Let's Make Ramen! A Comic Book Cookbook

I got Let's Make Ramen! for Christmas, and this beautifully drawn book is gorgeous and chock full of umami goodness. The first quarter is a historical introduction to this delicious combination of broth, noodles, and various ingredients. It goes over how ramen originated and how it grew in popularity post-World War II as the focus of top chefs and a restaurant boom. Not to mention also becoming an inexpensive grocery item and dorm room staple. 

The rest of the book is a buffet of many things: insights from accomplished chefs, descriptions of the different sorts of noodles, and a cavalcade of recipes. Reading this book teaches about how to make various broths, noodles, meats, accompaniments, sauces, and vegetables, and also about multiple ways these things can be combined to make specific dishes. I learned so much from reading this book, and I can't wait to try out some of the things I've learned in my kitchen.

Sometimes the images are more whimsical, which livens things up.

Let's Make Ramen! is a collaboration between writer Hugh Amano and artist Sarah Becan. Amano is also a chef and he has written or co-written a number of cookbooks, including Let's Make Dumplings!, which was also drawn by Becan. She has also drawn Let's Make Bread! and soon will publish Let's Make Cocktails!, which she also wrote. Amano and Becan both speak about food and their work on this book in this interview.

I have not been able to locate many reviews online, but the ones I read have been positive. A Library Girl wrote, "The food illustrations and graphic novel portions are gorgeous, with rich colors and thick linework. The various bowls of ramen and other recipe illustrations made my mouth water the same way some delicious-looking Studio Ghibli meal might." In a starred review Publishers Weekly concluded, "This delectable fusion of two increasingly popular genres—ramen and comics—will thrill ramen aficionados."

Let's Make Ramen! was published by Ten Speed Graphic, and they offer a preview and more information about it here. 

Asadora! Volume 1

My experiences with manga are pretty limited, I feel, but there are certain authors whose works I seek out and Naoki Urasawa is chief among them. Asadora! shares many features with his other works, including an exploration of how the past affects the present, a compelling mystery, expressive art, and a series of breathtaking cliffhangers. The titular star of this book comes from a large family, and is often overlooked in the shuffle of daily life. (SPOILERS ahead!) One eventful day, she gets kidnapped, a giant hurricane hits, and she and her kidnapper have to band together to survive. While trapped, she learns about his background as a fighter pilot in World War 2, and when they finally survey the damage they see what appears to be a giant footprint among the wreckage. (end/SPOILERS)

What are they looking at? Buy the book and find out!

Three things recommend this book: 1. It is incredibly well crafted in terms of plot. Each chapter ends with a revelation/cliffhanger that compelled me to keep going. 2. The characters and their personalities are quickly introduced and communicated, both visually and narratively. They are drawn in an incredibly expressive style, and I found myself intrigued and enchanted by them in short order. 3. It sets up a captivating mystery, adding a touch of magical realism into an otherwise straight-forward action tale. There is so much going on that is unresolved and unanswered, and this book is a great introduction to a nuanced and detailed serial comics series. I have read the next four books already, and I cannot get enough of them.

Naoki Urasawa is regarded as one of the premier manga creators, and he has won the Shogakukan Manga Award three times, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize twice, two Eisner Awards, and the Kodansha Manga Award once. His works have been some of the most celebrated of recent times and include Monster, 20th Century Boys, and Pluto. More recently, he has started a YouTube channel where he demonstrates his artwork (in Japanese).

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Tom Shapira contextualized it against others in his oeuvre, and although he has some issues with some tics, he concluded that "Urasawa can do it all." Will called it "another strong entry in Urasawa’s career." Publishers Weekly wrote, "Urusawa excels in focusing on human drama and multifaceted characters, and the storytelling is matched with dynamic, classic realist manga artwork."

Asadora! is published by Viz Books, and they offer  more information about it here.

The Man Without Talent

The Man Without Talent is a landmark manga book, a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by a classic creator who has not published a comic since 1987. The six chapters in this book follow the travails of Sukezō Sukegawa, a middle-aged man who is married and has a son but little direction to his life. He used to draw manga but now he is casting about for a vocation. Mainly, he tries to sell river rocks, but his improvised stand does not attract any customers and the rocks he collects impress no one. He is more successful in restoring and selling vintage cameras, but when he runs out of cameras to refurbish his prospects trickle out. I'd say that he was suffering from a mid-life crisis but it seems more like he struggles to find his place in a capitalist system. He was only good at one thing, creating manga, but he does not want to do that anymore.

His life is a disappointment to his wife, whose face is barely seen as she can't bear to look at him. And even though he shown to be a good father to his little boy, the family struggles financially and emotionally. Sukezō's melancholic state of mind manifests in many musings, concluding in a prolonged meditation on the life and works of Seigetsu, a wandering, derelict haiku poet, which closes this book. I won't call this ending hopeful, but it does comment on the potential of creating art that lives beyond its creators. Although there is no broad action in this book, what it does extremely well is present a portrait of a desperate, frustrated man and his inner thoughts. This work is more philosophical and literary, but it is nonetheless still beautiful, captivating, and impressive.

The stories here are considered classics in manga that established the tradition of I-stories, which focus more on literary matters than genre conventions. This book's creator Yoshiharu Tsuge is an important figure in Japanese comics because of the conventions he established with his various works. He has not been active in publishing for decades now, but his works and life have been adapted into a number of movies. He speaks about the recent revival of his works in English here. After a long-standing opposition he had to have his works translated into other languages, The Man Without Talent is his first book to be published in the US. It was translated and includes a great informative essay by scholar Ryan Holmberg.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been glowing. Brian Nicholson wrote that "it resonate[s] on a deeper level than simply being relatable." Morgana Santilli called it "an excellent read for anyone who wants to know more about early underground/art manga history." In a starred entry, Kirkus Reviews concluded, "Humanity stunningly observed—a treasure."

The Man Without Talent was published by New York Review Books, and they provide a preview and more information about it here.

Magician A

 

Magician A is not a book for children. It is a collection of short stories that highlight feminine sexuality and competition in different milieus, providing a range of insights into how contemporary women strive to take control of their own destinies. In some stories the women act in entrepreneurial ways, for instance a sex worker who provides her one client with a loyalty punch card, a magician who gets paid to pray for people's wishes to come true, and a young woman who provides manual relaxation for customers in a park. 

Almost all involve women who are struggling to find their confidence or way in the world, including one who has a random encounter with a really cool woman she aspires to be like in a bookstore, a fledgling magician trying to make sense of magic school, and an artist trying to find her voice and style in art school.

I found all of these stories of revelation and personal growth compelling. The author has a way of immediately portraying her characters' personalities in striking, empathetic fashion, and I found it easy to get involved with their personal dramas. Additionally, each story is unique and intricately plotted to deliver both an emotional wallop plus a good deal of suspense. These stories are not for the faint of heart or the squeamish. They are erotically charged, emotionally wrenching, and eminently memorable.

This impressive debut was created by Natsuko Ishitsuyo. I learned a lot about her from the journal entries and Q &A that appear at the back of the book.

The reviews I have read of this book were very positive. Morgana Santilli opined about the prevalence of masculine sexuality in manga and wrote, "Magician A is a striking counterpoint where instead of wallowing in self-pity and fantasizing about harming others, Ishitsuyo’s protagonists use their sexual awakenings as personal reflection and a catalyst for empowerment that men, born into power, take for granted." Katie Skelly concluded, "These are very accomplished visions from a determinedly independent creator, and we’re so lucky to have them." This book's translator Jocelyne Allen commented about the original Japanese version, "It’s so assured and unlike anything I’ve come across in the world of manga before."

Magician A was published by BDP, and they offer more info about it here. There are previews available here at the Kickstarter page where this project was originally funded. If you have gotten this far into my review, you probably know that this book is suggested for mature readers.

Tono Monogatari

The original version of Tono Monogatari was published in 1910 by folklorists Kunio Yanagita and Kizen Sasaki, recording a number of folk stories from the Tono region of Japan.These tales feature all sorts of creatures, including yōkai, unpredictable spirits that haunt the wilderness, and kami, which are minor deities that frequently wreak havoc on people's lives. These tales are also significant in that they are roughly the equivalent of the Brother Grimm's fairy tales, a record of the folklore of a particular country. 

The stories adapted here are often unsettling, creepy, and/or weird. Many of them have the flavor of a spooky campfire tale, and they often end abruptly without a moral or lesson. A couple also contain sexual imagery, so I would curate this book if I were using it with younger readers. The ones that stuck with me included a few accounts of women being kidnapped to be spirit brides, one where a fisherman murders a fox that was impersonating his wife, one where a man is blessed with a grinder that turns rice to gold, and another where a young woman is hounded by a yama haha, a spirit that resembles a large, old woman. In all there are 119 stories in this book, arranged thematically, so you can read them in bunches or take your time to enjoy them individually.

The artwork in this book is also a highlight. The backgrounds and landscapes are drawn in highly realistic fashion, and there are a few breath-taking double page spreads. The characters who inhabit these stories are more cartoonish and caricatures, especially the male ones. The various supernatural creatures are appropriately gruesome and fantastical. All in all, I think there is a great sense of joy and craftsmanship in this book. It seems a project completed in love.

This book's creator Shigeru Mizuki was an artist and historian best known for creating the series GeGeGe no Kitarō. It began in 1960 and starred a yōkai named Kitaro and told many supernaturally themed tales. It was wildly popular and has been adapted many times as anime and movies. In a fun, metafictional move, he inserts himself into the book as a character who is visiting the region, tracing the footsteps of his forbears and even having a ghostly conversation with original author Kunio Yanagita.

There are a few color pages among the B&W.

This book was translated into English by Zack Davisson, a translator, writer, lecturer, and scholar of manga, Japanese folklore, and ghosts. He has translated a number of Mizuki's works, including the Eisner Award-winning Showa: A History of Japan. He provides some prose to help contextualize the mythological and cultural features of these stories, which is a very helpful and informative feature.

All of the reviews I have read about this book have been positive. Alison Fincher called it "a culturally-important celebration of an enduring work of literature presented by one of Japan’s greatest popular artists." Rebecca Silverman wrote, "The art is beautiful, and as always makes use of Mizuki's trademark style of cartoony people on photorealistic backgrounds." Publishers Weekly concluded, "The acrobatic visuals lend these fables a giddy charm, and the inviting collection opens up Japanese history for a broader readership."

Tono Monogatari was published in the North America by Drawn & Quarterly, and they offer a preview and more here.

Animus

Animus is an enjoyably creepy book. The story revolves around a playground that is somehow involved with the disappearance of multiple children in Kyoto, Japan. We gain entrance into this world via the actions of two youngsters, Hisao and Sayuri, who meet a fox-masked ghost named Toothless. This weird being tells them all about some of the features of the playground, which include mystical slides, monkey bars, statues, and sandbox. I won't spoil things by revealing their specific properties, but playing on and in those places leads the children on some pretty eerie, fantastic episodes. Along the way they get more clues about why the various children are disappearing. Things take a sinister, personal turn when one of their friends vanishes, and they gain a real sense of urgency to solve the origins of Toothless and the playground in order to save him. 

I must say, I really did not see the ending coming. This book is both a homage to manga and inventive and entertaining in its own right. Additionally, it is complex and holds up well to rereading, and I highly recommend it.

This book's creator Antoine Revoy is an instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design, and this book is his graphic novel debut. He has worked as an illustrator and animator, and has led an interesting life. He was born in France, raised in Japan, and now is located in the US, and all of these various influences crop up in his gorgeously composed, darkly atmospheric artwork and intricately crafted narrative. He speaks about his work on Animus in this interview.

All of the reviews I have read of this book have been positive. Kirkus Reviews summed it up, "An eerie graphic novel mystery that is bewildering and unnerving in the best way possible." Todd Young wrote, "I appreciate the author’s ability to keep me thinking about the story long after I finished it." Publishers Weekly added, "Revoy’s otherworldly adventure moves quickly, but his succinct storytelling keeps readers on track with essential details."

Animus was published by First Second, and they offer a preview and more here. There is also an official website for the book here.

A review copy was provided by the publisher.

Raid of No Return

If you have read my blog for a while you may have noticed that I think Nathan Hale is brilliant. He makes fantastic, informative, and inventive comics, and his series Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales is the best historical series in the graphic novel business. I even liked his non-historical work like One Trick Pony. What amazes me about his work is how consistently excellent it is, and Raid of No Return is no exception.

The plot of the book is set during World War II. In the events following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, there was an extremely covert, risky, and dangerous mission set in place to bomb the Japanese mainland. This book recounts that mission with lots of details about the individual pilots, their crews, and the various outcomes of each bombing run. But additionally, and most impressively to me, it also delved deeply into the Japanese planning of the bombing and gave insight into their side of the military conflict.

This book is full of action and suspense, with multiple plot threads running simultaneously. It is difficult to have so many different stories and to make the reader feel invested in each one, but Hale does exactly that, making the stories both historically detailed as well as personally affecting. Raid of No Return is chock full of compelling, true-life stories that will keep you on the end of your seat and is a worthy addition to an extraordinarily well-crafted series of books.

The reviews I read about this book were all aptly full of praise. Lori Henderson wrote that it "does a great job of illuminating historical events in an entertaining and sometimes sobering way. It’s a great addition to library shelves." Tanya Turek called it "a powerful story that is suspenseful, emotional and almost unbelievable."

Raid of No Return was published by Amulet Books, and they offer more info about it here.

Ichiro

This is a tough book to explain because it has a lot going on. Ichiro is a young son of a Japanese woman and American GI who finds himself in Japan for his mom's job. Unbeknownst to him, the move may be permanent, which bothers this lifelong New Yorker. Dealing with the change in geography as well as his father's death, Ichiro is helped acclimate by his grandfather, who shares with him a great many stories about Japanese and Chinese history and legend as well as about his own family.

That's about half of the book. The rest involves a plot with a mischievous, shape-shifting raccoon who takes the form of a tea pot and traveling to the spirit world where Ichiro sees the results of an on-going struggle between legendary figures Amaterasu, Lord Yoritomo, Hachiman, and Susano. This fictional war has overtones that mesh with the events of World War II and also the Iraq War, where Ichiro's father was killed.

Apparent from all I have described is that this book has plots within plots, and that its mix of fictional and real world concerns makes for an interesting presentation. Themes of loss, loyalty, betrayal, war, pride, and identity undulate like waves throughout. I felt this was a complex, thoughtful book that left me perplexed in places but also willing and eager to reflect and reread. I am not sure all this material coalesces in a satisfying manner, but this is certainly a book that begs to be read more than once.

This book's creator Ryan Inzana is a designer and illustrator whose work has appeared in advertisements and magazines. He has also produced two other graphic novels, Johnny Jihad, a fictional account inspired by John Walker Lindh and the Columbine shootings, and an adaptation of Stud Terkel's Working, written by Harvey Pekar. I thought his artwork and storytelling in Ichiro was strong, with good use of color and line. The size, format, and excellent paper quality also added to its luster. Inzana speaks about his work on this book in these two interviews.

Reviews I have read about Ichiro have been mixed, commenting on its strengths and drawbacks. The reviewer at Literary Treats "applaud[ed] his creative approach at tackling such a disturbing, emotional subject matter" and also added that this is a "great graphic novel for anyone who wants to learn more about Japan, or about the Japanese side of World War II history." In a lukewarm review Infodad commented that this book "simply tries too hard to do too much – it has well-done moments but is not, as a whole, especially compelling."

Ichiro is published by Houghton Mifflin. There is a preview available at Amazon.

Amaterasu: Return of the Sun

Amaterasu tells an origin story in the Shinto tradition. It tells of how the gods Izanagi and Izanami created Japan and its gods. Amaterasu is one of their children, along with her siblings Tsukiyomi and Susano. They each have their areas to rule, she the day sky and sun, Tsukiyomi the night sky and moon and Susano the seas, storms, and underworld. In this version of the story, Susano feels he has been given a poor position in his father's world and rages in anger, causing his sister to hide. Her absence plunges the world into darkness and misery, and a band of crafty gods hatches a plan to draw her back out into the world.

This graphic adaptation was published under the Graphic Universe imprint of the Lerner Publishing Group. It was written by Paul D. Storrie and drawn by Ron Randall. Storrie is a long time comics writer, specializing in adventure stories based on classical myths and legends, but also dabbling in monster and superhero stories. He is a frequent contributor to Graphic Universe's line of Myth and Legends books. Randall has drawn comics for decades and has worked for all the big companies. He is best known for his work on fantasy and sci-fi books, such as his original series Trekker and licensed Star Wars adventures. Currently he is working on DC Comics' Doom Patrol.

The creators at Graphic Universe are all industry professionals who put out well drawn, sometimes beautiful work, and the reviews have been largely positive. I had a hard time finding reviews for this book, and Good Comics for Kids liked the book well enough, finding it a good alternative to "the dusty old tales" typical of myth books. In all it is a well-told, well-illustrated tale that many US students would be unfamiliar with. Also, I feel it would make for good comparisons with other origin myths from different cultures. The book also contains a few educational features, such as a map of Japan, a small glossary of terms, and a brief explanation of what Shinto is.

A brief preview is available by clicking on the cover image on the book's official page.