Gurihiru Charms Wolverine

The one thing I’ve always loved about manga over American comics is that in Japan comic books are for everyone and cover every damn subject — from baseball to sex. American comics on the other hand have been stuck in a super hero rut for about 30 years. Now of curse I’m excluding all the great indie work, but I’m talking about the big boys: Marvel and DC.

But I’m happy to say that I’m starting to see the trend reverse. Believe it or not the above detail is from a cover published by Marvel — the first thing you notice is that “damn that’s soooo cute!” The issue is Wolverine and Power Pack #1 (whichis due out in November) and the illustration is by Gurihiru and it’s an example of Marvel getting it right:

Firstly the comic book is aimed at kids — this is great because it opens up a new audience to the field while encouraging kids to read. Next the cover is girl friendly, and lastly I like the fact that Marvel is using a variety of artists and not afraid to go international and take some design chances.