Boat Life Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Tadao Tsuge

ISBN 10: 1942801122 / ISBN 13: 9781942801122

Published by Alternative Comics, FL, 2023

About this Item

Paperback. After thirty years as a mainstay in the alt-manga periodicals Garo, Yagyo, and Comic Baku, cult comics artist Tsuge Tadao gets philosophical with Boat Life.Serialised between 1996 and 2000, Boat Life stars novelist Tsuda Kenta, a lightly veiled stand-in for the artist, Tsuge Tadao, himself, as he pursues a life of reprieve and reverie on a small, makeshift house boat on a river outside of Tokyo. Based loosely on the artists own daily life, this charming story follows the hapless protagonist on a series of magical absurdist quests, featuring a panoply of personable characters, including a drunkard fisherman, a pervy monk, a talking corpse, a senile hermit, and a half-supportive, half-doubtful wife and adult son. Most of the scenes take place on the Tonegawa River in Chiba, a favourite fishing spot of Tsuges. Others occur at the artists home or at Joker, a jeans and apparel shop the Tsuges opened in 1977. While fans of Trash Market and Slum Wolf will enjoy this late-career elaboration of apres-guerre themes Tsuge has been exploring since his debut in the legendary alt-manga magazine Garo in the late 60s, fans of his brother Tsuge Yoshiharus The Man Without Talent will appreciate the more relaxed and optimistic take on middle-aged reclusion and the grind of work and family. After thirty years as a mainstay in the alt-manga periodicals Garo, Yagyo, and Comic Baku, cult comics artist Tsuge Tadao gets philosophical with Boat Life. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781942801122

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Boat Life Vol. 1 (Paperback)
• Publisher: Alternative Comics, FL
• Publication Date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1942801122
• ISBN 13: 9781942801122
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Serialized between 1996 and 2000, Boat Life stars novelist Tsuda Kenta, a lightly veiled stand-in for the artist, Tsuge Tadao, himself, as he pursues a life of reprieve and reverie on a small, makeshift house boat on a river outside of Tokyo. Based loosely on the artist’s own daily life, this charming story follows the hapless protagonist on a series of magical absurdist quests, featuring a panoply of personable characters, including a drunkard fisherman, a pervy monk, a talking corpse, a senile hermit, and a half-supportive, half-doubtful wife and adult son. Most of the scenes take place on the Tonegawa River in Chiba, a favorite fishing spot of Tsuge’s. Others occur at the artist’s home or at Joker, a jeans and apparel shop the Tsuges opened in 1977. While fans of Trash Market and Slum Wolf will enjoy this late-career elaboration of après-guerre themes Tsuge has been exploring since his debut in the legendary alt-manga magazine Garo in the late ‘60s, fans of his brother Tsuge Yoshiharu’s The Man Without Talent will appreciate the more relaxed and optimistic take on middle-aged reclusion and the grind of work and family. Show Additional Fields

About the Author

Tsuge Tadao is one of alternative manga’s cult stars. Debuting as a cartoonist in the rental kashihon market in 1959, he was a leading contributor to the legendary magazine Garo during its heyday in the late 1960s and '70s. He has drawn extensively for magazines like Yagyo, Comic Baku, and Gento, often pulling from his experiences growing up in the slums of Tokyo, working for ooze-for-booze blood banks, and daydreaming while fishing. He currently lives in Chiba Prefecture, north of Tokyo, where he splits his time between cooking for his family and drawing ever-stranger manga. His work has been translated into English, Spanish, and Italian.