Comic Picks By The Glick

In a break from tradition, such as it is, I’m not going to talk about three series this week.  Instead, I’m just going to focus on one that’s been nagging at the back of my head for a little while now.  “Oishinbo vol. 1:  Japanese Cuisine,” written by Tetsu Kariay and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki, is one of the newest additions to Viz’s “Signature” manga line, home to excellent series such as “Golgo 13,” “Monster,” “Vagabond,” “Solanin,” and more.  As that small list indicates, the line isn’t hurting for quality and even the series that fall into the “not quite as good” area, including “The Drifting Classroom,” “Tekkonkinkreet,” and “Uzumaki,” still have some redeeming qualities and could at least be categorized as “interesting failures.”  So which one will “Oishinbo” be?  If the first volume is any indication, then it’s going to be the latter rather than the former.

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