Creative Staff
Original story by: Edogawa Rampo
Adapted and drawn by: Suehiro Maruo
Translation: Ryan Sands, Kyoko Nitta
What They Say
Set in 1920s Japan, The Strange Tale of Panorama Island follows the twisted path of failed novelist Hitomi, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the son of a rich industrialist. Learning of the rich man’s sudden passing, Hitomi undertakes a desperate plan to fake his own death and impersonate the industrialist. He successfully takes over all aspects of the dead man’s life, including his company, his fortune, and eventually his wife. Hitomi redirects the family’s wealth to his own perverse aims, and builds for himself an island playground of hedonistic excess – replete with waterfalls, grand palaces and gardens, and decadent feasts, orgies, and dark secrets. Stunning artwork by master manga artist Suehiro Maruo deftly illustrates this Japanese pulp classic in lush detail. Maruo adapted this manga from a novella by Edogawa Rampo, the Godfather of Japanese detective fiction.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Few artists can get away with the things Suehiro Maruo gets away with. Firmly in the ero-guro (erotic grotesque nonsense) camp, Maruo manages to put one foot into the high art world, earning himself a respectability one would think unfitting for his subject matter. Scholars have likened Maruo’s delicate line work and grotesque imagery to the muzan-e or “atrocity woodblock prints” of the Edo era. His characters, costumes, and scenery, on the other hand, come from the late Taisho era, when Japan’s experimentation with democracy ended and its long descent into militarism began. The boys’ military uniforms in Usamaru Furuya’s Lychee Light Club also come from this era, and it’s no mere coincidence: the manga was based on a play by Tokyo Grand Guignol, of which Suehiro Maruo was a member, as well as chief designer of their promotional materials. Maruo manages to tap into a vein of Japanese art culture that his ero-guro peers don’t, won’t, or can’t, which is why you are now able to buy a gorgeous hardcover edition of Strange Tale of Panorama Island instead of having to torrent it from the seedier corners of the internet.
Last Gasp took a few years to finally release the book, but it appears to have been worth the wait. The book has a full-color hardcover with gold foil lettering, two glossy colored pages, and nicely textured paper. It’s also surprisingly light. The majority of the manga is, of course, in black and white, but Maruo’s ultra-detailed art is gorgeous, illustrating all of his usual obsessions in service of evoking a specific time and place, as well as the characters’ relationships to the natural world. The art is especially important in this work, as Panorama Island is a place of spectacular sights and illusions, and Maruo doesn’t disappoint in the slightest in creating a spectacular world that *just* might exist.
The story itself is based on a short work by Edogawa Rampo, who is called the father of Japanese detective fiction for his creation of Japan’s first great detective, Akechi Kogoro. His name is meant to be an homage to Edgar Allan Poe (Edogawar an po), widely recognized as the father of detective fiction, and master of the macabre short story. Like his namesake, Rampo delivers a short but effective tale of crime and horror, not unlike “The Tell-Tale Heart” or “The Cask of Amontillado”. Because of this, I am hesitant to describe too much of what happens, as to give away too much detail is to give away the entire experience of discovery that makes these works immortal. However, the premise is fairly simple, and gives plenty of leeway for mischief and murder: Panorama Island features a failing novelist named Hitomi, who dreams of wonders as the fickle tastes of fiction move toward more realistic stories. Creatively stifled, he dreams of creating a paradise on earth, lacking only the means to do so. He soon learns a friend from university, a wealthy heir has died. The two were very close, with not only intimate knowledge of each other, but looking virtually identical as well. Hitomi knows his friend was very sickly, but also neurotic, and supposes he might have been buried in a shallow grave out of fears of being buried alive. When his prediction turns out to be correct, he decides to exhume his old classmate, dispose of the body, and take his place. Hitomi fakes his own suicide, and shows up at the family estate, starved, parched, and filthy, and manages to fool everyone into believing he is indeed his old friend. Now with limitless money and a construction empire behind him, the realization of his dreams can finally begin.
It’s hard to know whether Suehiro Maruo found a Rampo tale that contained all of his favorite themes, or if Maruo has made the tale his own, but fans of both artists will doubtlessly be pleased by this synthesis. The story, while simple, works as a Poe-like tale of horror, a framework for visual spectacle, and as commentary on world events. The construction of the island cannot escape the shadow of the coming war, and we know all of Hitomi’s efforts are likely in vain, as in only a decade or so, wide swaths of Japan will be bombed into rubble. The decadence of Hitomi’s, and Maruo’s, work is heightened by the historical period in which it is placed.
It should be noted, in closing, that while Panorama Island is 18 and up, for a Maruo work is it fairly tame. You may not want to show it to your mother (though mine quite liked it), but it doesn’t require a particularly strong stomach to endure. Other Maruo fans, however, might be disappointed by the restraint observed here.
In Summary
A standout manga in terms of production, artistry, and storytelling, Strange Tale of Panorama Island is not to be missed for fans of adult, seinen, or horror manga. I’ve long been an admirer of Maruo’s work, so I’m very pleased we’re able to see a new series from him. Fans of Mr. Arashi’s Amazing Freak Show, or Ultra Gash Inferno might find the storytelling to be a bit tame for their tastes, but this is a great introduction to Maruo’s body of work for newcomers or fans of Edogawa Rampo. The fantastic sights of Panorama Island are not likely to be forgotten. Very highly recommended.
Content Grade: A+
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: A+
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: Ages 18+
Released By: Last Gasp
Release Date: July 1, 2013
MSRP: US $24.95
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