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Title: Comics Underground Japan by Kevin Quigley ISBN: 0-922233-16-0 Publisher: Blast Books Pub. Date: May, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.6 (5 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Thought-Provoking Collection
Comment: As a teacher of Japanese history and popular culture, I have seriously considered using this collection for my class. Judging from some of the reviews appeared below, I am glad I eventually backed away. The majority of American public will not be able to relate to them. "Cartoons" or "manga" in Japan come in all stripes and shapes. The cartoons selected here are by no means ones enjoyed only by fringe lunatics. A few of the artists (Nekojiru, for instance) have a quite devoted following in Japan. I have run into far more outrageous and morally offensive comic books in Japan than those selected here, and some are truly exploitative, others are earnest efforts by would-be artists, yet others are unclassifiable, undescribable works of art. Nekojiru's "Cat Noodle Soup" is a good example of the third category, a sort of Zen Surrealism meets Felix the Cat. I know "Planet of Jap" and, to a lesser extent, "Future Sperm Brazil" are aggressively offensive but they are MEANT to be offensive. War is an offensive proposition, an offensive state of being (an idea the majority of Americans have trouble accepting, it appears to me, since they have never been defeated and occupied by a foreign enemy) and the current Japanese indulgence in nostalgic evocation of wartime glories are mercilessly satirized in both selections. I still will not use this book for a college course, but the majority of the works included here represent the indominatable spirit of the Japanese artists who fight against the crushing conformity of Japanese cultural industry. Recommended.
Rating: 3
Summary: Perspective
Comment: Both the reviews below fail to clarify a few things. Post war Japan was a horrible place. Planet of Japs is a comment on American soldiers' treatment to Japanese civillians. It was brutal, so is the comic. (Not pointing fingers at any country here. Japanese soldiers' treatment to Mongolians was not exactly fair either). It is disturbing. History is written by winners. This is a victim's perspective.
This book does a fine job of showcasing Japanese underground, and everything else that goes with the territory.
Rating: 4
Summary: Extremely violent? Yes! To be avoided at all costs? No!
Comment: This review is a response to a previous review that blasted this book for its content. The reviewer was correct in that the chapter "Planet of The Jap" by Suehiro Maruo is very vile and even pornographic, (Check into his "Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show"--unnerving, but not quite so violent..). It is a very disturbing and sickening tale, and the fact that Books-A-Million would carry it is puzzling, but that does not mean that this book should be avoided entirely. It was never meant for children to see--the cover alone should tell you that. The name Comics UNDERGROUND Japan should also tell you that--it's not a collection of mainstream manga. If this book were a film it would be rated NC-17 or even X. Many of the tales are disturbing, especially "Planet of The Jap", but also "Future Sperm Brazil", "Bigger and Better", and the extremely dark "Laughing Ball." I tracked this book down in a privately owned comic shop, way on the top of a very high shelf, well out of the reach of children. Japanese culture has a very different take on sex and violence than ours. The level of these themes present in television series, even those directed at a younger audiences, is much higher than in the U.S....take Go Nagai's 70's DEVILMAN and CUTEY HONEY series for instance. The levels of violence and sexual content far exceed anything that could be shown on U.S. network television--even now. The accompanying manga series were even darker, but were aimed at older, more mature readers--much like this book. A broad range of underground manga is represented, with varying art and storytelling styles not present in many mainstream manga. I highly recommend it for those who would like to see a different side of manga--the very dark side. It's an interesting, if not frightening, look at the underbelly of another culture.
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Title: Secret Comics Japan: Underground Comics Now by Hyoe Narita, Satoru Fujii, Chikao Shiratori ISBN: 1569313725 Publisher: Viz Communications Pub. Date: July, 2000 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Ultra-Gash Inferno by Suehiro Maruo, James Havoc, Takako Hiroishi ISBN: 1840680393 Publisher: Creation Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show by Suehiro Maruo, Yoko Umezawa, Laura Lindgren ISBN: 0922233063 Publisher: Blast Books Pub. Date: September, 1992 List Price(USD): $10.95 |
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Title: Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics by Frederik L. Schodt, Osamu Tezuka ISBN: 0870117521 Publisher: Kodansha International Pub. Date: December, 1988 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: Dreamland Japan : Writings on Modern Manga by Frederik L. Schodt ISBN: 188065623X Publisher: Stone Bridge Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1996 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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