Phenomena - Dario Argento, Jennifer Connelly, and Donald Pleasance

And don’t forget the chimp, the gimp, and the swarms of six-legged creatures.
Jennifer Connelly stars as Jennifer, an American at a creepy European boarding school (see Suspiria).
She’s pretty and rich, but lonely. Her parents have abandoned her and she’s WAY too friendly with bugs. What’s a girl to do? Why become friends with a slightly creepy entomologist dude, that’s what.
I’m sure she only had an eye for his bags and for his cute assistant, a chimpanzee. Something that is now a thing, I’m sure.
Like many Argento flicks, there are decapitations and attempted decapitations. Also lots of blood and broken glass. And mirrors. And useless cops. An excellent follow-up to Suspiria which I’d like to talk about in the future.

Comments

Tokyo Akahon Manga “Gulliver’s Travels” by NAKAMURA Hiroshi

According to a post by akahon manga researcher Yuuzora Retro (pen name), the Tokyo-based publisher Taikōdō ( 泰光堂 ) created their Manga Classics series in response to the PTA backlash against manga contributing to delinquency in Osaka. This is Gulliver’s Travels by NAKAMURA Hiroshi (中村ひろし), a B6-sized 3-color akahon* printed with red ink fills on either blue or green lines costing 85 yen. NAKAMURA seemed to be the main artist for Taikōdō as evinced by the ad pages at the back. There is no publishing date, but it probably wasn't too far from 1951 when "Cinderella" and "Snow White" from the same series were published. Looking at the stamps on the endpapers on the back, we can see that this particular book was rented out at a kashihon-ya (rental comic shop) in Saga, Kyushu called Imazato Neo Shobō. It was lent to me by a Mr. Fujita, a collector heavy into Showa-era items. I will continue to introduce the books I was able to borrow from his...

Ninjas vs Cowboys, Top 10 Cowboy Manga

I talk about US ninja comics and Japanese cowboy comics on Tim Young's Deconstructing Comics . Listen to it here ! I based on the lecture I gave last year at the Koshi Manga Museum . First slide from my Ninjas vs Cowboys presentation. Here are my Top 10 Cowboy Manga: 10. Bullet Tommy 『弾丸トミー』by Shige SUGIURA This is a classic, one of the earliest comics. It's a "gag manga" for kids and so pokes fun at the various Western movie tropes. The art resembles Shoney's Big Boy, doesn't it? 9. The Cactus Kid 『サボテン君』by Osamu TEZUKA This is one of Tezuka's early Western manga when he had only seen a few westerns at the time. I like the idea of a guy who wants to turn his parents' saloon into a milk bar. 8. The Belle Starr Gang 『ベル☆スタア強盗団』by Akihiro ITO Ito is known for his Geobreeders saga, but this is his take on the real-life outlaw Belle Starr and her gang. I like the art and the attempt to incorporate real-life events into the...

Mangaverse 7.1 Leiji Matsumoto tribute

Here is the link for the latest Mangaverse zine, a tribute to Leiji Matsumoto who passed away this year: LINK I'm posting it here for the time being until it can be put up on the N3F website where all the other ishes are here . The cover One of favorite things I did for this ish Please check it out and tell me what you think! On twitter @patokon or email (patokon(dot)com(at)gmail(dot)com CHEERS!

patokon blog

Search This Blog