The most disturbingly effective imagery can be found in this story, with the increasingly complicated formations of stitched together corpses defying rational explanation more and more with each incident. At first seemingly the work of a serial killer, larger and larger groups of people start disappearing at once, only to turn up dead in a macabre construct with one another. In it, bodies are turning up sewn together with fishing line, often in bizarre arrangements. I think it is much more cerebral than I’d at first given it credit for.
I do want to give some credit to “Billions Alone” where it is due, though, as I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Such was the case when I finished “Billions Alone”, as well as a few others in the collection. If things become too confused and complicated, as obscured horrors often can become, then I’m more frustrated than I am creeped out. If what makes the story creepy, like the human shaped holes in “The Enigma of Amigara Fault”, is impactful enough, any confusing elements of the story are suppressed or even add to the horror.
What I experienced most pointedly with some stories in this book, however, was an imbalance between confusing and creepy elements. Ito’s works, aside from their wonderfully haunting art, are well known for their wildly bizarre concepts, the origins of these strange horrors often obscured. I was surprised to find after reading it that it’s apparently considered by many to be one of Ito’s greatest stories.
Once I’d finished the book, it was actually the first story, “Billions Alone” (usually translated online as “Army of One”), that stuck out the most in this way. In many ways I like this collection, it’s definitely good, but I didn’t get particularly swept away by any of the stories I hadn’t read before. Additionally included are a colour poster and gallery of art featuring the subjects of some of his other famous works not included in the collection, which can be removed and displayed if the reader so chooses.Īs I’ve discussed in reviews for other collections, Junji Ito’s shorter works have become an increasingly mixed bag for me the more of them I read, and this book has unfortunately continued that trend. While the majority are Ito original stories, this collection is noteworthy for including a few stories by other authors, which Ito has adapted. Included is the fan-favourite story “The Enigma of Amigara Fault,” previously included in the deluxe hardcover of Gyo, with some bonus colour panels/pages featured in that story and others, unique to this collection. Marketed as a “best of” collection of stories by the author, there is a common thread throughout each of them related to compulsions and/or utter fixation. Venus in the Blind Spot is the latest collection of horror stories by manga artist and writer Junji Ito to be published in English by VIZ media.
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