Age Called Blue #[nn]

Est Em's Age Called Blue arrives from Netcomics with a cover that immediately signals something stylishly off-kilter: a bare-chested young man wearing a blue-and-ermine royal robe and jeweled crown sits slouched on a gothic throne in sneakers, radiating languid authority, while a second bare-chested figure reclines across scattered vinyl records below him. The contrast between regal trappings and contemporary casualness — crown meets hi-tops, royal court meets record collection — sets a mood that is at once playful and quietly melancholic. At $11.99, this 2009 release looks like a rewarding find for readers drawn to manga with genuine visual personality.