Aka Tights Otoko

This review is exclusively for the story The Box Man, published in its own volume by Drawn & Quarterly.

This manga is a very short 120 page-ish story, published in a nice hardcover format by D&Q. It's a near silent comic with there being maybe five sentences said in total. It takes you on a night time trip through a town full of oddities as a man on a bike is looking to deliver a strange box.

Within this story we see spectacular artwork with some gorgeous double page spreads that highlight the use of black. And not only is the art well depicted, it has an immaculate use of perspective. We see multiple angles of the same area in some cases, giving us the reader better spacial awareness. Sakabashira has a greater understanding of establishing shots and how to set them up. With one establishing shot, he sets in motion the next panels at different angles giving us an easy and smooth transition of the action of the characters. One of the most well defined action (as in movement) comics I've read.

The story itself is pretty simple, but this world is full of monsters and weirdos. Every couple of pages some dramatic turn happens forcing our protagonist into an odd situation. The middle of the book features what I can only describe as a catalog of Guardian Nen Beasts from Hunter x Hunter.

Its a wild ride throughout. Highly recommend this for all manga fans.