Recommendations

I think I’ll wrap up this semester by giving out a few recommendations. I read an awful lot of books, manga and comics, so for a nice bookend, I’m recommending some of my favorite series. As a side note, I’ll probably be more on my main blog from now on, though I’m not shutting OB down just yet.
So without further ado, here are some comic series and manga series to get a reader started. Remember, almost all these series contain mature subject matter, so be cautious if you are easily offended.

In alphabetical order would be the easiest I suppose, so that's what I'll do.

100 Bullets
Azzarello, Brian

A Contract with God Trilogy
Eisner, Will

Transmetropolitan
Ellis, Warren

Preacher
Ennis, Garth

Great Teacher Onizuka
Fujisawa, Tohru

1602
Gaiman, Neil

The Eternals
Gaiman, Neil

The Sandman
Gaiman, Neil

Uzumaki
Ito, Junji

Black and White
Matsumoto, Taiyo

300
Miller, Frank

Sin City
Miller, Frank

Berserk
Miura, Kentaro

Nausicaa of the Valley Wind
Mizaki, Hayao

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Moore, Alan

V for Vendetta
Moore, Alan

Watchmen
Moore, Alan

Strangers in Paradise
Moore, Terry

Akira
Otomo, Katsuhiro

Bone
Smith, Jeff

Saikano
Takahashi, Shin

Welcome to the NHK
Takimoto, Tasuhiko

Phoenix
Tezuka, Osamu

Blankets
Thomson, Craig

Y the Last Man
Vaughn, Brian


Remember, most of these can be found at either Amazon.com or your local library.

Happy Reading!

Manga Lecture #7

There is also a sub genre known as hentai. This is quite literally translated as pervert, and it is the label for what you can probably guess. I don’t really want to focus on this genre, as it’s pretty much one of the major reasons manga is frowned upon in other countries. People believe manga is either all for children, or all pornography. (don’t ask me to explain the gap, it’s just there). But it is worth mentioning, simply because it is how many artist make their start.

It’s a bit odd, so let me explain. There is a huge fan base for series in Japan, of which many young artists and writers produce fan-comics, or dojinshi. These fan-comics use established storylines and characters to tell their story, in the way they think the story should go. And while it is nowhere near 100%, many of these “directions” involve sexual relationships, usually in graphic detail. It actually makes a lot of sense. Just look at the fan base for shows here. Lost has multiple characters that fans wish to see hook up, the same can be said for most series produced the world over. The difference is that Japanese fans took matters into their own hands and produced the results they wished for, and sold it as a profit. Dojinshi is actually a lucrative business for some, with many fans following certain doujin artists for their latest release.

I mentioned that many manga-ka (artists and writers) get their start producing these, of which there are many famous examples. Kouta Hirano, the manga-ka of Hellsing fame (one of the more influential series being produced right now) actually got his start producing hentai dojinshis. In terms of how that relates to our culture, imagine if someone like J.K. Rowling or Michal Crichton got their start by writing Harlequin Romance Novels.

Freaky, isn’t it?

But this is the norm inside Japan’s culture. The adult industry, while heavily restricted, is not frowned upon as it is here. This is not to say that normal people like or support it, but they are more tolerant toward the producers of it.

But enough about that.

Manga Lecture #6

I’m going to tackle seinen and jousei together, as while they tend to be large and important in their own right, they tend to discuss the same subjects.
These are the two mature manga sections, where much of the best material (in my own opinion) is created and located. While these often have subject matter meant for mature audiences (sex, violence, gore, cursing, drug use, and a whole host of other crazy stuff), this is also the place where authors tend to discuss religion, philosophy, world views, politics, and other issues that would not be appealing to young boys or girls. The way that seinen and jousei differ is slight, usually resulting in a difference of focus. Both are character and thematically driven, unlike their action counterparts, and both tend to focus more on the grey areas of choice and decision, as aside to the black and white world view presented in shonen or shojo.

There are also several sub genres within the two mature genres as well. Gekiga is a subgenre that can best be described as Japanese style noir and more grounded pieces as well. Detective stories, gangster tales, and common everyday occurrences would fit into these categories, These are almost without fail a serious telling of a story, with little to no humor, and a darker tone. It usually encompassed only what could be found realistically, not the fanciful tales of the other genres.

Shonen and Jousei Manga

Phoenix*

20th Century Boys*

Hellsing*

Nodame Cantabile*

Honey and Clover*

The Joy and the Pain

Every so often the stars align to make my bank account cry. This year a tremendous number of my favorite authors are publishing books. In fantasy alone, there is a massive list of books coming out, and that’s just from my top authors. That’s not taking into account other authors I read, or even authors in different genres. So far, the list reads:

Jim Butcher - Changes - April 2010

J. V. Jones - Watcher of the Dead - April 2010

Terry Brooks - Bearers of the Black Staff – August 2010

Brandon Sanderson - The Way of Kings - August 2010

Stephen R. Donaldson - Against All Things Ending - October 2010

Brandon Sanderson - The Towers of Midnight - Late Fall 2010

George R. R. Martin - A Dance with Dragons - ?

Then there is this one, which contains a large number of great authors:

Songs of Love and Death – edited by George R.R. Martin – November 2010

The lineup:
-Jim Butcher, "Love Hurts" (a Harry Dresden story)
-Jo Beverly, "The Marrying Maid"
-Carrie Vaughn, "Rooftops"
-M.L.N. Hanover, "Hurt Me"
-Cecelia Holland, "Demon Lover"
-Melinda M. Snodgrass, "The Wayfarer's Advice" (an Imperials story)
-Robin Hobb, "Blue Boots"
-Neil Gaiman, "The Thing About Cassandra"
-Marjorie M. Liu, "After the Blood"
-Jacqueline Carey, "You and You Alone" (a Kushiel story)
-Lisa Tuttle, "His Wolf"
-Linnea Sinclair, "Courting Trouble"
-Mary Jo Putney, "The Demon Dancer"
-Tanith Lee, "Under/Above the Water"
-Peter S. Beagle, "Kashkia"
-Yasmine Galenorn, "Man in the Mirror"
-Diana Gabaldon, "A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows" (an OUTLANDER spinoff)

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go console my wallet, which is weeping in the corner at the abuse it’s going to suffer the rest of the year.

Reading Rainbow WTF

Today I thought I would show you something that has been circulating around the internet recently. Most people remember the show Reading Rainbow, but funnyordie.com has a series running right now about Reading Rainbow’s “banned books”. These are “probably” false, but I have no idea who put this together. If you’ve read any of these (I have, all three of them) then you’ll probably find this hilarious. If not, well, these books being reviewed by children are some of the most heinous and disturbing books around, even if two of them are considered “classical” literature. Enjoy.

Guess I’d better warn you now, these are not necessarily NSFW, but they might be borderline.

“American Psycho”

Reading Rainbow Banned Book Review #1 - watch more funny videos

“Mein Kampf”

Reading Rainbow Banned Book Review #2 - watch more funny videos

“Lolita” (Yeah, this one’s disturbing)

Reading Rainbow Banned Book Review #3 - watch more funny videos

Manga Lecture #5

Shojo, on the other hand, are what is known as girl’s comics. They normally center around relationships (and all the sappy, drippy love stereotypes that go with them). They tend to be more about the relationships between boys and girls, or girls and girls. Friendship and love, instead of world saving and action are often what separates shojos from shonen. However, it is a certain type of relationship, one that is not often very deep in interest. Those are usually addressed in senien and jousei manga, simply because of who the shojo audience is made of. It tends to be an age range of about 8-15 year olds, which means deeper points are often lost in favor of cute/romantic aspects. It is not about mature relationships, but rather about puppy love, crushes and making friends.

It also differs from shonen in the way it handles relationships. Often, shonen will have a “love interest” but one that always takes a back seat to the main story of good vs. evil. In shojo, the relationship is often the main storyline, while the action of the plot takes a back seat to puppy love. In all honesty though, shojo is not what you would want to read if you were looking for a deeper, more mature storyline. The characters and reactions are about what you would expect to find in a book aimed at little girls. (Think Sailor Moon)

In addition, the way friendships are developed are often vastly different when shojo and shonen are compared. Shonen will have the “boy’s method” of friendship, where friends are mostly old rivals that have been defeated, brotherly love, etc. Shojo tend to be more childhood friends, classroom buddies and mentor/mentees.

If what I’m saying seems a little stereotypical to you, well, that’s because it is. Shonen and shojo are pretty much what you would think of in America as sterotypes. Girls play with barbies, boys play football. That kind of thinking will explain all you need when knowing what sterotypes you will encounter when looking though either genre.

Though shonen tends to be much larger in scope and sales, shojo has a very large market share. It is avalible wherever manga is sold, you just have to look at the descriptions to understand what type of series it is.

Recommended Shojo (though I’ll admit I don’t know many):

Fruit Basket
NANA
Princess TuTu

Manga Lecture #4

Manga, for the most part, is divided into four age categories. These are shonen, shojo, seinin, and jousei. Literally translated, boys, girls, men and women comics. These comics are divided into the categories by a number of different factors. But all of these have certain tendencies they follow. I’ll examine one of these today.

Shonen, boy’s comics, usually have a standard hero story, which is the most common type of manga created. It is a two dimensional story most often, with A great evil vs. a great good that must overcome the evil entirely. Shonen are very much a black and white tale that leaves no room for gray areas; they contain a number of heroes that are all righteous and good, usually down on their luck. The hero is special in some way, with a power or inheritance that singles them out for greatness. They are usually taken under the wing of a sage character, who trains them, and does not appear again until their death scene in the rain, usually killed by the main villain of the series. A young member of the opposite sex appears, which the main character gets on the nerves of. This character is usually the love interest in the story, made up entirely so the author can interject some romance into the plot. (usually boy-hero, girl-love interest). The hero becomes powerful, a leader of people, and inspiration. But as soon as he reaches his peak, the main villain will appear, destroying his hard work. The hero will attack the villain, who proceeds to hand the hero his ass. Thus begins the strength power up. (Think Dragonball Z, and you have the idea). The story arc will end when the hero becomes powerful enough to obliterate the villain, creating peace and harmony through violence. This then begins all over again when the next villain is introduced.

This is not to say all shonen are bad. Many are quite good, though they still have a number of stereotypes they fulfill.

Recommendations for great shonen (though most of these break the convention, that is why I consider them great):

One Piece*
Rurouni Kenshin*
Soul Eater*

Waiting for Release. A Reader’s Rant.

There is one large drawback to reading genre pieces. The problem, is of corse, the wait. Many of the books that exist within Fantasy and Science Fiction especially are structured in series, usually spanning several books. Series mean a waiting period. This is quite possibly the most aggravating aspect of a reader’s life. To find a good book, and the discovery that this book is part of series presents joy at first, which quickly turns to annoyance when a fan runs out of material. To know that the story which you adore continues is to know you. To find the end of the written material is to know frustration. Being that series novels are chapters in a larger whole, it stands to reason that many of the novels written in series have no beginning or end, only the continuation of the saga the author writes of, it stands to reason the novels are often far deeper than their standalone counterpoints.
This is not to say that standalones do not have merit. But the author who creates a series has a lot more room to play with his characters and world.

The authors are not at fault (most of the time), but the frustration a reading fan fells is far greater than other groups. A person waiting for a television show or movie only waits for an amount of time, but that time is limited to a year or two. But this time moves quickly compared to what some authors put readers through. Though it may seem like a long time to someone who is waiting for the movie, sometime they should try waiting for a slow author to release the next chapter of their ever expanding epic. A reader is subjected to only the possibility of future release. It’d be like seeing three shows, then waiting 5 years for the next episode to come out.

I would like to clarify that many authors do not make their fans wait. Many good authors often put out a new novel in one or two years, and this is acceptable to the average reader. A few author examples of who generally write prolifically and with great talent are Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Brandon Sanderson, Jim Butcher, and many others.

But there are some authors that move like molasses. Because of this, many fans begin getting anger and frustrated at those authors. I know that it takes time to write a good novel, but there are a few authors that piddle away their time. These writer often have great talent, but don’t finish books in any type of timely manner. George R. R. Martin has gained this reputation, and is probably the most infamous name when it comes to slow output. It has now been five years since his last publication in his Song of Ice and Fire series.

Martin has a great talent for writing, and he’s created one of the most fascinating and complex stories in recent times, but he does not produce new material often. When his blogs are checked, there area pages upon pages of football commentary, but not so much as a peep about the book progress. Even under the section of his site that declares updates specifically for the book, the last update was more than two years ago.

This problem of waiting is constantly plaguing the reader. I understand that writers must write, and to write well requires time. But for an author to abandon his fans for longer than three years is a slap in the face to all the people supporting you in your craft.

That being said, I’ll still wait along with millions of others for the latest book out from my favorite authors. They are after all, favorites for a reason. And that’s the problem, too.

The Fantasy of a Whole Genre

I thought I should try and explain a bit about the genre of fantasy, since it happens to be a big part of what I read on a day to day basis.

There is a difference in types of fantasy that not many people know about (outside the fans, of course). Many different sub-genres exist within the overarching genre of fantasy. The two big categories are high fantasy and sword and sorcery fantasy. Others include urban fantasy, science fantasy, alternative history and a few others. But for the purpose of brevity, I’ll only focus on the big two for now. The definitions will be loosely based, simply because they are that difficult to nail down substantially. In addition, a lot of books and short fiction will bleed over to other genre elements, which makes it all the more difficult.

Please remember that most, if not all, of the books mentioned here can contain mature subject matter, whether that means sex, violence, or just mature themes. These will be marked with an *.

But let’s start with Sword and Sorcery.

Sword and sorcery fantasy is what most people associate the general fantasy stereotypes with. This is your standard Dungeons & Dragons universe. This is commonly associated with Dragons, Knights, Rouges, Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and a whole host of other creatures and characters that exist within a predefined world. Commonly, a sword and sorcery fantasy novel will use the established worlds and common knowledge of those worlds within their novel, using generic styles to establish the world and focusing more on plot. If someone who is familiar with this universe, it allows a ease of access to the story, as most of the general setting is taken care of by previous writers and players. These, for the most part, are an easy read, as much of the story is already there, only the characters and plots are different (though not always, we’ll get to that in a moment). The various themes, magic system, religious structure, political and population settings are the same, almost always. This is not to say that sword and sorcery fantasy is not good to read, though. It can be very entertaining, but it tends to follow the same structure the world over:

A hero, usually: down on his luck/shining example in humanity,
Finds that he: has gotten in trouble/must save a person,
And: resists going on a quest/sets out on a quest immediately,
To find the: sacred object/demonic object
Which will: save the world/ destroy life as we know it.
And defeat the indomitable ancient evil.

Key Sword and Sorcery Series:

Dragonlance Chronicles*
Forgotten Realms*

I much prefer High Fantasy, which can be summed up in one sentence, though not completely. High Fantasy authors create their own world. They may rely on general principals of fantasy, of a medieval setting, with Kings and magic, but the key difference is that the world that they have built has been created from scratch. These series are often the more in-depth and interesting reads, being more highly involved with character, who are three dimensional instead of stereotypes. The characters within sword and sorcery novels often are a tweaked template that has been created before, while High Fantasy tends to create characters that are much more believable. The systems in place as well are created entirely for the novels. Each book has an entirely different set of rules, lands, magic systems, everyday life, and even the political and religious structures are highly defined within a good High Fantasy novel.

Key High Fantasy Series:

The Lord of the Rings*
The Song of Ice and Fire *
The Wheel of Time*
The Sword of Truth*

It should also be noted that High Fantasy Novels often exist on multiple levels, unlike sword and sorcery novels which often only exist on the surface. High Fantasy usually uses the characters and story to tell of philosophies, or religious opinions. They can extend to political ideologies or just studies on human nature and interaction.

So a good rule to go by is:
Sword and Sorcery fantasy – predefined, with only minimal tweaks to create a “unique” work.
High Fantasy – created from nothing, entirely unique in execution, and often has truly creative techniques within it.

One issue I always have to address is why I qualify The Lord of the Rings as a High Fantasy Novel, and not as Sword and Sorcery, as a lot of the details within Lord of the Rings fits the description of Sword and Sorcery novels so well. And I always argue that neither the land nor the stereotypes existed back when Tolkien wrote the novels. He created an entire genre off of his world that he built, because Tolkien’s work was one of the largest influences for creating Dungeons & Dragons in the first place. The fact that he created the world out of nothing (besides various myths and legends from across the globe, but that’s a discussion best left to some other time).

This is not to say that all Sword and Sorcery Fantasy novels are bad, or that all High Fantasy Novels are good. Each must be judged on its own merits, but in my experience, High Fantasy usually exhibits a feel of more care and time within it. As the author created an entire world, they have often put more effort into creating their work, where Sword and Sorcery authors often have most of the work (the world building) done for them already, so it often can lead to lazy writing.

I tend to love High Fantasy more than Sword and Sorcery, because of its deep and intricate plot, but many people prefer the light Sword and Sorcery novels. Which one you choose depends on what you like. Neither is wrong, neither is right, it is all a matter of opinion.

Manga Lecture #3

Manga became the form most widely read medium in Japan, because of the difficulty of the language. Japanese uses a system of three different alphabets, with one (kanji) containing over 7000 characters alone, which makes it slightly more difficult to read than English. Thus, a medium with less text is better. Because of this, manga - which is a combination of words and pictures - became popular.

Manga encompasses a great deal of subject material, and as it is the most popular medium to read, is not just relegated to children, but extends to topics adults will enjoy as well. People, from the time they can read until the time they cannot, read manga in Japan. Often the age range is declared to be 2-97 or even longer, depending on the person. As such, the material is often aimed at older readers.

Though much of manga is aimed at children, there are many subjects addressed that are not appropriate for the age group. Children of eight will not necessarily understand or appreciate philosophy, religion, biography, or many other subjects addressed in the adult oriented series. Though this is not entirely the case, as many series aimed at adults also contain graphic adult content. A series might discuss philosophy, but also contain sexual content or excessive violence. So if a reader is easily offended by such material, they should check before reading a series both the rating itself and the reason for the rating in the first place.

To be continued.

Manga Lecture #2

I suppose I should mention the reason why manga is read the way it is (right to left). Japan was originally a scroll based reading culture, and to read a traditional scroll, you would hold the bulk in one hand (usually the non-dominate one) and unravel it with your dominant hand. As the majority of people were right handed, this meant you would generally hold the scroll in the left hand, while pulling with the right. Japanese therefore required writers to write in a way where you would read as the scroll was unwound. Manga carried on this tradition, even in book form, due to the language’s orientation. Today, even when translated into English, many companies keep the original style of right to left paneling, so as to keep the flow and the author’s intent intact.

However, there are some that are published in a technique called “mirroring.” This is when the panels are flipped around, to accommodate western readers. In the early days of manga publishing within the United States, many were published in this way, for it was believed too many people would be confused by the shift in reading styles. But with the growing popularity and demand for current manga, this process was mostly scrapped, due to the effort and time it took to completely remodel the mode in which the original comic was published in. While this practice is still continued in some companies, for the most part it has fallen into disuse.

Next up is popularity.

Twilight Rant #1

It is a wonderment to me how the literary community honors and respects those that do not deserve it. Particularly one genre really angers me, the shitty vampire romance. I am speaking, of course, about the Twilight craze that has swept the nation. I honestly don’t understand why so many love it. Let’s put aside the obviously bad writing style and complete lack or grammar for a minute (did she even have an editor?). Instead, let’s focus on the subject matter.

For some reason, we have gotten it into our head that vampires are a sexy “other” that humans aspire to be. Yes, they reach out to the need for immortality in our present powers, and preserving the body in young and healthy ways. It is a pleasing concept, to think of the knowledge you could possess, all for giving up solid food and sunlight. But it is a lie. Vampires, for all their appeal, are monsters. As inhuman as the zombies or sea-monsters that terrify our nightmares.

Vampires are terrible beings that feed on life force. The monster that has risen above all the rest to become the king. The most brutal and destructive creatures; the most powerful force for corruption that exists in our myths. But I see the market flooded with passionate romance between vampires and humans, when they should be looking at their next meal. There’s nothing sexy about it.

Beyond that, there is the like of the romance itself. Set up as a romance, it is nothing short of an abusive relationship. Don’t believe me? Check the figures: Twilight

With the onset of people like Anne Rice and Stephanie Myer, vampires are becoming a joke. If you want my opinion, there are a few books a tales out there that correctly portray how vampires should be considered. As monsters of terror. They are few a far between in this saturated market of sap, but I believe I have found the most relevant. Let me tell you what you should be reading if you value horror as I do.

1) Dracula- Bram Stoker (obviously)
2) The Historian – Elizabeth Kostova
3) 30 days of Night (comic) – Steve Niles/ Ben Templesmith
4) I am Legend – Richard Matheson
5) The Strain – Chuck Hogan, Guillermo del Toro
6) Salem’s Lot – Stephen King
7) Hellsing (manga) – Kihoto Hirano

I’m sure there are others out there, but I have yet to find them.

Manga Lecture #1

I suppose that I should examine a little of the basics of manga, as a lot of people don’t have a proper understanding of what It means and what it represents. I give a lecture on this all the time, for both conventions and for classrooms, so I’ll be expanding on this. This will be the first of a series of posts on this subject, since the entire lecture can cover an hour and a half.

A word of warning though. Many of the manga I will be mentioning and recommending are mature in nature. These will be marked with an *.

But let’s jump right into it.

So what is manga, exactly? Manga, for all of you who don’t know, is a form of comics originating from Japan. The characters, 漫画, are literally translated as “whimsical pictures.” But though they originated from Japan, this style has spread around the world, and now comics produced in the manga style are found worldwide, with concentrations in Eastern Asia, and more and more frequently, the United States.

The origin of this form is the Second World War. While the origin of the style has roots in ancient Japan, it first blossomed after the end of Japan’s surrender. After the war, the country had been thrown into a depression. With the lack of money, Japan had to sacrifice a great deal so that life could go on. Entertainment was sacrificed in order to feed families.

But entertainment is necessary in a depression, to allow the population an escape for a while from the hardships of life. For this reason, a four panel comic, read right to left, and top to bottom, was created. It was dubbed manga, and it was a comic centered around the four panel joke. Panel #1: Introduction, Panel #2 : Set Up, Panel #3: Set Up, and Panel #4: Punchline. This continued for a while, but soon stagnated, (much like how the print comics in the Sunday newspapers stagnated).

It was not until a certain Artist came along that this model was challenged. Osamu Tezuka, nicknamed the Father of Manga, did not create manga, but changed the model that manga used. Tezuka realized that comics were not just a small spot to tell jokes, but could be used in a wider context, to tell a larger story. Many of the techniques still seen today were first thought of by this man.

He created what is known as dynamic storytelling, a style where the panels are not just flat squares, but slashed and angled to give meaning to the movement in the panel. In other words, if someone was falling, the panel might be angled downward, or if someone was driving, the panel might be stretched horizontally.

There are many other authors that contributed to this style, but that’s a post for another time.

A Brief Summery of What I Like

I suppose I’ll start off with a summary of what I read, and tend to like when it comes to reading literary material. With books, I’ll honestly read anything, but I tend to prefer fantasy, sci-fi and horror. With manga, on the other hand, I usually avoid fantasy, simply because it has certain tendencies that are overused (we’ll get to that in a later post). This does have a few exceptions, but for the most part, fantasy is a genre to be avoided. Comics, I tend to go for the actual graphic novels, that is, a story in comic form, not merely an installment of the week (think Watchmen, not Superman). And I am always interested in strange and wonderful stories in all three types of media. Suggestions and recommendations are always welcome.

What I enjoy is not meant to be an end-all-be-all position; people are more than welcome to debate the finer points with my opinions. All I ask is that you be polite about it.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog of all things reading. This is not merely a review site, but also history, author bios, what's coming out, and generally what I'm excited about in the Literary/Graphic Novel World at the moment. Welcome to Overstuffed Bookshelves.