Staff Picks (July): Otherworld Barbara

In 2006, Creator Moto Hagio’s Otherworld Barbara received the prestigious Nihon SF Taisho Award—a Science Fiction award for Japanese writers on par with the Nebula Award for English language writers—out-ranking dozens of prose authors and taking the prize with the first manga in 23 years to receive the honor. It is no exaggeration to call her the founding mother of shojo manga and a pillar of sequential storytelling. With a driving passion for not only science fiction, but science fact, Hagio executes subtle characterizations and complex interactions in staggeringly imaginative and well-constructed worlds. She’s cemented her place as a science fiction master and peer to the likes of Ray Bradbury (whose work she has adapted to manga), Isaac Asimov, and Robert Heinlein (whose works she cites as inspirational.)

With that fanfare as our starting point, Fantagraphics proudly presents the first book of Otherworld Barbara. Detective Tokio discovers the comatose body of a young girl who appears to have murdered her parents and eaten their hearts. Using advanced technological investigation techniques to deep-dive into the girl’s unconscious mind, Tokio must unravel the mystery of a cannibal child whose dream states predict or perhaps dictate the future.

This gorgeous two-volume hardcover series will be an excellent companion to Hagio’s Heart of Thomas HC (SEP121095) and Drunken Dream HC (JUN100998) published by Fantagraphics in prior years.

A seismic sci-fi magnum opus from the mother of modern manga.

—Sarah Martinez

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books Item Code: JUL161605 Release Date: 9/28/16 SRP: $39.99