Spooky romance musical week (9/27-10/1)

While is is possible for a thing to be all of those in one, I did not experience such glory this week. Which is fine because I’m not really a huge fan of musicals (manga about music, yes. Musicals, with a few exceptions, meh. Hang with me, I’ll get there). What I did do was read a whole bunch of really good manga and comics plus a novella by Oyinkan Braithwaite, champion of what you now know is my favorite flavor of horror, “The real monsters are people.”

There’s a lot to get to so let’s go:

The Witch and the Beast Vol. 6 by Satake Kousuke (Kodansha)

CW: Violence, blood, vampirism

Long running series are tricky animals; some stay strong from start to finish and some hit a lull in the middle during which readers drift off. Vol. 5 of The Witch and the Beast was an interlude book and while I wouldn’t say it was boring, I didn’t smash the “order” button on the next installment as I had in the past. In the end, I did decide to give this splatter-fest, monsters and magic book a chance to win me back because it appeared we were going to be treated to a really interesting version of Underworld and I’m glad I did because in this newest book, we get to watch Guideau the feral girl beat the crap out of some vampires. And a psychotic, usurped vampire king use her to get his throne back. And her be really unhappy abut it. There’s also a fantastic side story about a deliciously “fuck society” witch that’s perfect for spooky season and a peek at what Phanora and undead sidekick and bodyman have been up to which, as usual, is no good.

Sometimes, you just need a monster book full of witches and curses and mysterious coffins and zombies to take your mind off the actual horrors of the world. Personally, I prefer ghosts, magical shadow governments, giant lizards, fetish dolls, possession to the news. And at least I know how to get rid of vampires.

Lovesickness by Ito Junji (Viz)

CW: Suicide, self-harm, obsessive behavior, gaslighting, body horror, pain, body dysphoria

This isn’t a new collection but it’s new to me as a later-in-life manga reader and also someone who’s cautious re: body horror (I used to say I didn’t do body horror but as I’ve explored more of the genre, especially stories with roots in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and the Philippines written by women, I’ve had to adjust that statement). And while I definitely had to put aside my side eye vis a vis most of these stores focusing on women losing themselves in obsession to men or wanting to alter their bodies to be more attractive to them (which I was willing to do only because… the 90s. Nothing to be done. American. comics from the era are just as bad if not worse) Ito is considered a master of horror for a reason.

“Lovesickness” is a terrifying collection not only because people do lose themselves to passion entirely without ghosts as an excuse, do horrible things to themselves and others in the name of “love” that’s actually something else “entirely” but because, like Ryusuke, we’re often helpless to do anything to save them from that person or from themselves. Who among us hasn’t seen someone we love dissolve into someone else’s desire, subsume themselves in someone else’s demands and tried everything we can think of only to lose them forever? It’s a fundamental human experience and also one of the most horrific,

“The Strange Hikizuri Siblings” was a little too gross for me. I read it but it made me super uncomfortable and it hit a bunch of my trigger buttons. You’ll have to judge that one for yourself.

“The Mansion of Phantom Pain” hit me right in the feels in an odd way. In the tale of a boy who feels phantom pain not only in his body but in a massive field throughout his family home, his parents hire caregivers who work tirelessly through the property to soothe him. Everyone else in the home becomes immune to pain while Kozeki, a new member of the team, becomes increasingly pain sensitive and integrated with the house.

I suffer from chronic migraines and increased intercranial pressure. Being in pain every day for years has made me less sensitive to pain. I had a tumor removed from my jaw and didn’t need any pain meds afterwards because I didn’t feel anything. I waited out an inflamed appendix on two different occasions four months apart (apparently it was the chronic kind of appendicitis until the second event). The idea of trying to live with a normal pain perception, let alone being sensitive is absolutely horrifying to me. I only survive because I’ve trained myself to live in a suit of armor. Take it off and I’m toast. Gah.

“The Rib Woman” is just…. shudder. Read with care if you’ve had body dysphoria.

Like I said, there’s a reason the man is considered a master. And the collection definitely contains a story to scare everyone silly.

Graveyard Wars Vol.1 by AJ Lieberman, Andrew Sebastian Kwan, and Darren Rawlings (Ablaze)

There are people in the world who can borrow the abilities of the dead simply by touching the dirt from their graves.

If you’re one of them, you can access those powers whenever you want. You just have to die a little first. It’s okay. If you’re careful, you come back, your barrier comes down, and boom! Soul-Skill.

There are two factions of Soul-Skilled. They don’t like one another very much. Hence the war.

I love the concept upon which Graveyard Wars is based. It’s original, it’s interesting, and I love the idea that the Soul-Skilled aren’t possessed by the dead. They touch the dirt, borrow the skill, and then give it back. Grave dirt being imbued with, and lending, power is an old idea, one that’s worked its way into a lot of different philosophies and theologies, one that’s a little dirty (physically) and a little forbidden but so, so powerful. I loved the twists and turns of the story; the conspiracies, the whispering, the gray morality of both the supposed white and black hats. Twins and magic always have potential.

You no doubt hear a but. There are a couple. The first is that the characters are grouped into types and everyone of a given type looks pretty identical. There was an attempted to differentiate storylines with background color (the art is primarily duo chrome) but the deeper I got into the book the more the plot lines merged (as it should be) which meant the visual cue got less useful and 3/4 of the time I didn’t know which “young man” or “grizzled survivalist” I was looking with. Additionally, for a story that borrows a lot from voodoo and hoodoo there are very few characters of color. Also, for a book with an aces concept and plot, the dialog was… meh.

That said, concept and plot were enough to convince me to try one more volume. There’s a lot of potential here and all of my buts are at least partly issues that should have been caught by editorial. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

Days on Fes Vol. 3 by Oka Kanato (Yen Press)

Days on Fes continues to be an utter delight. In this volume, Kanade and Otoha go to their first urban festival, the boys head to a night festival, and we meet Mero Fukagawa who has a crush on Kanade.

Did we absolutely need a romance in this friendship story? Probably not. But here’s the thing: it’s innocent and sweet and sure, Mero likes the way Kanade looks but he also likes who she is and he’s interested in this new part of herself she’s discovered. He doesn’t try to lord his larger body of musical knowledge over her; he delves into it and finds places where their adoration is mutual, suggesting without forcing, offering without demanding. And at no point does he try to insert himself between Kanade and Otoha; would he like Kanade to himself? Sure. But he knows Otoha is important to her so he includes them both. This kid? This kid is a Tetsu in training and you all know how I feel about the Immortal Dragon.

As for Gaku and Ritsuru, well. One of them has everything figured out and it’s not the latter. But he’s coming to terms with the fact that not everyone is meant to live in lockstep and maybe, just maybe, loving what you love and finding a way to make it part of your life is enough. Who knew his annoying boss was so profound?

I may be older but it’s where I am right now too. I feel seen. If ancient by comparison.

There’s a great side-story in this one too.

Perfect World Vol. 7 by Aruga Aie (Kodansha)

Living with a disability is difficult. But it’s also living. For those of you who haven’t read my reviews of previous volumes of Perfect World, this is the book that helped me realize that my migraines and chronic pain are a disability. They’ve forced me to change the way I live, to change the way I think about my body, about my work, about my creativity. But it’s also allowed me to be kinder to myself, to understand that limits aren’t the same thing as barriers, that I’m still who I was with modifications. And because of that, for the first time in my life, I’m doing what I’ve always dreamed of doing.

So, yeah. This is a good book. You should read it.

The Baby is Mine by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic Books)

CW: pandemic, newborn death, postpartum psychosis, child harm, physical restraint, animal death

Have you read (or listened to. I listened and damn) My Sister the Serial Killer? Most people would call it a thriller. I call it horror for the aforementioned people are the most monstrous etc. and I’m going to call The Baby is Mine horror for the same reason. This is Shirley Jackson level, locked-house, psychological warfare of the highest level. Thriller implies excitement. Adrenaline. James Bond ski-jumping out of an airplane. This is… not that. This is confinement. Claustrophobia. Doubt. Fear. Seething resentment. Murder contemplated, knives drawn, “if I can’t have him no one can,” terror.

Yeah, that kind of horror.

Read with caution.

Hope you find something to love in this list. Next week… well, I’m feeling a history marathon coming on…