[not quite two days--a skosh more than that, at least as transferred to my tabulas. If you were reading these live, "as originally written for and posted on ComicSnob.com", as I keep telling you folks, then this review is already a week and more old by this point, and did in fact post two days after the previous review.]

Someday's Dreamers: Spellbound, Vol. 1

Published by: Tokyopop
Writer: Norie Yamada
Artist: Kumichi Yoshizuki

192 (182) pages.
Original Language: Japanese
Orientation: Right to left
Vintage: 2004. US edition December 2006.
Translation: Jeremiah Borque
English Adaptation: Hope Donovan
Retouch & Lettering: Bowen Park
Cover Design: Jose Macasocol, Jr.
Editor: Paul Morrissey
Publisher's Rating: Teen, ages 13+

Rating: 3 out of 5

##

Premise: The normal stresses of typical high school student life are only compounded when the potential career paths include studying magic...

Synopsis:

Nami Matsuo is a high school senior who has coasted through a lot of school so far; she never joined any clubs, she gets by with just a small cadre of close friends, and boyfriends are only on the very edges of her radar.

Her senior year brings a lot of changes though. She's elected class president. The class jock (a triathlete, of all things) expresses interest in her, as does one of the more studious types: the president of the photography club. (Not to mention one of her friends...)

Nami is mostly oblivious to all that, but there is one new factor she can't ignore: Ryutaro Tominaga literally tears into town on his motorcycle, almost crashing into Nami in the process. He misses her, but hits a tree.

Nami is an earnest but ineffectual magic user, and in her attempts to fix his bike after the accident, she only makes things worse.

And this is the beginning of a whole chain of events, that ends with the usual realizations and confessions... well, if you really have to know, I guess you'll be reading the book.

##

Review:

Another story set in the background of Someday's Dreamers (and hence, the title), here the writer decides to back off a bit from directly addressing magic in the modern age, to see how some of the same issues will tangentially affect a more typical love story.

Mostly, this weakens a lot of the punch of the first miniseries, in that now we just have plain characters and typical high-school-teen interaction to carry the plot, without a gee-whiz gimic like magic-for-hire. On the other hand, the characters are genuine, and while seemingly generic, their interactions and feelings will find resonance with our everyday lives because they are in fact that much closer to the reader's everyday experience.

So it's one more iteration with the same old stock cast, a story of high school loves and crushes. Ugh. I'd almost give this a single point, out of five. (you know there's a but coming...)But the writing and art manage to convey the emotions well, and while the art isn't as drop dead gorgeous as in the two Someday's Dreamers volumes, it is still very good.

The longer page count, combined with a slower pace of storytelling, could also be taken as good points. In some ways the flaws of this first volume can be read as necessary for the build-up, with the need to introduce a whole new cast, set up relationships, and get the ball rolling. Taken on it's own, I'd give it a two out of five, but I'm willing to bump that a point for the payoff of the last page, and the potential of future volumes.

There is also my half-assed xmas column and the review of a light holiday confection, which I won't bother to post in full because each is by now a week late, but if you were still in the christmas spirit you might check them out.

If my manga reviews, as posted here, were in any way tempting then you should know (not like I've been telling you for the past three weeks or anything) that the only reason I've been investing the requisite time and effort is because a friend of mine, Bob, has an incipient comic review site on his hands. It's a bit unfair to call it a "new" site, considering we have two months of archives and at least 40 reviews already up for your consideration. Time scales on Le Grande Internets are relative, however, so I'll admit that you may in fact be seeing some (most) (all) of these reviews for the first time.

Do yourself a favor. Bookmark Comicsnob.com. We're comitting to daily updates, and even if you don't like comics yet-- we'll do our level best to convert you.

Today, the First of '07, we're taking the opportunity provided by Big-Round-Numbers to make this the official launch date. Do me a huge favor and at least click through. You never know, you may like what you see.

Best Web Site Name of the Week
for the week ending 7 January 2007

Moistworks

something about the name is slightly squicky, but it works because it is memorable, short, and, um, moist I guess.

(about the award -- past winners)

With the writing job (now paying somewhere in the range of negative 40 bucks a week; this is why 'artist' and 'starving' so often go hand in hand) I guess I haven't had the time or the itch to write nearly so much for this blog. Not that anyone would really have noticed. Long unexplained absences are dare I say a hallmark of my output on (p.a.) up to this point.

In some ways I have to make an adjustment, because there are only so many hours each week, and the folks at work really like their 40 and get kind of pissy if you try to skimp there, and I guess I have to sleep at least 35 hours on top of that. And there is the slacking that isn't going to get done unless I step up and do it. Not to mention the time I spend reading. (Of course, a lot of that recently has been manga, for obvious reasons.)

I'll be starting a new job soon (same company, same store, new title & responsibilites) and while that is still technically the same 40 hours each week, once I move past my current comfort level into something untried it is going to seem like more than that, and take more time to recover from.

(December was an interesting month. January threatens to be the same.)

Now that I've demonstrated a few of the manga reviews here on this site, I may just save full reposts for the best-of-three that I've done each week, on sundays or some such. I could also try to fragment my attention a bit and pick up with the Anime Conversations series where I left off. I think I've got a few topics scribbled down in my molskine or something, if I can find those again.

Is there anything I need to use the blog for? There have been a lot of things I've tried and abandoned, and it's been useful for me, a way to exercise my literary voice, to find my own pacing and tricks and a conversation style that seems to be serving me well as a (web-based, but) professional reviewer.

After 3 years and 600 posts, what is there left to say? I guess I'll think of something. After all, I just paid Roy for 2007 (he asks for so very little...)

##

"any other resolutions?"

Nope. I don't believe in Big Round Numbers. Just another Monday around here.

"Oh, so you're perfect?"

Nope. Plenty to improve around here. Something like the ultimate fixer-upper, as it were. But the broken down place just seems so... comfortable. I've become a sum of bad habits, and I'm partial to all of 'em. Wouldn't drop a one.

"What about that annoying habit spending all your money?"

Yeah, OK, I'll try saving a bit. New job, a raise, all of that; if I can keep expenses where they are then there should be a little extra left over anyway

"So resolved before committe..."

Don't think of anything new to spend money on.

"what about the manga?"

Cost of living. It goes on the budget sheet, prioritized somewhere after beer but before bar tabs.

"Wait a minute... shouldn't beer and bar tabs be a single item line?"

But they are two separate sensory experiences...

- a full lunch hour. (I don't even know what to do with a whole hour, though I guess checking email and posting here certainly qualify.)
- I don't clock in and out.
- I don't have to wait for someone to unlock the door.

Some store, New job title.

I have more responsibilities, but it's only the second day. I'm enjoying the power; I can worry about the rest later. Well, like tomorrow, but later.

Best Web Site Name of the Week
for the week ending 14 January 2007

Acephalous

Latin. (or Greek, is that Greek? I think it's Latin.) Maybe I'm just a geek, I like it. But then again, my login over here is "enchiridion", so yeah.


(about the award -- past winners)

[written for and originally posted on ComicSnob.com, back on 30 December 2006. You also missed Welcome to the NHK, Vol. 1, and Angelic Days Vol. 1 & Vol. 2. Haven't you bookmarked Comicsnob yet?]

Kat & Mouse, Vol 1.: Teacher Torture

Published by: Tokyopop
Story: Alex de Campi
Art: Federica Manfredi

96 (90) pages.
Original Language: English
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: July 2006
Tones: Kathy Schilling
Production Art & Lettering: Erika "Skooter" Terriquez
Cover Design: Anne Marie Horne
Editor: Carol Fox
Publisher's Rating: Ages 8-12

Rating: 4 out of 5

##

Premise: Kat finds herself in a new (private) school when her dad lands a gig at Dover Academy as the new science teacher. Fortunately for her, she links up with Mee-Seen (everyone calls her Mouse) who is one of the few cool people there. Between unexplained thefts, blackmail, and middle school social cliques, together they have their hands full.

Synopsis:

Kat Foster and her mom & dad are moving from Iowa to New Hampshire because Fergus Foster (dad) just landed the job as science teacher at a prestigious private school. One of the job benefits is tuition for Kat, which Mom is excited about, but for Kat it just means that she has to leave her friends and start 7th grade over again in a new school.

On top of the usual transition headaches, Kat also has to deal with the fact that Pops is a teacher (never a good social position to bargain from) and to make matters worse, some ne'er-do-well students are blackmailing her father, trying to get better grades.

Here's the meaty part of the plot: expensive equipment has been stolen from the science lab, and since Fergus can't recall if he locked the lab door (absent-minded professor character template) he could stand to lose his job over the matter. He also gets an odd note, telling him that if he doesn't pass everyone with at least a C grade, even worse may befall him.

Kat and her new friend Mouse take up the challenge, and with a little CSI-flavoured sleuthing, manage to save the day.

##

Review:

[special thanks to Johanna for bringing this title to my attention]

Kat & Mouse manages to pack more story, character development, and heart into 96 pages than a lot of other properties can manage over several volumes.

Part of that is our characters, and the setting. Middle school is a dynamic time in most of our lives, and presents dramatic and thematic possibilites that aren't soon matched outside of the English War of the Roses or Late Republican Rome. Oh, it's all just piddling shite, but in the lives of our characters, it really is that important.

Middle school is the day-to-day battleground of our characters, and also of the target audience. However, just because this is marketed to the 'tween-girl demographic, you should not skip this title. Both Mom & Dad are developed as characters, with their own problems and feelings, so even if you aren't a 12-year-old girl, there are other characters you'll identify with. But the main story --making life work after moving to a new schoo --is universal enough that just about anyone should be able to connect with it: Kat & Mouse is a sweet, light adventure that transcends its marketing goals and develops into a comic that everyone can enjoy.

And if you can't empathise with Kat, something in your soul is dead.

Stylistically, the comic seems a bit plain. The black & white art reads a lot like the old 4-colour comics of days gone by: heavy inks supplemented by only a few tones, without a whole lot of depth. Not that I'm knocking the art; it works. Artist Manfedi doesn't skimp on backgrounds or character details, either, so I'm thinking the clean, slightly simplified art was chosen as a matter of style, and to appeal to kids more familiar with TV cartoons than comic books. I am more impressed by subtleties of story than by subtleties of shading, anyway.

With these characters, this set-up and the concomitant story possibilities, de Campi and Manfredi could run this series for as long as they like. Nancy Drew ran for dozens of volumes; here's hoping the Kat & Mouse crew feel like going for at least a couple dozen themselves. You should give this one a try (or buy gifts for the daughters and nieces in your life) particularly considering that the MSRP is only $6

FYI, for my readers in Atlanta:

There is a really big pothole on Peachtree Street between Pharr and Wesley Roads, in the right most southbound lane.

I know, because I hit it on Wednesday, and not only did I have to buy a new tire, I ended up having to get a new wheel. I'm sure they've done some sort of stopgap (the ubiquitous steel plates) but that doesn't always help... so use due caution, unless you like spending $266 bucks. (of course, my Saturn has alloy wheels; nice to look at, harder to replace)

GO. NOW.

Hell, you can lie out your ass if you want to. I'm just asking you to fill out a brief questionaire. It could be that Firefly is the Bright Shiny Thing -- the right property at the right time -- that proves to multiple studios, networks, and producers, that good TV can come from all sorts of places -- and that it can make you gobs and gobs of money -- if you just give it a chance.

Browncoats Unite! We all want more Firefly. Your's may be the voice that tips the scales in our favour.

(link, gab, post, proliferate: make a difference; this is grass roots TV production folks, we've never seen the like, so even if it seems like overkill it may not be quite enough-- those TV execs tend to be rather dense...)

It's that time of year.

Find:
one whole chicken-- in parts is handy-- un-frozen, even more so.
onions, garlic.
I guess 4? bouillon cubes. I was using granules, and went with two heaping spoonfuls (as in, spoons I eat with. The smaller cereal spoons, not the larger serving spoons)
6 quarts of water, maybe more.
Pot for all of the above.
6 hours in which to cook. (or crock-pot it, your option)

Simmer for 6 hours. Fish out chicken parts (a slotted spoon or rice skimmer may be your friend here; you can run it through a strainer but hot liquid is a pain in the ass). Go back and look for more chicken parts, I bet you missed some small bones.

Set the meat aside to cool,
meanwhile...

Add 3 lbs. frozen veggies. I found packs at the mega mart actually labelled Vegetable Soup Mix. It has okra in it, but that's OK, I'll eat okra. It's a natural thickening agent, too (think gumbo). Bring back to a simmer, and give it a half hour.

At this point you can de-bone and chunk your chicken, and add it back to the pot. To this I also added two 1oz. packets of chicken gravy mix. So maybe it's more of a stew than a soup.

I plan to eat this strait-up, and also over egg noodles. It's not a chicken noodle soup per se, I guess you might even call it a pasta sauce in that application.

Bonus: the whole house smells like chicken soup. I feel my fever going down already.

The best damn thing I ever did for this site was to institute the BWSNotWA. It's brought more exposure to my poor dumb blog than anything else, and it's so damn simple, I should be embarassed...

And so, even if I'm running 2 (or 4) days late, I really do need to keep these up. Lots of new stuff to find on the internet, no end of candidates, just have to find them...

Best Web Site Name of the Week
for the week ending 21 January 2006

When Fangirls Attack!

Given my other work (I'm sure I linked to it a time or FIFTY already, so you should be able to find it) it should come as no surprise that at least a couple of sites I've "discovered" are comic related. This is a good one.

(about the award -- past winners)

Bob and I are having a little fun over on Comicsnob.

eventually, when we get another contributor or two who pass muster and are a good match for the established writing style over there (it is a bit like what you're reading now, except I'm not sure if the combination of two bloggers is having a moderating effect on my writing, or if we're getting a weird positive feedback response) (since I know Bob well, I'll insert a joke or um, 40 that only the two of us will get. If memory serves, the last one was an out-of-left-field Kung-Fu-TV reference in my review of School Rumble #3.)

point? [scanning...]
...eventually, when we get another contributor or two, we'll be posting two or three times a day. (it's almost like a real news site-- except we're not just linking to shit, we're writing it from scratch. Aw yeah, all original content, baby...)

My thought was, "Hell, why wait?" (Yes I was drunk)

So I bet Bob that the two of us could each write daily posts for 6 weeks. In this case the "stakes" and the "game" are the same: the only thing on the line is the site's content. All I have to do is post manga crap every day, and all Bob has to do is keep up-- If he wants to keep his site from sliding down a slow spiral into the depths of otaku fandom, he has to match me post for post.

Given my ability to write in an authoritative voice about barely anything-- or even nothing-- Bob may have his work cut out for him.

The bet fits into another thing, gag, whatever that we're doing over on the site. Even though we both like both American and Japanese comics, I'm the "manga" guy and he's the "comic" guy and we're having a friendly discussion via our respective columns about which is better. Part of it is artiface (Baldly stated strong opinions drive traffic more than anything else. ...ask a political blogger, they'll tell you.) but it also reflects our current preferences, and heck, it gives us something to write about.

(if you think it's just a cop out... you go write a thousand word column each week and get back to me, K?)

SO if I happen to throw a taunt or six in Bob's general direction over the next month and a half, it's all in good fun. The end result of the bet is more content for Comicsnob, even if one of us happens to stumble. Which is a good thing.

...But it's on, Bizob. When March 1st rolls around I'm going to be looking back on six columns and at least 42 reviews and I'll be sayin' "So what'd you write, suckapunk?"

Best Web Site Name of the Week
for the week ending 28 January 2007

Bento Physics

For those of you who don't know, bento is the japanese word for lunchbox, though by extension it is also used to refer to the meal inside the lunchbox.

For those of you who don't know, physics is a collection of theories and mathematical equations used to describe the basic forces and physical interactions that consitute the entire universe. So you should really have paid more attention in your high school science classes.

Put the two together and you get sarcasm, insight, a wealth of minutia on manga and anime, and a healthy dose of laughing self deprication and righteous deflation of the occasionally delusional American Otaku Nation.

(I almost didn't link them, because heck, I could have mined their site for weeks for material for Comicsnob.com before anyone caught on...)

(about the award -- past winners)

Best Web Site Name of the Week
for the week ending 4 February 2007

Dogs on Acid

It's a music forum site (drum & bass) as opposed to what first occured to me, a site with hilarious (but wrong) video clips of household pets on illicit substances. Though if one were to search YouTube... but that would still be wrong.

(about the award -- past winners)