This is something of a rare find I chanced upon in a Mandarake book store the last time I was in Tokyo – a used copy of Otomo Katsuhiro’s Hansel & Gretel comic book. Not unlike the short stories from his Memories, Otomo-san interprets the classic tales from the Brothers Grimm with a comedic twist and playful satire.
I was quiet unaware of the existence of this book till I chanced upon it – the 2nd book stores in Nakano Broadway are excellent places to discover rare gems like this, often at bargain prices. Definitely stop by the place if you’re visiting Tokyo.
This book also provide an interesting glimpse at the early work of Otomo, ( the compilation first published in 1981 ) when he was still discovering a unique style of his own and the influence of French comic artist Moebius is highly recognizable.
This book is no longer available in bookstores, but you can order a used copy from Amazon Japan here. ( you will also need to engage a re-shipping service like Tenso.com if the Amazon Marketplace seller does not ship internationally )
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March 6th, 2012 at 2:06 am
Damn lucky treasure 🙂
March 7th, 2012 at 12:26 am
@ yonghow: For me “Hansel To Gretel” and “Kibun Wa Mou Senki” are Otomo’s finest short stories compilations.
BTW: here’s the most comprehensive website I know on OTOMO works. Maybe you’ll discover production you don’t heard of ?
http://otomo.free.fr/biography.htm
Cheers
March 10th, 2012 at 2:19 am
this is a great book. i found this about five or six years ago, and really love it. everything is so clean and sharp, even when his drawings are a little sketchier.
March 25th, 2012 at 9:54 pm
I found this news about Otomo, it´s a big gift for all the fans of the Akira creator:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2012-03-25/akira-katsuhiro-otomo-prepares-manga-series-in-shonen-mag