The Walking Man
by Jiro Taniguchi
This
160-page french-flapped softcover volume collects eighteen zen-like
tales of the "man who walks." Reflective, insightful meditations
on the modern, suburban condition, these stories embody the
soul of manga. While the
landscape through which our hero walks
is undeniably Japanese, the stories told and the lessons learned on
his brief treks are indisputably universal. Taniguchi has managed a unique feat here. The comics work in The Walking Man is stripped of
all extraneous elements. There
is a near total absence of narrative in the pieces collected in this
volume. With these distractions removed, we are left face to face
with the pure essence of comics that remains. Here we have comics
that dig deep into the mind and trigger a panoply of sensations: the
heat of the sun on one's back, a cool breeze along the side of one's
face, the texture of a tree's bark on the palm of the hand, the smell
of flowers, the cold, creamy taste of ice-cream, the
hard exertions of a fast run, the overall feel of the encroaching
darkness, the sounds of children laughing, water flowing, a passing
train... all these sensations and more are triggered by the series of
images that the reader is presented with as the pages are turned and
the walking man goes on his way. No work that we know of better
captures the pure essence of manga than this one. To get a better
idea, check out this preview. Recommended.
retail
price -
$16.99
copacetic price - out of print and out of stock! (write the publisher and
tell them to reprint it!)
prices and
availability
current as of 14 September 2010