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By Masahiko Matsumoto
Edited by Sean Michael Wilson Introduction by Yoshihiro Tatsumi Biographical back section text by Mitsuhiro Asakawa. The first big collection of Matsumoto's work in English! Publisher: IDW - TOP SHELF May 2016 $24.99 "Welcome to the quiet, evocative urban dramas of Masahiko Matsumoto, one of the leading lights of the Japanese alternative-comics movement known as "gekiga." Originally published in 1974, these eleven stories now form the first English-language collection of Matsumoto's mature work. His shy, uncertain heroes face broken hearts, changing families, money troubles, sexual anxiety, and the pressures of tradition, but with a whimsy and lightness of touch that is Matsumoto's trademark." Launched at the Toronto Comic Book Convention, 2016 |
Get it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Girl-Masahiko-Matsumoto/dp/1603093826
http://www.idwpublishing.com/product/cigarette-girl/
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/cigarette-girl/940
http://www.amazon.com/Cigarette-Girl-Masahiko-Matsumoto/dp/1603093826
http://www.idwpublishing.com/product/cigarette-girl/
http://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/cigarette-girl/940
Matsumoto (right) with Tatsumi, in 2003.
Reviews
“Utterly endearing, unsentimental, and wise... Matsumoto pinpoints the day-to-day troubles and modest triumphs of city-dwellers striving for independence, security, success, sex, and maybe love.”
--Paul Gravett, author of Comics Art and editor of 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die
"An often underappreciated artist, Matsumoto had a gift for showing how people—in their awkward, apprehensive, and delightfully absurd ways—relate to one another." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Engrossing and deeply moving." — The AV Club
“…this is tonally Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles) territory. A little bit of Harvey Pekar (American Splendor) territory, in American comics, or Seth’s work, in Canada, and I love all this stuff. And Chris Ware. Will Eisner’s Lower East Side depression stories. Everyday people, not Hamlet, let’s just say…It is great that we are getting all of these older manga in translation, to help us get to know all this comics history.”
-David Schaafsma, Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago
"There's a quietness to these stories. The artwork makes it seem like a gag, but there's a wistfulness and subtlety to these stories...There are some fine stories in here. I'm particularly fond of "A Scarlet Kiss" and "To Somewhere ...", the last two stories in the book. This is definitely not typical manga. There's much more range and depth to be found here. Highly recommended!" - Stewart Tame, Goodreads
"This is an utterly charming book. I've read and re-read it multiple times. It is about the aspirations of gentle souls looking for love in a complicated time as Japan was becoming a rich society after the Pacific war. The characters are conflicted and not entitled. It seems that they don't really think that they can be loved. But they find love around them as they try to survive. There is an underlying theme of complex people finding respect and compassion from unlikely sources in their lives. The compassion that the characters show to each other in their messed up lives yields a message of hope that should resonate with anyone who finds themselves caught in the daily grind of their lives, and who needs a reason to be decent and good to those around them, even when they feel put upon and in despair. It gives one hope. The art is lovely, and sometimes masterful in setting the mood. For me it was the best book of 2016." - 5 star review on amazon
“Utterly endearing, unsentimental, and wise... Matsumoto pinpoints the day-to-day troubles and modest triumphs of city-dwellers striving for independence, security, success, sex, and maybe love.”
--Paul Gravett, author of Comics Art and editor of 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die
"An often underappreciated artist, Matsumoto had a gift for showing how people—in their awkward, apprehensive, and delightfully absurd ways—relate to one another." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Engrossing and deeply moving." — The AV Club
“…this is tonally Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles) territory. A little bit of Harvey Pekar (American Splendor) territory, in American comics, or Seth’s work, in Canada, and I love all this stuff. And Chris Ware. Will Eisner’s Lower East Side depression stories. Everyday people, not Hamlet, let’s just say…It is great that we are getting all of these older manga in translation, to help us get to know all this comics history.”
-David Schaafsma, Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago
"There's a quietness to these stories. The artwork makes it seem like a gag, but there's a wistfulness and subtlety to these stories...There are some fine stories in here. I'm particularly fond of "A Scarlet Kiss" and "To Somewhere ...", the last two stories in the book. This is definitely not typical manga. There's much more range and depth to be found here. Highly recommended!" - Stewart Tame, Goodreads
"This is an utterly charming book. I've read and re-read it multiple times. It is about the aspirations of gentle souls looking for love in a complicated time as Japan was becoming a rich society after the Pacific war. The characters are conflicted and not entitled. It seems that they don't really think that they can be loved. But they find love around them as they try to survive. There is an underlying theme of complex people finding respect and compassion from unlikely sources in their lives. The compassion that the characters show to each other in their messed up lives yields a message of hope that should resonate with anyone who finds themselves caught in the daily grind of their lives, and who needs a reason to be decent and good to those around them, even when they feel put upon and in despair. It gives one hope. The art is lovely, and sometimes masterful in setting the mood. For me it was the best book of 2016." - 5 star review on amazon
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