Welcome to the latest edition of the Multiversity Manga Club! We at Multiversity Comics are huge fans of all kinds of comics, but our coverage admittedly skews toward American and European books. Nevertheless, manga, or Japanese comics, has a huge presence in the world of graphic story-telling, as anyone who has frequented a book store chain over the last decade can attest. I myself have only dabbled in the medium throughout the years, primarily through my love of “Dragon Ball Z.” With the hope of presenting a more concerted effort to highlight the fascinating world of manga, I’ll be selecting a specific work each month and inviting readers to join me in reading and examining the book.
I’m excited to announce that this month’s Multiversity Manga Club entry is none other than “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure”! I’ve wanted to dive into this long running manga series for some time due to its clout among Multiversity staffers and its rich history in the manga industry. Created by Hirohiko Araki in 1986 in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump, “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure” chronicles the Joestar family in a tale spanning over 100 years and 115+ volumes. Sounds pretty daunting, right? Well never fear, Multiversity Manga Club is never less than accessible.
While it seems most American fans are more familiar with the series’ third arc, ‘Stardust Crusaders,’ this month’s reading will consist of the ‘Phantom Blood’ arc. I think this is the better place to start for the purposes of our manga club due to its relative brevity and the obvious fact that it’s beginning of the series. Originally consisting of the first 5 tankoban volumes, Viz has recently collected the series in three convenient (and particularly good looking) hardcover volumes. At the time of writing I’ve already read the first volume and can say that “Jojo” certainly lives up to its bizarre title. I’m excited to learn more about this shonen manga staple and am equally excited to hear your thoughts as well! Go grab your copies through your vendor of choice (I got mine at the local public library, yay libraries!) and meet me back here at the end of the month with your thoughts and comments!
