Venus In The Blind by Junji Ito

 “It’s because that creepy woman just licked me.”

The horror genre must be a tricky one for the comics medium. Compared to a movie, comics can’t do sudden shocks, or build tension as easily with those suffocating silences, or discordant music, and novels are probably the more effective medium at trapping you in the perspective of the protagonist. What you do get with comics is disturbing imagery; sequential art moves the story forward but also allows that single chilling image to register in the readers’ brain as long as you wish to linger on it – even if you’d rather not.

Junji Ito is known to his fans for producing disturbing Manga series such as Uzumaki and Tomie and Gyo. Venus In The Blind Spot (Viz) collects ten of his short stories showcasing his eye for a really disturbing image and nose for story ideas that range from the faintly chilling to genuinely haunting. A detailed, realistic artwork style means that exaggerated expressions can be even more unsettling – eyes that are too wide, a grimace that is too toothy – but also means that the physical afflictions on the characters can be ‘appreciated’.

This is really nicely edition too; a slightly smaller-sized hardcover with a striking dust jacket, predominantly in black white but also with a few coloured pages. Aside from one autobiographical story about Ito’s love of horror Manga from childhood (although, even that has a playful style that feels creepy), this book is an excellent example of horror ‘what if…?’ stories and a masterclass at how they can be achieved in the comics medium.

The Girl From The Other Side volume 7

There's always that dilemma with reading a graphic novel, particularly if it's one that has less text; often they can be devoured in one long sitting, but does that dilute the experience? Should you savour that first reading by restricting your reading time with them? In the case of The Girl From The Other Side (Seven Seas Entertainment), the artwork demands closer inspection, whether you whizz through the story and return afterwards, or you take your time with each page.

A mixture of blocks of black, but also fine delicate line-work, there's something both timeless and ancient about artist Nagabe’s work – like Victorian photographs of a medieval fairy tale. The Outsiders in the story are cursed with the appearance of blackness that has twisted their shape to varying degrees so that they resemble skeletal goats, or deer as if they were slowly transforming into barren winter trees. The affect is not quite scary, but certainly unsettling.

There is a dream-like quality to both story and art. In this most recent volume, Shiva, the sought-after little girl who is in the care of an Outsider known as Teacher, runs from pursuers in a nightshirt looking like Winsor McCay’s Little Nemo. In the way that dreams veer between the enchanting and disturbing, crows watch events and speak to each other like the chorus in a play, but they have also sharpened their beaks to resemble teeth.

As is sometimes the case with translated work, the dialogue can be a little stilted (in one panel a soldier cries mid-battle; “The monster is unmistakably trying to kill me!”), but on the whole it adds to feeling of other-worldliness that lingers long after reading and invites a return to its pages. 

Manga artists at work

Urasawa Naoki no Manben Manga Documentary S1E2... by HabaneroScans

Urasawa Naoki no Manben Manga Documentary.

I cannot believe its taken me this long to discover these. Naoki Urasawa, the amazing artist behind 20th Century Boys, Monster and Pluto, interviewing Manga artists on how they create their work.
I loved all these episodes but fond of S1E2 2015 - featuring the frenetic art style of Fujita Kazuhiro, who did Ushio & Tora. I used to collect that, it's nice to see how it was created, and always great to be able to watch artists at work.

Other episodes with english subs

http://dai.ly/x3b9jon - S0E0 - Kawaguchi Kaiji & Yamashita Kazumi - This is the intro episode, which explains how an old documentary on Osamu Tezuka inspired this series. We also get to see Urasawa working on pages of Billy Bat. Good place to start if your planning to watch them all.

http://dai.ly/x3m4fvy - S1E1 2015 - Higashimura Akiko (Princess Jellyfish manga out now)

http://dai.ly/x3y7htn - S1E2 2015 - Fujita Kazuhiro (Ushio & Tora - see above)

http://dai.ly/x3b4f2x - S1E3 2015 - Asano Inio (Solanin, What a Wonderful World!, Nijigahara Holograph, A Girl On The Shore and Goodnight PunPun out now)

http://dai.ly/x3vp770 - S1E4 2015 - Saito Takao (Golgo 13... which has been running since October 1968.)

http://dai.ly/x3zj9h9 - S2E1 2016 - Hagio Moto - (They Were Eleven, The Heart of Thomas - reprinted by Fantagraphics)

http://dai.ly/x40ksp0 - S2E3 2016 - Igarashi Daisuke - (Children of the Sea printed by Viz Manga)


If your interested in Comic art, Manga or just like to see artists at work, these are definitely worth your time. Check them out while they are still online. And lets hope for more of them in the near future.