Boat Life Vol. 2 (Paperback)

Tadao Tsuge

ISBN 10: 1963314123 / ISBN 13: 9781963314120

Published by Alternative Comics, FL, 2026

About this Item

Paperback. Boat Life returns in Volume 2, with novelist Tsuda Kenta continuing to meander between home life, the family jeans shop, and days of solitude on the river. Among this graphic novel's colorful cast of friends, we meet a former manga artist who dives for curiously-shaped stones and sells them from a riverside hut, and an eager producer intent on a film adaptation of one of Tsudas novels. Unfortunately, Tsudas health is deteriorating. He learns from the doctor that his liver was damaged by working at a blood bank when he was young. But Kenta continues his dream boat life, while obsessed by an enormous fish. Dont miss the raucous night of Tsuda and his buddies boozing at a local temple. Youll be hard-pressed to find a more honest account in comics of how Japanese felt about life during and after World War II. 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 1960s, fans of his brother Tsuge YoshiharusThe Man Without Talent will appreciate the more relaxed and optimistic take on middle-aged reclusion and the grind of work and family. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781963314120

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Boat Life Vol. 2 (Paperback)
• Publisher: Alternative Comics, FL
• Publication Date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1963314123
• ISBN 13: 9781963314120
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Boat Life returns in Volume 2, with novelist Tsuda Kenta continuing to meander between home life, the family jeans shop, and days of solitude on the river. Among this graphic novel's colorful cast of friends, we meet a former manga artist who dives for curiously-shaped stones and sells them from a riverside hut, and an eager producer intent on a film adaptation of one of Tsuda’s novels. Unfortunately, Tsuda’s health is deteriorating. He learns from the doctor that his liver was damaged by working at a blood bank when he was young. But Kenta continues his dream boat life, while obsessed by an enormous fish. Don’t miss the raucous night of Tsuda and his buddies boozing at a local temple. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more honest account in comics of how Japanese felt about life during and after World War II. 

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 1960s, 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. 

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.