An extra special treat for Tezuka Month – when I was in Thailand in January I was lucky enough to stumble across this edition of art and design mag A Day with a huge section dedicated to Astro Boy. Presumably timed to coincide with the release of the recent movie over there – nothing that special in itself, until you start to flick through it and realise that it’s clearly a publication that prides itself in it’s imagery, design and layouts.
This is the first in a few posts making up my – slightly last minute – contribution to Tezuka Month, that was kicked off by Evan Minto and the guys over at Anigamers. Starting with this look at Vertical’s recent paperback reissue of MW, I’ll be posting a few different things up over the next few days.
This weekend I was thrilled to be invited back on to the Anime 3000 podcast, this time alongside some pretty heavyweight guests. Joining me on the panel was Michael Pinto – a good friend of mine and head honcho of Fanboy.com and Anime.com and Helen McCarthy, who really should need no introduction. A key player in anime’s introduction to the UK and author of some fantastic books on the likes of Miyazaki and Tezuka, she really is a a living legend and a charming and fascinating person to talk to. It was a great opportunity for the rest of us (including host Sean Russell) to pick her brain about a number of issues, and share our own thoughts on everything from digital publishing to moe fandom. Hit the link below to check it out.
Six year-old Yuki Tachibana sees and hears things his classmates never do; the bizarre forms and whispering voices of the strange, supernatural creatures that secretly inhabit his elementary school. Despite the fact that this dubious gift has made him an outcast from his fellow students he seems quietly accepting of his place – that is until he finds the always-empty seat next to him occupied by transfer student Makoto Suzuki, whose attempts to befriend him coincide with the arrival of the ‘others’ – a second group of spirits vying for control of the cold, decaying school building.