I simply cannot understand their licensing choices.
Tekkon Kinkreet/Black and White is fantastic, and the obvious first choice, I'll grant that.
But they nearly killed him over here with No. 5, the worst thing he's ever done.
The reprint of Tekkon Kinkreet does well, finally, so they start to look at bringing something else out by him, but rather than do Ping Pong or Hanaotoko they bring out Go Go Monster? WTF?
Don't get me wrong, 3/4 of Go Go Monster are fantastic.
But the fucking last quarter is largely complimentary black pages. He attempts to have things happen in the dark, and basically crosshatches over his drawings so much he fucking obscures them entirely. I sat their staring at the damn things, trying to see what the fucking drawings under them were, almost making out shapes but not quite ever managing to decipher anything. Wound up very frustrated, and given the shoddy printing standards over here, I imagine it'll be fucking inkblots. Does Viz not even fucking read shit before they pick it up?
Sunday, February 8, 2009
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I can only expect that GoGo Monster will be released in the same way that Tekkon Kinkreet was, sans being flopped, so I'm not worried about the print quality.
ReplyDeleteToo happy to care that Ping Pong and Hanaotoko were not licensed. I'd love to see them, but if GoGo Monster actually goes over well, we'll see one of those two next next. (As I've not read it though, would the story be a tough sell? I mean, what the hell is it about?)
And when are you going to check out Inio Asano's material?
I don't actually remember anything beyond utter, utter fury at a story I'd really been enjoying descending into BLACK FUCKING PAGES for the entire ending. I find it hard to believe word of mouth will actually be good.
ReplyDeleteI should check out Asano, but Kinokunia doesn't actually stock it, and I haven't read any manga in months anyway.
Chances are you're going to be regret not reading his books earlier like you have for Yoshiura's films.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to GoGo with great anticipation, regardless. I don't think I'm in a position to complain about a new Taiyo Matsumoto title getting licensed anyways! :D
ReplyDeleteIf GoGo sells well, I'd love to see Hanaotoko get picked up next, its certainly his most accessible story...
Yeah, I'm puzzled by this choice, too. I thought Viz learned its lesson with No. 5. I haven't read Gogo Monster myself (the French publisher charged like 40 Euros for it, and no way I'm paying that much plus shipping), so I'm personally looking forward to the release, but it's not reassuring that both you and Stephen Paul didn't understand it very well.
ReplyDeleteI maintain Ping Pong is far more accessible than Hanaotoko, and by far his finest achievement.
ReplyDeleteHanaotoko is damn good, though.