A review by kdraw333
Abandon the Old in Tokyo by Yoshihiro Tatsumi

3.0

I knew nothing about this comic book artist before I borrowed this book from the library, a collection of eight stories from 1970 recently re-published in a beautiful volume by Drawn and Quarterly. Tatsumi calls this work "gekiga" (dramatic pictures), a darker and more realistic form of Japanese manga.

The stories are gritty with wonderfully absurd urban scenarios and some lovely inky-black night scenes. I like the style of drawing, which doesn't have the standardized and sickening cuteness that is such a turn-off from Japanese manga in general. I can't say it's changed my life, but it's definitely made me appreciate his talent for capturing subtleties with minimal ink lines.