“Cover me!” -Helix in The Fifth Columnist 2 graphic novel (Elex Media street date: 12 May 2010)

huamulan03's personal designation: Must-have!

Edited because Andrea-sensei sez it's Silly girl and NOT Stupid girl.

The Fifth Columnist © Andrea Tezumo/Elex Media
[Cover provided by Andrea Tezumo]

The Fifth Columnist 2 of 2

By Andrea Tezumo
© 2010 PT Elex Media Komputindo
First published in Indonesia 2010.05
ISBN: 978-979-27-7329-3
Street date: 2010.05.12
SRP: IDR 15,000

DO WANT!

Look forward to

• Helix × Bishop
• Snatch paper doll

So, after a false alarm in which me and the Telor Ceplok friends (TCF) and extended TCF friend network thought The Fifth Columnist 2 of 2 graphic novel would street on the fifth of the fifth month, the saga of agents Bishop (Luna Patrick) and Helix (Rolf Richter) ends next week, with Elex Media's This time it's for real! release of the spy thriller's finale.

Before I get to the volume 2 preview pix Andrea Tezumo-sensei so generously provided—one has Helix (controversially) calling Bishop a stupid girl silly girl while restraining her—let me bring you up to speed on the story (I ‘hacked’ into the The Fifth Columnist files):

Synopsis

In a world where the Chinese and Neo Soviet Republic alliance ‘Concil’ challenges Western supremacy, MI-6 dispatches a special investigative unit to probe into the deaths of four British spies in Hong Kong. Agent Luna Patrick AKA Bishop is partnered with the mysterious alpha agent code-named “Helix.”

Events during the course of their investigation conspire to make Luna even more suspicious of her partner, but answers to her questions will have to wait as a Soviet team sprays their apartment with bullets...

Previews

You can download by clicking the pix.

Here's that Gadis bodoh... (“Silly girl...”) scene (click on the picture for a larger image):

Really, Helix. Don't be so quick with the name-calling. As her creator shares, Bishop just harbours (Brit spelling, Sensei!) naiveté and a particular inferiority complex that don't just grow out with age.

Lindungi aku! (“Cover me!”) The erstwhile German army recruit slash British MI-6 operative slash Neo Soviet Republic double agent goes into action:

Helix obviously trusts his partner, even if she doesn't return the favor.

The Helix × Bishop aftermath? (Teaser)

And inspired by True Blood, Andrea-sensei slips in this paper doll omake of resident techie Snatch (Robert Church) with volume 2:

There's another teaser for Snatch whom Andrea-sensei sez gets more panel time in the second volume, but it's mine, mine, MINE! (Nah, this Snatch fangirl is willing to share; click on the picture on the right if you also want to download Snatch in debonair mode.)

Now it's time for me to pester Andrea-sensei for the promised Fifth doujinshi ^^

~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03) who gratefully acknowledges Andrea-sensei's help in putting this post together

disclaimer

Artwork and source summaries used here are © their respective intellectual rights holders. No infringement intended.

related links

• The Fifth Columnist
• The Fifth Blog

Technorati tags
comics · graphic novel · The Fifth Columnist · Andrea Tezumo · Elex Media · Indonesia

Introducing The Telor Ceplok series: We have Yugo, Dr. Koto, the bishies of UraBoku, and Exia and Virtue investigating The Fifth Columnist

I decided this blog needed some fresh blood—it seems to be developing undead tendencies lately—so I'm kicking off the Telor Ceplok series, featuring manga/anime related or just light-hearted posts from the ♥ Friends of Telor Ceplok ♥ to help resuscitation efforts.

(In case you don't speak Bahasa Indonesia, telor ceplok is sunny side up or eggs over-easy. TC friend and one of this post's contributors baka-girl re-christened this blog with that name.)

For this initial salvo, I bear Yugo, Dr. Koto, UraBoku, and Gunpla goodies from Andrea Tezumo (manga-ka of The Fifth Columnist), Elex pundit raven, bishie connoisseur baka-girl, and Virtue evangelist Cyan.

REVIEW: Yugo the Negotiator - The Endless War by Andrea Tezumo

Yugo © Makari Shinji, Akana Shu/
Kodansha
Published in Indonesia
by Level Comics

Andrea-sensei freely admits to being a hardcore fangirl of this series, which she deems the best that seinen manga has to offer. She chooses the latest Yugo (volume 21, released in Indonesia by Level last month) as her jump-off point to why the gritty and gripping series is worth the (continuing) investment:

Throughout his manga serialisation (which ran for a decade in Kodansha's Afternoon Magazine beginning in 1994), the negotiator has saved the lives of many friends and foes, won the hearts of many a great man (from Pakistani Dacoits to Hong Kong triad leaders), all the while outwitting cunning juntas and politicians in a set of story arcs much grounded in reality.

She also muses over the change Yugo undergoes from the original series (Yugo I) to the Yugo II side stories, a shift previewed by volumes 20 and 21, in which Yugo gets embroiled in the Palestinian conflict in Paris:

The last arc of Yugo I — taking place in Paris and subtitled 'The Endless War' — may have just marked the end of Yugo's beginning.

On that somewhat cryptic note, I direct you to read for yourself Andrea-sensei's REVIEW: Yugo the Negotiator - The Endless War.

Review Manga : Dr. Koto, Tiba di Pulau! by raven

Dr. Koto Shinryoujo
© Yamada Takatoshi/
Shogakukan
Published in Indonesia
by Elex Media

A prolific reviewer, raven-san returns her usual incisive take on the first volume of Yamada Takatoshi's Dr. Koto Shinryoujo, released by Elex Media last Wednesday. The winner of the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award for best general/seinen manga, Dr. Koto details the struggles of a doctor who chooses to practice medicine in a remote southern island of Japan, despite the islanders' patent rejection. In her own words:

Jika dibandingkan dengan manga bertema kedokteran lainnya, Dr. Koto berbeda karena selain menunjukkan teknis proses operasi serta penyembuhan penyakit, manga ini lebih menekankan pada hubungan antar-manusia serta hubungan manusia dengan lingkungannya, dalam hal ini yaitu Pulau Koshiki sebagai tempat tinggal yang indah serta tempat kelahiran (dan kematian) yang sangat berarti bagi sebagian besar penduduknya.

For the benefit of those who don't speak Indonesian: When compared with other doctor-themed manga, Dr. Koto differentiates itself by placing the stress not just on surgical techniques and the curing of diseases, but more so on the interaction between physician and patient, between the residents and the island they call home, the beautiful Koshiki island that welcomes them at birth and becomes their final resting place.

I appreciate raven-san zeroing in on what distinguishes Dr. Koto from the pack of medical manga available: heart.

Here's Raven-san's review: Dr. Koto, Tiba di Pulau! in its entirety.

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru Parade by baka-girl

With Odagiri Hotaru's Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru manga getting the anime treatment this April, baka-girl-san collated several scans and wallpapers to celebrate:

Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru

This one featuring Yuki and Luka is my most droolicious fave.

Here's moar yummy UraBoku eyecandy.

"Fifth" Of The Month by Cyan

Cyan-san combines Gunpla enthusiasm and perseverance with awesome photography and LMAO wit in his blog, placing Exia and Virtue in some of the most LOLarious situations.

This one, his tribute to Andrea-sensei's spy thriller The Fifth Columnist (and reminder for the finale's release), has got to be his most wuvable yet. He actually make me heart Virtue (not my fave suit).

See Virtue's antics, I mean, in action here.

If you like these Telor Ceplok offerings, do leave me and the original writers comments, k?

~niki DBA huamulan03 (花木蘭03), manager of Telor Ceplok

disclaimer

Cover images and source editorial material are © their respective intellectual rights holders. No infringement intended.

Blogs of Featured Telor Ceplok Friends

• The Fifth Blog (Andrea Tezumo)
• Cross The Road and Back Again (raven)
• Dameda, zenzen dameda (baka-girl)
• An Hour picking Name for Blog (Cyan)