What causes a horror manga author to get into horror? In Uncanny: The Origins of Fear, we see (through vivid drawings) that it started with an outdoor toilet.
The book is largely text but does include a few illustrations too. It begins as Junji Ito’s autobiography written in first person. There are some gems here that may, or may not, be universal truths.
“Children grasp that being alive and being dead are equally probable.”
As well as some underlying reasons why body trauma is so prevalent in Ito’s manga. Watching his own appendectomy? What a horrifying experience for anyone, let alone a child!
There are two chapters discussing where his story ideas come from and how he creates his characters. The end of the book includes many great tips on how to write and draw horror manga.
Uncanny: The Origins of Fear should appeal to both people curious about how horror ideas are created as well as artists looking to put their own fears on paper. It even has a flip book drawn on the edges of its pages that sadly I couldn’t experience on my iPad. Overall, this is a useful and interesting book. 4 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media for providing me with an advanced review copy.