“Tekkon Kinkreet: Black and White”

“This one’s a total winner. It’s got that thing in Japanese comics where you’ve got the ultraviolent mixed with the tenderness between characters. I’ve never seen it work in comics from other countries.

The only thing that didn’t work? The stupid plastic cover the library put on it. Seriously, it was all wobbly and wrong. And…I don’t get it. I hate plastic covers. They make my hands sweaty. Before you lecture me, I understand the concept. Easier to clean. But with most comics, you can clan them pretty easily with a Clorox wipe without fucking them up because they have covers that are glossy and slick enough. I don’t think the plastic cover really protects comics from much of anything.

While there’s little I dislike more than a plastic cover, one of those littles is a plastic cover that’s not applied carefully. It crinkles. It’s like a badly wrapped present where the wrapping paper is all loose and shit. And trust me, I know a lot about poorly wrapped presents. They’re practically my signature at this point. Who put that gift under the tree? Well, it’s coming apart in front of our eyes and seems to be wrapped in an entire roll of paper, so we can all make a good guess.

Why don’t the make wrapping paper more like aluminum foil? Then it’d just hold its shape. You’d just tape it for double-sureness. And if you had bastard kids like I was a bastard kid, you’d hear them trying to sneak into their presents at night.

I don’t know if I snuck into my presents because I was that excited. I think the problem was that you’re a kid, you’re off school, and what the hell else are you gonna do? It’s freezing outside. All your friends are staying home because it’s holiday time, so families are like, “No, you’re spending today with the family!” Even though that just means they’re all in the same house being bored. Boredom is a family activity. “