Sequential State – the comics criticism archive of Alex Hoffman

Month: October 2014

  • DMP’s Kickstarter Issues, Continued: Feedback Loop

    This is a continuation of a 3 part series I wrote on DMP’s latest Kickstarter project. DMP’s goal is to take in $589,000, and in return, publish 31 volumes of Tezuka manga before July 2015. I expressed concerns regarding the total price, the loss of value, and the relative lack of book quality. Check out…

  • DMP’s Kickstarter Issues, Part 3: Righting the Ship

    Links: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In part 1 of this 3 part series, I talked about DMP’s Tezuka publishing Kickstarter which aims to put out 31 books for just over $500,000.  In part 2 of 3, we discussed Osamu Tezuka, the god of manga, as a mythical Golden Goose. His manga is desired by English speaking…

  • DMP’s Kickstarter Issues, Part 2: Golden Eggs

    Links: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 In part 1 of this 3 part series, I discussed prices of manga in some of Digital Manga Publishing’s Kickstarter projects. Their latest project to bring 31 volumes of Osamu Tezuka manga to print in English for the first time is looking for well over half…

  • DMP’s Kickstarter Issues, Part 1: Costs?

    Links: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 I’ve had some interesting conversations over the past two days in the wake of Digital Manga Publishing’s release and subsequent PR blast surrounding their latest Kickstarter project. The goal is pretty lofty – to print a chunk of Tezuka’s currently unpublished work in 31 paperback books before the end of 2015.…

  • Review: The Understanding Monster – Book Two, By Theo Ellsworth Of the alternative comics I’ve read so far, there are many that have used autobiographical elements to create strong personal stories. But none of those comics have plunged so deeply into the creator’s psyche as Theo Ellsworth’s series The Understanding Monster. Through the surreal travels…

  • Review: Fish, by Bianca Bagnarelli Bianca Bagnarelli’s illustration work captured my attention earlier this year, so I was happy to hear that she was having a book published through Nobrow Press’ 17×23 line, a series of comics that features short stories by young talented cartoonists. The line has a sparseness to it, which requires a…

  • Review: Pink, by Kyoko Okazaki In the summer and fall of 2013, Vertical Inc. published a selection of work by prominent women mangaka whose work defined a generation of further work. One of those artists was Kyoko Okazaki, whose minimalist design work and love of controversial subjects paved the way for mangaka like Asumiko Nakamura…

  • Review: Cat Dad, King of the Goblins by Britt Wilson Koyama Press has recently entered into the world of kid’s comics with two spectacularly different books – the hardcover A Cat Named Tim and Other Stories by John Martz is described as a picture book for younger readers, while the softcover Cat Dad, King of…

  • Review: Debbie’s Inferno by Anne Emond Anne Emond’s cartoons are relatively new to me – I found Anne’s work through comiques earlier this month while looking up tumblr blogs to follow. Emond’s comics are wry and introspective, often autobiographic in nature, discussing things that happen on the train and feeling like a slug. From that…