cottonland

This time, we bring you a story that is the dictionary definition of josei manga: Wedding Dress by Riyoko Ikeda.

When Eric, who also kindly proofread this script for us, mentioned that Ikeda had a manga where the protagonist plots revenge through a wedding dress, I knew I had to find it.

Said manga is compiled in the first volume of Ikeda Riyoko's Short Story Collection published in 1988 with the same name and another collection of short stories from 2014, Kaze no Joukei (Wedding Dress is only in the print version, not the digital version). But luckily, this short story also has two digital releases: One is included in vol.2 of Aoi Zakuro, and the other is a single-story digital release. I got the second one.

Some more digging told me that this manga was first published in issue No.5 of Monthly Seventeen's Special Issue YOU in 1981. I couldn't find an image of the cover of the magazine, but I trust where I do my digging: Yoshihiro Yonezawa Memorial Library of Manga and Subculture has scans of old Puff issues with the list of ALL the manga published in a given year. It reminds me of how we used to get our desired information before the internet, and I love it.

DDL MangaDex

I looooove horror. Yes I have lots!

Hmmm let me start with a few, alright?

NOVELS

The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story by Olga Tokarczuk

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Negative Space by B.R. Yeager

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

SHORT STORIES COLLECTION

The Essential Clive Barker by Clive Barker

The Great God Pan and Other Horror Stories by Arthur Machen

Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror edited by Jordan Peele and John Joseph Adams

Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti

Audio: A recording of Leonard Nimoy reading it on Internet Archive.

Text: A PDF version.

"Branch Line" manga series vol.8 cover by Ikebe Aoi

Not getting better at reading this month either. I am just not in a great place right now lol.

NONFICTION

Cell No. 14 by Sayyid Ali Khamenei

I don't think I'd ever be a Khameneist in my lifetime, but, boy, I wouldn't need much conviction to become one. It's just that, deep down, I'm a secularist. That's what's stopping me.

The Complete History of Jack the Ripper by Philip Sugden

It is a big, dense book that compiles almost everything there is to know about Jack the Ripper. Unfortunately, the author falls into the "blame the Polish immigrant" camp. Still, it's a solid read, especially if you're looking for a single volume that brings together all the known facts and evidence surrounding the case and the tumultuous period in which it unfolded.

What annoys me most about many Ripperologists is how certain they are of their conclusions and how readily they trust the police accounts. Given how fragmentary and contradictory the evidence is, that confidence often feels misplaced.

FICTION

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann