Otherworld Barbara Vol. 1

by Moto Hagio, Rachel Thorn (Translator)

Overview

In this classic science fiction thriller by one of the most influential manga writer-artists of all time, there are dream pilots, murderous cannibal nine-year-olds, and more.

Fantagraphics Books is proud to present the first volume (of two) of Moto Hagio’s Otherworld Barbara, in which Tokio discovers a phantom island named Barbara. Then there’s a mysterious and missing geneticist, an eccentric clergyman, a grieving grandmother granted temporary youth, a psychologist killed by a freak tornado… Hagio offers a sci-fi explanation for these seemingly random paranormal elements, and makes it all matter with believable characters in complex and subtle relationships.This book won the“Nebula Award of Japan” (Nihon SF Taisho Award) in 2006.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781606999431
Publisher:	Fantagraphics Books
Publication date:	08/09/2016
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	583,187
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	16 Years

About the Author

Moto Hagio was born May 12, 1949, in Omuta City, Fukuoka Prefecture. She is one of a group of women born that year that broke into the male-dominated manga industry and pioneered the shojo (girls’) movement. Hagio’s Heart of Thomas, inspired by the 1964 film A Special Friendship, was one of the early entries in the shonen-ai (boys in love) subgenre. Her major works include A Drunken Dream, A,A’, They Were Eleven, and Otherworld Barbara. She’s won the Japanese Medal of Honor with the Purple Ribbon (the first woman comics creator to do so), received Japan’s SF Grand Prize, the Osamu Tezuka Culture Award Grand Prize, and an Inkpot Award, among other accolades. She lives in the Saitama Prefecture.


Rachel Thorn is from in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. She is a cultural anthropologist, writer, and an associate professor in the manga department at Kyoto Seika University. Her translations include the New York Times Best-Seller Nijigahara Holograph by Inio Asano and Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.

Editorial Reviews

11/14/2016
This Josei (adult women) manga by the famed Hagio (The Heart of Thomas) is equal parts memorable, odd, and beautiful, with a dreamlike narrative that explores dreams themselves. The wistful story opens the strange yet magical island of Barbara, where Jujo Aoba and her friends live a carefree and joyful existence alongside sentient plants. Enter Tokio Watarai, a dream pilot and lovable deadbeat father. As a pilot, Watarai peeks into the dreams of others as required for various jobs. Watarai accepts a job to explore the dream of a girl who has been asleep for nine years in order to wake her. These events introduce Tokio’s son, Kitakata Kirya, who experiences recurring dreams of Barbara and an enigmatic girl with long white flowing hair. The soft, gorgeous art belies the story’s heavier themes which explore strained parental relationships, and the psychological effects of dreams on the human psyche, for better or worse. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"A binge-inducing treat; full of twists and turns that make it hooking and full of real and relatable sentiments that make it hard to forget."

Asian Movie Pulse

"Dream pilots explore the dreamworlds of others in this beautifully drawn sci-fi manga by one of Japan’s most celebrated manga creators."

The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

"A gripping, supernaturally infused sci-fi thriller. Hagio, one of the mothers of shojo and josei manga, is very much on her game, making this complex, exciting story a dream to read."

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