Worlds Within Worlds...

I've been managing not to post anything for a while now, including about the juggling convention (was really fun), but I really have to post about this. Sean linked to the latest Previews Review, which has a definite Nausicaa theme going on. :)

Of specific note to fans of the Nausicaa, it has been significantly improved in its new edition. The new printing will be seven 130-ish page volumes for $9.95 each, instead of four 200+page volumes for $16.95 each. This edition will also feature a trim size of 7 1/8" wide by 10 1/8" tall, or slightly larger than a North American comic book. This makes it the largest-size printing of Nausicaa in North America (even larger than the original serialization), and meets the demand of many readers looking for bigger reproductions of Miyzaki's art. The book will also be printed in its original right-to-left (or “unflipped” orientation), and will feature a special brown ink on high-quality paper. This is about the best that any Miyzaki fan could have hoped for.

There was some confusion about the sizing of these books. Even the company rep at the time thought that "big" meant it was going to stay the same size instead of shrinking to the smaller digest that is most popular lately. But big is BIG! 7x10! I think the brown ink was used in Japan and high-quality paper is always nice. I was thinking I wouldn't need to buy this series over again, as it worked quite well flipped, but now I think I have no choice...

Seriously, everyone should check this out. I always hate to raise expectations too high as people just have different tastes, but this is probably my all-time favorite comic from any country (I also love Yokohama Shopping Trip, but Nausicaa edges it out I think). An epic story, very dense and detailed artwork, good characters (including strong multi-dimensional female ones), and an ecological theme that isn't too preachy...

Out this month so you.. must.. buy... it... :)