Mangaman by Barry Lyga and Colleen Doran

Ryoko Kiyama, the title character of Mangaman by Barry Lyga and Colleen Doran, doesn't really think much of it when he falls through a rip in reality and into another world. He's a manga character. This stuff happens to him all the time.

But the new world he's fallen into is very, very strange. Everyone is so . . . rounded. And they think monsters and karate fights, sweat drops and surprise lines, are incredibly weird and he's nothing but a freak. Only one girl, Marissa, seems to like him exactly the way he is. But the rip between his world and hers is starting to close. He has to make a terrible choice. Should he stay with the girl he's falling in love with? Or should he go back to his own familiar world, and leave her forever?


If you love manga, this book is for you. It both honors and pokes fun at the crazy conventions of manga, and what we think of it, and it's also a great love story. With bonus monsters!

Black Butler

The Victorian gothic manga, Black Butler by Yana Toboso, features a too perfect butler and his charge, the Earl of Phantomhive, a twelve-year-old boy who is the head of a very successful toy and candy business.  But both of these characters are something more, with deadly secrets and dark pasts.  Together, they host dinner parties and solve mysteries. 

The artwork is elegant and the reveal moments are both dramatic and gorgeous.  I am, quite frankly, in love.  There is murder, black magic, inept minor characters, cross-dressing, kidnapping, betrayal, kick@$$ fight scenes, and the most wonderful costumes.  What more could a fangirl ask for?  Oh yes - multiple volumes so my new favorite addiction can be drawn out just a bit longer. 

~ Book Ninja

Mongolian Manga - or - Surprise! Your Spouse Is Nothing Like You Expected!

What I love about manga is the research put into many of the stories.  Kaoru Mori has had a long love of historic Central Asia and it really comes through in A Bride's Story.  Amir is twenty years old and she has just entered an arranged marriage with Karluk, who is twelve years old.  Both of them are surprised by the age difference.  As the newlyweds slowly adjust to life together, their day to day lives are illustrated in gorgeous detail. 

Karluk's family features prominently in the story, since Amir has left her nomadic tribe to live with them.  They range from grandparents to young children and all of them are well-developed characters that you come to care about.  Amir's tribe has several cultural differences from Karluk's town-dwelling family and she must adapt and learn as she encounters new situations.  The artwork is absolutely amazing, with delicate accuracy and evocative lines.  The woodcarvings, carpets, and jewelry are all portrayed in breathtaking detail, giving you a true sense of what life was like in 19th century Central Asia.  I can't tell you much more about the story without giving away parts of the plot, but I will say that the chapter with the woodcarver is my absolute favorite.  I love the interaction between the little boy and the old man. 

Consider yourself warned: there is a page of mild nudity - apparently the best way to keep warm in a yurt is to sleep naked.  Yeah, I didn't know that either.  Educational nudity, who'd have thought? 

~ Book Ninja

Book Girl -- No, This Isn't an Biography

“This is why you have to watch your back around book girls. Their minds are full of literature without any concept of reality, so if you take your eyes off of them, there’s no telling what mischief they’ll get into.” ~ Mizuki Nomura, from Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime.

Ooku: the Inner Chambers

What would happen if most of the men died in feudal Japan and women now ran the country? Ooku: the Inner Chambers by Fumi Yoshinaga explores this idea, with most of the focus on the palace and its male harem. Yes, male harem. As titillating as that sounds, this is a deftly woven tale of politics, intrigue, and love with some amazing art. Ok, maybe it's a little titillating too.

Saturn Apartments

Science fiction writers don't seem to be very optimistic. I'm not judging, I'm just saying. The future is always more of the same human mistakes, just with spacesuits. And yet we keep reading it. It must be because mistakes are more interesting than perfection. (There, I've just handed you the perfect excuse the next time you mess up on something.) In Saturn Apartments , Hisae Iwaoko has written a science fiction manga filled with characters that could live next door to you, living with the same small joys and problems as we do now.

Polly and the Pirates

If you like comics and manga, you should check out Polly and the Pirates. Yeah, I know - ninjas aren't supposed to like pirates. But I have a soft spot for pirates, especially pirate chicks who kick... body parts. And prim and proper Polly is in for a shock when she discovers that her mother was one of those pirate chicks.