Critics' Choice: Best Manga of 2009

Author and Artist: Yoshihiro Tatsumi
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
Compare prices for A Drifting Life

• "...fascinating memoir of emotional and professional growth -- by one of the great manga masters."
  - Dan Kois, New York Magazine

Also selected by:
USA Today (Whitney Matheson); Publishers Weekly; Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan, Connie C., Sam Kusek); Comics Worth Reading (Johanna Draper Carlson); Forbidden Planet (Wim Lockefeer); The Japan Times; Comics and More; The Oklahoman (Matt Price); Amazon.com; Anime Almanac; Daily Cross-Hatch (John Porcellino. Jeff Newelt, Robin McConnell, Cat Garza, Shaenon Garrity); Precocious Curmudgeon (David Welsh); Read About Comics (Greg McElhatton); About.com

Author and Artist: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Pluto Vol. 1

• "A tense mystery, an unsettling science fiction tale and a subtle exploration of what it means to be human."
  - Publishers' Weekly
• "Hands down, the best manga of the year."
  - David Brothers, Comics Alliance

Also selected by:
Comics Worth Reading; The Manga Critic (Katherine Dacey); Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan, Grant Goodman, Melinda Beasi, Michelle Smith); Comics and More; Anime Almanac; Daily Cross-Hatch (Dustin Harbin, Joe Keatinge); Precocious Curmudgeon (David Welsh); School Library Journal (Snow Wildsmith, Eva Volin); MangaBlog (Brigid Alverson); Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jason Yadao); Anime Vice; About.com.

Author and Artist: Naoki Urasawa
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for 20th Century Boys Vol. 1

• "A creepy mystery wrapped in a story of middle-aged ennui, as a failed rock musician reunites with his childhood friends to save the world."
  - Dan Kois, New York Magazine

Also selected by:
Comics Worth Reading; Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan); Precocious Curmudgeon (David Welsh); Forbidden Planet (Rob Jackson); Comics and More; Anime Almanac; Mecha Mecha Media (John Thomas); Anime Vice; Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jason Yadao); About.com.

Author and Artist: Kiminori Wakatsugi
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Detroit Metal City

• "It's crass. It's silly. It's just wrong. This manga title may not land on a lot of top 10 lists this year, but it should."
  - Whitney Matheson, USA Today
• "Rude, raunchy, and quite possibly the funniest title VIZ has licensed since Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga."
  - Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic

Also selected by:
Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan, Phil Guie); Precocious Curmudgeon (David Welsh); I ♥ Manga (Lorena Nava Ruggero); Mecha Mecha Media (John Thomas); Anime Vice.

Author: Tetsu Kariya
Artist: Akira Hanasaki
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Oishinbo Ala Carte: Japanese Cuisine

• "...(Oishinbo has) completely changed the way I think about Japanese cuisine... they're a must-read for every foodie."
  - Whitney Matheson, USA Today
• "...this educational, entertaining series explores Japanese cuisine at its most refined and its most basic."
  - Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic

Also selected by:
Comics Worth Reading; Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan, Sam Kusek); Precocious Curmudgeon (David Welsh); Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jason Yadao); About.com

Author and Artist: Kiyohiko Azuma
Publisher: Yen Press
Compare prices for Yotsuba&! Vol. 1

• "It’s still one of the funniest, freshest comics around, following a green-haired girl as she experiences the world’s many wonders, from riding a bike to running errands."
  - David Welsh, Precocious Curmudgeon
• "Yostuba&! is pure happiness bound between two glossy covers."
  - Grant Goodman, Pop Culture Shock

Also selected by:
Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan, Melinda Beasi); Comics and More; Anime Vice; Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jason Yadao); About.com.

Author and Artist: Fumi Yoshinaga
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Ooku Vol. 1

• " Fumi Yoshinaga hits new heights of achievement and insight with this story of a male harem in historical Japan. Beautiful and heart-breaking."
  - Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading

Also selected by:
Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan, Melinda Beasi); Precocious Curmudgeon (David Welsh); Anime Vice; About.com.

Author and Artist: Taiyo Matsumoto
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for GoGo Monster

• "Matsumoto’s stark, primitive style suits the material perfectly, inoculating Gogo Monster against the sentimentality that imaginary friends and childhood fears inspire in so many authors."
  - Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic
• "It's the kind of book that sent shivers up my spine, with some nightmarish images that won't soon be forgotten."
  - Dave Ferraro, Comics and More

Also selected by:
Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan); Precocious Curmudgeon (David Welsh); About.com.

Author and Artist: Junko Mizuno
Publisher: Last Gasp
Compare prices for Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu Vol. 1

• "Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu is poignant, a perversely sweet and sad meditation on one small, sheep-like alien’s efforts to find his place in the universe."
  - Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic
• "It’s a profane, hilarious look at the intersection of sex, love and obsession from the perspective of a sentient space ovary."
  - David Welsh, Precocious Curmudgeon

Also selected by:
Pop Culture Shock (Erin Finnegan); Anime Almanac; About.com

Author and Artist: Koji Kumeta
Publisher: Del Rey Manga
Compare prices for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei Vol. 1

• Beyond being a master class in the art and science of translation, this is a very funny book."
  - David Welsh, Precocious Curmudgeon

Also selected by: Comics Worth Reading; Pop Culture Shock (Melinda Beasi); Honolulu Star-Bulletin (Jason Yadao); Anime Almanac.

Author and Artist: Daisuke Igarashi
Publisher: VIZ Signature / VIZ Media
Compare prices for Children of the Sea Vol. 1

• "... a contemporary environmental fable with absolutely immersive artwork and subdued storytelling all around."
  - David Welsh, Precocious Curmudgeon
• "Eerie and poetic."
  - Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic

Also selected by:
School Library Journal (Snow Wildsmith); About.com.

Author and Artist: Susumu Katsumata
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly (US)
Compare prices for Red Snow

• "Katsumata’s drawings of farmers, woodcutters, and drunken monks have a rude vigor that reflects the resilience of his characters."
  - Katherine Dacey, The Manga Critic

Also selected by:
Comics and More, Precocious Curmudgeon, About.com.