Like a lot of people during lockdown, I was very focused on finding some new hobbies to keep my mind occupied during that time. I worked out more, tried new recipes, and became very interested in other kinds of media.
I grown up on some of the more popular anime, many of which were westernized for people in my age bracket. Speed Racer, Voltron, and later Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion. I was also aware that Manga existed, but I never really got too much into it before lockdown began.
And then, with all this free time on my hands, I decided to branch out my reading to include new titles I had never considered before. A few years on and I am literally buying new bookcases for my manga collection just to keep up, and my western comic reading has slowed to a trickle.
One of the biggest hits to my western reading is DC Comics. I still love their Black Label line, and I keep up with a handful of series from them, including Wonder Woman and The Flash, but for the most part I have dropped my pull significantly, and I know I’m not the only one.
Comic sales have been up and down for years, and while I know they climbed dramatically during lockdown, as people head back to work and have expenses to pay, comic sales have been steadily slipping. Every week we hear about manga sales “decimating” or “destroying” DC and Marvel graphic novels, and while getting specific sales figures from the big two is challenging to say the least, it is at least enough that both publishers have recently made some moves to try to tap more into the Manga market.
DC has been, in my opinion, much better about this than Marvel has. DC has had a pretty steady line of YA graphic novels that, while they are not exactly manga, their smaller size, limited color schemes, and more contained graphic novel format is definitely in line with what younger readers are gravitating towards. DC has also started licensing their characters out to produce original manga works, which they later released online, and very recently published in paper format.
Marvel has done a little with this as well over the years, most recently with their Deadpool Samurai book (which honestly is a solid read if you like manga and Deadpool), but while I am perfectly happy to delve into the Marvel Manga-verse in the future, today I would like to discuss what DC has to offer.
Let me be clear, I read a lot of manga but I am by no means an expert. I do not claim to be, and I probably will never be one. But I do know comics, especially DC comics, and I have enough Manga knowledge under my belt that I feel like I can give an educated opinion about what DC is doing here.
So with no further ado, let’s look at the three titles that just released from DC Comics, and see if any of them are worth your money!
First up, Superman vs Meshi.
Here’s the blurb: It’s hungry work being Superman! That’s why every day for lunch in Superman vs. Meshi, Superman makes a quick stop over in Japan to try a new chain restaurant. Whether it’s a hearty bowl of curry or conveyor-belt sushi, the Man of Steel loves to indulge in the delectable delicacies the country has to offer. He’ll even share a meal with the other members of the Justice League from time to time in the hopes of showing them an incredible culinary experience. Superman vs. Meshi is written by Satoshi Miyagawa with art by Kai Kitagou.
Meshi, in case you didn’t know, is a Japanese rice dish, and that makes sense because this entire book is about one thing: Superman eating. Every. Single. Chapter.
Now I know that food manga is a thing in Japan, and that there are a number of mangas out there dedicated to this kind of thing. Detailed descriptions of meals and food prep come up a lot in a number of manga works, and I do not fault the writer of this book for his focus on food.
But, like, this is a weird choice, right? I mean, Superman is a big name in comics. James Gunn plans on relaunching the brand new DCEU on the back of his upcoming Superman title. Superman has a brilliant gallery of villains, a long and dramatic publication history, and the ability to work in pretty much any story from preschool to Black Label…
And they choose to do a book where he is just constantly running out to get lunch?
It’s just odd, almost as odd as what happens when he eat. Look, there is no easy way to say this, but Superman likes eating Japanese food. Like, really likes. Like, LIKE likes it.
Here, let me show you:
Yeah…
This happens in pretty much every issue. Superman is hungry, he goes out to eat at a Japanese chain restaurant, and then starts making faces that really don’t belong in an all ages manga like this.
A few times he gets so, um, “excited,” he literally blasts heat vision out of his eyes while eating.
This isn’t a terrible book, but it is very odd, and after reading Vol. 1 I don’t think I’ll be back for Vol. 2. Still, if Superman getting aroused while eating food is your thing, then I guess this is the book for you.
Alright, let’s look at the second offering, a book about Joker…raising a baby…that’s actually Batman?
Oh Japan, never change.
Here’s the blurb: Joker: One Operation Joker is the Joker like you’ve never seen him before…as a single father?! After a fateful encounter with Batman that results in the Dark Knight de-aging to a baby, Joker takes it upon himself to raise the child into the crusader of justice! But does the Clown Prince of Crime really understand what it means to be Batman—or, more importantly, what it means to raise a baby all by yourself? Joker: One Operation Joker is written by Satoshi Miyagawa (Uchuu Senkan Tiramisu) with art by Keisuke Gotou.
The Superman book was odd, but this book, well, yeah.
So the premise is that Joker throws Batman into a vat of chemicals that has the ability to de-age anyone that falls into it. Putting aside the amazing and revolutionary nature of this chemical, that would literally change everything about life on this planet, I’m just not really sure what the point of this book is.
I mean, the whole book is Joker going through the day to day struggles of being a single father, and like, why? I get that Joker would want a Batman, and his own warped mind would probably think he could raise baby Batman to be his enemy, but the book moves at a snails pace, and doesn’t really have anything to say.
Or to put it another way, this book, like the Superman book, feels like the author wanted to write something else, but had to write about Joker and Batman, and so decided to write the book they wanted to write, and kind of shoehorn in the characters.
I think the biggest flaw of this book is just how boring it is. There are no chilling or scary Joker moments, no moments of humor or joy, there’s just the boring monotony of raising a child with occasional moments where other characters pop in, only to disappear shortly thereafter. Nothing happens in all of Vol. 1 to justify this story in the first place, and with it’s nightmare crawl of a pace added on top of it, I just can’t recommend this book either.
Even the art is boring, lifting scenes and panels from other books about Joker, as if the artist was too bored to come up with anything new, so just traced some classic panels and put their Joker over the top. It doesn’t feel like a homage, it feels lazy.
Alright, two no votes so far. Is there any hope for the DC Manga universe, or are all three destined to be forgotten? One title left: Batman: Justice Buster.
Here’s the blurb: In Batman: Justice Buster, Gotham City has been under the protection of Batman for only a short amount of time, but since the vigilante’s appearance, crime has changed. It’s gotten more bold, more destructive. As Batman tries to rise to meet these new threats, he develops a computer system, ROBIN, to help him analyze and subdue the rising criminal tide and hopefully one day put an end to crime in Gotham. Batman: Justice Buster is written and illustrated by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi (Ultraman).
Oh sweet mystery of life, at last I’ve found you!
This. This! THIS! This is what I was looking for. When DC announced their line, this is the kind of title I was hoping we would get. It’s a very Japanese influenced retelling of Batman’s origin that not only adds some very interesting new twists, it also tells its own, interesting story.
Right off the bat, heh, bat, ahem, right off the bat, this book is beautiful. Fans of high action mangas like Kaiju no.8 and Chainsaw Man are going to appreciate how well the story here is told visually. The art moves with the fluidity that a Batman story demands, while also being distinctly manga in a way that only mangas can be.
The story is also fantastic. Set in year three of Batman’s mission, having eliminated most of the Gotham underworld, a new breed of more dangerous and unusual criminals has emerged, including Firefly, Killer Croc, and a mysterious vigilante named Joker who uses brutal methods that Batman both does not approve of, but also finds he needs to occasionally rely on.
To help him be able to keep up with these new challenges, Batman creates an A.I. to assist his decision making, which it does, but it also is perfectly happy to put Batman in danger if it means protecting the greater good, something that Alfred does not approve of.
Add to this a mysterious orphan who is trying hard to get justice for his murdered parents, and you have all the makings of one of the most interesting and well told Batman series in a long, long time.
Justice Buster is the one must read from this line for all Batman and Manga fans.
Alright, two strong misses and a fantastic hit, that’s not too bad, but honestly, do better DC.
That’s it for me this week. Next week I am flying out to St. Louis for a wedding, so no posts from me for a bit, but I’ll be back soon, and until then, Stay Safe.
