Sci Fi Jungle

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Streaming Online Free

 

Hayao Miyazaki's 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind' - Watch online for Free from Google Video.

If you haven't seen Hayao Miyazaki's 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind' - You can watch it online (legally) for free via Google Video:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8704790173215648057&hl=en#

Cool Site - Strip Generator (Comic Strips, that is)

Another flavor of blogging (mommy blogs, microblogs, corporate blog, hire me blog) is the strip blog.  Strip blogging is using cartoon strips to make your daily posts.  The web site stipgenerator.com not only has a list of strip blogs, but it also gives you the tools to get started making your own comic strip.

The site is blasted today, after they got publicity from LifeHacker. (also a great site, btw) so expect it to be very slow until the "slashdot effect" wears off.

I tell you - there is very little you can't learn to do on the Internet these days.  I learned how to knit using youtube videos, you can even learn to play piano.  Now there is a way to learn how to create your own comic strips.

Marvel Comics Subscription Deal

I got this one courtesy of use "IStillPickUpPennies" on Fatwallet.com.  He scanned the ad from a recent Marvel Comic.  You can get a a full year for just over 3 times what that single issue would have cost retail.

Captain America Reborn

Herocomplex, at the LA Times has an exclusive first look at the newly reborn Captain America.  (If you are a fan you would know that they killed off Captain America back in 1997).

First 5 Pages of the New Captain America Comic

Captain America TBP's In Order

How to Read Manga for Beginners

Manga is totally foreign to me.  Well, of  course it is, I am American and it is a Japanese graphic novel form for crying out loud.  Today I would like to share some of my research about how a beginner can get into the world of Manga.  I wrote once before on Manga 101 and I have to admit I still need remedial manga for beginners.

1.  Japanese is read from right to left, and therefore many manga books are printed this way to remain true to the original.  (Although some are published "flipped" to the western left to right) Manga frames are read from the right to left and the book is read from the back to the front compared to Western books.  But you still read it from the top of the page to the bottom of the page.  Many manga books will have a section in  the back (Western Front) that explains how to read the book.

Here is an illustrated blog post that shows how to read manga
http://oneduasan.wordpress.com/2006/04/10/how-to-read-manga/

And here is a diagram of the order for reading Manga frames.
 

2.  There are many different genres or styles of Manga.  Four basic are listed below along with an example of each type.  There are also tons of sub-genres like Sci Fi, Fantasy, Action, Mystery, etc.

SHONEN - Aimed for Boys
Bleach Manga

SHOJO - Aimed for Girls
Princess Princess

SEINEN - Aimed for Teen Guys and Older
Berserk

JOSEI - Aimed at Adult Women

3.  Manga Magazines are the primary way manga was originally sold in Japan.  They are printed in telephone book sized magazines containing various stories.  In the United States two major manga magazines are Shonen Jump (aimed for boys) and Shojo Beat (aimed for girls).

4.  Scanlation is fan scanned and traslated manga.  In instances where the comic is not available in commercially translated versions, fans get together to make the story available in other languages.  Many of these can be found on the net.  Aside from the dubious copyright issues, this can be a great way to read free manga online.

Sci Fi Webcomics

Like all forms of communication, the Internet has brought increased accessibility to self published comics.  Called, webcomics, internet published graphic stories are a way for the artist to get their story out to the entire world with no printing costs.  Many have subsequently been published in book form as well.

Today I would like to highlight some webcomic series that I have found that are simply astounding.  I can't believe that the artists can publish new episodes sometimes daily, at such a high quality level.  And the fan base is very strong for these.  One webcomic I love, Requiem, has so many readers that my web stats jumped like crazy when I advertised on their site.  When my ad ran on their site I had 10 times the daily page views than on a normal day.

1.  Requiem has a look that reminds me of a cross between photo realism and computer generated 3D.   The  world they inhabit is so vastly described.  The in depth story centers around merchant/clan wars on a fictional world.

2.  Clan of the Cats.  This has amazing graphics - just beautiful.  The story is about a witch who also happens to change into a cat. 

3.  Gunnerkrigg Court - not quite your average school!  Has a feel halfway between gothic and cute. Gunnerkrigg Court is a science school housed in a gothic structure.  But there seems to be strange things going on...

4.  Hunter's Moon.  Stars an undercover spy who is brainwashed for each mission.   Sexy, with outstanding graphics.

5.  Serenity Tales is an interesting idea - a collection of fan-made webcomics based on Joss Whedon's Serenity Universe.

Tokyo Dance Trooper - Danny Choo

Because sometimes you just need a laugh. This is Danny Choo (son of Jimmy Choo of the shoe fame) who is a geeky hero in world of Cosplay.

I need Manga 101

I hear buzz about one piece #489 on you tube.  I am sadly in need of some education on Japanese Manga.  I can handle the backwards reading Right-To-Left of it, heck, its just like reading Hebrew.  ;-)

But I need to start at the beginning and learn about what's popular.  Especially on the family friendly side of things. 

Should I start with something like the ever popular Naruto?

What about on the girl side of things?  Is Fruits Basket a good one for the teen girl crowd?  Leave us some comments and let me know what you recommend for someone who wants to read some Japanese Comic Books for the first time.