‘Not Simple’ On The Way From Viz

When indie comics readers are looking for a manga fix, comic shops and bookstore shelves can be a bit daunting. Stocked with mostly tween and teen-targeted shonen and shojo, it's tough to pick up something a little different unless you have an idea where to begin. Judging from its digital preview, the release of the seinen "not simple" on January 19 could be that place for many readers.

As reported by The Beat and Robot6, the first chapter of "not simple" is currently hosted at Viz's Ikki imprint, along with additional information on the standalone story.

Here's the official synopsis:

"'not simple' follows Ian, a young man with a fractured family history, as he travels from Australia to England and on to America in the hope of realizing his dreams and reuniting with his beloved sister. His story unfolds backwards through the framing narrative of Jim, a reporter driven to capture Ian's experiences in a novel titled 'not simple.'"

The first chapter serves as a prologue and introduces the folks mentioned in the synopsis. I dig the story so far, although after seeing the cover in color, I have to say it'd be pretty magnificent to read the entire manga that way - tradition be darned!



Sidenote: Of all the online comic viewers I've used, I think I might like Viz's the best. Clean, functional - it may be cheating given its black and white content, digest-sized pages and often simple line art, but man, it's nice to read on.