Review by Frank Plowright
It’s almost beyond belief that in addition to maintaining a phenomenal work schedule across long-running regular series, Naoki Urasawa finds time to produce the occasional short story. That term is flexible, though, as the longest tale here, ‘Kaiju Kingdom’, runs to fifty pages, and it should also be noted that the eight stories span a decade from 1997.
Short stories enable Urasawa to explore ideas that wouldn’t fit his regular series, so there’s considerable variety to Sneeze, although, amusingly, Urasawa notes everything is concerned in way or another with his childhood obsessions. He’s exasperated at how little he’s changed.
‘Henry and Charles’ is the earliest story, about as far away from Urasawa’s usual concerns as can be, and one of only two full colour contributions. His notes ask if this could be the finest of all his works. It’s not, although it’s a well staged comedy about a boastful mouse and his companion foraging for food in a kitchen featuring several hazards. Still, Henry claims to have stolen food in front of lions and tigers, so a single sleeping cat should be no problem.
Music connects three strips. Urasawa details a musical tour across the USA, encompassing ideas such as gurning guitarists, adapts an anecdote supplied by Japanese rock star Kenji Endo, and recalls moments from Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney concerts. They’re all delightful, especially Endo and his band’s eventful night and the coda.
‘Kaiju Kingdom’ explores the idea that giant monsters regularly rampaging through Tokyo contribute massively to the tourist economy. The city is seen through the eyes of a visiting French kaiju enthusiast and the connections he makes. It’s a rather sweet exploration of a funny idea.
More sinister is the opening ‘DAMIYAN!’ in which a teenager touts the services of his mate out to gangsters. He claims his mate has the supernatural ability to inflict death on his enemies. It exemplifies everything that makes Urasawa’s stories great in forty pages. There’s the astonishingly well composed art, a unique conceptual viewpoint, a hefty dose of whimsy and it’s entirely unpredictable. Much the same applies to the following story of a child told by an old man that he’ll grow to be a journalist who’ll win a Pulitzer Prize, written with Tagashi Nagazaki.
The final strip is the weakest, although again founded on a good idea. What if Lois Lane nagged Superman on his family responsibilities every time he flew away on a mission, and what if Superman needed to pay the mortgage, college fees and keep food on the table? Urasawa doesn’t use those characters, but it’s just a step away.
The anthology title? Urasawa explains it as a short expiration of breath able to make even the most beautiful person look temporarily ugly. The thought provides the cover illustration and some within. Sneeze isn’t absolutely essential Urasawa, but he’s so individual and so talented it would be a shame to miss out.
