Okay I got caught off guard by Free Comic Book Day, being busy and all. Still I manage to catch a few stores during the day while dragging remaining chairs I collected to Worlds Away.
Neo Tokyo was the most generous in that they liquidated some of their old stock as give aways. I manage to pick a quirky looking book which front cover art it didn’t appear much but after I opened the wrapping Tori Koro by Hai Ran was a 4 Koma series. 4 Koma or Japanese comi strips have been an ongoing interest with me. Ah! My Goddess started as a 4 koma.
The real difference with this book over other 4 koma book like Azumanga Diaoh is not rely on making a punch line every 4 panels. In fact, it seems to be a drama of friendship told 4 panels at a time. Reading through 4 komas can be boring at times. Not this book. There are even breaks for a fifth splash panel wich takes up half of a page while the 4 koma is split into two columns. I delightful change. While there is splash pages with sketches, the artwork throughout is raw sketch like style.
All in all, a good read. I have more of this and other book reviews once the new Review section is up. Hopefully in time for Anime North.
Ah nuts – I forgot about this too.