Time Codes: 00:00:26 - Introduction 00:02:26 - Getting back in the manga saddle 00:05:37 - Uncomfortably Happily 00:44:42 - Appleseed Alpha 01:22:55 - Wrap up 01:24:37 - Contact us The monthly manga series is back, and on this episode -- the first of two manga shows in October -- Shea and Derek discuss a couple of very different works. They begin with Yeon-Sik Hong's Uncomfortably Happily (Drawn and Quarterly). This is the story of Hong and his wife becoming frustrated with living in crowded and polluted Seoul, ultimately deciding to move to a house in a remote mountain community. As the guys reveal, the majority of the narrative is devoted to the everyday challenges the couple undergo, the quotidian tasks involved in living in such a raw, isolated area. Over the course of their conversation Derek and Shea address the question of autobiography: Is this indeed a memoir of what Hong and his wife actually underwent? Neither of the guys doubts that the story is anchored in Hong's real-life experiences, although Derek makes the argument that the construction of the narrative bears more of a fictional stamp than one of life writing. Next the guys turn to a very different kind of manga. Iou Kuroda's Appleseed Alpha (Kodansha Comics) is a manga based on Shirow Masamune's original Appleseed, as well as an adaptation of Shinji Aramaki's anime feature. Both Shea and Derek are impressed with Kuroda's art, dynamic and drenched in heavy inks, but they're not as excited about the coherency of the story. There are gaps in the narrative, the various events aren't necessarily linked cohesively, and the overall story can be a bit confusing at times. Nonetheless, the guys, especially Shea, are taken by Kuroda's efforts. Shea appreciates this follow-up to the Shirow's Appleseed, which he has read, and Derek feels impelled now to seek out the original manga series. At the end of month, Shea and Derek will be back with their second October manga show, a special Halloween show devoted to horror manga. Keep your ears open!