manga


The TradeWaiters 70: “Drifting Dragons” Vol. 1&2 by Taku Kuwabara

We recorded this episode only a few months ago, and yet anything before quarantine began feels like a lifetime ago. Anyways, this is Drifting Dragons volumes 1 and 2 by Taku Kuwabara. Faith Erin Hicks joins us again for a deep dive into a manga about hunting, killing, and eating […]


The TradeWaiters 68: “Delicious in Dungeon” Vol. 1&2 by Ryoko Kui

Have you ever wondered how to eat a suit of armour? Special guest Faith Erin Hicks joins Jam, Jeff, and Jon to find out as we read the first two volumes of Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui. This cross-genre comedy adventure about eating all the monsters in a fantasy […]


The TradeWaiters 65: “Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu”

Renowned horror cartoonist Junji Ito has a cat life now. His auto-bio graphic novel Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu is this episode’s book, and Jam, Jon, and Jeff are joined by Nina Matsumoto to talk about the book, the artist, and what it’s like to live with cats. […]


With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child

Review by Matthew Nielsen With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child by Keiko Tobe is a manga series about a mother, Sachiko, raising her autistic son, Hikaru, while also exploring the lives and challenges faced by the other family members and their friends. The story is what some would call “edutainment,” […]


The TradeWaiters 47: “Battle Angel Alita” Vol. 1 & 2 by Yukito Kishiro

It today’s episode Jam, Jeff, Jon, and Kaye read the first two volumes of Battle Angel Alita by Yukito Kishiro. Join us in the bleak, dystopian future of this nineties manga where robot bodies are cheap but freedom is not. Spoiler alert: one of the Tradewaiters didn’t like this book, […]


The TradeWaiters 41: “Princess Jellyfish” Vol. 2 by Akiko Higashimura

Welcome back for part two of our look at Akiko Higashimura’s Princess Jellyfish. Jam, Jeff, and Jon have a lot to talk about for Volume 2 of this series, including our theories, hopes, and worries about where the story might be headed next. Also there’s an anime of this? But […]


The TradeWaiters 40: “Princess Jellyfish” Vol. 1 by Akiko Higashimura

On today’s episode Jeff, Jam, and Jon dive into the first volume of Princess Jellyfish by Akiko Higashimura. This is the first half of a two-part look at the world of the Amars otaku and the gender-bending “stylish” who invades their lives. It’s pretty hard to be compulsively obsessed with […]


Observations on the American Manga Market 1

by Aliena Shoemaker There was a time when the local Borders was the only store in my city that carried manga (Japanese comics) in the trade paper back format. The titles the store carried were limited to a grand total of about five. The titles included had either been readily […]