, and Kentaro Miura (mangaka of Berserk) cites the Guin Saga as a big influence on his work. So perhaps this story might just work in manga form. Regardless, Vertical has a spotless track record for manga, so this should end up just fine.

MW looks to be the best Tezuka manga since… the last one I read. Anyways, I’m totally psyched to see some horrific murder, gay sex, moral intrigue in Tezuka-vision. Apollo’s Song (haven’t read to Ode to Kirihito; sue me) was good, but way to moralistic. MW seems much darker and morally ambiguous. And please, this cover art is the best thing Vertical has done (and just about every cover is amazing). Check it:

Chip Kidd has outdone himself again.

More Tezuka is never a bad thing. He has such a large and diverse body of work, that anything from Tezuka is welcome. But… I would like to see Vertical branch out even more. They’re currently killing modern shojo with Keiko Takemiya’s work, even completed one of her series. So, I want Vertical to bring more classic manga from a more diverse cast of mangaka. Will this happens, who knows. Perhaps Vertical is still testing the waters. I’m sure the market for intelligent manga still isn’t at the level it should be to support extremely eccentric releases, but here’s hoping! Suggestions for Vertical? I don’t really have any. My knowledge of classic manga is impoverished. I’d probably need to re-read Manga! Manga! or Dreamland Japan and then get back to you.

Also, over-sized manga format is fucking awesome.