Another Look At Junji Ito's Best Horror Work Yet
Aug 31, 2020
It is a wondrous time to be a horror manga fan and specifically a Junji Ito fan.
In the last few years, more and more of his delightfully disturbing work has been brought to the States in very fancy editions. And the latest of these is a collection of horrific tales called Venus in the Blind Spot. A macabre mix of tales, some written by him, others adapted from short stories from famous writers. All drawn in his terrifying trademark style.
The stories written by him that stand out are Venus in the Blind Spot, a slightly more science fiction style story about a girl that suddenly can’t be seen by her crazed admirers. The next high point is Master Umezz and Me, a surprisingly lighthearted autobiographical tale about meeting his idol, the legendary horror manga icon, Kazue Umezz. And the third is a previously published story called The Enigma of Amigara Fault, which is the disturbing tale of people gripped by a feverish desire to enter holes carved in a mountainside that seem to be the exact shape of their bodies.
The book also includes some inspired adaptations of short stories from famous writers. The Human Chair is spine-tingling story adapted from famed writer Edogawa Ranpo about a woman who has the bizarre notion that someone is actually inside of her chair. Also adapted from the same author is Unearthly Love which is the tale of man who’s obsessed with a forbidden love.
The massive 260+ page hardcover book comes with the deluxe treatment a mangaka of Ito Sensei’s talent deserves. It’s got numerous color pages and high quality paper which make his horrific monsters look more nauseating than ever.
This is a must for Junji Ito fans and fans of horror in general. We are witnessing a legend in his own time as he is sure to go down as the unequalled horror manga master of this era.
Buy it...if you dare!
Venus in Blind Spot (JUN201567) is available now at your local comic shop.
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More from Juji Ito:
Also included are six tales of Oshikiri-a high school student who lives in a decaying mansion connected to a haunted parallel world. Uncanny doppelgangers, unfortunately murdered friends, and a whole lot more are in store for him.
Bonus: The Ito family dog! Thrill to the adventures of Non-non Ito, an adorable Maltese!
For older teen audiences
I can't even guess myself what it must be to live the life of a human being.
Plagued by a maddening anxiety, the terrible disconnect between his own concept of happiness and the joy of the rest of the world, Yozo Oba plays the clown in his dissolute life, holding up a mask for those around him as he spirals ever downward, locked arm-in-arm with death.
Osamu Dazai's immortal-and supposedly autobiographical-work of Japanese literature, is perfectly adapted here into a manga by Junji Ito. The imagery wrenches open the text of the novel one line at a time to sublimate Yozo's mental landscape into something even more delicate and grotesque. This is the ultimate in art by Ito, proof that nothing can surpass the terror of the human psyche.
For mature audiences.
For older teen audiences.
