In move that can only be described as “indescribable,” the magazine and book publishing company, Yen Press, has chosen not to use the original Japanese cover art for their upcoming release of the Spice and Wolf light novel series by Isuna Hasekura. Instead , the book will use artwork created specifically for the American marker. In an apparent effort to appeal to a broader fantasy audience, the new artwork ditches the manga style artwork original used in favor of photograph of a nude woman with a badly photoshopped wolf’s tale and buckteeth. After careful examination of the new cover, I have yet to turn up any dragons or unicorns in the in the background, but I’m sure there’s still time to add them in sometime between now and the book’s release date. I mean they already have the generic fantasy font down pat…
According to the original post at Yen Press, all the original interior illustrations have been left intact and the only artwork that has been raped changed is the cover art. In an unexpected bit of generosity, Yen Press has magnanimously chosen to extend an olive branch to the more hardcore Horo fans out there by making a limited edition dust jacket containing the original cover art available to them around the same time as the book’s release. The catch is that you have to buy a copy of the December issue of the Yen Plus magazine if you want it. Early reports from the field describe the move as being similar to having a big fat guy crap on your chest and then hand you a roll of toilet paper afterwards. Sure, it cleans up most of the mess, but you’re never going to be able to forget that it happened in the first place =-_-;;=
Monster Island is a rather dark zombie novel that ditches the usual quasi-scientific causes for a zombie apocalypse in favor of a more supernatural themed story drenched in blood and gore. This is written well enough to distinguish itself from the hordes of similarly themed novels that currently line the shelves of bookstores everywhere, but it never rises above being anything other then average for a variety of reasons.
Viz Media has announced that they will be releasing a collection of essays, interviews, memoirs and manga strips from Hayao Miyazaki on August 4th. Titled Starting Point: 1979-1996, the book will allow fans to learn more about the life and philosophies of Miyazaki through his writings and drawings. As the beloved director behind such anime classics as My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Hayao Miyazaki has been an icon among anime fans for over two decades.
“Hayao Miyazaki is known and loved around the world for his imaginative films that continue to delight children and adults,” says Gonzalo Ferreyra, Vice President, Sales & Marketing for VIZ Media. “STARTING POINT presents, in Miyazaki’s own words, his philosophies towards life, his work, the animation industry both in Japan and abroad, and his creative inspirations and motivations. He also offers lots of stories, many of them quite humorous, which show the extent of his complete dedication to animated film and the people with whom he works. We invite fans to enjoy this chronicle of the life of a man whose own dreams have come true.”
Starting Point: 1979-1996 will retail for $29.95 in the U.S. and will contain a forward by John Lasseter.
You can check out the original press release after the jump.
I finished reading World War Z several weeks ago, but with all the work of getting this site up and running, it wasn’t until recently that I was able to sit down and write a review for it. Although a little difficult to read at times due to its lack of any sort central protagonist, the book operates on such a broad level that it’s difficult not to get sucked in by the constantly changing narrative style. With its unconventional documentary style, the war against the zombies is told through a series of interviews that have been broken down and organized into a specific timeline. It begins with the first reported cases of the disease in China and follows the progression of the epidemic as it rips across the planet like a wildfire, toppling world governments and spreading anarchy, leaving behind a ravenous horde of the undead in its wake.
