My favorite stories were Billions Alone, a creepy body horror story about people being found sewn together that’s perfect for the current pandemic, and The Licking Woman, a weird story about a wild woman whose monstrous tongue contains a poison that kills all whom it licks.Īnd like I said, the artwork is fantastic. Even if by doing so, you potentially doom yourself. It revolves around finding something strange that’s just right for you, and the insanity of not claiming it, of not finding out its secret. There’s also the fan-favorite The Enigma at Amigara Fault, which I’ve read before but was excited to find again.
The titular story follows the members of a UFO society as their obsession with the founder’s daughter becomes skewed after they lose the ability to see her. The majority of the stories revolve around obsession, especially romantic or sexual obsession. His latest publication in North America is Venus in the Blind Spot, and I loved just about every story within. I’ve read quite a bit of his work, and I’ve reviewed some of those stories and collections here on the blog, such as his adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and his masterpiece Uzumaki (click here and here for those reviews). Hell, sometimes I don’t feel comfortable leaving his books on the night stand beside my bed without something to cover them, the illustrations are that terrifying. Now if you’re unfamiliar with Junji Ito, he’s a manga artist who specializes in horror, and is well known for illustrations that terrify and creep the hell out of readers. And this latest collection of short stories, Venus in the Blind Spot, is full of some of his best work. This anthology is a treat to delight and haunt the horror connoisseur.One thing I can always count on with a Junji Ito collection. Themes of the uncanny tie Ito’s work together, but there are a number of different modes on display, from body horror to macabre romance and even cheeky autobiography. Even when things get graphic, there’s a measured elegance to the visual style that creates an emotional impact that would be lost with a more splattery approach (not that there’s anything wrong with a splattery approach, mind you). There’s something deeply effective about Ito’s deliberate-yet-delicate illustration style the brings an eeriness to his outrageous subject material. Venus in the Blind Spot is another terrific entry in Viz Media’s ongoing series of Ito translations, lovingly presented in hardcover with color inserts. Fortunately for cranky skeptics like me, Ito’s short story work has become more widely available in English translations and damn folks, this gnarly shit hits the spot (provided your idea of “the spot” includes obsession, disease, and necrophilia).
The film adaptations of Junji Ito’s Uzumaki and Tomie are solidly… fine… but never inspired me to delve into his comics. I’ll confess that I haven’t got the special love for late-90s J-horror that many folks seem to have.
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