There’s quite a bit to choose from this week at Midtown Comics. What will the Battle Robot be buying this week? See below!
SEAN: There are many, many worthy titles this week, which is why I’m glad we have multiple folks picking them out. For myself, I will go with the 6th volume of Dorohedoro, Viz’s comedic fantasy action mystery manga thing. As you might guess by that description, this is an Ikki title. This volume promises to finally give us some answers regarding Nikaido and her sorcery, as well as more insight on En. And of course I’m expecting more of what I love about Dorohedoro: complicated artwork that I love to revisit; crackling dialogue with lots of Pulp Fiction-esque conversations. And Shin and Noi, who would merit a fantastic manga if it was only them, but here are merely part of a cast of great characters. Also, this volume has all new never-before-on-the-web chapters! (OK, that’s because SigIkki seems to be dead, but hey…)
KATE: I only have eyes for one title this week: X. Of all CLAMP’s early works, X has held up the best, even if the artwork is pure 1990s, with cascades of feathers and shoulder pads worthy of Crystal Carrington. One of the things I like best about X is its moral ambiguity; I’m never entirely certain who I’m supposed to be rooting for: Kamui? Fuma? The Earth? The other thing I like about X is the elegant way in which CLAMP uses the visual language of shojo manga to tell a story that could just as easily be at home in a shonen or seinen magazine. The new VIZ edition is a marked improvement over the last; the oversized trim and full-color plates give CLAMP’s elaborate battle scenes more room to breathe.
MJ: Though I’m not quite with Kate on CLAMP’s early works (I’m still a much bigger fan of Tokyo Babylon, and likely always will be), I’m completely with her on X as this week’s must-buy manga. As I mentioned back in November, though Viz’s new-and-improved omnibus release hasn’t quite yet made me *love* X, it’s definitely given me a deeper appreciation for it, in a way that suggests that true love could be on the horizon. In any case, I’m determined to find out. This week, it’s X all the way.
MICHELLE: I’m going with the second volume of Durarara!!, from Yen Press. “Weird but intriguing” was my verdict for the first volume, which managed to convey a lot of information without overwhelming the reader. I still feel like I know next to nothing about the series, and am really looking forward to seeing where it goes from here.
Readers, what looks good to you this week?
Aaron says
April 16, 2012 at 8:17 amTenjo Tenge volume seven the art continues to make me think “how’d he come up with that one” I mean middle schoolers wielding hand held flame swords giant whip swords, all that and Bob finally gets a chance to shine all and all a strong volume that makes me more expectant for volume 7.
Jim says
April 17, 2012 at 6:32 amI didn’t realise Vol 6 of Dorohedoro was out this week. It’s definitely my favourite Ikki title. Glad the print volumes are still coming out even if the website is dead. I much prefer reading physical to digital manga anyway. Still, it is a bit of a shame that the website is defunct. It was a good way of sampling titles. Does anyone know why they stopped it? I was hoping there would be a new batch of Ikki titles coming out at some point as well but I’m guessing this is less likely….
Rij says
April 17, 2012 at 2:50 pmGot my copy of Durarara!! today. I liked the content more than the first volume but I do have one huge complaint. This is by far the ugliest book in my manga collection. Whoever designed the cover muct be blind. That thumbnail you have up doesn’t do it any justice. Neon green and gold should never be used together. Ugh.