The Best New Manga of March 2015

Summit of the Gods, Vol. 5, by Jiro Taniguchi
You might think that, given the six-foot-high snowbanks in my front yard, the last thing I’d feel like reading is a manga about conquering the snowy summits of Mount Everest, but Jiro Taniguchi’s adaptation of Baku Yumemakura’s novel, which concludes with this volume, is much more than a simple man-against-the-elements story. It’s a mystery/thriller/chase with an awesome setting. It starts in an out-of-the-way antique store in Katmandu, where photojournalist Makoto Fukamuchi finds a camera that may have been brought to Everest by explorer George Mallory during his ill-fated 1924 expedition. (Mallory died on the trek, and real-life historians aren’t sure whether he made the summit or not, so obviously this is a major find.) Fukamuchi is soon pulled into a cat-and-mouse game with a mythical mountain climber and the larger world of mountain climbing, filled with intrigue, danger, and unforgettable characters. Taniguchi’s clear-lined, detailed art is well suited to the subject, and this is a good series for non-manga readers who want to explore the medium a bit. Also look to Taniguchi’s Quest for the Missing Girl, another adventure in a mountain-climbing setting that is complete in a single volume, or his gorgeous short-story collection The Ice Wanderer.

Master Keaton, Vol. 2, by Naoki Urasawa, Housei Katsushika, and Takashi Nagasaki
Any manga that involves Naoki Urasawa gets a buy signal from me. Master Keaton is earlier work than his others that have been published in English, and if the stories are a bit too neat at times, it’s still Urasawa, so that means great art and a quirky cast of characters. The lead, Taichi Hiraga-Keaton, is a Japanese-English archaeologist who moonlights as an insurance investigator. The words “insurance investigator” may not get your pulse racing, but the setup allows Keaton to travel the world investigating missing persons and mysterious deaths, and to put his archaeological knowledge, not to mention his training as a member of the British special forces, to good use. Keaton is not just a grown-up Encyclopedia Brown who can kill you with his thumbs; as the manga goes along, we see more of his personality and complicated family life. Urasawa is a master storyteller with a particular talent for drawing expressive faces, and he puts it to good use here. Master Keaton is a collection of short stories, so you can jump in with volume 2 and then pick up the first volume once you’re hooked (and you will be). Viz has given this series its deluxe treatment, with a slightly larger than usual trim size, creamy paper, and handsome black covers with gold foil and French flaps.

New Lone Wolf and Cub, Vol. 4, by Kazuo Koike and Hideo Mori
This is the fourth volume of a series that’s a sequel to another series, but if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind starting a story in the middle, it’s a rewarding read on its own, clear enough to follow without a lot of antecedents. Lone Wolf and Cub, Kazuo Koike’s epic tale of a ronin (a masterless samurai,) who travels the land with his young son Daigorō on a journey of adventure and revenge, was one of the first manga translated into English. New Lone Wolf and Cub picks up where the first series ended, with a new caretaker for Daigorō, the samurai Tōgō Shigetada, but the same blend of violence, intrigue, and exquisite art. Story aside, this manga is worth picking up for the art alone, especially if you’re a samurai fan (although if you are, you’re probably already on board).

Big Hero 6, Vol. 1, by Haruki Ueno
Big Hero 6 is a movie that has its origins in a superhero team that made several brief appearances in Marvel comics, so it’s appropriate that the story is circling back to comics, albeit in a very different form. The movie focuses on the boy genius Hiro and the robot Baymax, and the manga seems to be a faithful adaptation; it made news at the time it was announced because it was the first multi-volume adaptation of a Disney property in Japan. Like the movie, the manga is pitched at a younger audience, but it will be interesting to see what twists the Japanese creator puts on it.

The Angel of Elhamburg, by Aki
Complete in one volume, this is a fantasy tale about the troubled friendship between a knight and his king, and the angel who watches over the twists and turns of their lives. Aki is also the creator of the gorgeous Olympos and the character-driven Utahime, so fans of her work will probably want to pick this one up as well. Her lovely art and the emotional story make it a good bet for fantasy lovers of all stripes.

Attack on Titan, Vol. 15, by Hajime Isayama
Oh, hey, there’s a new volume of Attack on Titan out this month! Weren’t we just talking about that? This brings us neck-and-neck with the Japanese releases, so it may be a while before the next one is out, but there are plenty of spinoffs to enjoy in the meantime, including the fourth volume of Attack on Titan: Before the Fall, coming at the end of the month.
What manga are you reading in March?