Ryan Holmberg

"Set in an apartment complex on the outskirts of Tokyo, Murasaki Yamada's Talk to My Back (1981-84) explores the fraying of Japan's suburban middle-class dreams through a woman's relationship with her two daughters as they mature and assert their independence, and with her husband, who works late and sees his wife as little more than a domestic servant."--Amazon.

"Yoshiharu Tsuge is one of the most celebrated and influential comics artists, but his work has been almost entirely unavailable to English-speaking audiences. The Man Without Talent, his first book to be translated into English, is an unforgiving self-portrait of frustration. Swearing off cartooning as a profession, Tsuge takes on a series of unconventional jobs--used-camera salesman, ferryman, stone collector--hoping to find success among the hucksters,...

"Nejishiki represents the pinnacle of avant-garde manga. Originally published in the legendary alt-manga magazine Garo in 1968, the title story marks cult cartoonist Yoshiharu Tsuge's radical turn to dreams, surrealism, and existential horror. Tsuge's literary landscapes were once lush and inviting; now they are shadowy and haunted. His cheery travelers have lost their innocence; they have been replaced by alienated wanderers pursued by menancing...

"Yoshiharu Tsuge leaves early genre trappings behind, taking a light, humorous approach in these stories based on his own travels. Red Flowers ranges from deep character studies to personal reflections to ensemble comedies set in the hotels and bathhouses of rural Japan. There are irascible old men, drunken gangsters, reflective psychiatric-hospital escapees, and mysterious dogs. Tsuge's stories are mischievous and tender even as they explore complex...