Topic: Comics & Manga Discussion

Within the last year or so it's become a bit of a habit of mine to curl up in bed with my Fire tablet & read a couple manga/comic chapters before going to sleep.

So far I've pretty much only been reading InuYasha (a favorite anime of mine growing up, as you can probably tell from my avatar), but I've just recently started up the final volume, so I should soon have this 500+ chapter epic complete.

Also been wanting to dabble more in western/superhero comics, and while I'm not ready to commit to anything yet, I've been checking out what's free on Prime Reading just to test the waters. To that end, I read the first volume of the 2011-2015 Supergirl run.

First couple of chapters were the best with the Superman fight (they also had brighter colors than the rest of the book, which I preferred), I wasn't huge on the knockoff Luther they had her face off against next, but I liked where they were going in the last few chapters when she went to investigate the truth about Krypton.

Anyone else here read comics/manga?

@Royalblues,

With how long it's taking me to get through InuYasha (started in 2020, though there were a few months here & there I took off as I had trouble finding space in my schedule to read), I hate to think how long it'd take me to get through One Piece, especially since it's still ongoing, lol. That said, again a couple years ago, I did start watching the One Piece anime, and have just started the Sabaody Archipelago arc. I completely understand I won't be caught up for years though, lol.

As for the western side of things, I've pretty much decided against trying to get into any of the long running story lines, and just stick to the sort of one off stories (All Star Superman, The Dark Knight Returns, etc.) once I do decide to really tackle something. Right now I'm just bouncing around what's available as part of Prime Reading, checking things out on my phone during lunch breaks at work.

Well, after over a year of reading, I've finally finished up all 500+ chapters of InuYasha. It was my first time reading it in an official capacity, and as the anime was my life in middle/high school I'm glad I did.

I think it does loose a little something in terms of charm after awhile, and for awhile it's clearly stalling for time, but I think it comes together well enough by the end with a pretty satisfying ending. Been at it since 2020, so I'm gonna be at a bit of a loss now that I'm done.

I also followed up by reading the first volume of YashaHime (which is the only one currently available). I wasn't a fan of it's anime counterpart, but the manga is off to a MUCH better start (I don't want to get into the myriad of reasons why the anime sucked, but the mangaka seems to be deliberately acknowledging most of it's issues), which is making me excited for this followup all over again. Too bad the next volume doesn't drop until December.

Finished up All Star Superman this morning. As someone who's much more accustomed to reading manga, this was an interesting learning experience.

I think the biggest thing that stood out to me (with my largest familiarity to western comic book properties being the films & some games) was how unapologetically weird it could be. Not that manga can't be weird, but each series is usually set in it's own standalone universe & you're introduced to all of it's specific rules & quirks as it goes on. Here (and in spite of itself being standalone & disconnected from greater comic continuity) rise ups of subterranean lizard people & time travelling Biblical figures are treated so matter of factly like it's just another Tuesday at the office, lol.

That's not to say I didn't like it though, far from it in fact. The core narrative was surprisingly heartfelt & uplifting, and the art, especially some of the full page pieces could be fantastic.

After downloading it around Halloween, I've finally finished reading Vampirella: the Essential Warren Years Volume 1.

First time reading a comic this old before (it's a collection of stories from the late 60's into the 70's), and it was an interesting curio, though I don't think I'll be eager to return to the character any time soon (at least from this era). Man, probably just a byproduct of it's time due to how comics were distributed/consumed, but it felt like they had to go to full lengths to explain her backstory every single chapter, as well as that of the surrounding cast (this got better as it went on though).

Really seems like they were learning what they wanted it to be as they went along. The first two chapters seemed a lot more campy than the rest (& that's saying something when the heroine is wearing what amounts to a one piece swimsuit at all times, and this is treated with a straight face at all times, lol), but it then quickly takes a much more dramatic turn as she quickly finds herself at odds with a cult that's trying to resurrect a collection of ancient demons (drama that involves a ballooning cast as they wrap all the Dracula lore including the Van Helsing family into it), but then eventually it seems like they realize it's all a bit much as they pare back the cast & silently retire the grander narrative as the last several stories just revolve around them getting involved in one random supernatural case after another as they travel the world (honestly this is where I'd say the series starts to really hit it's stride).

Finished up Akira Toriyama's Manga Theatre this morning. A collection of one shots & mini series he'd released over his career.

The most fascinating story (though not the best) was Dragon Boy, which was clearly a Dragon Ball prototype (which had proto versions of Goku, named Tangtong with dragon wings instead of a tail, Master Roshi, same name & still had nimbus but wasn't a pervert, and Puar, can't remember it's name but it was a cat creature that could transform into different things).

While that one seemed to have influenced DB the most, some elements of the Adventures of Tongpoo (which was the next story in the collection) made their way in to. It's female lead was much more of a Bulma-like, and it introduced the idea of capsules.

Really interesting collection overall though. While they weren't all hits, I liked stories like the Elder, Cashman: Hero of Savings, & Mamejiro.

Got around to reading volume 2 of the YashaHime manga over the weekend.

There are still some issues I have with the overall premise, but this continues to be much better realized than the anime version (they really should have made the manga first, then made an anime adaptation, rather than the other way around).

The OG characters that are still around seem much more active both in terms of being interested in the girls' quest and actually inserting themselves into it as much as they're able (plus, it actually includes Koga, whom the anime completely snubbed), compared to the anime where Miroku & Sango seemed completely apathetic about the fact InuYasha & Kagome (& daughter) have been missing for over a decade (and the anime seemed to go out of it's way to make sure Moroha never met them, always excluding her from the party whenever Towa & Setsuna met Miroku & Sango).

Over the past week I read through the X-Men: Psylocke collection (a 4 part 2009 miniseries revolving around the character + three issues of 80's/90's era Uncanny X-Men that revolved around the character's "rebirth" as an assassin as it was relevant background for the core story).

As someone who was drawn to the character thanks to appearances in X-Men: Apocalypse & Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 (she was my main once I unlocked her), it was a fun read with some great art (I'm actually really impressed with how cool some of the panels looked in the old school issues).

Also read the Star Wars Jedi: Aayla Secura one shot. Not much to say about it, but it was fun seeing her go up against a bounty hunter I recognized from the Clone Wars TV show.

Think I'll scurry back to the comfort zone of manga for a bit after this excursion.

In terms of manga I've recently finished reading all 3 volumes of Senran Kagura: Skirting Shadows, which is an adaptation of the first game, & pretty "meh" all things considered.

The original game actually put some effort into it's narrative all things considered, and it's very truncated here. The entire subplot surrounding Rin is completely omitted (she doesn't appear at all), while it spends a good chunk of time exploring Yagyu & Hibari's plots (& even a decent job with Ikaruga's), Katsuragi gets the short end of the stick (it completely omits the part of her looking for & finding her parents, but deciding not to make contact). In the end it seems like they just ran out of time too, as despite building up most of the girls' rivalries the final fights all happen off page with the exception of Asuka vs Homura (& it doesn't feature the big demon/monster that you fight at the end of the game).

Even in terms of the aspect the series is more well known for (over the top fan service), the manga comes up short. Sure there's still some innuendo & the like, but the art very much gives off a "this is a job, not a passion" vibe from the mangaka & it largely lacks the kind of "energy" you'd expect from the property. It does finally get there by the later half of volume 3, but by then it's too little too late.

It's all a bit of a shame, as for what it's worth I thought the anime adaptation did a pretty good job (at least the first season, which likewise adapted the first game).

Otherwise I read volume 24 of Triage X since that released last month. The series is pretty much everything the SK manga wasn't. Clearly a passion for the artist, gripping narratively, and doesn't hold back on the fan service if you like that sorta thing.