The latest release from our favorite manga publisher, Ponent Mon, is a 200 pager that chronicles three periods of crisis experienced by its creator, renowned manga artist Hideo Azuma.  The first, was a period of iternerant homelessness brought about by his suffering an on-the-job nervous breakdown in 1989, after twenty years of working in manga.  Three years later, in 1992, he had a relapse and once again found himself wandering homeless, but this time around, with a little help from some acquaintances, he entered the world of manual labor, repairing gas lines. The common thread throughout these years was Azuma's alcoholism.  Finally, in 1998, his health deteriorated to such a point that he was forced into clinical rehab, and it is with this story that the volume concludes.  Azuma states at the outset, "This manga has a positive outlook on life, and so it has been made with as much realism removed as possible."  This is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that, whereas most accounts of homelessness and alcoholism tend towards the dark and bleak (see above), Disappearance Diary, despite the fact that the story it tells is one of dysfunction and collapse, actually makes for a perky and enjoyable read.  Here's a brief preview to give you an idea (just click on the thumbnails).