Status Update

Sorry to break the news, but it's another month without Historie... I really thought there'd be a chapter this June but I guess them's the breaks. Maybe next month... But for those who're looking to have their fix of manga set in the Classical era, you'll be excited to know that my next project is Alexandros ~Dream for World Conquest~. It's a condensed biography of Alexander the Great and I quite like it for its depictions of the Diadochi at the beginning and the end. If only there were more manga that focused on them... This manga's only 1-volume long, and I intend on releasing it in one go, but I thought I might as well release the first few pages as a preview since there's no Historie this month. Expect the whole volume to be out sometime in July.

I've been wanting to work on this for quite some time now, primarily because it's by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu. In case you don't know who that is, he's the original character designer for the iconic Mobile Suit Gundam. Although he's mostly known for his works as a character designer for anime, it's Yasuhiko-the-mangaka that I so adore and admire for two main reasons. For one, unlike in anime where Yasuhiko's lovely character designs are usually compromised due to the lack of budget, his designs shine brilliantly in manga. Definitely one of my top 10 mangaka when it comes to artwork, especially character designs. The second reason is that he makes exactly the type of historical manga that I love. He's much more dramatic than Yokoyama of course, but he still strikes a nice balance that never feels too "hollywood," for a lack of a better term. I definitely intend on doing most of his historical stuff over the years, especially Ten no Kechimyaku (oh man, do I ever have a hard-on for that one's setting).

Anyways, regarding status updates, I'm sure the #1 question on everyone's mind is WHEN'S THE NEW PUNPUN COMING!? Well, it's coming out in Japan on June 28th, so taking into the amount of time it takes for my raw provider to get it delivered and then scan it, I'd say a late-July release is most likely. I'll give a more definite release date once I actually get the raws. And yes, I'll do the live-typesetting threads like I did with the previous volumes. That's becoming sort of a Punpun tradition now. As for Zero, I still haven't found/gotten any more raws yet, so let's all try to be patient. I'm sure I'll be able to resume that following Punpun. That's it for now, feel free to ask any other question regarding my other projects.

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Valley of the Fallen Phoenix

And here we are, v34 complete! Back when I was first exposed to the story of Rot3K, I was quite surprised to see Pang Tong make such an early exit. Here's a guy who's been hyped up as Kongming's equal ever since Liu Bei first met Shui Jing (Water Mirror) and he comes to such an anticlimactic end, which always fuels the "what-ifs" among fans. What if Cao Cao hadn't lost Guo Jia before Red Cliffs? What if Sun Quan didn't lose Zhou Yu so early? What if Liu Bei hadn't lost Pang Tong? I personally think if we were to talk history and not the novel, Pang Tong surviving wouldn't have changed the grand scheme of things. In fact, if he did survive, it might have very well stirred conflicts between Zhuge Liang and him. The minor character Peng Yang who appeared in this volume is sometimes cited as an example of a genius marginalized for provoking Kongming's ire.

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Sangokushi v34 (last updated June 18)

Sangokushi foreshadowing is similar to that of Legend of the Galactic Heroes. That is to say, it's as blunt as a hammer. But don't be too bummed out, it's how the events play out that matters and makes reading this tale worthwhile, not the outcome.

I don't know, Wei Yan... You're talking to a geezer that could even take on Guan Yu.

A lot of people seem to rate Liu Bei too lowly because it always seems like Pang Tong or Zhuge Liang is doing all the work. But as the incident in this chapter shows, he's still quite capable himself.

In ancient China, wisdom is often inversely proportional to politeness and consideration.

This horse that Liu Bei gives to Pang Tong is Dilu (hex-marked horse). If you'll recall, it's the supposedly "unlucky" horse that saved Liu Bei's life all the way back when Cai Mao tried to assassinate Liu Bei back in volume... 20. Back then, Yokoyama drew it as a brown-horse, but it's supposed to be white, I think.

These two should just fuck already.

Hey, look. It's Huang Zhong v2.0

If it weren't for Zhang Fei's temper, he'd easily be Liu Bei's best general.

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Sangokushi c211:   Sendspace;   Depositfiles
Sangokushi c212:   Sendspace;   Depositfiles
Sangokushi c213:   Sendspace

Sangokushi c214:   Sendspace
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Joe v12 Cont'd (last updated June 16)

And we're back from another one of our mini-delays. Sorry for all the Joe-fans out there who keep having to deal with our frequent breaks. But as I mentioned before in the post about Zero, we had a legitimate reason for the hiatus this time.

Just one more chapter left in the volume.

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Tomorrow's Joe v12-4:   Sendspace
Tomorrow's Joe v12-5:   Sendspace