h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I must admit, 'Lone Wolf and Cub' is too rich for my blood. At £7.50 (or thereabouts) a copy, over 36 issues, it's just a little too expensive for my pocket.
Fans of samurai manga should also check out Hiroake Samura's superlative 'Blade of the Immortal', in my humble opinion the *best* title on the market at the moment.
Viz are about to start printing 'Vagabond' as well, the fictionalized account of the life of a real samurai, who's name slips my mind atm...

I'll have to check out Blade Of The Immortal, thanks!

Yeah, LW&C is fairly hard on the wallet... I think they're pretty good value, though, as the page count per volume is significantly high (don't be put off by the 'pocket-sized' volumes - they're huge!), and the stories themselves are compelling enough to want to read more.

And I believe the LW&C reprints are the top-selling TPBs through Diamond whenever a new volume is released.

I thought it was 28 volumes, not 32? However, it is quite likely I've plucked that figure from thin air!

Out of interest, and on the subject of samurai, what's your opinion of Usagi Yojimbo?

That's the Stan Sakai one, isn't it? Can't say I've read it... people I know rave about it, but I've yet to pick it up.

I *do* know 'Usagi Yojimbo' means 'killer bunny' in Japanese, though.

And for everyone's general information, I think I'll be looking at Marvel Mangaverse: New Dawn #1, because it was the most fun of this week's comics. I would have picked Slow News Day #4, but part 4 of 6 isn't really the right moment for a review , or Noble Causes #1 but I thought it was really disappointing.

Well, Usagi is my recommendation to you . I don't own any of the comics, but I know somebody who has a giant pile of them. I was hooked from the first one, read them all in one sitting.

Anyway, I now have copies of The Dark Knight Returns, and Watchmen, following a visit to Forbidden Planet

Yay! Comics no self-respecting person should be without!

Was that FP London you went to? Was this a sudden flash of inspiration to go and buy them, or have you had your eye on them for a while?

And I shall definitely check out Usagi Yojimbo at some point, thanks!

Forbidden Planet in Edinburgh. London would be a bit of a trek
Watchmen was a bit of an impulse purchase, but the guy was drooling with so much excitement over it, I decided to get it to keep him happy.

And you won't regret it!

Mind you, I'd read Alan Moore's shopping list if someone published it.

Some people would say you've been reading his toilet paper for some time, judging by the latest batch of nonsense he's come up with for ABC. Though I did think 'The League...' was funny enough...
Sakai's is a name i see about a lot but have never been inspired to start buying the actual book. Maybe I shall look into it.
Though there are plenty of TPB's coming out in the next couple of months anyway.
Maybe I'll even live to see volumes 7 and * of 'X'.

Oh, and, er, i think Usagi Yojimbo means 'rabbit bodyguard'. I may be wrong, though.

Indeed it does. Though 'Bodyguard Rabbit' may be more pleasing to the ear/eye.
A yojimbo was a fairly specialised hired swordsman.
Kurosawa's film 'Yojimbo' was the basis for 'A Few Dollars More' as a wandering *ronin* (masterless swordsman) plies his trade between two warring factions in a remote village.
Fine, fine movie.
Maybe 'Rabbit for Hire'?

I've just realised what was bothering me about The Dark Knight Returns. I was confusing Frank Miller with Mark Millar, who used to write for 2000AD, and was one of the reasons I stopped buying it. He wrote (possibly still writes) stupid, juvenile, insulting storyline, full of cliches and weak jokes. And it really put me off.

I stand corrected on the translation of Usagi Yojimbo.

I was informed my a German friend of mine who married a Japanese lady that 'Usagi Yojimbo' meant Killer Bunny, but if you're sure,then I guess no.

'Sure' is a biiig word, isn't it. I'm pretty sure, if only because I don't think Kurosawa wouldn't have called a movie 'Killer'.
It's important to remember that many Japanese kanji don't have a direct translation, and the Japanese often use kanji in way that has multiple meanings and includes puns and layers of meaning.
For example, 'Tenchi Miyo', in translation, can mean 'No Need for Tenchi', 'Who needs Tenchi?' or 'This way up!', depending on how you read the kanji.

That whizzing sound that you can hear is all this talk of kanji etc going over my head somewhat.

Seriously, though, I'm going to pick up some Blade of the Immortal and probably some Usagi Yojimbo (whatever it might mean! ) at some point, based on these recommendations.

And to continue the Manga theme, this week's review is going to be Marvel Mangaverse New Dawn #1, and Whiteout for the TPB review.

I'm sure you are too tall for it to go *totally* over your head.

I'd recommend starting 'Blade' as close to the beginning as you can get. Obvious advice, I know, but some people are very odd about how they go about these things. The plot gets pretty complicated pretty quickly.

That explains my 'zen wisdom' then; I must be too tall for things to go over my head.

I usually like to start reading stories at the beginning, so picking up the first trade of BotI (nice acronym ) would be my first port of call, if I can get away with mixing my metaphors that badly.

GOSH! in Great Russell St usually has quite a well-stocked Manga section (although they never seem to have the volume of LW&C I'm after ), so hopefully I'll be partaking of Samura Hiroaki goodness sooner rather than later.

I'm surprised any volume of LW and C is difficult to get hold of.
Have you tried 'Showcase', down Charing X Road?

Despite everyone ignoring my comments about Mark Millar, I'm going to complain about him some more. Apparently he's going to do a kind of remake of the X-Men, using his particular brand of 'humour'. This is to encourage people who enjoyed the film to buy the comics. What an idiotic idea .

Not ignored.
I read them with interest, but no little or nothing about the man, so felt it best to keep my mouth shut, for once.