i finished reading Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto a few weeks ago and it was excellent. a short, straightforward, pleasant and sentimental manga about cats who live on the louvre, and some workers there involved in a mystery of the museum. Taiyo's art is wonderfully surreal at times and has "broken" compositions and perspectives filled with purpose and playfulness like a Picasso painting. that is someone who's having fun drawing these manga and it really feels like it. still, he knows when to reign it in and be more formal for the sake of an impactful image.
currently reading Barefoot Gen by Keiji Nakazawa, a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb. It's partially autobiographical - a lot of what Gen has to endure are based on Nakazawa's own experiences, but it also diverges into other characters' lives and situations that seem clearly inspired by other tellings and stories of survivors, giving you a really broad view of everything that was happening with people's lives pre and post the bomb. He's incredibly sharp and direct with his criticisms, has a lot of spite, yet it also feels hopeful, cheerful. I love this texture. Nakazawa refuses to make "misery porn". To make a sad story about how sad things are and how bad you should feel about these poor innocent people. To make a story that is made for people who weren't there to feel good about their own lives and feel sorry about these poor victims that can't do anything. The disaster isn't the protagonist - the people are. Barefoot Gen is about relentless hope in the face of absolute hell. It's for people who have suffered, who are suffering, to never give up, and to value life above all. It swings between Tezuka-like comical gags and sadness and horror with great confidence. It was published in a kids magazine! Kids read this! And it's great that they do! Kids should be exposed to someone who'll talk to them with tremendous respect and hope. Kids deserve good entertainment and education!