Disappearance Diary (Paperback)

by Hideo Azuma (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In 1989, comic artist Hideo Azuma succumbs to the pressures of deadlines and tries (unsuccessfully) to hang himself using the slope of a mountain. He leaves his family, wandering as a dumpster bum looking for scraps of food, cigarette butts or discarded alcohol. After several months he is arrested as a vagrant and returned to his home. He then repeats the cycle in 1992 this time becoming a gas pipe fitter in another town. Later, in 1998, his alcohol dependence is so bad he is forced into rehab. This book is his expression of those three periods of his life told, not in a deep or depressed way but, as befits his nature, in a buoyant and cheerful cartoon art.

About the Author
Born 6th February 1950 in Hokkaido, Azuma moved to Tokyo and debuted in manga in 1969. He has produced a large body of work in many genres including the comedy Desperate Angel and the Science Fiction Seiun (Japanese Hugo) Award winning Absurd Diary - an honor shared with Otomo's Akira. He is also considered the father of Lolico manga

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Ponent Mon S.L.; GRAPH edition (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8496427420
• ISBN-13: 978-8496427426
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #411,493 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Amusing "real life" manga, June 12, 2009

By	DoggyDawg - See all my reviews

Based more or less on a true story, this is the tale of a manga artist's three adventures in life. First, he grows tired of the rat race, and decides to quit his job and just rough it on the street. He sleeps in parks, eats whatever he can scavenge from trash bags, and smokes discarded cigarette butts. Not dark and gritty, but simple and sweet. At times funny, it's a romanticized view of "the bum" in today's Japan.

Second, he gets a menial job in construction, and we learn some of the secrets and nobility of pipe-fitting. It's unexpectedly charming. Then he slowly gets dragged back into manga drawing, and faces all sorts of artistic challenges. All the while he starts to drink more and more, which leads to . . .

The third section where his drinking leads to falling-down drunk episodes, and he is admitted to a psych ward at his local hospital. Again, it's captivating (dare I say, "Cute"?), not dark.

I like seeing all the very Japanese aspects of life in this book: buying boxes of saki from vending machines, sleeping on mats on the floor, eating noodles and miso soup, and, of course, lots about manga.