They are among us. David Vincent had his invaders, Izumi Shin’ichi has his parasites (the “Kiseijû” of the title). Both know what the world isn’t aware of — “they” are among us. Coming from space, hidden behind the faces of people like you and me, but different. Monstruous. Yet, working within a compiration which objectives […]

Some manga are like American blockbusters : conforming themselves to the genre standards, they quietly unfold following a well-travelled road, already trodden a thousand times, where a few detours might bring some surprises, until the arrival to the unavoidable as well as foreseeable conclusion — incidentally, this is the very principle on which Wes Craven has […]

One year after the publication of Japan (subtitled “Japan as viewed by 17 creators”), Casterman keeps the same formula to propose Corée (or “Korea as viewed by 12 creators”) — using an almost identical design, from the authors mentioned in arc of circle to the illustrated duo “child + animal” as cover. The interior sees […]

With the Journal d’un album, it had become obvious that the two-headed beast with four hands of the “Dupuy-Berberian” duet was in fact the confrontation of two individualities, of two styles that had been seen so far only in a combined form. In those solo pages, the reader could see two different sensibilities emerge, with […]

Tooku e ikitai can be summed up in few words : Monty Python, the Japanese way. Tori Miki’s series consists of nonsense-based gags playing out in an unchanging grid of 9 silent panels. Usually, the author starts off from a wacky idea, but then follows it with a logic based on common sense — flirting with […]

The first attempt by Mizuno Junko to adapt classical tales, Cinderalla-chan is a strange and exotic trip in her very personal universe. If the global structure of the tale is respected, there is also a healthy dose of re-creation, leaving room for the recurring themes of the author. Under the ultra-cute, brightly colored art, Mizuno […]

Whithout the shadow of a doubt, based on his first comic books self-published under the Mano-Blanco Comics label — Leif Tande has talent, and never refrains from trying out the wildest ideas, be it the story of “the man who tought a hundred times faster than the other men” or re-inventing the art of comics […]

Following his debut in 1969 with Manga-Oh, Azuma Hideo had worked through twenty years of an honest manga-ka career, not necessarily in the spotlight but far from being totally unknown, with gag-manga and science-fiction series (receiving on the way the 10th Nebula Price of the Japanese Science-Fiction Society for Fujôri Nikki), and occasionnally dabbing in […]