Hide and Seek

This creepy-cute collection introduces English readers to Naono, a cult favorite artist of horror manga originally published in 1970s Japanese girls’ magazines. The volume’s gruesome material arises from the conflicts and petty jealousies of children’s everyday lives—gone melodramatically awry. In “Whose Child Is Mariko?” a little girl envies her new baby brother enough to kill him; in “Wool Pants,” a boy goes to murderous extremes to avoid the embarrassment of wearing his grandma’s hand-knitted clothes to school; in “Our First Family Trip,” a masterpiece of tension escalating to histrionics, a girl is driven to distraction worrying about whether she turned off the iron before leaving for vacation. Many of the stories revolve around guilt, revenge, and protagonists doing horrible things only to realize, too late, that they misunderstood a crucial detail. Naono’s beguiling, comical artwork—characters mug for the camera and get into Looney Tunes–type dust-cloud fights—contrasts the psychologically unbalanced plots. Her doe-eyed, doll-like characters slide through fluid backdrops that turn shadowy and sinister. Included on the title pages is the delightfully over-the-top magazine promo text: “Prepare for your soul to be seized and never let go!” Horror fans and shojo manga fans alike will want to seek out Naono’s strange delights. (Apr.)