Teufelsfisch

by Susumu Katsumata

Zwei eindrucksvolle Erzählungen aus dem Leben der Wanderarbeiter in einem japanischen Atomkraftwerk eröffnen Katsumatas Kurzgeschichtenband. Die insgesamt neun Erzählungen berichten aus einem modernen sowie einem ländlichen Japan mit all seinen Traditionen, Mythen und Widersprüchen. Bevölkert von Kreaturen aus japanischer Folklore sowie einsamen jungen Männern ohne Zuhause und Familie, zeigen sie verschiedenste Facetten seines künstlerischen Schaffens, die teils sehr persönlich gefärbt sind. Aufgrund seines Universitätsabschluss in Physik und dem anschließenden Nachdiplomstudium in Kernphysik konnte Susumu Katsumata dieses komplexe Thema wie kein anderer Manga-Künstler inhaltlich und zeichnerisch umsetzen. Mal beklemmend, mal herzerwärmend zeigt TEUFELSFISCH Katsumata als Meister des Mangas als poetische Form.

Genres: Manga, Comics, Japan, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Short Stories, Fantasy

240 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2013

Reviews

[Toby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories, written in an assortment of styles, but which all reveal a deeply empathetic author. Unlike most of the other Garo artists I've read so far, Katsumata strives to portray the interior lives of outcast women, as well as male outsiders, with his imagined depictions of his late mother being particularly touching. And, endearingly, even the mythical Yokai such as the Kappa and Tanuki have their own anxieties and introspections.

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of stories that span from the late 1960s to the 1980s. There are three kinds of manga that are being presented here, three kinds of Katsumata (if you will). The first two stories in the collection are from later in his career. These are his tales exploring the ramifications of nuclear power, or a reliance on it, and focuses on "nuclear gypsies." The middle stories are more in line with the Katsumata that many (American) readers may be familiar with: manga influence more by folklore and pre-modern Japan. These are the kind of stories that make up the Red Snow collection that D&Q put out a few years ago. The final pieces in this collection are what are called "I-manga," introspective and very personal pieces that are perhaps the most difficult to decipher. There's more ambiguity in these stories, and they're more mood-oriented and associated than driven by plot. Although the most challenging in the collection, they are in many ways some of the most fascinating examples of Katsumata's writing.

[Kaitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic translated volume demonstrating Katsumata’s masterful versatility across a range of topics. He addresses the ever relevant sham of nuclear power (appearing to be advanced but using outdated technology that irradiates and kills workers and their families), the ache of the untethered soul (many of his characters, both human and mythical creatures, are alone in the world), and the contradictory hypocrisies of modern life under capitalism (struggling to make financial ends meet and feeling perpetually exhausted). His illustrations and use of composition and typography are also bold and unconventional, especially given that most of these manga stories are at least twenty if not thirty years old.

[E. G.]

--Deep Sea Fish
--Devil Fish (Octopus)
--Mister Kappa
--Hanbe
--The Book of Straw
--The Leaf Sutra
--Winter Insect
--Winter Sea
--Spring Soul

Katsumata Susumu and the Flow of Life, by Asakawa Mitsuhiro
Tono, Tohoku, and Me, by Katsumata Susumu
Manga and Nuclear Power, by Katsumata Susumu
Nowhere to Turn: A View to the Margins, by Abe Yukihiro

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dosyć przekrojowy zbiór prac jednego z legendarnych twórców alternatywnej mangi. Katsumata Susumu tworzył m.in. dla magazynu „Garo”, a ten zestaw zawiera przede wszystkim dwie dosyć nietypowe historie, będące sprzeciwem i wyrazem obaw wobec opieraniu gospodarki japońskiej na energii pozyskanej z elektrowni jądrowych. Autor był niestety „złym prorokiem”, bo jego twórczość może być odebrana jako zapowiedź wydarzeń z 2011 w Fukushima nr 1, jednak w tych mangach skupił się przede wszystkim na ciężkim losie pracowników najniższego szczebla, ciągle narażonych na promieniowanie, zapadających na ciężkie choroby i pozbawionych podstawowych praw, bo wszelkie niewygodne fakty o pracy w tych miejscach były przez zarząd skrzętnie skrywane.

Drugi typ opowieści nawiązuje do ludowych wierzeń dotyczących kappy i tanuki, mieszkających blisko człowieka i próbujących w jakiś sposób dostosować się do jego życia, a nawet (dzięki supermocom) w nich się przeobrazić. Te fabuły tylko pozornie oderwane są od realnych problemów, bo pod przykrywką mitologii mangaka porusza temat wyrzutków, którym ciężko się dopasować i którzy zostali zepchnięci na boczne tory wraz z postępującą industrializacją i zmianami w strukturach społecznych.

Wreszcie bardzo osobiste, enigmatyczne i nawiązujące do trudnego dzieciństwa autora historie, które łatwiej rozszyfrować z posłowiem dotyczącym życia Katsumaty. Komiks przyjmuje tu bardziej poetycką i niejednoznaczną formę, a minimalizm sąsiaduje z niemal malarskimi tłami, dokumentującymi surowy i nieprzyjazny krajobraz. Całość ma dosyć mroczny i ponury charakter i jest jazdą obowiązkową dla wszystkich fanów klasycznej mangi z poza głównego nurtu

[crowsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

I was sort of under the impression that more of the stories were going to be about anti-nuclear sentiments since that what the first two stories and a majority of the essays in the back are; but what I really got was some great short works about life in the country and the intersection of yokai as myth and metaphor. Melancholic and tragic at times, wistful and nostalgic.

[Rick Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic sampling of Katsumata Susumu's bibliography, with stories spanning different periods of his lengthy career. The first two stories, "Deep Sea Fish" and "Devil Fish", focuses on people he refers to as "nuclear gypsies", i.e. people who put their bodies on the line working at nuclear facilities to make ends meet. Katsumata was disillusioned with nuclear energy early into his studies of nuclear physics and opted to go for the arts, but the sentiment from his younger days seeped into stories critical of nuclear expansion. The second set of stories include "Mister Kappa", "Hanbe", "The Book of Straw" and "The Leaf Sutra", which broadly cover stories about Japanese folklore and mysticism, stories that are more similar to the ones found in the Red Snow collection released by Drawn & Quarterly.

But it's the final pieces in here that show the strength of Katsumata as a cartoonist. The three stories, "Winter Insect", "Winter Sea", and "Spring Soul", are categorized as "I-manga" which are more introspective, personal pieces. Compared to the majority of manga taking on some kind of genre or speculative fiction, Katsumata's I-manga really stands out for their melancholy tone, sweeping landscapes and ambiguous narratives. Despite how varied the stories were in Fukushima Devil Fish, the stories do all seem like Katsumata working out personal issues with his comics. This was an excellent and varied collection, and the choice of offset lithography printing really made the art stand out even more. The essays by Asakawa Mitsuhiro, Abe Yukihiro and Katsumata himself all provide layered context that made this a great package from start to finish.

[Erik Wirfs-Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting if slightly incoherent collections, linked by s0rt of a general theme of rural alienation and misery, but otherwise not much links the two (journalistic?) stories of nuclear power workers and the rest of the collections, which consist of work from Garo magazine written in the early 70s.

[Comics Alternative · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/manga-re...

[MJ (minnowslibrary) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly unique collection of stories from an artist with an amazing mind and a beautiful, empathetic heart! I’ve never read anything like this! As I was reading the essays, the one about the life of the author mentioned that many of the stories collected here were kind of vent pieces for him, just Katsumata drawing because he needed to get the feelings out. Stunning, unique artwork. I loved getting to read emotional, almost slice of life stories, about such complex and interesting characters and pair that with learning about some Japanese environmental and political history I knew very little about to begin with. Such a cool book and I’m so lucky to own it!

[Sephreadstoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mi ha un po' deluso perché purtroppo del "Fukushima Anno Zero" si parla solo nella prima parte, molto scarna, e il resto del volume è dedicato a storie brevi con forte presenza di miti e leggende giapponesi che non mi hanno coinvolto per niente.
Pubblicità ingannevole o sono io che ho letto nella descrizione del libro quello che volevo? Non so, ma la delusione è cocente.