After a string of nice inked and toned pages, this week we’re back to a rough sketch featuring Moulin and Nimbus.
In other news, lately I’ve been a graphic novel reading machine courtesy of the fine selection offered at the public library. I’ve been catching up on everything from the funky Umbrella Academy to the heartbreaking Footnotes in Gaza. After reading a couple dozen diverse titles, the one that I keep coming back to is The Rabbi’s Cat by French cartoonist Joann Sfar. This gorgeous graphic novel explores faith, family, colonialism and compassion in a truly intimate and often funny way. And the smart-ass titular hero is one of the most memorable characters I’ve encountered in any medium. The Rabbi’s Cat gets my highest recommendation.
On the prose front, I just finished Flesh and Fire by Laura Anne Gilman, first volume of a planned series called the Vineart War in which magic is distilled from grapes, like wine. It’s a concept that works surprisingly well, and Gilman does a great job introducing us to the intricacies of magical viticulture. The volume ends with a feisty princess, a sarcastic rogue and the promises of many cloaks, brooches and dirks to come — all the hallmarks of the kind of fantasy novel I’m not so into anymore — but as long as there’s more grapes to be stomped, I’ll give the series another volume at least.
Feel free to share your recent reads and recommendations in the comments!
I’m very behind in my reading. I’m about 3/4 through the manga Hot Gimmick, and 2/9 through Rurouni Kenshin. I’ve also got a backlog of Vampire Hunter D novels. See what 19 credits does to you?
I recommend the D novels, they’re pretty good for sci-fi.
Aw.. Nimbus. :3 I’m not that much of a reader, as I’m very lazy, tend to be forgetful and also I tend to read random articles. I only read when I get really interested. I’d never imagine I’d read more than half-way of Angels and Demons for some reason caught my attention. But I stopped because of school, and eventually forgot to read it again. Regarding manga and graphic novels, I’m much into Pandora Hearts, Fullmetal Alchemist (still behind), and maybe other recommendations by my friends like Sengoku Basara, Eroica, Kuro Shitsuji, etc. I’m mostly behind with these, but i’m coping. Also this friend lend me a copy of “Beerkada”, a Philippine graphic novel of some group of friends doing and thinking nonsense about almost everyday living. Sometimes there are exaggerating parts, like Rizal can put up a fight against friars, trying to eliminate him, with amusing lines, and he has his friends to back him up, called themselves “Los Indios Bravos”. I LoLed so much because it’s a crack about history. XD
It’s nice to hear from a fellow Fullmetal reader! (Not that they’re that uncommon, but still). The last few volumes have been really exciting — it’s a nonstop showdown between the Homunculi and everyone else. I can’t wait to see how it all ends.
Okay, I’m panicking… I dunno how to reply on this… XD
Anyway, I really love Fullmetal. A nice blend of action, drama and comedy. (The running joke on Ed never gets old. Not to mention the beloved cow too~!) Though a popular series, I’m kinda surprised about half (or probably less) know who are into anime/manga are into FMA. And I’m not sure which chapter I last read. Yeah, my friend told me of the unexpected 5th sacrifice and the battle between the humans and homunculi. I’m coping up… |3
JessicaDK: I also find some (or most) English translations irritating. Like what they did to “Master Gai” (Why GUY?!) from Naruto and Tina from Final Fantasy VI (Why Terra?!). And even sometimes the dialogue. (Although the idea is the same, the choice of words are odd.) I know Japanese is a tricky language to translate, but some things are way out of hand. (If they do something on Pandora Hearts, while gonna chain those freaks!!! (Like I’d do that… OTL))
I also haven’t been updating my book reading, but in return I read a lot manga. Mostly updated chapters from especially Bleach, Kuroshitsuji and Skip Beat. I would highly recommend Yoshiki Nakamura (Tokyo Crazy Paradise, Skip Beat) since they are really awesome and funny, and also anything by Kaori Yuki. Dark and gothy but still incredible with a bit of funny. And also CLAMP and their pretty boys
And the classics, such as Hana Yori Dango and Glass Kamen.
I’ve also read The Rabbi’s Cat and I really liked that smart-assed cat. Where can you buy one?
To Kelly: I finished Hot Gimmick and though the four-eyed Tachibana is a bastard I somehow like him. Must be because he is so entertaining. His excuse at the end was the best one I ever heard and it really killed me, haha! I kinda dropped out of Kenshin, but I have a vague notion, that t was around chapter 80-90? I think I remember Shinomori battling with the old man. And have you seen the Vampire Hunter D movies? I have Bloodlust, but it’s in English and the translators named them ‘Dunpeals’ (*whines*). Probably because the Japanese romanization ‘Danpiru’ can be translated back as Dhampir (as it should have been) and the afore mentioned. I HATE when they translate wrong (you can call me a perfectionist) but it’s a giant pet peeve of mine. Meh, hate it.
Quick confession: I only read up to where Ed seemingly transformed scrap(?) into gold.
jo, my sympathy will always be with you. I mean, if it is fansubbing, then you know that there is a risc for mistranslating. But professional translating, that’s unforgivable. I mean, how can you misspell ‘Ed’ (Cowboy Bebop)? I know it’s pronounced as ‘Edo’, but that’s because a word never fraggin’ ends in ‘d’ in Japanese! What kind of an education did they get??? Or just using the internet, it’s not *THAT* hard is it? Tch, pure moronism. If you want help chaining people, then I’m (just) about 10 hours and a jetlag away
Pandora Hearts, as in the boy, who falls into somewhere, meets a giant black rabbit, contracts a chain, meets Alice?
P.S. Question for Jake: When I wrote about Ireland, I discovered that ‘drumlin’ and ‘esker’ were a product by glaciers. Since Mizuno (of the water) litterally is an ice/water queen, and therefore making everybody related to ice/water, where does Moulin fit in? Is she a ‘water mill’? Just wondering.
Yup! “Moulin” is also a glacial term. Here’s a link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moulin_(geology)
Their home kingdom, Moraine, is another glacier word, as are Esker’s beasts — “Kulhlaups,” taken from “Jokulhlaup.”
JessicaDK: Ah.. Though I’m not Japanese and still learning the language, I find it irritating if people get it wrong, from spelling to pronouncing stuff. (ugh…) Looks like I missed my wrong grammar from my last reply.. OTL Wahh… I wanna read more PH. The anime got great action but was cut due to the current progress of the manga. Akira Ishida never fails to amaze me. |D
Hey, Jake. I wanna ask some random question. Could “Mizumi” also be derived from the Japanese word “mizu” meaning “water”? That’s the first thing that got into my mind when I first read the series. XD Now I learn cool derivations~! (nooo, I don’t wanna remember calculus’s deriving thingy… OTL)
Jo,
Yes, Mizumi’s name was based on “mizu” — Japanese for water. The only other Japanese inspired name is “Hana” which is Japanese for flower, which I thought was sort of ironic for an angry, wingless fairy.
Sorry if this has been asked before, but I was wondering why Nimbus helped Drumlin with Moppet in Volume 2, given that Moulin liked Moppet in Volume 1.
Thanks Jake! Now I know who I should ask, if I need help on glaciertology
Yay, Nimbus is OK! I was worried for him, getting frozen like that.