TOMBS - graphic novel


 I'm not sure what possessed to request this graphic novel - I haven't been reading a lot of graphic novels lately, and I'm not a fan of the manga style of art, but there was something in the description that caught my attention, and I'm so glad it did!

Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection is a graphic 'novel' collection of short stories by Junji Ito.  The author/artist's name means nothing to me but might to dedicated graphic novel or manga readers. What I found, though, were nine wonderfully dark, often creepy, always twisted, stories.

We start with the titular story, "Tombs," which really sets the tone for the book, letting the reader know that things are going to be a bit weird as we enter a town where tombstone markers are everywhere - even in the middle of the streets. The tombs grow where people died.

The stories all have this dark, Twilight Zone vibe. Some are incredibly dark, bloody, and creepy, like "The Strange Tale of the Tunnel" and "The Bloody Story of Shirosuna". Some gave me the shivers, like "Slug Girl" and "Washed Ashore". But at least a couple of them ("The Window Next Door" and "Bronze Statue") were a little too obvious for me.

In general, as I was reading through this, I felt that 15 year old me would have been absolutely crazy for something this 'creative' and unusual.  I loved reading (and seeing) 'the impossible' and if it was dark and creepy I liked it even more. This harkens back to the old Eerie and Creepy magazines but the art style appeals more to Gen Zers and Millennials.

I'm still not a fan of this style of art (I love B&W art, but I'd rather see Gene Colan, Gray Morrow, or Neal Adams than Junji Ito, Osamu Tezuka, or Eichiro Oda), but in general I wasn't put off by this (there were times that it bothered me more than others).  

I should also note, as I have before, that as someone who does not read typically read manga, reading from right to left does not come naturally and I was a few pages in, wondering why this wasn't making sense, before I remembered how I needed to read this.  And every subsequent page I needed to consciously make the effort to remind myself how to read the page.

This collection includes:

"Tombs"
"Clubhouse"
"Slug Girl"
"The Window Next Door"
"Washed Ashore"
"The Strange Tale of the Tunnel"
"Bronze Statue"
"Floaters"
"The Bloody Story of Shirosuna"

Looking for a good book? Fans of dark, weird stories (think Creepy Magazine for those of you over 5), the graphic novel Tombs, by Junji Ito, is a delightfully macabre collection of tales.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

Tombs: Junji Ito Story Collection

author: Junji Ito

artist: Junji Ito

publisher: VIZ Media LLC

ISBN: 9781974736041

hardcover, 344 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

MURDLE VOLUME 1 - G. T. Karber

Image
 I enjoy puzzles of many different varieties. I had not heard of 'Murdle' before this but essentially this is a combination of the game of Clue and a Sherlock Holmes micro story. With suspects, possible murder weapons, potential locations, and/or motives plus some very brief hints, readers are meant to combine the logic of what's know with deductive reasoning to identify the killer (or killers?) in 100 different mystery word puzzles. I will admit right off the bat that I did not do all 100.  I didn't even do half of these, but I did so some random sampling through all the categories (Elementary, Occult Medium, Hard Boiled, and Impossible). I did not get any correct in the Impossible category (of course not ... they were impossible!) and only one correct in the Hard Boiled (of five). The Elementary puzzles were, as expected, pretty easy and the Hard Boiled only a little bit more difficult. Each mini mystery comes with a grid printed in the book to help the reader-detecti
Read more

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - wherein he acq
Read more