I don't like mangas at
all. Most of them are terrible in many aspects. Poor plot, ridiculous
anatomy of the characters and dull cliche repetition are only some of
the more obvious. Yet, for some mysterious reason, people keep
reading them, completely ignoring the west comic school.
But then again, there are
notable exceptions. One of them is Junji Ito who fills a terrible
hole in the market and indeed there are few good horror comics. And
when I say good horror comics, I mean it. Too much ink has been
spilled only to produce laughable abortions. Thank God that Junji Ito
is different.
But what really hit me in
all his works is that he actually tells stories and makes art. No
grotesque big-eyed girls staring at you from every page. And yet you
can easily pick his style from the crowd. It's distinct due to its
anatomical realism or, perhaps better said, surrealism. Either way,
things he draws look convincing and that is the point. His art and
stories do stir emotions in the sea of dullness and misunderstanding.
(Images from: Secret of the Haunted Mansion, Uzumaki)
