Book picks similar to
The Mysterious Underground Men by Osamu Tezuka
manga
comics
graphic-novels
japan
The Girl from the Other Side: Siúil, A Rún, Vol. 1
Nagabe - 2016
The girl and the beast should never have met, but when they do, a quiet fairytale begins. This is a story of two people--one human, one inhuman--who linger in the hazy twilight that separates night from day.
Trash Market
Tadao Tsuge - 2015
Trash Market brings together six of Tsuge’s compelling, character-driven stories about life in post–World War II Japan. “Trash Market” and “Gently Goes the Night” touch on key topics for Tsuge: the charming lowlifes of the Tokyo slums and the veterans who found themselves unable to forget the war. “Song of Showa” is an autobiographical piece about growing up in a Tokyo slum during the occupation with an abusive grandfather and an ailing father, and finding brightness in the joyful people of the neighborhood. Trash Market blurs the lines between fiction and reportage; it’s a moving testament to the grittiness of life in Tokyo during the postwar years. Trash Market features an essay from the collection’s editor and translator, Ryan Holmberg, who is a specialist in Japanese art history. He explores Tsuge’s early career as a cartoonist and the formative years the artist spent working in Tokyo’s notorious for-profit blood banks.
Gin Tama, Vol. 1
Hideaki Sorachi - 2004
In his days, Gintoki is joined by Shinpachi Shimura, a teenager son of a samurai who wants to learn about him, and Kagura, an alien girl who went to Earth to earn money for her poor family, but is unable to return home and threatens Gintoki to let her live with him. While Kagura and Shinpachi live with Gintoki, they meet a terrorist named Kotaro Katsura who participated alongside Gintoki in the war between samurais and aliens, and lost. Odd Jobs is forced to help Katsura escape from the Shinsengumi, a police force working for the Bakufu, after they accidentally perform a terrorist attack. The volume ends with a one-shot from Sorachi named "Dandelion", which explores the work of a pair of exorcists.
Pure Trance
Junko Mizuno - 1998
A serious social problem emerged in this new society: hyperorexia, or severe overeating, a side effect of the Pure Trance life-sustaining pill. This dreamy science fiction fantasy -- a sexy story of catfights, alien safari adventures, evil experimentation, and a girl who dreams of becoming a pop idol singer -- is the long-awaited debut graphic novel of famous Japanese manga artist Junko Mizuno. Pure Trance breaks every stereotype of shojo manga (girls' comics).
The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
Gerard Way - 2011
Today, the followers of the original Killjoys languish in the Desert while BLI systematically strips citizens of their individuality. As the fight for freedom fades, it’s left to the Girl to take up the mantle and bring down the fearsome BLI! Collects The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys #1–#6 and “Dead Satellites” from Free Comic Book Day 2013.
Adventure Time With Fionna and Cake
Natasha Allegri - 2013
Join Cake the Cat and Fionna the Human in this totally algebraic new adventure, written and drawn by Fionna & Cake creator and ADVENTURE TIME storyboard artist Natasha Allegri! When Fionna rescues a feral flame boy from a pack of wild fire lions, it starts her on a quest she’ll never forget… Don’t miss out on this sure-to-be INSANELY popular new ADVENTURE TIME mini-series!
FLCL, Volume 1
Gainax - 2000
His father's a perv and his grandfather a nut. His brother left to seek riches playing baseball in America, and now the brother's ex-girlfriend won't leave Naota alone. Then, from beyond the stars drops an impish defender sent forth to stop alien robots from destroying the Earth. Where do the alien robots come from? Well, from Naota's forehead for starters. From the twisted mind that brought us End of Evangelion comes this bizarre tale of adolescence in a futuristic, fantastical world.
The Box Man
Imiri Sakabashira - 2009
The Box Man follows its protagonists along a scooter trip through a complex landscape that oscillates between a dense city, a countryside simplified to near abstraction, and hybrids of the two; the theme of hybridity permeates throughout. One is unsurprised to encounter a creature that is half elderly man, half crab, or a flying frog in this world where our guide apparent is an anthropomorphic, mollusk-like cat. Sakabashira weaves this absurdist tale into a seamless tapestry constructed of elements as seemingly disparate as Japanese folklore, pop culture, and surrealism.Within these panels, it becomes difficult to distinguish between the animate and the inanimate, the real and the imagined—a tension that adds a layer of complexity to this near-wordless psychedelic travelogue. Imiri Sakabashira (real name Mochizuki Katsuhiro) was born in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1964, the same year that Garo, the influential manga anthology in which he would first be published, was founded.
.hack// Legend of the Twilight, Vol. 1
Tatsuya Hamazaki - 2003
Twins Rena and Shugo are two middle-school students who enter 'The World' as level one game characters. When Shugo's character dies, he is transported to another level where he is entrusted to bear the Twilight Bracelet by the mysterious Aura. Shugo must find out who Aura is and why she gave him this powerful weapon to protect his sister from the peculiar characters in 'The World'.
Blame!, Vol. 1
Tsutomu Nihei - 1998
He wanders an endless labyrinth of cyberdungeons filled with concrete and steel, fighting off cyborgs and other bizarre silicate creatures. Everyone is searching for the Net Terminal Genes, but no one is quite certain what kind of power they contain. The answer may lie hidden among the scattered human settlements of this vast and desolate future world.
The Adventures of Tintin, Vol. 1: Tintin in America / Cigars of the Pharaoh / The Blue Lotus
Hergé - 1990
These full-color graphic novels broke new ground when they were first released and became the inspiration for countless modern-day comic artists.This repackaged hardcover volume contains 3 classic Tintin stories, including: Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharaoh, and The Blue Lotus.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Part 1—Phantom Blood, Vol. 1
Hirohiko Araki - 2002
For some reason, Dio has a smoldering grudge against him and derives pleasure from seeing him suffer. But every man has his limits, as Dio finds out. This is the beginning of a long and hateful relationship!
Spice & Wolf, Vol. 1
Isuna Hasekura - 2008
But this monotony screeches to a halt when, one night, he encounters a harvest goddess in the guise of a beautiful young girl...with wolf ears and a tail! Longing for the northern lands of her birth, Holo the Wisewolf joins Lawrence as he follows the ebb and flow of trade through the countryside. And when the two come across a compelling but suspicious opportunity for profit, will Lawrence with his mercantile chops and Holo with her ancient instincts be able to separate the truth from the lies--and make some coin while they're at it?!
Dorohedoro, Vol. 1
Q. Hayashida - 2002
A sorcerer cursed him with a reptile head and left him with no memory of his life before the transformation. Adding to the mystery, there's a specter of a man living inside him. But Caiman has one key advantage: he's now completely immune to magic. Along with his best friend, Nikaido, Caiman is hunting down sorcerers in the Hole, searching for the one who can undo his curse and killing the rest. But when En, the head Sorcerer, of the sorcerers, gets word of a lizard-man slaughtering sorcerers, he sends a crew of "cleaners" into the Hole, igniting a war between two worlds.
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Imbalance, Part 1
Faith Erin Hicks - 2018
Expecting a warm welcome, Aang is surprised when their arrival is met with unimpressed, cold-shouldered spectators. As soon as the team is asked for help at a business council meeting, the reason for the slight becomes clear--a massive bender versus non-bender conflict has gripped the town and is threatening to turn violent.