The first American edition of the Manga classic presents the wordless comic strip that features a bookstore owner who encounters aliens, alternate dimensions, and tears in the time-space continuum, among other bizarre events. Original.
This is a serial comic strip by one of the legends of comics in Japan - Tori Miki. The visual style is sparse but perfectly suited to the content. The content tends towards the surreal and the humor is extremely Japanese in the sense that it is fundamentally connected by subtle or strong references to Japanese pop and cultural history (expect to not get all the jokes unless you're a native). However anyone with an open brain and who is willing to drink this book in, like the fine wine that it is, will find it FRIGGIN' hilarious. Perfect to perplex you on the toilet or get a chuckle when grabbed off a coffee table. Side note: after you get through the book go back and read the intro, it's one of those rare helpful introductions and help you with the necessary re-readings.
This is probably the third time I have gone through this book. Each page is a (usually) nine panel comic based off of visual gags. Some of the comics are the most brilliant, hilarious things I have ever seen, some of them make no sense whatsoever, and many are a little bit of both.
My shop got a free copy of this book, and since I'm the only regular customer who might be interested, it wound up in my bin. And it was free, so why not?
Anywhere But Here is a series of one-page, 9-panel gag strips. It's Japanese in origin, although the art style is definitely more newspaper strip than traditional manga, but the references are still sometimes impossible for me to grasp. If I were Japanese, or at least more familiar with Japanese culture and customs, I probably would've gotten more out of this book.
Nonetheless, there were plenty of sharp, witty strips in the book, commenting on human nature and politics, stream of conscious cartoons, and whimsical jokes. It's a pretty amusing book, and Miki's open, round cartooning really carries across the meaning of the majority of his strips quite effectively, regardless of their country of origin.
Pure dada surrealism, Japanese-style. Nine silent panels per page, and it's up to you to make any sense out of them. Clean lines, clear thinking, aimed at obscure ends. I was in heaven on every page.
I was raised on the far side, and it's always had a big influence on me, but this has replaced it as my favorite comic strip of all time. Surreal, moving & confounding, while staying subtle and effortless. It's also I think the best example of the same kind of enthusiastic malaise that I personally try to cultivate.