Slam Dunk: Gotta get that PT

Elsewhere: I reviewed Ultimate Comics Armor Wars #1 at Comics Bulletin. Modern update-tastic!

Another double review? It's like I read a bunch of these at once or something!

Slam Dunk, volume 4-5

By Takehiko Inoue

It's obvious that Takehiko Inoue loves basketball, and in this series he's depicting it as faithfully as he can, with a bit of the old manga exaggeration (these are some ridiculously athletic high school kids). And this enthusiasm translates really well for the reader, who is able to get right into the story and follow the action of the game. And follow it we do; Shohoku High is playing their rivals Ryonan in a practice game, and it lasts throughout these two volumes, a total of eighteen chapters, and isn't even finished yet. Talk about not sparing any details.

But in addition to the exacting athleticism, the other thing Inoue does so well is humor; the previous volumes established Hanamichi Sakuragi as a loud, obnoxious, bumbling oaf who has a higher opinion of himself than anybody else, and that characterization comes into play here as we agonize along with him while he sits on the bench during the entire first half of the game. We get antics galore, as he shouts at the players, jumps around like a goofball, messes with the scorekeepers, tries to wheedle the coach into putting him in:

And even kanchos the other team's coach for urging his players to build up a 30-point lead:

His ridiculousness is laugh-out-loud funny, but the antsy feeling of wanting to play is relatable, so when he finally does make it in, it's not only a release, but an opportunity for more hilarity, as he gets overly nervous, turns the ball over by travelling, and accidentally tackles another player. But once he gets it together, he's an unstoppable ball of energy, leading to another hilarious scene in which he dives after a loose ball into the other team's bench:

I love the way Inoue makes time slow down in the first two panels, removing any "motion blur" effects, and then brings the leap to a crashing conclusion. Oh, man, that's some funny stuff.

Then, suddenly, volume 5 changes things up, spending the entire page count on the last few minutes of the game as Hanamichi gets a taste of real competition and learns about rebounding, blocking out, and passing on the fly. It's tense stuff, and we watch pretty much every possession, as the teams jostle for the lead before the clock runs out. The humor doesn't completely go away, but when Hanamichi has a reason to focus, we see him concentrate on the game and become an intense athlete rather than just a bumbling doofus. And Inoue can deliver the sports action just as well as the comedy, whether in depictions of athleticism:

Or intense rivalry:

It's tons of fun to watch, and seeing Hanamichi continue to develop and learn new facets of the sport should make further volumes compellingly readable. Hell, the game still isn't over yet, so the next volume is going to be worth rushing out to get as soon as possible.

Athletic Monster Mash interlude #2: Slam Dunk lightens the mood a little

Hey, it looks like Eric Powell is going to be doing a crossover between The Goon and Metalocalypse sometime this summer.  That's pretty awesome.  Here's the trailer.

And I don't know if I've linked this before, but the late, great Seth Fisher's mom is continuing to post on his blog, analyzing his work and posting some of his short stories.  Good stuff, including this one that originally appeared in Heavy Metal.

Slam Dunk, volume 3

By Takehiko Inoue

Wow, this manga is about as enjoyable as comics get.  As we've seen in previous volumes, Takehiko Inoue has a real flair for goofy comedy, exciting sports action, and appealing characters, and that's as true here as ever.  He gets a lot of mileage out of just bouncing his obnoxious lug of a main character off of the rest of the cast, and at times, it seems like he's walking right up to the limits of likeability while still remaining on readers' good sides.

This volume sees Hanamichi, that doofus of a protagonist, constantly goofing around, bickering with his rival Rukawa, and refusing to cooperate when the team captain tries to get him to practice and actually learn how to play.  He just wants to do slam dunks all the time, so when he is forced to learn to do a simple lay-up, he struggles hilariously:

He also can't stand to see Rukawa get any attention, so he keeps throwing balls at him:

This leads to at least one laugh-out-loud moment; Hanamichi is a boundless source of slapstick comedy, since he's completely external.  Other than occasional pinings for his crush Haruko, nothing crosses his mind that he doesn't shout out to everyone nearby.  He's also constantly bragging about how good he is, even though he barely knows anything about basketball.  He's only interested in self-glorification, so learning about such basics as rebounding is beneath him:

The only reason anybody even puts up with him is due to his excellent natural athletic ability.  With some training, he could be a great addition to the team, but he's such a force of nature, it's near-impossible to get him to do anything constructive.  Hilariously, the other characters are already learning how to manipulate him into actually following instructions, as when the coach infoms him that the reason he's not in the starting lineup is because he's the team's secret weapon.

This all makes for some great reading, and you can see some canny moves on Inoue's part as he introduces his readers to the sport along with his protagonist.  It's easy to see why this manga made the sport so popular in Japan; things start out simple, rather than barraging the reader with rules and technicalities.  So far, Hanamichi has learned about the slam dunk, basic dribbling and ball-handling, the lay-up, and rebounding.  He's got a long way to go, with much, much more to learn; topics like man-on-man defense, full-court press, and blocking out are sure to pop up on the curriculum, with Hanamichi probably complaining about them all the way.

That's another thing that works so well about the series: while Hanamichi is self-centered and obnoxious, he doesn't get away with acting like a jerk.  He's constantly reprimanded by Akagi, the gorilla-like captain of the team:

And he makes himself look ridiculous more often than not; it's hilarious to watch him try to look cool and completely screw up nearly every time.  Hopefully, Inoue will continue to develop him as a character and actually have him learn some teamwork and respect for his fellow players.  In the meantime, we'll get plenty of great moments, with many more sure to come next volume when the team plays an exhibition game against a rival school.  I can imagine all sorts of hilarity stemming from the situation, and expecting Inoue to exceed my expectations is a pretty sure bet.

Slam Dunk: Tight shorts or a bathrobe? Tough decision.

It's-a some links:  Hey, Mike Allred is doing some sort of project at DC, and Neil Gaiman is writing a Metamorpho story for it.  Interesting.  I'm always ready to read more Allred, so I'm looking forward to this one, even though it probably won't show up until 2010, I'm guessing.

And speaking of projects at DC, I'm actually interested in Kyle Baker's upcoming Hawkman thing, of which a couple pages can be seen here.  I have basically zero interest in the character, but I really love Baker's work, and this looks quite beautiful.  Now if only he would finish Special Forces...

Slam Dunk, volume 2

By Takehiko Inoue

Last time around, we ended with a highly intense cliffhanger.  Well, not really; Hanamichi may have quit the basketball team in a huff, but he's obviously not going to be gone for long, or else there wouldn't be much of a series.  And sure enough, a showdown with some thugs convinces him to return.  I'm not sure of the logic of that decision, but whatever, that means more sports comedy!  And so Takehiko Inoue spends a good half of the volume detailing a practice game between the team's newcomers and the upperclassmen.  But unfortunately, the headstrong Hanamichi isn't allowed to play, no matter how much he begs.  But while the action heats up on the court, he makes a comedic spectacle of himself on the sidelines, insulting the coach, yelling at the girls who are there to watch the cute boys, and cheering against Rukawa, his rival for Haruko's heart.  With Inoue's skill at crafting goofy comedy, it's hilarious to watch, and the sports action is exciting too.  And when Hanamichi finally convinces the coach to let him play, the two elements combine for a laugh-out-loud moment that has to be seen to be believed.

And then in the second half, we switch gears to off-court intrigue, as Aota, the captain of the judo team and a longtime rival of Takenori, the basketball team's captain, decides to recruit Hanamichi, sure that a tough guy like him would prefer the impact of martial arts.  This ends up lasting for the rest of the volume, as Aota ends up alternately fighting with Hanamichi and attempting to entice him with pictures of Haruko.  It's a funny sequence, again combining Inoue's flair for comedy with his skill at depicting physical movement.  It does go on a bit long though; I was waiting for the action to get back to the basketball court.  But that's just an impetus to pick up the next volume, for which I will be waiting anxiously.

Even though it's still early in this series, it's easy to see why it was so incredibly popular in Japan; Inoue is putting together a cast that is highly enjoyable to watch, and he plays their strong personalities off each other exquisitely.  It's fun to imagine some of the future developments, as the sports action kicks into high gear with actual games, and Hanamichi learns more about actually playing the game.  At the moment, he's a force of nature, all bluster and only a little skill; eventually, he's going to have to learn about teamwork and put aside any off-court rivalries in favor of actually playing real basketball.  I'm sure Inoue will make this simply delightful to observe, along with all the interpersonal and romantic drama that will surely transpire.

But while we're looking at what we already have, I can't help but point out how well Inoue does what he does.  The near-constant goofiness is perfectly executed, making Hanamichi such a lovable lug that you can't help but want him to succeed, while still feeling some satisfaction when he gets comeuppance for being such a selfish jerk.  It's a great balance, and as with the elements mentioned above, I can't wait to see how Inoue develops the character.  But for now, I can glory in scenes like this one:

Aw, jeez, you know he's going to get in trouble for that attitude (if you hadn't figured it out already, that's the coach he's messing with).  It's also fun to watch him interact with the other characters, and see his tough-guy demeanor melt when he's around Haruko.  And the way he gets flustered when she demonstrates her crush on Rukawa is hilarious:

And on the other front, Inoue's action is unparalleled, filling his layouts with motion that doesn't seem to sit still on the page.  The way he draws limbs as if they are blurred out because they are moving so fast, combined with the excellent use of speed lines that don't overwhelm the image, make for some incredibly eye-catching scenes:

And that's one of the less-dramatic scenes; the moments of really big athletic feats are given full-page or even-double page spreads, freezing characters in isolation on the page as if everything has switched to slow motion:

It's beautiful, and while I love to analyze this sort of thing, Inoue is so good at storytelling that I don't even notice this stuff until I look back at it a second time.  The first time through, I'm flipping pages as he propels me through the story, breathlessly awaiting each new development.  It's glorious; I can't get enough of it.  As I said, it's easy to see how this sold 100 million copies; with this kind of skill, Inoue can drive volumes right off the shelf and into readers' hands through sheer artistic force.  I cannot wait to see what's coming next.

Slam Dunk: Ah, to be young, stupid, and good at sports

Here's that review of Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Season Two #1 at Comics Bulletin. Now for the business:

Slam Dunk, volume 1
By Takehiko Inoue



Takehiko Inoue obviously loves basketball, judging by the number of manga series he has based around the sport. His current series, Real, is about a wheelchair version of the game, and he has also done a goofy, futuristic hoops series called Buzzer Beater, but Slam Dunk is where it all started, back in 1991. After reading some of the excellent Real (as well as his samurai series Vagabond), it’s fascinating to look back and see how his art style has changed over the years, as well as the development of his storytelling skills.

While his more recent work takes a more serious, adult tone, Slam Dunk is a full-on shonen sports comedy, with an obnoxious, talented protagonist, the requisite love interest, plenty of slapstick antics and comic violence, some locker-room humor, and lots of super-deformed character art. It’s definitely an early work, but you can still recognize Inoue’s art style, and he was a great writer even then, crafting a fun, gripping story with some entertaining drama and lots of truly hilarious moments.

The story here is about Hanamichi Sakuragi, one of those self-confident, full of himself, ridiculously talented shonen characters, who decides to join his new high school's basketball team when he meets Haruko, a cute girl who is just his type, and finds out that she is a big hoops fan. Being a headstrong and not especially bright fellow, he throws himself into the task, but he doesn't know the first thing about the sport, so Inoue gets some good comedy out of his mishaps, like when he tries to perform a slam dunk for her and bonks his head on the backboard. You'll have to read the book to see the actual scene, which is beautifully staged, with a perfect punchline, but here's the aftermath:



Of course, there are some complications, like Hanamichi's tendency to get in tussles with the upperclassmen (most of whom he already towers over), and the existence of Rukawa, another guy who Haruko thinks quite highly of and is already pretty awesome at basketball. And then there's the Takenori, team captain, who Hanamichi picks a fight with and ends up playing a pick-up game against. He's a huge guy, with an awesome (awesomely bad, that is) haircut:



Some (mostly Hanamichi) would even refer to him as a gorilla. Their lengthy game is wonderfully done, drawn out over three chapters and punctuated with some hilarious comedy, including a moment that will probably serve to have Hanamichi perpetually on Takenori's bad side:



It seems like a lopsided contest, but in true shonen manga fashion, Hanamichi is determined and talented enough to learn just enough over the course of the game and prevail. But wouldn'cha know it, Takenori is Haruko's older brother, and she had just wanted them to be friends, so Hanamichi could help lead the team to the national championship. Takenori, humiliated by his defeat, doesn't want anything to do with him, so Hanamichi goes about trying to get on his good side, in the silliest manner possible, of course, doing things like delivering a huge box of bananas to Takenori's desk. Because gorillas like bananas, of course. Hanamichi eventually wins him over by showing more dedication than some of the current members of the team, but once he joins the squad, he gets relegated to the corner of the gym learning fundamentals with Ayako, the spunky team manager:



But he soon gets frustrated because he can't join in the rest of the team's practice activities, leading him to quit dramatically. To be continued! Oh, the drama!

It's an amazingly fun read, showing that even when Inoue was starting out, he knew what he was doing. He's able to draw the reader in quickly and get them invested in Hanamichi's travails, while still laughing at him when he screws up. The art is an interesting early version of his style, usually remaining more spare and clean than his current work, but during moments of action or intense emotion, he sometimes makes it more scratchy and kinetic, similar to how his current artwork. He also does a lot more comedy and chibi here, with characters contorting their faces into crazy expressions and tears flowing freely. And he uses some interesting representations of both physical and verbal conflict, as in this scene when Haruko thinks Hanamichi has been fighting with Rukawa, his rival for her affections:



And I love that dynamic action. Scenes of characters jumping, running, fighting, or performing the eponymous action are beautifully rendered, with rushing speed lines and cool motion distortion. My favorite example is probably Hanamichi's incredible effort to defend against Takenori:



So it's definitely tons of fun, and this is only the initial volume of what was a long-running series, lasting 31 volumes. I expect future volumes will be filled with some excellent, dramatic basketball action. It was good enough that it even sparked a large increase in the popularity of the sport in Japan. When was the last time a comic had that kind of effect on society in the United States? I can't wait to read more, and I'm sure Inoue will continue to blow me away with his excellence.

This review was based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher. Volume 1 is scheduled to be released on September 2, 2008.