Welcome back, manga fans! As always, I left on the cutting room floor was more manga than I wanted to do so quick shout out to runners-up “Kaiju No. 8” Vol. 3, because of it’s sleek cover and the series being excellent shonen battle manga, and the hardcover collection of the original three “Ghost in the Shell” volumes because it’s a classic. OK. So what did make the list? Well…a whole lot of horror/horror-adjacent titles.
I know. I know. It’s neither October now nor am I doing the October solicits but somehow this ended up being the horror manga spooktacular. I don’t make the rules. I just pick the titles I think stand out and these titles did just that…OK. I do make the rules too. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. They’re probably going to be delayed into October anyway.
10. Gotta Go Fast
Yusei Matsui’s back baybee! “Assassination Classroom” is one of my favorite Shonen Jump titles of the 2010s and I’ve been waiting for a long while to see what Matsui was cooking up next. The series’ early chapters definitely have trouble finding their footing but Matsui’s art and characters are wacky and kinetic enough that I can forgive the plot’s meandering and you should too.
And come on. The main character’s powers are running away real good! That’s ripe for comedic potential in an era obsessed with, in popular imagining, honor and refusing to avoid a fight.
The Elusive Samurai, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Yusei Matsui
Published by Viz LLC
In medieval Japan, eight-year-old Hojo Tokiyuki is the heir to the Kamakura shogunate. But the Hojo clan is in decline, and Tokiyuki’s peaceful days of playing hide-and-seek with his teachers come to an abrupt end when his clan is betrayed from within. Now the lone survivor of his family and a fugitive, Tokiyuki is the rightful heir to the throne, but to take it back, he’ll have to do what he does best-run away!
9. Putting the Com in Rom-Com
Confession time. I still haven’t read the series since I highlighted it nearly a year ago. My library has volumes 2 & 3 but not 1??? Ridiculous. However, it remains a series with high recs from sources I trust. Who doesn’t love a delinquent lesbian high-school comedy?
School Zone Girls, Vol. 4
Written and Illustrated by Ningiyau
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
Rei and Kei have been friends for years, and they’ve mastered the art of making trouble when life’s a bore. High school might be a drag, but these girls know just how to inject a little chaos and comedy into their sloppy school life-all while inching closer to admitting just how deep their feelings for each other go!
8. Multiversity Soliciting Title
I am genuinely unsure as to what this manga is about. The title makes it seem like a satire of rom-coms. The blurb makes it out to both a sci-fi drama and a future slice-of-life. Finally the cover makes me think this is an 80s office manga that’s finally made its way to US shores! I dunno what to make of it but I am entranced. Let’s see if this is an OK entry or one that will surprise and join the ranks of “Saturn Apartments” for obscure favorites on my shelf.
Kowloon Generic Romance, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Jun Mayuzuki
Published by Yen Press
Welcome to Kowloon Walled City-a dystopian townscape full of people brimming with nostalgia and a place where the past, present, and future converge. This vividly drawn tale tells the story of the secret feelings and extraordinary daily lives of the working men and women living in the city.
7. Can’t Beat the Classics
It doesn’t get much more classic than this. “Rose of Versailles” is a foundational manga that’s been hard, if not impossible, to track down in the states in its entirety for years. Udon Entertainment bringing it over feels like nothing short of a miracle. Volume 4 contains the final chapters originally published in 1974/75, though not the final ones drawn then. It’s complicated.
Continued belowEdit: Apparently, this volume originally released in April 2021 and this is a new printing. I’m leaving it in because when else will I get the chance to spotlight this seminal text and also because Previews did NOTHING to indicate it unlike the previous three volumes. Ugh.
Rose Of Versailles, Vol. 4
Written and Illustrated by Riyoko Ikeda
Published by Udon Entertainment
France spirals towards a civil war, as nobles continue to ignore the people of France. Noblewoman Oscar François de Jarjayes is forced to reconsider her life as a soldier and a woman, her loyalties and her love. Marie Antionette and the royal family seek escape, while Robespierre and the National Assembly take up arms and demand democracy. This deluxe hardcover volume contains chapters 67-82 of Riyoko Ikeda’s historical fiction masterwork, plus the side story “The Countess in Black”.
6. Twice the Size and Twice the Scares
I reviewed “PTSD Radio” years ago back when it was releasing digitally so to say I’m hyped it’s getting a print release would be an understatement. This series is so out there I never thought it’d be getting a release. Kodansha seems to have had success re-releasing digital volumes as two-in-one editions, though. I’m just glad more people will be able to read this experimental, strange, and genuinely chilling work.
PTSD Radio, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Masaaki Nakayama
Published by Kodansha Comics
An unseen hand tugs at your braid. You find an old box with only a tangled mess of dark hair inside. You open a door in your home only to witness a river of curls slinking away, an ominous lump at its heart. Ogushi preys on the unprepared. Before it’s too late, tune into PTSD Radio. These episodes and more await in this acclaimed horror series, coming to print after a successful digital run in double-length omnibus editions featuring sickeningly-textured covers. From the gleefully-twisted mind that created Fuan no Tane, PTSD Radio is a necessity for fans of the masters of manga scares such as Junji Ito, Kazuo Umezz, Shintaro Kago, and Suehiro Maruo.
5. New Junji Ito
Need I say more?
The Liminal Zone
Written and Illustrated by Junji Ito
Published by Viz LLC
“What destiny awaits them after the screaming?After abruptly departing from a train in a small town, a couple encounters a “weeping woman”-a professional mourner-sobbing inconsolably at a funeral. Mako changes afterward-she can’t stop crying! In another tale, having decided to die together, a couple enters Aokigahara, the infamous suicide forest. What is the shocking torrent they discover there?
One of horror’s greatest talents, Junji Ito beckons readers to join him in an experience of ultimate terror with four new stories.”
4. Your Yearly Vinland Saga Plug
I sung the praises of “Vinland Saga” last year so go read that one if you want to be sold on Yukimura’s brutal anti-war viking saga. This is just a reminder that we’ve got a new volume out and you should all give it a read.
Also, fair warning, the next comic’s cover is terrifying.
Vinland Saga, Vol. 13
Written and Illustrated by Makoto Yukimura
Published by Kodansha Comics
One of the greatest European historical epic comics ever written continues. Thanks to his claim by lineage, the attackers surrounding Jomsborg want Thorfinn to be their leader, but it is a mantle he intensely rejects. When the battle for leadership over the powerful Jomsvikings reaches a stalemate, Thorfinn must make a critical decision. With Gudrid held captive within the fortressed city, walking away will not be an option. He must infiltrate Jomsborg to break her out, and the ensuing battle will leave the greatest mercenary force in the North Sea changed forever.
3. See? I warned you.
This shit had me with the cover and I am both psyched to read it and absolutely dreading having it on my nightstand. Classic horror that is said in the same breath as Ito & Umezu? Easy sell. I’m keeping this short so I don’t have to look at the cover anymore. *Shudders*
Continued belowBe Afraid of Inuki Kanako
Written and Illustrated by Inuki Kanako
Published by Kodansha Comics
From the mind of Japan’s “queen of horror manga” comes a short story collection sure to put a grin on your face and send a chill down your spine. For more than 30 years, Inuki Kananko has been terrorizing girls and boys with twisted catch-22s and ghoulish monsters. Discover one of the best-kept secrets of global horror with this selection of some of Inuki’s most popular short comics. The six hair-raising stories feature an array of unnerving characters and scenarios brought to life in Inuki’s signature art style, in the tradition of Junji Ito, Kazuo Umezu, Shintaro Kago, and Junko Mizuno.
2. More Deluxe Classics? It Must Be Christmas in July
I’m kinda amazed “Parasyte” is getting a new release. It feels like yesterday that Kodansha rescued it from the Del Ray quicksand thanks to the wildly successful Madhouse anime adaptation. But that was nearly a decade ago – 2014 – and the time is ripe for a whole new set of fans to be exposed to this modern classic…in full color?
I thought they stopped coloring manga after “Dragon Ball” finished its run and Epic went the way of the dodo before finishing collecting their colored issues of “Akira.” I’m curious how this will look. We’ll see! The cover looks super classy though.
Parasyte Full Color Collection Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki
Published by Kodansha Comics
The sci-fi horror manga classic returns, in a fully-colorized, premium-quality hardcover for the first time! They arrive in silence, out of dark skies. They infest human hosts and consume them. And they are everywhere. They are Parasites: alien creatures who must invade and take control of human hosts to survive. Once they have infected their victims, they can twist the host’s body into any abominable shape they choose: craniums splitting to reveal mouths of sharp teeth, batlike wings erupting from backs, blades tearing through soft hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purposes behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret, except an ordinary high school student. Shin managed to arrest the infestation of his body by an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?
1. Cozy Spooky
Sometimes you just need a little mix of quiet, cute horror to balance out the in-your-face horrors from the rest of this article. “Box of Light” fits the bill with a beautifully haunting cover that doesn’t feel sinister and a description that has the right balance of whimsy and dread. Think we’ll see Mothman stocking the shelves with half-priced bento boxes?
Box of Light, Vol. 1
Written and Illustrated by Seiko Erisawa
Published by Seven Seas Entertainment
The spooky tale of a haunted convenience store. A quiet convenience store hovers on the boundary between life and death. Its faint glow in the darkness draws people toward it, pushing them closer to the final purchase they’ll ever make… and is that a monster in the magazine aisle?! Prepare for spooky creatures, cryptic employees, and an air of delightful dread in this supernatural mystery. This beloved self-contained tale was awarded a top spot in both the Kono Manga wo Yome! and Kono Manga ga Sugoi! rankings in Japan.
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Anything I missed? What are YOU looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!
