Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection by Junji Ito

Viz Media, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781974719860

Available: Hardcover, Kindle, Comixology

Buy:  Bookshop.org | Amazon.com

Deserter: Junji Ito Story Collection brings together twelve of the horror mangaka’s earliest works. In “Bio House,” a young woman is invited to a strange meal where the after-dinner digestif is a rather unwelcome surprise. “Face Thief” tells the story of Yumi Machida, a student who transfers to a new school where a girl changes her own face. In “Where the Sandman Lives,” Yuji doesn’t sleep. He asks his friend Mari for help, but what she sees as Yuji’s other half awakens is something she shouldn’t see. There is some really good body horror in this particular story. In “The Devil’s Logic,” classmates of school girl Kazumi Morimoto witness her throwing herself off of a building. One of them discovers why this seemingly happy girl decided to take her own life, only to be compelled to do so himself. “The Long Hair in the Attic” sees Chiemi fall into a deep depression after her boyfriend breaks up with her. She returns home to the news from her little sister that there are rats in the attic. When she wakes in the morning, she discovers a rat has become tangled in her long black hair, so she decides to cut it, with disastrous results. In “Scripted Love,” Takahashi has a bad reputation in a small theatre troupe, but Kaori ignores her friend’s warnings. When Takahashi does finally break her heart, Kaori takes the VHS and script he wrote for her and discovers her true love. A vengeful family hides an army deserter for eight years after the end of World War II in “Deserter.” Other stories in this collection are “The Reanimator’s Sword,” “A Father’s Love,” “Unendurable Labyrinth,” “Village of the Siren”, and “Bullied.”

While the stories in this collection are not the strongest in Ito’s career, they are well worth reading. The artwork is definitely early work as well, but it isn’t bad. There is still the good storytelling and excellent body horror Ito fans can expect. This is a must for collectors of his work, and libraries wanting to grow their manga collection. Recommended.

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker