Like many folks who discovered manga in the early-to-mid 2000s, one of my gateway titles was CLAMP’s X/1999. I hated myself for loving it as much as I did; the ridiculous costumes and purple dialogue alone were reason enough for my inner snob to dismiss it as angstful trash. For all its silliness, however, X [...]
About Katherine Dacey
Katherine Dacey has been reviewing manga since 2006, when she joined PopCultureShock. Over the next two years, she worked with webmaster Jon Haehnle and fellow contributor Erin Finnegan to transform Erin’s “Manga Recon” concept from a bi-monthly column into a full-fledged website covering manga, anime, and Japanese pop culture. She stepped down from her post in January 2009. Kate’s resume also includes serving as a panelist at the American Library Association's national conference, New York Comic-Con, and Wondercon; contributing to Chopsticks, a “comprehensive guide to Japanese culture in New York City”; and contributing to the School Library Journal’s Good Comics for Kids blog, where she writes Good Manga for Kids, a column that focuses on manga for pre-teen readers. When she isn’t writing about manga, Kate swings a golf club, plays the oboe, runs long distances, watches old movies, and frolicks with her dog Grendel. Kate lives in Boston, MA.
The Double-or-Nothing Giveaway!
May 15, 2012 by
This is a big, heart-felt thank-you to everyone who entered last week’s Great Omnibus Giveaway! I was delighted to see so much interest in Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo, and grateful for the warm wishes from readers. Three years feels like a lifetime on the internet, and it’s heartening to know that some folks have been following [...]
Honey Darling
May 14, 2012 by
Would you still respect me as a critic if I admitted that I loved Honey Darling? Before you answer that question, consider the following evidence: Exhibit A: The Cover. One of the characters is wearing cat ears and holding a cat. Gotta cover all the bases, I guess. Exhibit B: Logic-Free Plotting. Chihiro rescues a [...]
Pick of the Week: Sailor Moon & more!
May 14, 2012 by 1 Comment
We’ve got a good-sized haul coming in to Midtown Comics this week. How will the Battle Robot be spending its money?
Links: Happy Birthday, Moto Hagio!
May 12, 2012 by
Today, May 12th, is Magnificent 49er Moto Hagio’s sixty-third birthday. Hagio made her professional debut forty-three years ago with the short story “Lulu to Mimi” (1969), which appeared in the pages of Nakayoshi. Over the next ten years, she contributed dozens of stories to shojo magazines, including “November Gymnasium” (1971), one of the first examples [...]
Rohan at the Louvre
May 11, 2012 by
In 2007, NBM Comics-Lit published Nicolas de Crecy’s Glacial Period, the first in a series of graphic novels commissioned by the Louvre Museum. The goal of Glacial Period — and the four books that followed it — was to introduce readers to the richness and complexity of the Louvre’s vast collections through a familiar medium: [...]
Prepare for the May Manga Movable Feast!
May 10, 2012 by
Over at Otaku Champloo, the awesome Khursten Santos has just posted an announcement for this month’s Manga Movable Feast. The ostensible subject is Oishinbo, an epic series documenting the father-son rivalry between two food critics. Bloggers are also encouraged to write about other food manga (Khurtsen provides a handy list of titles that have been [...]
The Flowers of Evil, Vol. 1
May 9, 2012 by
If you grew up in a small town, you probably knew someone like Takao Kusagi, the nebbish-hero of The Flowers of Evil. Kasuga is a precocious middle-schooler who copes with provincial life by burying his nose in a book. His peers tolerate him, but find him a little too smug and strange to be one [...]
Bookshelf Briefs 5/7/12
May 7, 2012 by 3 Comments
This week, Kate, Sean, and Michelle look at recent releases from Yen Press, Dark Horse, VIZ Media, and Digital Manga Publishing, including High School of the Dead, Itazura na Kiss, Psyren, Voltron Force and more!
Pick of the Week: Saiunkoku, NonNonBa, FLCL
May 7, 2012 by 2 Comments
It’s a slow week at Midtown Comics, with a whopping three (count ‘em, three) new manga releases hitting the shelves. Still, Kate, Sean, and Melinda strive valiantly to spend their money, both on and off the list.
