Ouran High School Host Club

Mon, 08/27/2007 - 1:36pm by joy k

Ouran High School Host Club is a manga and anime series that pokes fun at many of the shojo conventions that we’ve come to know and love. Haruhi, our protagonist, is a poor but brilliant scholarship student at Ouran Academy, a high school for the ultra-wealthy. When Haruhi accidentally breaks a costly vase belonging to the popular--but peculiar--host club, the club’s members decide that Haruhi will have to work off the debt by serving as their gopher.

Funimation has licensed the anime adapted from this popular manga series; the dvds won’t be out until 2008, but they’re on the way. Until then, keep up with the story via the manga. Fans of Kare Kano will probably like the series, and fans of Revolutionary Girl Utena will probably find some interesting echoes of that story in this one. If you've enjoyed this series, who else would you recommend it to?

Her Majesty’s Dog

Wed, 08/22/2007 - 7:00pm by joy k

Transfer students Amane and Hyoue are mystifying their new classmates with their odd-couple romance. She’s a social misfit; he’s the hottest guy in school. But the truth is that Amane’s a powerful medium, and Hyoue isn’t human at all: he’s her guardian spirit, a demon-dog, whose powers are literally fueled by her kiss. Read Her Majesty’s Dog, the manga series by Mick Takeuchi, to follow their adventures in subduing vengeful spirits, bringing peace to the dead, and surviving high school. After all, as Amane’s finding out, all the magical power in the world can’t help her navigate the ins and outs of high school social life!

Two Watase

Wed, 08/15/2007 - 7:20pm by Brad B.

Ahh, Joy beat me to posting about Yu Watase! She's quick! Still, I can not resist chiming in to talk about Fushigi yûgi: The Mysterious Play anyway. This is one of my favorite fantasy anime/manga series. The reason I think I like it so much is because of how well rounded it feels to me. It has a little bit of everything all balanced to happen at just the right moments: Heart wrenching romantic plots, seriously cool fighting scenes, plenty of interspersed humor, and, well, intense drama. Yu Watase is one of those authors who is not afraid to kill off a character or two you really end up caring about if the storyline calls for it, which, as horrible as that might sound, really ends up making this series very intense. Throw in the fact that the artwork is beautiful and you have what makes a very good series in my opinion. Check out the manga or the anime...Or, check out the 2nd Fushigi Yugi series set in the same universe for those craving more: Fushigi yûgi: Genbu Kaiden.

Ceres Celestial Legend

Wed, 08/15/2007 - 7:02pm by joy k

On their sixteenth birthday, twins Aki and Aya receive a most unusual gift from their grandfather: a mummified hand! The hand causes painful wounds to appear on Aki’s body—and awakens a mysterious power that’s been sleeping in Aya. Can Aya control her new power, even while her grandfather is plotting to eliminate her? Read the original manga or watch the anime tv adaptation to get the answer.

Looking for something to read next? Try other series by the same author, Watase Yu, like Fushigi Yugi: The Mysterious Play, Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden, or Imadoki.

Carnet De Voyage

Sun, 08/05/2007 - 2:33pm by anned

Craig Thompson, Michigan born creator of Good-bye Chunky Rice and Blankets, has created a beautiful (but self-indulgent) account of his 2004 European publicity tour and side trip to Morocco. His drawings of trees are amazing! His opinion of his country of origin? Not so great. At one point while abroad he poses as a Canadian.

Why not create your own Carnet De Voyage? AADL has some great books to provide inspiration. Try Journeys and Journals: Five Centuries of Travel Writing and Claudia Nice's How to Keep a Sketchbook Journal.

The Professor's Daughter

Thu, 08/02/2007 - 3:43pm by anned

Logistical complications aside, what if the mummy of Imhotep IV came to life and resided in 19th-century London? He would have a charming romance with the daughter of a renowned Egyptologist professor, of course.
Joann Sfar (Little Vampire Goes to School, Little Vampire Does Kung Fu!, and The Rabbis Cat) has taken a break from illustrating to write this exciting adventure. As always, he does a wonderful job. Emmanuel Guibert's watercolor sketches brilliantly bring this lighthearted tale to life.

Boys over Flowers

Tue, 07/31/2007 - 10:01am by joy k

The manga Boys over Flowers (also known as Hana Yori Dango) is the story of Makino Tsukushi, who transfers into an elite high school and promptly gets on the wrong side of the F4, the most popular group of boys. But when the F4 try to make her life miserable, she decides that she won’t take their bullying lying down. Fans of the manga also won’t want to miss the anime adaptation in the library’s DVD collection. Wondering what to read next? Try Kare Kano.

Courtney Crumrin

Tue, 07/24/2007 - 10:00am by anned

Not sure what to read now that you've finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (or while you wait for your copy)? Still haven't had your fill of magical creatures and spells? Then Courtney Crumrin might be for you. Courtney's family moves to Hillsborough to care for her eccentric Great Uncle Aloysius and she soon finds that things are not what they seem. Uncle Aloysius is far from decrepit and mysterious creatures are lurking in the nearby forest. Courtney learns that knowledge of witchcraft runs in her family and Uncle Aloysius has plans for her education. Courtney is a bit more pessimistic than Harry, but Ted Naifeh has done a wonderful job of taking the edge off of darker moments by mixing stylized characters (such as cute and noseless Courtney) with some more realistically rendered designs--reminiscent of Arthur Rackham.

Warriors

Thu, 07/19/2007 - 2:55pm by anned

Warrior Cats! Need I say more? This popular series by Erin Hunter is now available in manga format! Warriors: The Lost Warrior is the first installment.

A good sketch is better than a long speech

Fri, 07/06/2007 - 2:43pm by N3RD

I've been in to picture books, comics, manga, graphic novels or what ever you prefer to call the medium of artistic story telling for a long time. I remember trying to explain my appreciation for graphic novels to my parents. They looked at me with slightly puzzled, slightly worried looks...

"...so are they called graphic novels because they are violent?"

"Some are some aren't, but thats not important"

"... so are they called graphic novels because they have naughty pictures?"

"Some do some don't, but that's not important"

".. so is it the foul language that makes them graphic?"

" NO!, they are called graphic because of the art work."

I grew up with weekly comic book anthologies where I got to follow many stories by different writers. These stories some times had dedicated artists some would change artists and styles from weeks to week. I'm sure just about everyone has heard the proverb about the textual value of a picture and with with artistic story telling a picture is worth even more. With so many changes I came to a realization that I can forgive a bad plot if the art is good but if the art is bad the plot better be 'super fantastic' to continue holding my attention.

I had my favorite writers like Pat Mills, John Wagner, Alan Grant, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison and Alan Moore and when they worked with my favorite artists of the time like Carlos Ezquerra, Ian Gibson and Massimo Belardinelli then they could do no wrong in my book.

Over the years I've come to experience many differing forms of artistic story telling and my list of favorites is long and twisted. I remember the first time i read Arkham Asylum : a serious house on serious earth, such a dark story it left me a little disturbed. Whenever I return to it I'm amazed at the levels and detail in the work.

OK at the risk of totally undermining anything I've said above, I'll let you into a big secret. One of my other favorites even surprises me. Its not my usual fare but when I accidentally flicked through a copy of the book my eyes caught the mix of photographs and drawings and I actually stopped and took the time to read it.

Knuffle bunny, is a young children's picture book, very short and the art works so well to draw you into the story. Now having said that if you where to stop me on the street and ask me about it I'll deny everything... but really I did enjoy the book ;0)