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Graphic Novel Review: Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Cover art for Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Viz Media, 2023

ISBN: 9781974736041

Available: Kindle, hardcover

Buy: Bookshop.orgAmazon.com

 

Junji Ito’s Tombs presents a collection of nine original horror manga tales. In the titular story, Kaoru and her brother Tsuyoshi take a trip to visit their mutual friend, Izumi, in her new town. One the way, Tsuyoshi hits a young woman with his car. The siblings load her into the vehicle, only to find out she is dead and they transfer the body to the trunk. When they make it to town, they are perplexed by the random countless tombstones in the middle of the road. A few townspeople explain that they appear where people have died. Izumi corroborates these claims, even showing them tombstones that are inside her family home. The dead are not to be touched.

 

“Clubhouse” is an intriguing haunted house story. Friends Yukari, Chikako, and Minae enter an abandoned building. Minae decides to explore the second floor, while the other two wander the first. Soon after they leave, the friendship between Chikako and Minae deteriorates. Yukari, upset by her friends not speaking anymore, pleads with Chikako to make up with Minae. Chikako, however, has a new group of friends who frequent the haunted house they explored.

 

The “Slug Girl,” poor Yuko, hates these little creatures. She used to be so talkative, but she falls silent when her tongue transforms into, well, a giant slug. She’s tried cutting it off, but it grows back. Can her family and friends help her?

 

In “The Window Next Door,” Hiroshi and his parents move into a new house, where the closest neighbor only has one window on the second floor. Unlucky for him, it’s right across from his bedroom window. In the middle of the night, Hiroshi hears the woman next door calling to him. He is met with a terrifying sight when he looks out his window. She repeats her call to him night after night.

 

“Washed Ashore” is the story of the corpse of a strange, massive sea creature found on a beach. It is mysteriously luring people to it. The scientists studying the monster notice clear patches along the body. A commonality between all of those who are drawn to it is that they are missing loved ones. When bystanders get closer to the body and look closely into the clear patches, they find the unexpected.

 

In “The Strange Tale of the Tunnel,” a town is plagued by disappearances tied to a train tunnel. Goro, whose mother committed suicide in the tunnel when he was young, finds his sister wandering there when she is not watched. A group of scientists starts to study strange occurrences associated with the disappearances, such as strange sounds, unexplained wind, and blood dripping from the stones.

 

“Bronze Statue” is a cautionary tale. Mrs. Sonobe is a jealous woman obsessed with the beauty she has lost. Tsuchiya, a master of working in bronze, made the statues of Mr. and Mrs. Sonobe installed at the local park. Through her statue, she eavesdrops on conversations of the mothers who bring their children to the park, and she doesn’t like what she hears. She unexpectedly invites them for a social to unveil another statue. When their hostess leaves the room, they begin to discuss their honest feelings about the situation. Mrs. Sonobe, of course, doesn’t like this. How far she is willing to go to preserve her beauty in statues knows no bounds, and the women, as well as her bronzeworking miracle man and herself, will find out the lengths she will go before she exhausts her options.

 

In “Floaters,” Ryoichi finds his friend Masao, who has been out of school for a few days, with a bug net at the side of the road. He tells mutual friend, Kyoko, about it, when they see a hairy mass on a tree branch. It shifts in Ryoichi’s hand and starts proclaiming it’s love for Masao…in Masao’s voice. Soon, everyone in town is seeing these things floating around, some stating other townspeople’s secrets and innermost thoughts. The floaters from celebrities become the most coveted to catch and keep

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The last story in this collection is “The Bloody Story of Shirosuna”. Dr. Furuhata moves to a small village where the townsfolk are all weak and emaciated. Perplexed at what could possibly be afflicting everyone in town, he starts an investigation that reveals a disturbing secret.

 

This is a strong addition to the Junji Ito Story Collection series that Viz Media has been releasing. The body horror in all of the stories is up to par with the best of Ito’s work, such as Uzumaki and Gyo. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Graphic Novel Review: Cereal: Sweet Darkness (Cereal #1) by Mark Russell, illustrated by Peter Snejbjerg, Angelica Ingio, Ole Comoll, and Rob Steen

 

Cereal: Sweet Darkness (Cereal #1) by Mark Russell, art by Peter Snejbjerg, Angelica Ingio, Ole Comoll, and Rob Steen

Ahoy Comics, 2023

ISBN-13: 9781952090271

Available: Paperback

Buy: Bookshop.orgAmazon.com

 

The Marquis de Cocoa, a newly turned vampire, insists on continuing a tradition for the villagers in his township in order to conceal his condition. He faces sunrise, as long as he can bear it, to host his popular breakfast parties. If he does not, he fears the people he has come to know and love over the decades will turn on him and punish him for the deaths that have occurred recently. With his faithful wife by his side, this morning’s breakfast festivities begin with a few rather recognizable characters. We have the Barrie family with sons, Franken and Beau, in tow, the latter being quite fond of blueberries. There is a rather dapper looking captain with a handlebar moustache and wearing a perfectly coifed powdered wig. When the Marquis’ rival, the Duc L’Orang, arrives the marquis attempts to outlast his guest lest he discover his secret affliction. Lady Cocoa pardons herself to weep in the hall, and the duke is quick to join her, attempting to strike a deal with her to rid her of her sadness, and help the marquis with his problem. What the smarmy duke doesn’t realize is how loyal she is to her husband until she meets L’Orang at the awaiting carriage and devours him after she has been turned herself. This is only the first chapter of the book.

 

Further chapters give us the tragic origin of Franken Barrie; the story of the Leprechaun King’s much desired crown, adorned with emblems representing the four wisdoms; the vengeful ghost who executes the wearer if they do not respect the wisdoms; and more. Political intrigue runs throughout, as well as depictions of numerous cereal mascots, including Snap, Crackle, and Pop, The Brute, Toucan Sam, and so many others. Seeing the Honey Smacks cereal mascot as a gravedigger was great.

 

Cereal collects chapters that were originally published in the Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror anthology and includes three new tales. While clearly satire, Cereal: Sweet Darkness spins suspenseful tales with deeply tragic and interesting characters. I find myself wanting more of these stories. Writer Mark Russell authored the satirical Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, which reimagined the Hanna-Barbera cartoon character as a gay playwright during the era of McCarthyism. It was well done, so trust that Russell presents a great story here as well.

 

Highly recommended

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Graphic Novel Review: The Glass Scientists, Volume 1 by S.H. Cotugno

Cover art for The Glass Scientists, Volume 1

The Glass Scientists, Volume 1 by S. H. Cotugno

Razorbill, 2023

ISBN-13: 978593524442

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle

Buy: Bookshop.orgAmazon.com

 

The Glass Scientists is a webcomic created by S. H. Cotugno. Set in 19th Century London, Dr. Henry Jekyll founds The Society for Arcane Sciences, a place where mad scientists prove they are more than just that. They can thrive in an accepting environment where they can conduct their experiments without fear of interruption, defy laws of nature while in a safe area, and make friends while doing it. London isn’t the ideal environment for these eccentrics, with officers of the law and other officials concerned about their practices after the Frankenstein incident. With mobs taking it into their own hands, or pitchforks and torches, to hunt down what they don’t understand, Dr. Jekyll has his work cut out for him in trying to improve public opinion, as well as keeping up the morale of the scientists within the walls of the Society. There is also the new play debuting right across the street, allegedly based on the “very real” story of Dr. Frankenstein and his Creature, just as Dr. Jekyll is about to show everyone the value of the Society within London.

 

So many things are against the good doctor. His own alter ego, Edward Hyde, is hellbent on running amok, and nearly causes the complete dissolution of the Society for Arcane Sciences. The Creature arrives, carrying the very doctor who created him, Dr. Frankenstein: both prove to be quite different from the little play going on across the street. Things spiral further out of Dr. Jekyll’s control, and his once loyal friends and colleagues begin to turn against him. Their search for the mysterious and dangerous Mr. Hyde is yielding no results: Dr. Jekyll, having shut him into the deepest corners of his mind, thinks them both safe. He is terribly wrong.

 

I enjoyed this interpretation of the Jekyll and Hyde tale. Rather than being fully separate from each other, each knew the other was present. They could hold conversations together and understand each other’s thoughts and motivations. The transitions between Jekyll and Hyde’s dialogue were easy to follow, as the text was white against a black field when Hyde was communicating in the doctor’s head. Dr. Jekyll could also allow Hyde to take over for a time, with Jekyll’s tall brunette gentlemanly figure turned into the green-eyed, blond-haired, unkempt Hyde. You know mischief will ensue with Hyde around. The Society’s lodgers are a great addition to the story. Newly discovered werewolf Jasper Kaylock, manager and cook of the Society Rachel Pidgley, and Dr. Frankenstein are fantastic characters. A few examples of the Society’s scientists are Miss Lavendar, a Junior Extremofaunic Zoologist; Dr. Ranjit Helsby, Exploratory Bathynaut; and Dr. Maijabi, Ectoplasmic Pathologist. I loved all of them, but I won’t list them all here.

 

The artwork in The Glass Scientists is crisp and the colours are wonderful. Volume One collects Chapters 1-7 of the webcomic and includes a short story, “The Creature and the Coffeehouse”,  as well as“The Vault,” which includes a brief history of Cotugno’s creative process, and additional materials. The story contains LGBTQ+ themes and characters, making this an inclusive title. The creator recommends the comic for ages 13 and up. The creator of one of my favourite shows, The Owl House, wrote a blurb for the first volume, which gave me a hint that I would enjoy it. Highly recommended.

 

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker