Welcome to Manga Zubon, where I take a look at the manga that have come out each month and pick what I think are the best of the lot. These are the manga that I feel deserve recognition and readership more than the rest, so I’m singling them out. My focus in this column is mostly on first volumes to get you in on the ground floor of new series, but I will include standouts in ongoing series as well. Keep in mind that though I do my best, I can’t read everything that comes out each month, so if you have something you think I missed or just have something to say about the ones I’ve chosen, please chime in in the comments section.

Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes V.1
Writer: Joshua Dysart
Artist: Camilla d’Errico
Publisher: Del Rey

I’m not much of a fan of the idea of using a musician’s name to sell a manga, but from what I can tell, Avril Lavigne was actually involved in the story development. She’s also a character in the book itself. Combine those and a lot of my resistance goes away. The basic plot is fairly interesting, as a young girl named Hana, who feels completely alone and unloved, gets a hold of a frendly demon that will grant her 5 wishes. The demon in this case is less an instrument of evil than of change, but the wishes progress a bit like you think they might. The problem isn’t the wishes, it’s the immaturity and fear of the girl making them. The real selling point of the book, however, is Camilla d’Errico’s beautiful watercolor-style painted art. This manga is, oddly, in full color, but that color really adds to d’Errico’s art and including it was a good decision, I think. Color me surprised, but I want to see how this story ends in the next volume.

Dragon Head V.6
Creator: Minetaro Mochizuki
Publisher: Tokyopop

After being trapped in a train tunnel and fighting their way free, Teru Aoki and Ako Seto discover that the world they knew has become an apocalyptic nightmare. In this volume, as Teru lies dying, Ako and some others enter a town to get medication from the hospital. But the town’s survivors have gone insane with fear, and look to sacrifice Ako. Trapped in a hellish world, Ako, Teru, and others struggle for survival. The cause of the world’s craziness is still unkn own, but a strange scar-headed boy seems to know- and he just talks about the ‘Dragon Head’… A gripping, chilling thriller about post-apocalyptic survival, likely to appeal to fans of The Walking Dead.

Gothic Sports V.1
Creator: Anike Hage
Publisher: Tokyopop

A fun new entry into the “I Must Succeed!” style of manga sports books, Gothic Sports stars Anya, the new girl at Lucrece High, known for its sports teams. When Anya’s attempts to join the basketball and soccer teams are thwarted by jerks and the coach respectively, she forms up her own team of misfits- with style! Funky-cool uniforms and a fun attitude aren’t going to be enough, though, when the team has to prove itself in a practice game to stay around- and some of them have never even played before!

Gunsmith Cats Revised Edition V.2
Creator: Kenichi Sonoda
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Although it says revised edition, this is really an omnibus collecting several volumes of Gunsmith Cats. The story, if you’ve never heard of the series before, is that partners Rally Vincent and Minnie-May run a gun shop and do bounty hunting on the side. Tough chick Rally is a dead shot, and short, sexy Minnie-May is an explosives expert (and an ex-call girl- she actually demonstrates her skills in one story). Fun action is the name of the game in this one.

Hanami International Love Story V.1
Writer: PLUS
Artist: Sung-Jae Park
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

This isn’t, strictly speaking, a manga. It’s a manhwa, a Korean comic. The difference is slight, but worth mentioning, especially in regards to Hanami, because the story takes place in Korea and deals with a Japanese immigrant. Joonho Suk has finally worked up the guts to ask out the girl he likes- and when she says “yes”, he’s ecstatic. Too bad he discovers his family is moving to Seoul the next day! When he gets there, he meets Hanami, a Japanese girl who has just moved to Korea and who is going to his school. There could be romance in the air- except Hanami is still mourning for her lost boyfriend, and Joonho just started a relationship. A fine new entry into the comedic romance genre.

Hokusai: First Manga Master
Authors: Jocelyn Bouquillard and Christophe Marquet
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

I’ve long admired the work of eighteenth-century Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. His Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji is nothing short of breathtaking, and even if you don’t know who he is you have probably seen one of those views, Behind the Great Wave at Kanagawa. It’s world famous- I even saw it on the wall of the boys’ room in Weird Science. That said, Hokusai also produced 15 volumes of manga. These aren’t what you are thinking, though- unlike modern manga, Hokusai’s manga are not sequential and don’t serve to tell a story. Rather, the original meaning of manga, “casual or disjointed drawing”, is accurate, as each volume is a series of sketches about anything and everything. This book is filled with selections from those manga volumes, and for art buffs is a great prize.

Kindaichi Case Files V.15: The Graveyard Isle
Writer: Kanari Yozaburo
Artist: Satoh Fumiya
Publisher: Tokyopop

Another perennial favorite, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a volume of this series, so I’m glad to see it back. Each of these stand-alone stories deals with young detective Hajime Kindaichi, decendant of Japan’s version of Sherlock Holmes, and his attempts to solve mysteries and figure out his feelings for best friend and sidekick Miyuki. Compelling mysteries with cool themes are always fun for me, and Kindaichi Case Files delivers them in spades. This particular volume has Kindaichi and Miyuki trying to have a romantic getaway with some friends on a deserted island, but the entry of survivalist weekend warriors and a series of murders turns the getaway into another case for the master detective.

Mail V.3
Creator: Housui Yamazaki
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

It’s a shame this series ends with this volume, because it has consistently both thrilled me and creeped me out. Private detective Reiji Akiba uses his spirit gun Kagatsuchi to give restless ghosts peace, and each ghost he hunts down is just plain scary. This volume he finds a spirit trapped in a cel phone, a baby ghost killed by its mother, and all sorts of other nastiness, but the highlight of the book is the entrance of Mikoto, Akiba’s long-dead best friend. With his help, she comes back to life by possessing a Frankenstein’s monster body, dresses like a gothloli, and becomes his companion. Weird, but cool as hell.

My Heavenly Hockey Club V.1
Creator: Ai Morinaga
Publisher: Del Rey

Poor Hana Suzuki only want to do two things- eat and sleep. In fact, she studied to get into a prestigious school close to her house just so she could sleep later. When she gets hit by Izumi Oda’s limo while sleepwalking, though, she gets dragged into the world of the field hockey club. Composed of five hot rich guys and too small to field a team, the club doesn’t actually play, but they do travel around for practice games (that don’t get played) and eat well. For that, Hana will put up with morning practices- for a while. It doesn’t hurt that the club leader has a crush on her, either. Goofy and fun, this is quintessential manga comedy- and it features a bear playing goalie.

Parasyte V.1
Creator: Hitoshi Iwaaki
Publisher: Del Rey

This is a pretty cool idea. Alien parasites land on Earth, burrowing into a few human hosts and eating their heads. The parasite then replaces the head with itself and takes control of the body, and the new head can reform its shape into whatever it wants- weapons, new faces, whatever. Young Shin luckily sneezes his parasite out, and it makes his way into his right hand, replacing it with itself. Now Shin and his new hand Migi have to learn to live together, as other parasites hunt them down. This is the source of the infamous image where a boy’s arm turns into a giant penis, in case anyone was wondering.

Princess Resurrection V.1
Creator: Tasunori Mitsunaga
Publisher: Del Rey

The beautiful gothloli Princess Hime (that’s Japanese for Princess Princess, whioch doesn’t make a lot of sense) is one of several contenders for the throne of King of all Monsters. Served only by the adorable android Flandre (who can only say one word- hooba), she is attacked by servants of her siblings who wish to erase her claim. To help protect herself, Hime resurrects young Hiro after he is hit by a van and makes him her blood servant- a semi-immortal protector. Of course, he’s just a high school kid, but he’s determined. A fun adventure for fans of old-school monster movies, with wolfmen, gill-men, and vampires abounding.

Psy-Comm V.2
Writers: Jason Henderson and Tony Salvaggio
Artist: Ramanda Karmaga
Publisher: Tokyopop

I’ve been waiting for the second volume of this sci-fi manga, about a future where corporations rule the world and fight wargames that are broadcast for entertainment. The key to success in these games are psy-comms, psychic warriors with extraordinary abilities. One of the best, precognitive Mark Leit, has decided that he’s done with that world and is on the run, accompanied by density manipulator Snow Lucente, and Mark’s home corp wants him back bad. The use of the psychic powers in this series is very cool, and although there is a new artist for this volume, art quality remains very high, especially when it comes to vehicles and weapons. A cool book for fans of fun, smart sci-fi.