My third collection of stories by Junji Ito. Not my favourite of his, but it's interesting in how it gives you a sense of him as an artist.

Billions Alone feels like a bit of a quirky, ironic tale with not too much going for it, but the gruesome imagery does carry it very well.

The Human Chair and An Unearthly Love are stories originally by Edogawa Ranpo (who took his name from Edgar Allan Poe) that have here been adapted, and to great effect. They don't run as chilling as I like from Junji Ito, but like I said before, there's a clear influence that he's sharing with us. I really appreciate the attention taken to giving old, influential stories to a new audience and the use of Junji Ito's art style to bring them to life again.

Venus in the Blind Spot is another short, ironic tale. The most striking thing about it is the final panel, which is really beautiful and evocative of the feelings of the character, but feels so far outside the rest of the story's focus that it doesn't act as an affecting book-end and more like a tease for how a better execution might have elevated the story. I do enjoy Junji Ito's evocative mass hypnosis depictions, though, and there were some strong ones in this.

The Licking Woman is a little bit nothing, a little bit obvious, but like Billions Alone it's very easily carried by the imagery.

Master Umezz and Me was actually a great read. Like I said, seeing the adaptation of Edogawa Ranpo gave us an insight into Junji Ito that I relished. Here, then, Junji Ito tells us more directly through an illustrated memory a time where he might have worked for an inspiration of his, what his work might have looked like to meet his idea of that inspiring horror artist and, after Junji Ito had to give up the project, the unveiling of horror that was less direct, more viscerally shocking.
Here Junji Ito is showing his love for a master, but also for his craft. His ability to reflect on his work, the desire to grow. I really do love this one for that reason, even if it is totally not what I would have expected from one of his stories.

How Love Came to Professor Kirida didn't do much for me, if I'm honest. I think this is one of those where Junji Ito is trying his hand at illustrating inspirational stories and he does a good job at that, but there's not much that comes from what's left of the source material that leaves me feeling particularly affected. I'd be curious to read the original text (How Love Came to Professor Guildea, Roberth Hitchens), though, maybe I'll add that to my list...

The Enigma of Amigara Fault is the Junji Ito comic I knew about before I knew the man's name. It was the one that made me want to read him in the first place and it gets me every time. There's something so compelling about his depictions of mass hypnosis, of behaviour beyond reason and of utter compulsion that's really affecting, combined with a really satisfying payoff on the final panel. Junji Ito's ability to give the player a sense of stakes and tension to have horror payoff really is beautiful, and there's no better showcase than this.

The Sad Tale of the Principal Post is... I'll be honest, I think this one slaps. This is easily my favourite comic of his because it's so succinct, so funny and absurd, whilst still being totally mortifying... but real talk? I super think this is in excellent little text that addresses patriarchy and its ills. I love it.

Keepsake isn't of much interest to me. It's gross-out, but it doesn't feel much above something you'd see in Round the Twist, honestly. ( )

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Creepy stories; so-so artwork. ( )

Oh Mr. Ito, we're really in it now. This collection was a mixed bag of stories and I enjoyed a lot of one the stories here, maybe not as much as previous collections but still worth a read. As per usual with these collections I'll review each story.

Billions Alone - Okay this one was WEIRD. People are going missing, and in typical junji ito form, they are found later dead and stitched together. Like sewn together in a human centipede style horror. It starts with two people stitched together and eventually there are much larger groups all found stuck together. A mysterious group called 'billions alone' seems to be behind all this gruesome stitching and murder. The group has signs in the sky and flyers all encouraging people to meet and get together - of course you end up stitched together after if you do that...so....that's a downside. I think reading this during the corona virus pandemic makes the uneasy feelings a little worse. Solid story.

The Human Chair - God, the title just gives you that 'oh no' feeling because you know this is gonna be a doozy. A young writer is receives a manuscript that describes a very special chair used to relieve writers block and all sorts of other things but there's a catch of course- a man has concealed himself in said chair and is head over heels in love with the writer...while being physically in the chair she's sitting in. Yeah...that's cool, I guess. It's a strange tale with so much underlying creepiness, paranoia and unease, but definitely one of the stronger stories of the collection.

An Unearthly Love - Oh, this is a weird one. Based on a short story by Edogawa Ranpo and reimagined by Mr. Ito in his twisted way makes for an interesting read. A newly married couple navigate the tribulations of a new marriage but there's something in the way. The husband is distant and his affections seem empty no matter how he tries. The Wife finds that her husband disappears at night and follows him to their storage closet where she hears voices of another woman - An Affair!....Kinda? The Wife decides to catch her husband in the act of his betrayal but upon searching the storage closet she find only finds a Porcelain doll...you can probably guess where i'm going with this. The dude is in love with the doll...Very In Love. The story is twisted and engaging from beginning to end. This one is a favourite for sure.

Venus in the Blindspot - This one is the least scary one of the collection, but it plays on a trope of obsessions that to go too far and people falling in love with someone and not taking the time to get to know the person but assigning what they think someone should be. Scary. A UFO group becomes Obsessed with their leader's daughter and believe her to be an alien herself so naturally they decide to 'abduct' her and well...awful things happen. The climax of the story is haunting and frankly a little sad.

The Licking Woman - Well, it's like the title says - It's about a Licking Woman. She's the serial licker in town and she's got a huge disgusting poisonous tongue, but beware if she licks you!... because well, you're screwed and you're fate is pretty much sealed in death if that happens. It's a super strange story while also being particularly gory - a winning combo in my eyes.

Master Umezz and Me - This one is more of an autobiographical story about Junji Ito's love and admiration for an artist called Kazuo Umezz. It was okay, but nothing to boast about honestly. Felt a bit out of place in the collection.

How Love Came to Professor Kirida - Hmm. I don't know what I thought of this one. It was as always very strange but, not in the way I usually like. It's a ghost-haunted house story with a fairly predictable plot overall. The art is stunning as always but the story was just okay for me.

The Enigma of the Amigara Fault - IT'S MY HOLE. IT BELONGS TO ME.
Oh, I LOVED this one. After a massive earthquake a mysterious fault appears, but it's not your ordinary fault it's a people shaped fault! The walls of the cliff have what appears to be people shaped holes in the side. Coincidence? Nope. Turns out each of these people shaped holes corresponds to a living breathing person, you just gotta find Your Hole. People soon develop the urge to go into their said matching holes which sounds like a very bad idea and it turns out...it is. Once you go in, you don't come back out and are trapped. Where you go? Well...probably nowhere good. This short story has an eerie claustrophobic feel that has you feeling uneasy about it all after you finish. High recommend checking this one out. One of the best of all his works.

The Sad Tale of the Principal Post - An odd addition to the collection and Very short. I think it comes in at maybe 10 pages? Basically a man gets trapped under the main support beam of his family's house with no recollection or reason as to why or how it happened. I guess you could say he's the 'Man of the House'....I'll see myself out.

Keepsake - The final story of the collection is a story of a young master's recently passed wife giving her husband a very late gift in death - a child. Yes, she is dead when said child is born. As you probably could guess the child is not Right and is monstrous. It's a dark story and ends up in a twisted way. A touch underwhelming and a bit...boring? Nonetheless, it's a cool concept and the art is especially good here.

Overall, an interesting collection with many stand out stories but almost equally as many duds. I'd say check it out for the Amigara Fault and a few others but ultimately not my favourite of all the collections I've read so far. ( )

Just in time for your Halloween reading, yet another Junji Ito short story collection. This one is billed as a "best of," so like me you might have already seen some of these stories if you've been keeping up with all the Junji reprints coming out lately. And it almost lives up to the hype, as these are some pretty solid tales of horror with Ito's trademark body horror and creepy tone. Three adaptations of stories from Edogawa Ranpo and Robert Hichens are included.

My favorite in the bunch is the dark and compelling tale of obsession and torture, "The Enigma of Amigara Fault." Chilling every time I see it. ( )