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: Manga Rec- Junko Mizuno
The first time I knocked into Junko Mizuno was in Secret Comics Japan , which is a great intro for those who don't know much about underground Japanese comics. There is much to say about how great Junko Mizuno is. Her schtick, so to speak, is drawing horrible, grotesque things in a cutesy way. She actually got into doing the manga thing after becoming obsessed with Sailor Moon. And pretty much every character in her comics is a woman, many of whom disrobe or are naked, but it comes off as so innocent and unsexual that it's pretty admirable. Most men in her comics are tiny little bobbleheads and indistinguishable from one another.
The first full-on book of hers I read was Pure Trance , an apocalyptic future adventure in which a sweet, good-natured nurse must struggle to help her ailing patients despite the machinations of her evil, drug-addicted Head of Hospital. One of the many great things about this book are the little footnote bits at the bottom of each page that describe all the odd little creatures and technologies that are in the Pure Trance world.
The other thing Mizuno does is to take Western fairy tales and turn them on their head in her own particular way. My favorite of these is Cinderalla , in which instead of royalty, Cinderalla's Prince Charming is a zombie. This isn't to say the others aren't also fantastic. Not only is Hansel and Gretel completely tubular on all levels, but it comes with stickers. Stickers, people. Also wonderful is Princess Mermaid . It's worth noting that Mizuno oversees the English translations of her books (in case you don't know, Japanese comics are read back-to-front, so English translations often just reverse the panels, compromising the artistic integrity of the Japanese versions). She reconfigures the panels recolors them especially for the prints. Her books are beautiful to look at.
I would be remiss in not guiding you to her wonderful site, http://www.mizuno-junko.com , since you can also find statues and merchandise. I usually hate merchandizing, but she has elevated it to an art form.
I should stress that I cannot recommend Junko Mizuno highly enough. American comic readers tend to be prejudiced against manga. I personally think that's ignorant-- manga had been around for a lot longer than English comic books, and it's always been regarded as literature, rather than as something for the kiddies. Also, there's just so much of it-- it's as big as the movie industry in Japan, whereas in America it's a risky business and you don't really make profits outside of Marvel and DC. You can hate manga but you will love Junko. Also, the manga world is healthily populated with female creators, even within the sphere of skebe porno comics. The American comic book world could really learn from its Japanese counterpart.
Tags: cinderalla, hansel and gretel, junko mizuno, manga rec, princess mermaid, pure trance
The first time I knocked into Junko Mizuno was in Secret Comics Japan , which is a great intro for those who don't know much about underground Japanese comics. There is much to say about how great Junko Mizuno is. Her schtick, so to speak, is drawing horrible, grotesque things in a cutesy way. She actually got into doing the manga thing after becoming obsessed with Sailor Moon. And pretty much every character in her comics is a woman, many of whom disrobe or are naked, but it comes off as so innocent and unsexual that it's pretty admirable. Most men in her comics are tiny little bobbleheads and indistinguishable from one another.
The first full-on book of hers I read was Pure Trance , an apocalyptic future adventure in which a sweet, good-natured nurse must struggle to help her ailing patients despite the machinations of her evil, drug-addicted Head of Hospital. One of the many great things about this book are the little footnote bits at the bottom of each page that describe all the odd little creatures and technologies that are in the Pure Trance world.
The other thing Mizuno does is to take Western fairy tales and turn them on their head in her own particular way. My favorite of these is Cinderalla , in which instead of royalty, Cinderalla's Prince Charming is a zombie. This isn't to say the others aren't also fantastic. Not only is Hansel and Gretel completely tubular on all levels, but it comes with stickers. Stickers, people. Also wonderful is Princess Mermaid . It's worth noting that Mizuno oversees the English translations of her books (in case you don't know, Japanese comics are read back-to-front, so English translations often just reverse the panels, compromising the artistic integrity of the Japanese versions). She reconfigures the panels recolors them especially for the prints. Her books are beautiful to look at.
I would be remiss in not guiding you to her wonderful site, http://www.mizuno-junko.com , since you can also find statues and merchandise. I usually hate merchandizing, but she has elevated it to an art form.
I should stress that I cannot recommend Junko Mizuno highly enough. American comic readers tend to be prejudiced against manga. I personally think that's ignorant-- manga had been around for a lot longer than English comic books, and it's always been regarded as literature, rather than as something for the kiddies. Also, there's just so much of it-- it's as big as the movie industry in Japan, whereas in America it's a risky business and you don't really make profits outside of Marvel and DC. You can hate manga but you will love Junko. Also, the manga world is healthily populated with female creators, even within the sphere of skebe porno comics. The American comic book world could really learn from its Japanese counterpart.
Tags: cinderalla, hansel and gretel, junko mizuno, manga rec, princess mermaid, pure trance