Originally published by Blast Books in 1996, Comics Underground Japan was – and still is – a trailblazing anthology that provided most American readers a first look at the powerful creative ferment bubbling under the surface of the massive Japanese manga scene, many of which appeared in English here for the first time (and a few for the only time!). In this anthology's 200+ pages, a dozen creators unleash their personal visions in a wide variety of graphic styles, ranging from brutally stripped down and simplified to painstakingly detailed, relating tales of humor, sexuality and violence, employing fantasy, grotesquerie and satire – sometimes all at once! Gaining plaudits from the like of S. Clay Wilson, Gary Panter and Joe Coleman, Comics Underground Japan remains one of the best single-volume anthologies of alternative/underground manga in English translation. Now, back in print!
Here's what – and who – you'll find:
"Hell's Angel" by Yoshikaze Ebisu, "It's All Right if You Don't Understand" by Yoshikaze Ebisu, "Steel Pipe Melancholia" by Masakazu Toma, "Future Sperm Brazil" by Takashi Nemoto, "A Love Like Lemons" by Carol Shimoda, "Selfish Carol's Summer, "Don Quixote #1 & #2" by Yasuji Tanioka, "Planet of the Jap" by Suehiro Maruo, "Mary’s Asshole" by Hanako Yamada, "Volvox” by, "Bigger and Better" by Muddy Wehara, "Laughing Ball" by Hideshi Hino & "Cat Noodle Soup" by Hajime Yamano & Nekojiro.
Also, worth noting is the fact that while the cover is oriented in the western fashion, the contents are "unflipped" and read right to left – a forward looking compromise for 1996!
Translated by Ryan Holmberg (of course), including the essays, "Why Is This So Good?" by Minami Shinbo, "About These Comics" by Ebisu himself. Holmberg also contributed his own essay, "Damn All Gamblers to the Pits of Hell.
We only ust took this one out of the box, so don't have anything to say right now but, "Can't wait to check this out." So we will hand the microphone over to Breakdown Press, who has this to say:
"Ebisu Yoshikazu. Television star, father of three, professional gambler, writer, cartoonist, pioneer.
Since his debut in the legendary alt-manga magazine Garo in 1973, Ebisu has been spinning out surreal nightmares that combine the edgiest styles of Tokyo’s artistic counterculture with the absurd and infuriating realities of work and life in the big city. A cult classic upon its publication in 1981, The Pits of Hell offers nine stories that established Ebisu as one of the leading figures of the ugly-but-amazing ‘heta-uma’ movement, the Japanese equivalent of punk and new wave. If you’ve ever wanted to sabotage a lecture about the Mughal Empire, control race boats through telekinesis, or rip your boss’s head off with a crowbar, this is the book for you.
148x 210mm -- 200 pages -- offset printed -- paperback -- ISBN 978-1-911081-08-1
The Pits of Hell was printed by offset lithography at Printon Trükikoda AS in Estonia."
BACK IN STOCK!
This collection of stories is even more over the top in its perversity, strangeness and anti-social tendencies than its already wild precursor, (the just reprinted) The Pits of Hell.
You have been warned.
Here's what its publisher Breakdown Press has to say:
Ebisu Yoshikazu. Television star, father of three, professional gambler, writer, cartoonist, pioneer.
Since his debut in the legendary alt-manga magazine Garo in 1973, ugly-but-amazing ‘heta-uma’ superstar Ebisu has been spinning out surreal nightmares that combine the edgiest styles of Tokyo’s artistic counterculture with the absurd and infuriating realities of modern life.
Originally published in 1982, I Wish I Was Stupid surpasses in shamelessness the artist’s cult classic Pits of Hell. With 13 stories about love, family, work and raging frustration culled from avant-garde porn mags and Garo, Ebisu probes dangerously deep into the inner mucosal of the human condition. If you’ve ever considered setting your child on fire, pooping with double buttholes, or windmilling your dingdong, this book is for you.
Translated by Ryan Holmberg
151x 209mm -- 184 pages -- offset printed -- paperback -- ISBN: 9781911081258
Printed by 12.Matbaa in Turkey.
GONE – BUT... more on the way, tentatively arriving in January. Please check back.
