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sunnyannotations · 1 year
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It’s me! 
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sunnyannotations · 2 years
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What the Hell, boy
I’ve just finished a month long read (well, mostly re-read) of all of the comics in the Hellboy Universe. I read them chronologically in the order they happened in the world of Hellboy, which made for an interesting shift in change and style throughout, as modern comics caught up with older ones and mixed and mingled until continuing pretty linearly at the end. 
It started with Witchfinder in the 1880s and Lobster Johnson in the 1930s, then followed Young Hellboy and Trevor Bruttenholm in the late 40s, then Hellboy and the BPRD covered the 50s. Once you get into the mid 50s and 60s, you start getting a lot of the classic Hellboy short stories, including several set during his “drunken haze” down in Mexico. These continue until the 80s, where we get some more Abe Sapien focused adventures, and then finally get to the Hellboy comics that started it all in the 90s. From there, we get some fine Hellboy adventures with and without the BPRD, which splits off into its own comic after Hellboy leaves. BPRD is the mainstay all the way until the end in the late 2010s, with a brief stop over with Hellboy in Hell. 
I read most of these in omnibus form thanks to Hoopla. A quick look at a list says that’s about 88 trades, which at about 5 issues per book is 440 issues, or 8,800 pages. Whoof! So much reading! What’s my take away? I liked a lot of it a lot! 
Mike Mignola’s art is terrific, and only gets better as he goes on, getting more refined, simple, and solid. Tied with him for my favorite art is Tonci Zonjic on Lobster Johnson, who’s creamy dark shapes make me think of Alex Toth. Peter Snejbjerg and Ryan Sook are always a treat, and I really grew to appreciate Richard Corben this time around. BPRD is a fun team book, though at the end of it, I feel like some characters, like Panya, were just kind of, around, not really developing their own story lines as much as they could have. The late-stage Abe Sapien books were a struggle to get through; I don’t care about small town struggles or end-of-days cults when there are cool exciting monster stories happening. Not to mention, Abe’s denying-his-foretold-future is the same as Hellboy, which we’ve already had plenty of. 
A lot of classic Hellboy is Hellboy walking around while an old poem or scripture reads out, presumably on theme and to slow down the viewers eye, but I just can’t bring myself to try and connect them with the visuals I’m seeing. It’s just too engaging to look at. There’s also always several pages in the later-stage Hellboy stories that recap what happened in the previous story, which makes sense when the series are coming out years apart, but when read close together in an omnibus, feels like retreading. Also Hellboy is always confused about what’s happening to him so his commentary on those events doesn’t add much... though I suppose it does spell it out in a simple way, because we as the reader also usually don’t know what’s happening. But gosh is it nice to look at. 
This World of Hellboy is a dream universe that I will never get to with my comics. Being able to create an entire series based off of minor characters who appear once or twice previously must be such a treat. I’d love to have a team of writers and artists who I could help sculpt stories with! But alas. I’m glad Mignola has that team, because I get a real kick out of it. 
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sunnyannotations · 3 years
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Sunny, Chapter 3
“Why do girls always cry?” “’Cause almost nothin’ can beat a girl’s tears.”
With this chapter it is confirmed that each chapter is missing one page somewhere in the beginning, with the first page, 85, being only the 83 page of the digital collection. I’ll go ahead and use the page numbers as marked, as opposed to what page it is in the collection.  
PG 83/84 - A great one-two of Megumu being blasted by a gust of wind.
PG 85 - It’s a Star Kids meeting with everyone in attendance. I don’t think we’ve had everyone in one shot before so let’s do a roll call for fun! On one side we have Mr. Adachi, Kenji, Junsuke, Shosuke, Haruo, Sei, Tsutomu, and Taro, with the House Master in the background. On the other side, we have the Twins, Miss Mitsuko, Asako, Megumu, and Kiko holding Chiaki. At the front of the table sits Koji, with Blackie the cat. Curious that it seems to be split by gender, but Koji seems to be more on the girl’s side. Nothin’ wrong with that, though!  If memory serves, the Twins, Tsutomu, and Koji never get any character backstory filled in. I’m not even certain those are their names; I’m just relying on old notes! Guess we’ll find it, eh wot! 
PG 86 - Megumu has accused someone of not flushing their number two, and Junsuke is blamed. I like his reaction in the first panel with “SHOCK” appearing in white, contrasting with his hair. The panels are cluttered and stuffed with faces; there’s so many people there! 
PG 87/88 - Haruo shifts the blame to Megumi herself; I love the narrow panel of Kenji sighing. I love panels when someone is just taking a breath. 
PG 89 - The meeting is adjourned and people take their leave. I love the HMPH face of Junsuke and the quiet expression of enjoyment on the House Master. And we’re treated with a Koi button panel! 
PG 90 - Here’s the song Haruo is singing: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvhv2ejCxM0
PG 91/92 - Haruo sees Megumu with some friends from outside of Star Home and tries to use telepathy to get her to look at him... and it works! Surely it is just a coincidence...
PG 93 - Junsuke is learning to ride a bike and Koji wears an amazing shirt that just says “Hand Quilting” 
Kiko is acting out some quite frankly disturbing roleplay with her dolls in the Sunny, involving Kenji’s porno mags, but Haruo catches her so she stops. As Junsuke succeeds and then fails at bike riding, Kiko reveals to Haruo that Megumu likes someone in Star Home, and she herself is in love with Haruo! 
PG 101 - Haruo is saved from the situation by an errand to pick up some soy sauce. As he heads back home upon completion of said errand he comes across Megumu watching a dead cat float in the river. She fears for her future when she ends up just like the cat does, and wants to give it a funeral. I wonder if she was put into this mood by her supposed “outside” friends, or these thoughts just naturally occurred, as they do. 
PG 109 - As they head back, Haruo asks Megumu about her Star Home crush, and she reveals it’s Kenji. Ah, young romance!
PG 112 - The cat has been buried and everyone gathers around to put it to rest. As Kenji tries to compliment Haruo for doing a kind act, he rebukes him. Kiko smiles slyly, as though this was her plan all along. 
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sunnyannotations · 3 years
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Sunny, Chapter 2
“Why’re Dracula’s fingernails so long?” “‘Cause he doesn’t cut ‘em.”
And I’m back! Hooray. If you’re reading digitally as I am, we lose a page somewhere between this and the last chapter, with the first labeled page as 52, when in the digital collection, it’s only 51. Hmm! We’ll find out if it happens again between the next chapters!
49/50 - Chapter Two kicks off with some nice color illustrations, first with a lonesome Kurimaru staring at an empty swing set, followed by a rambunctious scene with Sei, Junsuke, and Haruo using the set to its full capacity (and then some).
51 - This chapter takes place mainly from the point of view of Junsuke. Leaving Star Home, Koji and Junsuke leave for school, passing by the House Master. I particularly like the way the tree in the first panel is drawn, and how elongated the House Master appears as he passes by. 
52 - As Junsuke gets lost in the cloudiness of House Master’s eyes, we cut back to slightly earlier in the morning, where the kids are helping pack lunches for school. They are bound in string and newspaper, with chopsticks included. 
53 - Junsuke checks in on Haruo, notably smelling his mother’s Nivea cream which will come up several times in the series. 
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54 - As he, Sei, Haruo, Kiko, Megumu, Koji, and the Twins head off, Junsuke remarks how lucky Kurimaru, Blackie, Shosuke, and Taro are for not having to go to school. I love the three panel inset of those avoiding school, though he leaves out Chiaki, the little baby. 
55 - Haruo ditches the group to play hooky as the kids make their way to school. He’s prepped with Kenji’s cool glasses. 
56 - Junsuke lets Sei know that Haruo’ll have to spend time in Study Hall, where all the “super-dummies” hang out. They get to draw and play with clay instead of do math, which sounds pretty cool to me. 
57 - We get a brief Junsuke harmonica performance. I really like the last panel, with the focus on the scenery as the kids travel into the background. 
58 - And boom, we’re in class. A student reads from Mochi Mochi no Ki, a children’s book.  
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Despite this kind of unnerving cover, the story is about a boy who must overcome his fear of going outside alone at night to get a doctor to help his ailing grandfather (or at least, that’s what I can glean from the internet). The title comes from a tree in the book, the nuts of which are used to make mochi. My favorite treat! 
59 -  Junsuke, with a pencil up his nose, couldn’t care less about the book, staring off at an airplane in the sky.
60 - And boom, we’re at lunch! Although it’s not addressed, every student appears to be watching Junsuke as he opens his lunch of fried chicken and omelet. 
61 - Junsuke pines over a peer’s shiny chopsticks. I believe the character on the container for the chopsticks (that’s how you know they’re fancy) is Cyborg 009 from the franchise of the same name. 
62 - A lovely page! We get a nonchalant face reveal for Makio, comparing Junsuke to a crow, an Astro Boy (or two) figure from a capsule machine, an ink-washed crow, and then another tree like the one I previously mentioned. 
63 - This page gives us a glimpse at other lunches happening. We see Haruo eating in the woods with his action figures; I don’t know what they’re from but they look cool, with many points of articulation. We also get Miss Mitsuko calling in Taro, Shosuke, and Chiaki for lunch. 
64 - As Junsuke heads home alone, he is bothered by some bullies. This page features an interesting pallet swap; from afar Junsuke’s hair is grey against a black umbrella, but on close up his hair is black against a grey umbrella. Art is neat! 
65 - They make fun of his Dracula-length fingernails, hence the opening quote, but shortly thereafter see an oncoming “White”!
66 - White of course being a nickname for Haruo, due to his hair color. He tosses his bag to Junsuke, which explodes on impact, in a busy but delightful panel.
67 - Haruo begins to get revenge on the bullies as Jensuke finds Kenji’s glasses. 
68 - Junsuke is cleared of all worry of the bullies as Kenji continues his counterattack. 
69 - Back at Star Home, Shosuke is trying to find four leaf clovers but Junsuke lets him know he needs one more leaf. 
70 - Haruo plays out an action scene in Sunny. Here we have the second instance of an animal, Kurimaru in this case, having a thought, this time being that Haruo is being too noisy. 
71/72 - Inside, the Twins, who I don’t think are ever named, have left the same leftovers in their lunchboxes. Miss Mitsuko discovers some sparkly Cyborg 009 chopsticks that are not Junsuke’s.
73/74 -  He denies stealing them, but we all know it’s a likely story. Sei is reading an Animal Encyclopedia; I searched but with such a general title, could not find an image of it on the internet. Junsuke is sent to return the chopsticks to Ota, their rightful owner. 
75 - A nice page of him trying to recruit Haruo on his mission. We get another button panel! Only one this chapter. 
76 - Loyal Taro and Kurimaru have joined Junsuke, who is hooey-hooing along. He’s seen by some older classmen, including Kenji. 
77 - Kenji makes sure he’ll be back by dinner time. 
78 - Ota’s house smells of food; okonomiyaki is for dinner! Yummm! Junsuke loves it, and so do I. As a reward for returning the fancy chopsticks, he is given some sweets. 
79 - We get some kid observations as the trio turn back on their journey home. 
80 - And are left with a panel of the city, settling in for the evening. 
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sunnyannotations · 3 years
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Sunny, Chapter 1
“Where’s Yokohama?” “I dunno, somewhere ‘round Tokyo?”
And so the annotations begin! I’ll be using the page counts from the collected volumes for reference. 
Page 9 introduces us to Junsuke (older brother to Shosuke) with his trademark harmonica, runny nose, long fingernails, and rosy cheeks, though their color is ironically subdued in this full-color page. 
Also introduced is Makio, the House Master’s grandson, though we don’t see his face.
The poster in the background of panel 2 looks to be Tiger Mask, a manga from the late 60′s to early 70s. 
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Panel 4 also features posters of what I believe is Ultraman, and I’m even less sure about the smaller one below it.  
An opening splash page (pg 10-11) features various characters posed around Sunny, the car. From left to right, we have Sei, Junsuke, and Haruo on the hood, Kenji, Megumu, and Kiko inside, Makio and and Taro in the background, and of course Kurimaru and Blackie on the roof.  
PG 12 introduces us to Haruo, with his bright shock of white hair, wearing Kenji’s cool sunglasses. Also introduced is the Sunny, the manga’s namesake. It’s a Nissan Sunny 1200, model B110 from the early 70s. Here’s a commercial! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F07XMAwFGw&t=59s
PG 16 sees the intro of Sei, the newest kid to be dropped off at Star Kids Home, a kind of foster home/orphanage/care facility. Junsuke compares him to Nobita Nobi from Doraemon; he’s not far off: 
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Asako, Kenji’s sister, speaks up in the 2nd panel, and Mr. Adachi shoos the kids out in the last panel, accompanied by Miss Mitsuko. We also see presumably Sie’s parents... I do believe this is the first and last time. I’ll introduce non-speaking characters as they speak, but the shortest kid in the second panel (on the right, with the widow’s peak) is currently unknown to me...
As Haruo and Junsuke show Sei around, we see a glimpse of the House Master. We never get a name for him. If my assumptions are correct, he has donated his house to this cause, and the day-to-day operations fall to Mr. Adachi and Miss Mitsuko. I am unsure if those two are in a relationship or only work partners, or if they are related to the House Master. 
PG 20 sees Taro singing his trademark song, “Row Row Row Your Boat”. A neurodivergent individual, he’s the only adult under the care of Star Kids Home. At least, I am assuming he is an adult, due to his height. 
PG 22 sees the introduction of Kenji’s porno mags, which I only mention since they are brought up multiple times throughout the series. There was an international adult magazine called Pink but the font on the cover doesn’t match this one. The Sunny serves as a hideout/daydream experience where no adults are allowed. The following page gives us a Godzilla cameo in one such fantasy.  
I am unsure what TV show they are watching on page 28, though it clearly involves a captain dressing up as a gorilla; always a funny premise.
Sei’s fantasy trip in the Sunny back to his home has him recounting things from his home in Yokohama: local business and institutions, types of trees, specific smells, types of cars, his school and teachers, his friends, and then finally the specific streets leading to his home, and in a heartbreaking conclusion, his mom. Dang, what a rough experience. 
Earlier Junsuke says he’ll show Sei where all the big beetles are this summer, and at the end we get a time jump all the way into Autumn. Business is as usual at Star Kids Home with Sei fitting right in, bickering along with the other kids and Haruo daydreaming in the Sunny.  
A couple notes. 
I noticed several round “button” panels in this chapter that I don’t recall in future chapters: PG 9 has one with tadpoles, PG 17 features a stag beetle, PG 25 a city silhouette against the night sky, PG 29 a croaking frog, and PG 41 a frog enjoying the rain. 
PG 18 features two kids playing in the hallway in the last panel, but boy if one of them doesn’t look like a creepy clown. Not sure what’s going on there. 
I love the dreamy quality that the kid’s daydreams take on; it’s a perfect visual indicator of what you’re seeing. 
That’s all for this time, thanks for reading! 
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sunnyannotations · 3 years
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Sunny Annotations - Vol. 1
Hello there! 
My name is Kalen, and I’ll be using this blog to analyze the manga Sunny, by Taiyo Matsumoto, chapter by chapter, and provide annotations. This series is one of my favorite comics of all time, and I look forward to this third read-through as a real deep dive! 
There are a variety of reasons I love this comic: the extremely clear, beautiful artwork (especially with that ink wash!), the somber, bittersweet atmosphere it casts (with just a hint of hope), the character study and exploration of each member of Star Kids, the relaxing pace, the panel layouts... I could go on. 
I don’t claim to be an expert on comics, or manga, or Taiyo Matsumoto, or even Sunny. I just like it a lot and want to do an analytical examination of it, so I’m gonna! Please feel to reach out if you feel similarly, or have any requests of me as I work my way through it. 
I dedicate this account to my former Tumblr account that I’d had for over a decade. I accidentally deleted it when creating this one, and I’ve never felt older. If you’d like to see the kind of stuff that was on it, check out my Instagram @kalenknowles for some more current work.  
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