More than ever, more than ever, Beat’s Bizarre Adventure gives three writers the opportunity to recommend some of their favourite books and series from Japan, Korea and elsewhere from Japan. The 50th special article in this column features Talking Lizard, the Sexy Devil King, and the Birth of Gekiga. Also, Justin Guerrero wrote about the Bionicle.
Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer
Author/Artist: Mizuta at
Translation: Jocelyne Allen
Adapted: Ysabet Reinhardt Macfarlane
Lettering: Lys Blakeslee
Publisher: Seven Seas
It starts with the way these stories often do. “One morning I woke up,” the boy named Yuuhi said, “And there was a lizard in my room. We stared at him till the silence broke… until the silence broke.” The lizard introduces himself as Knight Noi Crescent, “to protect our Virginity from evil wizards trying to destroy the planet.” Is Yuuhee kind enough to help him with his quest? Yuuhi doesn’t want a part of it. He throws the lizard out the window.
Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer follow the points according to your expectations. The boy is chosen by his mysterious powers to save the world from destruction. But then he refuses. Because who actually accepts something as ridiculous as it is, then when Yuuhi meets a woman the lizard wants to protect him, it turns out she is his neighbor Samidare.
Yuuhi and Samidare work with dozens of other people and their animal companions to defeat the Golem, the wizard servant. Unless otherwise, it’s a normal combat action story. Yuuhi’s teammates include children, office workers and the elderly. The cast of Biscuit Hammer can die in combat (including children!) rather than in teams of Schoenen heroes larger than life.
At the heart of this is the relationship between Yuhi and Samidare. Yuuhi is abused and Samidare is terminally ill. They are united by their belief that the world is unjust and must be eliminated. But is there another way that they can survive the rest of their lives rather than rejecting the future?
Mizuta it has been significantly improved in the process of drawing Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer. By the time he painted Spirit Circle in 2012, he found Gutter as an artist, telling heartfelt stories of love and pain in multiple genres. That series will be my first recommendation for new readers, but I still have a soft spot in the mind of a biscuit hammer. It’s a book that allows you to live your life without stumbling, but when you do, you’re happy to find it. – Adam Wescott
Version 1.0.0
Seduced by the Devil King: Sensual Regeneration
Author/Artist: Foxies
Translation: Christine Dashiell
Lettering: Carl Vanstiphout
Publisher: Seven Seas
If you’re looking for a spicy blend of supernatural fantasy seduced by the Demon King, reincarnation drama, and dangerous soft romance, sensual rebirth may be your next guilty pleasure. This cartoon offers a seductive escape into a world where love and venge hold hands and dance.
The story follows Haruka, a tired real estate employee who is drowned by workplace misfortunes and heartbreak. Her humble being is shattered as the mysterious man literally crashes into her life through a meteor from her window, telling her that he will become the king of the devil. He boldly declares that she was once a saint and his deadly enemy in his past life. Now he’s back to exact revenge. Not through violence, but by giving her joy so intensely, it shatters her soul before she pushes her into total despair.
Beyond the sexual packages seduced by the Devil King, it robs deeper emotional terrain: juxtaposition of past life burdens with present desires. Haruka’s journey from skepticism to surrender is not merely a trope, but a cleverly layered quest for trust, memory and emotional regeneration. The Devil King becomes her most fierce guardian and most attentive lover while she vows to ruin her. The tension between his dark goals and the kindness he shows creates a delicious emotional whiplash.
In addition to being an eye candy, Demon King is a complicated figure working on prolonged sadness and restrained affection. A corporate drone, Haruka gradually regains her inner strength as a resurfaced fragment of her sacred past. The scene where she tries to make him smile is tugs his mind during the sultry moments, despite him being her destroyer.
It’s very loud when it comes to adult romance. The artist’s style, page layout, and transition between reciprocating and releasing erotic scenes must be perfectly balanced in terms of maintaining and releasing tension. Drawing style, transition from normal scenes to erotic scenes, overall page design, etc. all need to be perfectly balanced in maintaining and releasing tension. It will surprise readers. I think the only place that gets shorter is story development and can use improvements. But I have great hopes for the later volume. – ilgınsideoysal
A drifting life
Author/Artist: Yoshiharu Tatsumi
Translation: Taro Nettleson
Edit and Design: Adrian Tomeen
Publisher: Drawing & Quarter
Certainly in the Pantheon of great graphic novels, drifted life is ranked as one of the greatest lives. Few comics act simultaneously as works of autobiography, history (both national and art form), criticism of comics, and calls for action. Written and drawn by a master cartoonist, this mammoth work feels immeasurable not only because a physical book could become a gateway.
The heart of the story is the origins of the manga industry and the formation of Gekiga, a manga movement aimed at creating more adult and literary works. The debate over ideas and aesthetic choices behind it will burn cartoons as art form for years to come. TATSUMI contains numbers ranging from the manga’s own god to the creator of Tezka and Golgo 13 Takao Zite.
Tatsumi’s story begins in his teens and ends with the publication of his work Black Blizzard. Meanwhile, he tracks his growth as an artist, but also elaborates on his doubts and frustration. The joy of this book lies in seeing him apply the art, literature and lessons he has learned from his life in post-World War II Japan to his practice. When his young self declares that he will make Gekiga in the end, it is a moment of victory for both himself and for the art form.
What makes all this so powerful is not Tatsumi tells her story or uses it as a way to document history. That means he frames his story as part of the continuum. Tezka influences him. At the same time, he incorporates arts and literature from his home country and abroad. He wants readers to remember that art does not exist in the vacuum. It’s the sum of who we are as people and how we respond to the art around us. – D. Morris
Bionicle
Author: Gregory T. Farshay
Artists: Randy Elliot, Ray Kryssing, Stuart Sayger, Leigh, Gallagher, Pop Mhan
Publisher: DC
Bionicle is a popular series of buildable figurines by LEGO that ran from 2001 to 2010, and it had a brief revival around 2014 before returning to obscure. It is best known for its deep and rich lore, loosely inspired by Polynesian culture. But what people may not know is that there was a Bionicle Comic Series published by DC.
Each of those 48 issues is released monthly at the Comic Store and is included for free with a monthly subscription to LEGO Magazine. I’ve collected all the issues from the 2004 Metru Nui Story Arc to the 2010 Glatorian Arc. Unfortunately, there are no previous issues.
They were all written by Gregory T. Farshay. Gregory T. Fati has written not only graphic novels about ninjas, but also Bionicle novels. Many rich lore bionicles are known in his comics: Matanui Island, Metlny, and the constant battle between their light and darkness, Matlani’s brother Mata. Matanui represents the joys of creation, crafting and buildings with Lego, while Mata represents the destruction and chaos brought about by dismantling that creation. Together, they are the yin and yang of the universe of Bionicle.
Summoned by Matanui from various origins, the biomechanical heroes protected Mata and Metlny from Mata and his destructive children. Each TOA represents the forces of elements such as fire, water, air, ice, earth and stone. Their masks give them immeasurable strength.
Aside from Lore Tidbits, dive into art! There are a variety of artists throughout the series, each with their own unique style. Randy Elliott was a pencil and inker from 2001 to 2005, but Mettle Nui Ark concluded. His highly detailed linework and shading make each bionicle’s character and environment look incredible, while still faithful to the toy design. Meanwhile, Ray Crising inked Elliott’s pencils from 2003 to 2005.
From the ignition arc in 2005 to the Sea of Darkness Arc in 2007, Stuart Sayger was brought in to do pencils and ink. His rough edge-like style in mind was intended to represent the changes in the tone of the Vionicles back then. Sager was taken over by Liga Lager in the Battle of Power Story Ark in 2008. Gallagher has moved the book’s art style back to Elliott and Chrysing. Finally, Pop Maan was responsible for the arc of Gratria, which ran from 2009 to 2010. The story ended with the Bionicle DVD film, Bionicle: The Legendary Reincarnation. I have nothing to say about Mann’s art except that his work is lined up with Gallagher, Randy and Elliott.
At the time of writing, it is difficult to find a surviving physical copy of the Bionicle comic. Currently, the best bet is an online reseller or a local comic book store back issue. That is to say, new and old readers enjoy it unless DC plans to re-release these comics one day. – Justinguerero
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