All your hearts’ desires!

Truth be told, I was never much taken by The Godfather of Manga, Osamu Tezuka. His arguably most famous creation – Astroboy - might have been a breakthrough in his time, but for me, its extremely dated. I can’t identify with the enthusiastic do-gooder. Its like Captain Planet, you simply can’t stomach it. Cynical times, sad but true.

Ode to Kirihito, however, is a departure from what I consider his usual goody-two-shoes oeuvre of works. Reviews will talk about the bleak themes and subplots. It indeed is much darker than his usual but nothing to rave about in this age and time. The main plot is simple enough- Doctor searches for cure to disease that causes man to take the form of dogs. Doctor get infected himself, adding further urgency to find cure.

What I want to rave about, as this article raved about as well, is the maverick illustrations that catches you by surprise.  Do click on this link and scroll down for samples of some of my favourite scenes in the book- http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/6608/

That said, there is nothing particularly genre-transcending. It is just a delightful read to curl up with on a lazy weekend, full of little surprises here and there.

900 pages. As good as brand new. Not a speck of yellow spot.

** SOLD ON 8th JULY 08 ! THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST !! **

Seriously. This is a collectors’ item, available at an inconceivably low price. $20 won’t buy you this. I am unwilling to sell to anyone lacking the proper respect that should be accorded to this book.

This is not just another comic book. This is not your typical Japanese manga (i love manga, for that matter). This is not your over-the-top Frank Miller graphic novel This is the Godfather of all graphic novels. This is the novel you bow before, cross yourself, kiss the ground before you turn the first page.

 This is the illustrated novel, crystalised in its purest literary form.   

Reading this would dispel any pre-conceived notions of the illustrated novel being an inferior frivolous medium. This book ranks above 80% of all the trash published these days.

“Set during the Great Depression, this literary trilogy, assembled in one volume for the first time, presents a treasure house of now near-mythic stories that fictionally illustrate the bittersweet tenement life of Eisner’s youth.

With nearly two dozen new illustrations and a revealing new foreword, this book ultimately tells the epic story of life, death, and resurrection while exploring man’s fractious relationship with an all-too-vengeful God. This mesmerizing, fictional chronicle of the universal American immigrant experience is Eisner’s most poignant and enduring legacy.”

If you are unfamilar with Eisner, take your time to browse through this site: http://www.willeisner.com/books/contract_trilogy.html Click every link and read with raptured breath the short descriptions of his many works. 

Sidenote – Our Bras Brasah National Library  has a wonderful array of Eisner works, from the many volumes of The Spirit, to other gems like The Dreamer, Life in the Big City, Family Matters, Invisible People, Last Day in Vietnam, etc. 

I devoured them all.

** SOLD ON 8th JULY 08 ! THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST !! **

Chanced upon this in a comics shop while tottering near Camden Market in London.  The dense and rich illustration drew my attention immediately and I was hooked. At the same shop, I purchased Will Esiner’s Contract With God Trilogy and Osamu Tezuka’s (better known as the creator of Astro-boy) Ode to Kirihito. Although ridiculously expensive after the pounds to sing $ conversion (close to $300), i considered these books as my best buys in years.

For general interest, heres a link to the Craig Thompson’s blog where you can see his past works/random drawings: http://blog.dootdootgarden.com/

An excellent review of this 600 page coming-of-age illustrated novel by Times magazines – http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,464146,00.html

As with all the books put up on this blog, this is in mint condition. Im a slob in many aspects but my books are mostly in impeccable condition. Any fresher, you would have to write them yourself!