{"id":43855,"date":"2025-03-25T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/?p=43855"},"modified":"2025-03-24T14:04:06","modified_gmt":"2025-03-24T21:04:06","slug":"b-p-r-d-manabeshima-island-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/b-p-r-d-manabeshima-island-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"B.P.R.D \/ Manabeshima Island Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

IF YOU\u2019RE IN FOR LOVECRAFTIAN HORROR AND NAZI PUNCHING, PICK UP B.P.R.D: 1946-1948<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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B.P.R.D: 1946-1948<\/em>
by Mike Mignola
Dark Horse Books
2015, 472 pages, 6.9 x 10.4 x 1.4 inches (hardcover)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t get enough of Mignola\u2019s occult investigators. The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense first appeared in the Hellboy<\/em> series, however the comics have spiraled off to rightfully stand on their own. This HUGE hardback collects stories from the Bureau\u2019s early years, not long after its creation in 1944. If you\u2019ve been following the series, this collection fills in a large gap between the organization\u2019s inception, and where the Hellboy<\/em> comics pick up in the modern day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A year after WWII ends, the Bureau is left trying to stamp out one of Hitler\u2019s last ditch efforts to turn the war around. Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, Hellboy\u2019s guardian, is seen here as a younger man battling the forces of evil, and trying to prevent the Reich from amassing power yet again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s so much to love about this book \u2013 vampires, an evil Nazi head in a jar, sentient chimpanzees. The artwork is incredible. Mignola worked with a whole slew of illustrators all who brought a unique interpretation to the gothic style that fills out this world. Knowing a little about the Hellboy<\/em> universe is helpful, but not necessary. If you\u2019re up for some Lovecraftian horror and Nazi punching, definitely pick this one up. \u2013 JP LeRoux<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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MANABESHIMA ISLAND \u2013 A TRAVEL DIARY ABOUT GETTING LOST ON THE MOST ISOLATED ISLAND IN JAPAN<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Manabeshima Island Japan: One Island, Two Months, One Minicar, Sixty Crabs, Eighty Bites, and Fifty Shots of Shochu<\/em>
by Florent Chavouet
Tuttle Publishing
2015, 144 pages, 7.5 x 10 x 0.6 inches (softcover)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Buy on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, illustrator Florent Chavouet decided to shrug off city life and get lost somewhere off the beaten path. Way<\/em> off the beaten path. Stating, \u201cThe country [Japan] claims more than four thousand islands. But I only know two,\u201c as reason enough and taking pencils in hand, Chavouet traveled to the smallest, most isolated island he could find: the small fishing island of Manabeshima.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good travel diary is built on unfamiliar, sometimes incomprehensible scenes brought to life by the ability of its author to paint pictures in the readers\u2019 minds. He or she must make both the physical and cultural descriptions of a place and its people understandable, and relatable. In lovely, delicate colors, Chavouet does exactly that. Whether it is by detailing the furnishings and artifacts layered in a photographer\u2019s home or in the odd and surprising detritus cluttering up the local post office, the author shows us all the minutia of daily life on this tiny island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chavouet has a knack for finding the little details that define people and places in our minds. We meet Hironobu, whose \u201cround belly fills him with joy.\u201d We meet a nameless vagabond who seems to take delight in inserting himself into Chavouet\u2019s personal space. We meet Reizo-san, an old man who taught English in Hiroshima after the war. And on and on until it seems that the entirety of the town must have come straight from central casting just to populate this charming locale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In between and alongside the descriptions and sketches of people and places are all the tiny things that make up daily life. There are sketches of fish and vegetables and maps of the local cat gangs\u2019 territories. There are structured stories about spending a day crab fishing or attending the village festival. There is a glossary and an appendix and even a fold-out map of the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had never heard of Manabeshima before I picked up this book. I still have a hard time finding it on a map. But that\u2019s not really all that important. What matters is Chavouet\u2019s sense of earnest enthusiasm. It\u2019s contagious. Which makes this a book worth reading again and again while you plot your next adventure. While watching a local production about gods and devils, Chavouet notes, \u201c[It\u2019s] A bit on the light side for a script but it makes you want to be in it.\u201d I guess you could say that about Manabeshima<\/em>, too. \u2013 Joel Neff<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Issue No. 59<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13684,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[31],"tags":[2398],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43855"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43875,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43855\/revisions\/43875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}