{"id":27716,"date":"2023-03-23T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-03-23T09:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=27716"},"modified":"2023-03-22T18:40:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-22T18:40:20","slug":"leiji-matsumotos-queen-emeraldas-volume-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2023\/03\/23\/leiji-matsumotos-queen-emeraldas-volume-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Leiji Matsumoto\u2019s Queen Emeraldas volume 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Leiji Matsumoto<\/strong>, translated by Zack Davisson<\/strong> & lettered by Evan Hayden<\/strong> (Kodansha\/Kodansha USA)
\nISBN: 978-1-63236-267-4 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-68233-370-9<\/p>\n

Nobody does comics science fiction like the Japanese – although for sheer tight-lipped underplayed drama I\u2019d still place Sydney Jordan\u2019s Jeff Hawk<\/strong>, Frank Hampson\u2019s Dan Dare<\/strong> and most of Warren Ellis\u2019 SF work ahead of even Manga\u2019s greatest masters\u2026<\/p>\n

And, of course, there\u2019s all those European creators too\u2026<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, in the tech-obsessed Pacific regions, tough, no-nonsense, nuts-and-bolts mystery and bold imagination of the myriad wonders of star flight have long been blended with fancifully romantic futuristic themes. The theme has captivated every generation since Osamu Tezuka started the ball rolling after WWII, making space commonplace and conceptually comfortable for us all.<\/p>\n

One of the most talented and respected proponents of the genre was Akira \u201cLeiji\u201d Matsumoto (25 January 1938 – 13 February 2023) whose epic triumphs in manga and anime ranged from wholly self-created graphic landmarks as Space Battleship Yamato!<\/strong> (AKA Starblazers<\/strong>), Galaxy Express 999<\/strong> and Space Pirate Captain Harlock <\/strong>to directing music videos and an animated film Interstella 5555<\/strong>, based on Daft Punk\u2019s Discovery<\/strong> album.<\/p>\n

Born fourth of seven sons in Korume, Fukuoka, little Akira started drawing early, influenced by American cartoons, prose science fiction stories and, latterly, Tezuka\u2019s comics and anime. Aged 18, Matsumoto moved to Tokyo where his professional career began with Mitsubachi no bōken<\/em><\/strong> in anthology magazine Manga Shōnen<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He worked in a variety of genres (student drama Otoko Oidon<\/em><\/strong>, comedy western Gun Frontier<\/strong> and WWII stories collective dubbed The Cockpit <\/strong>amongst others) until 1974 when Uchū Senkan Yamato<\/em> <\/strong>launched. As Cosmoship Yamato <\/strong>or Space Battleship Yamato<\/strong>, the epic saga became a huge hit on paper and on-screen, setting the course of Matsumoto\u2019s entire career\u2026<\/p>\n

A further 24 series followed until 2014: many linked via a shared universe and characterised by melancholic musing and a quasi-metaphysical search for heroism and one\u2019s place in the grand scheme of creation. Here we\u2019re focussing on a saga that grew out of Space Pirate Captain Harlock<\/strong>, developed from a one-off story in 1975\u2019s Princess<\/strong> magazine.<\/p>\n

Matsumoto expanded the tale into a drama serialised in Weekly Shōnen Magazine<\/em><\/strong> between 1978-1979, before it was collected in 4 tankōbon volumes and the usual leap to anime. For us English-readers, two large-format hardback comics volumes were released in 2016 and 2017, both with digital equivalents.<\/p>\n

Queen Emeraldas<\/strong> is a haunted quest tale, told in poetic episodes played out across a harsh, positively Darwinian future universe quite reminiscent of the Earth\u2019s wild west. It follows the adventures of scrappy Earth boy Hiroshi Umino<\/em> who escapes a brutal life of poverty by building his own ramshackle and highly illegal spaceship.<\/p>\n

The scruff is afflicted with a relentless desire to escape into \u201cthe sea of stars\u201d, and his frequent hairsbreadth escapes are noticed – and clandestinely supported – by the eerily enigmatic, utterly isolated and lethally ruthless Pirate Queen of Space. Dreaded across the universe, Emeraldas hunts for something or someone long lost – but not forgotten – and whenever she makes planetfall, the rich, cruel, callous or simply wicked somehow always perish in her wake\u2026<\/p>\n

Her interventions keep Umino alive after crashing on Mars, and again after taking ship for Ganymede, despite the machinations of numerous bent employers and ruthless killers who just don\u2019t like the feisty tyke. As a rule, the few that do also end up dead\u2026<\/p>\n

Gradually, competing stories unfold, with his incessant, compulsive striving to get into space mirroring Emeraldas\u2019 lonely relentless search. The cause of her scarred face and origins of her incredible semi-sentient wonder vessel are revealed, as the lad makes his way further and further from despised Earth. Along the way, he learns to be strong and independent\u2026 and how to kill\u2026<\/p>\n

Singly, bolshy boy and black sky buccaneer encounter wild worlds and deviant, decadent civilisations. Hiroshi secures plans for the universe\u2019s most perfect spaceship as the Queen of Space gradually eliminates the worst scum in creation – from killer androids to corrupt lawmen to a racist supremacist eradicating every imperfect citizen he rules over. Ultimately, their paths converge at the Graveyard of Space where Emeraldas rescues Umino from the lures of predatory space sirens\u2026<\/p>\n

To Be Continued\u2026<\/p>\n

Closing this exotic, intriguing, inspirational initial volume is a brace of short stories from 1980\u2019s Shōnen Magazine<\/em><\/strong> #3 & 4: opening in her chance encounter with a race of slaves who reject her aid, after which \u2018Dead or Alive! \u201cQueen Emeraldas\u201d\u2019<\/em> finds her eradicating traitor pirate Heimdall<\/em>, who has become a government stooge hunting down his old comrades\u2026<\/p>\n

Mystical, poetic, elegiac and iconic, these stellar sagas are as much mythological fable as rip-roaring adventure, starring one of the most determinedly potent and tragically powerful women in all of science fiction. This above all his other triumphs is a lasting testament to the creative legacy of Leiji Matsumoto.
\nA Kodansha Comics Original Queen Emeraldas volume 1 \u00a9 2009 Leiji Matsumoto. English translation \u00a9 2016 Leiji Matsumoto All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Leiji Matsumoto, translated by Zack Davisson & lettered by Evan Hayden (Kodansha\/Kodansha USA) ISBN: 978-1-63236-267-4 (HB) eISBN: 978-1-68233-370-9 Nobody does comics science fiction like the Japanese – although for sheer tight-lipped underplayed drama I\u2019d still place Sydney Jordan\u2019s Jeff Hawk, Frank Hampson\u2019s Dan Dare and most of Warren Ellis\u2019 SF work ahead of even … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Leiji Matsumoto\u2019s Queen Emeraldas volume 1”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,25,242,107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adventure","category-japanese-comics","category-pirates","category-science-fiction"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-7d2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27716"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27723,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27716\/revisions\/27723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}