YUME NO Q-SAKU

by Suehiro Maruo

Nei racconti dell’antologia Notte putrescente, pubblicati in origine su Garo e su altre riviste del manga alternativo giapponese, emerge tutta la personalissima poetica di Suehiro Maruo. Prima di capolavori come Il vampiro che ride e Il bruco, nei quali l’horror si mescola a una radicale critica sociale, già nelle storie brevi Maruo osserva la realtà nei suoi aspetti più mostruosi e racconta le più nascoste perversioni dell’animo umano. Il tutto con uno stile grafico spietatamente dettagliato, che affonda le radici nella tradizione delle stampe erotico-grottesche giapponesi ma si ispira anche all’arte classica e romantica dell’Occidente. Tredici racconti oscuri, nei quali erotismo e orrore si fondono in una miscela inquietante eppure magnetica. Una nuova gemma che si aggiunge ai precedenti volumi della Maruo Collection.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Horror, Japan, Erotica, Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée

168 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Suehiro Maruo ( 丸尾 末広) is a Japanese manga author and illustrator.
Maruo graduated from junior high school in March 1972 but dropped out of senior high school. At the age of 15 he moved to Tokyo and began working for a bookbinder. At 17, he made his first manga submission to Weekly Shōnen Jump, but it was considered by the editors to be too graphic for the magazine's format and was subsequently rejected. Maruo temporarily removed himself from manga until November 1980 when he made his official debut as a manga artist in Ribon no Kishi (リボンの騎士) at the age of 24. It was at this stage that the young artist was finally able to pursue his artistic vision without such stringent restrictions over the visual content of his work. Two years later, his first stand-alone anthology, Barairo no Kaibutsu (薔薇色の怪物; Rose Colored Monster) was published.

Maruo was a frequent contributor to the legendary underground manga magazine Garo (ガロ).

Like many manga artists, Maruo sometimes makes cameo appearances in his own stories. When photographed, he seldom appears without his trademark sunglasses.
Though most prominently known for his work as a manga artist, Maruo has also produced illustrations for concert posters, CD Jackets, magazines, novels, and various other media. Some of his characters have been made into figures as well.

Though relatively few of Maruo's manga have been published outside of Japan, his work enjoys a cult following abroad.
His book Shōjo Tsubaki (aka Mr. Arashi's Amazing Freak Show) has been adapted into an animated film (Midori) by Hiroshi Harada with a soundtrack by J.A. Seazer, but it has received very little release.

Reviews

[Peter]

found a copy in the free library bin next to my house. i don’t read Japanese, so this was a bit like watching a foreign film with the subtitles off. fairly twisted material that seems to be referencing Japanese woodblock prints and cabinets of curiosity mixed with gore, sex, bestiality, scat, and cannibalism. is it for me? no, but it’s kind of cool to look at i guess.

[Jamie Grefe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've owned a few Suehiro books for years, but the Japanese was always too dense for me, couldn't quite settle in and enjoy. I read the English version of this one last night. It's definitely not for the faint of heart, like the graphic novel version of a more deranged Bataille who keeps going beyond, beyond, beyond how far you think he's going to go.

[Alex · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una recopilación de historias que no tienen ni pies ni cabeza, cada una más inmunda que la anterior. Paré de leer antes de llegar a la mitad pues no merecía la pena pasar por semejante trauma visual teniendo en cuenta la nula profundidad o contenido de la obra. Ni se asoma al nivel de otros títulos como Isla panorama o Infierno embotellado

[Daniel Andreu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que a estas alturas Maruo todavía me pueda sorprender por el nivel de depravación y retorcimiento, es una maravilla, aunque no sean actuales.

[Ernesto Juárez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesante, pero pues nada excepcional. Shockeante por serlo, el dibujo me gustó pero no es la gran cosa.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

obviously in parts based on bataille but can make him look like one of the schoolgirls in this book to whom hideous things happen

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dunno man. I like Maruo's art, but I feel like this is one of those cases where the comic is gross enough to actually kinda soil the art a bit. I guess thats kind of the point. But I don't think this is Maruo's best work. Its not quite well fleshed out enough in terms of illustration and colour to justify its transgression.