AX: THE CUTTING EDGE OF MANGA!
Edited by Sean Michael Wilson.
Stories compiled by Mitsuhiro Asakawa.
With an introduction by Paul Gravett, author of Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics!
One of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2010!
Ax is the premier Japanese magazine for alternative comics, heir to the legendary Garo. Published bi-monthly since 1998, the pages of Ax contain the most innovative, experimental, and personal works in contemporary manga -- the flourishing underground of the world’s largest comics industry. Now Top Shelf presents a 400-page collection of stories from ten years of Ax history, translated into English for the first time.
This landmark volume includes work by 33 artists, including Yoshihiro Tatsumi (A Drifting Life), Imiri Sakabashira (The Box Man), Kazuichi Hanawa (Doing Time), Yusaku Hanakuma (Tokyo Zombie), Akino Kondoh, Shin'ichi Abe, and many many more! It’s a feast of pure creativity, and a guided tour of fascinating new directions in Japanese comics. Ready for adventure? Then grab your Ax and come on!
"Within the pages of this greatly anticipated manga anthology are some of the most imaginative, lush, grotesque, and ridiculous comics to come out of Japan... It's an incredible selection." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"This fantastic collection features eye-opening work by 33 representative artists. ... Ax provides... a home for the perverse and the profound. Libraries committed to sophisticated comics collections and to adventurous (mature) readers must buy this volume and those that follow." -- Library Journal (starred review)
"Top Shelf's release of Ax is a giant leap forward for manga available in English... I got chills reading it." -- Scott Green, Ain't It Cool News
"Within Ax's four hundred pages are over thirty stories that explode everything you might have thought about what manga is." -- David Brothers, Comics Alliance
"One hell of a book... absolutely recommended." -- Joseph Luster, Otaku USA
400 page black and white paperback with color covers
Top Shelf, 2010
