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Off the Shelf with Melinda & Michelle

Off the Shelf: Manhwalicious

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Welcome to another edition of Off the Shelf with Melinda & Michelle! As always, I’m joined by Soliloquy in Blue‘s Michelle Smith.

After last week’s special MMF Edition where we discussed the first-ever Korean manhwa chosen for the Manga Moveable Feast, we thought it might be nice to take a look at some of the series that were not chosen in this week’s column.

MICHELLE: So, I think the both of us have been having a very manhwa-licious week here! Last week we talked about The Color Trilogy as part of the Manhwa Moveable Feast, and this week we’ve got three other series to discuss, all of which, I must say, I liked a lot more than our last topic of conversation!

MELINDA: So did I, Michelle. I voted pretty eagerly for a couple of these for last month’s Feast, so it’s a treat to have the chance to discuss them with you now! So, we’ve got three series to talk about. Where would you like to begin? …

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Off the Shelf: MMF Edition

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Welcome to the fourth installment of Off the Shelf with Melinda & Michelle! Joining me as always is Soliloquy in Blue‘s Michelle Smith.

We’re going to shift our format a bit this week with a special look at Kim Dong Hwa’s Color trilogy (The Color of Earth, The Color of Water, and The Color of Heaven) published in English by First Second. Kim’s trilogy is the subject of this month’s Manhwa Moveable Feast, so I suspect it’s no surprise to hear that this is something both Michelle and I have been reading.

The Color trilogy traces the coming-of-age of Ehwa, a young girl in pre-industrialized rural Korea, from her first spark of sexual curiosity to her eventual marriage to her true love, Duksam. The story is also heavily focused on Ehwa’s relationship with her widowed mother, a tavern owner who discovers new love for herself in a traveling artist known only as “The Picture Man.” …

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Off the Shelf: Episode three

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Welcome to the third edition of Off the Shelf with Melinda and Michelle!

Joining me as always is Soliloquy in Blue‘s Michelle Smith. This week, we chat about titles from Yen Press, Viz Media, and Tokyopop.

MICHELLE: Well, what do you know? It’s Wednesday again. I feel quite confident that you have been reading things since last time! Do tell!

MELINDA: It’s true! First off, I finally picked up Ristorante Paradiso.

MICHELLE: Ooh! What did you think? Did you appreciate Claudio’s sexy kindness?

MELINDA: You bet I did. Also, I really appreciated this manga for its …

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Off the Shelf: Second Edition

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Welcome to our second edition of Off the Shelf with Melinda and Michelle!

Joining me again is Soliloquy in Blue‘s Michelle Smith. This week, we cover a pretty varied range of titles, from Tokyopop, Yen Press, CMX, and Viz Media. I’ve got all shonen on the brain, thanks to this month’s Shonen Sundays, while Michelle takes a more well-rounded approach.

MELINDA: So, Michelle, thanks for joining me here again! What’s your first item for tonight’s discussion?

MICHELLE: How about a trip to bishie land with Alice in the Country of Hearts? Actually, I feel somewhat guilty referring to the series as “bishie land” because, while that’s technically an apt description, there’s really a lot more going on here than I ever would have expected. I read the third volume this week and enjoyed it quite a bit. …

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Off the Shelf with Melinda & Michelle

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Welcome to the first edition of a new weekly feature here at Manga Bookshelf, Off the Shelf!

Joining me in this venture is Soliloquy in Blue‘s Michelle Smith. Each week, Michelle and I will chat about manga we’re reading and see where the conversation goes! This week, we discuss titles from Bandai Entertainment, Viz Media, and the recently deceased Go!Comi … Michelle?

MICHELLE: So…. what’s a nice reviewer like you doing in a feature like this? Blog here often? Read any good books lately?

MELINDA: I have, actually! This week I’ve spent some time with three different manga, all written for women or girls. And I think this ties in a bit with recent discussion of what female readers look for in comics, because despite the fact that these are all written for female readers (and two of them are romances), they couldn’t be more different….

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