Ponyo Film Comic, Vol. 1

"Ponyo, Volume One" by Hayao Miyazaki, et al (Viz Comics, 2009) -------------------------------------- Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki has outdone himself with his new movie, "Ponyo," a wonderful feature-length film that is good for younger viewers (five and up!) and adults as well. The movie tells the story of a mysterious fish-girl named Ponyo who comes up on land and meets a kind little boy who shelters her and protects her from her creepy mad-scientist father. These small, digest-sized manga comicbook adaptations use original art from the film, replicating the original story in perfect detail, with bold vibrant colors and plenty of Miyazaki-style weirdness. American readers will learn to read the story from right to left (Japanese-style) but will be happy to have the text translated into English (charmingly, the sound effects are left untranslated in a free-flowing kanji). The small size and lack of animation make this a much different experience than the film: it's not surprising or overwhelming in quite the same way, but it is a pleasure to be able to linger on favorite sequences, or to let your mind drift a while, and savor the art in ways you cannot do in the theatre. (DVD viewing, of course, will be much different...) As with all Miyazaki productions, this is high-calibre art, imagined and realized at the highest level - it is a gateway into a wild, weird, evocative world, where Nature is powerful and untamable, comforting and sinister at the same time, full of magic and mystery. These tiny but beautiful books are a nice way to re-explore the film, and a nice entry point for younger readers into the world of Japanese manga. And although they're weird, they're not violent or gratuitously sexual -- one of precious few comics out there today that are appropriate for really young readers. Definitely worth checking out. (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain children's book reviews)