rogueintellectproductions

Honee Weenee - franks made with turkey, pork, and honey added. Surprise - they're disappointing.

Evergreen Terrace riffs rightly through a series of 80's, 90's, and 00's songs in their aptly-named cover album, Writer's Block. I haven't heard any of ET's other albums, and that's OK - I'm a huge fan of covers, the more out there the better. I dug Paul Anka's Rock Swings, and I like Writer's Block. ET doesn't stray too far from the original artists in their covers, with the exception of Maniac - that's right, the same song from the movie Flashdance. ET kicks the songs up a notch (sorry, Emeril), adding harder licks and a metal edge. Take, for example, Sunday Bloody Sunday - my favorite U2 song. I love the ET version even more, though. It's even angrier. Oh, and their version of Mad World is refreshing, considering how many times I've heard the puss version from the Donnie Darko soundtrack. Anyhoo, if you like the songs on the list, you'll like this album. Worth a listen. $15.98 from Amazon.

Song list                   ____        
Maniac                                Zero
Plowed                               Stars
Knowledge                 Mad World
The Kids Aren't Alright
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Dying Degree           Brave Reality

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore evokes memories of Douglas Adams, Neil Gaiman, and Terry Pratchet, while remaining firmly rooted in the United States. The book is an absolute riot, in the same mold as Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Good Omens - a weak-willed, wishy-washy man is thrust into a supernatural situation and is expected not just to survive the indignities of being surrounded by people that know more than the main character, but in the end is supposed to have counted coup on his tormenters and come out too cool for the room. Sure, like that ever happens. Charlie Asher, a second-hand shopkeep and ultimate beta male, spots a tall, rail-thin man in a lime green suit standing over his wife just after she's given birth. The problem isn't so much that the tall man is there, it's that Charlie isn't supposed to be able to see him. After all, Minty (and guess what his last name is!) is an emissary of Death, come to collect Charlie's wife's soul. We all know what happens when you see something you're not supposed to - you become involved, and Charlie finds himself deeply embroiled in the ultimate battle of Light and Darkness. Boy is he not ready, but he is surrounded by an excellent cast of supporting characters, including his lesbian sister, his daughter and her set of hellhounds, the massively dysfunctional staff at the shop, the Emperor of San Francisco, etc and so on. You will laugh, you may even cry, but you'll never hear the word "kitty" ever again without cringing, that I guarantee. The book is published by William Morrow and lists for $24.95. You can pick it up from Amazon here.

YOTSUBA&!, the new manga from Kiyohiko Azuma (creator of Azumanga Daioh), tells the story of a young girl named Yotsuba, her father, the neighbors, and a freakishly large friend appropriately named Jumbo. There's something not quite right about Yotsuba - she's never seen a swing before, she's afraid of concentric circles, and she thinks four-leaf clovers make wonderful souvenirs!

If you've read Azumanga Daioh, then you'll understand me when I say Yotsuba is a combination of Chiyo's precociousness, Osaka's ditziness, and Tomo's boundless energy. Yotsuba approaches the world as if she had never seen it before: everything is new and fresh and contains the potential for adventure. It's this perspective that makes YOTSUBA&! a joy to read; it's easy to slip into a child-like frame of mind and go back to a time before fear and worry. That's not to say that Yotsuba's world is without danger. When she gets lost in a crowd at a festival, you can feel her anguish as she cries out her name, while at the same time laughing at the way she does so. Still, she manages to come out of her misadventures with a smile on her face, and a new wonder to behold.

While the character style is similar to Azumanga, the backgrounds are far more detailed and particular attention is paid to scale. When Yotsuba is helping move into her new house, Azuma draws the panel from a high angle looking down, really making it seem as Yotsuba is struggling with the box. Azuma also drops the 4-to style from Azumanga, opting instead for a more standard format. This creates a longer narrative flow, as the manga is now broken up into chapters instead of quick jokes. Each chapter is named "Yotsuba  &" something, which leads to...

...my translation notes. YOTSUBA&! is also known in Japan as YOTSUBATO! - which translates a couple of ways. TO is a conjunction meaning and, so YOTSUBATO! translates as "Yotsuba and...", hence the chapter names. YOTSUBATO! also translates as "four-leaf clover", which is a reference to Yotsuba's hair color and four pig-tails. It's typical of Japanese word-play - fortunately, YOTSUBA&! has less of it than Azumanga, and the translation notes in the back are very good.

All in all, YOTSUBA&! has become one of my favorite manga, which leads me to my only complaint. YOTSUBA&! is distributed by ADV Manga, which has recently put almost all of its titles on hiatus. Volumes 1-3 are available now, but I am in desperate need of my YOTSUBA&! fix! Come on, ADV, bring on the rest of this excellent manga!

YOTSUBA&! - Volumes 1-3 available now. List price $9.99 each. Slightly larger than tankoban size. ADV Manga.

You are listening to Sunday Bloody Sunday by Evergreen Terrace.