Very clever, very subtle - even when her words are very direct, Kan Takahama tackles subjects as diverse as suicide pacts, mermaids, making a porno film and bar room chat with a robust yet delicate grace.

Probably the most talented mangaka to have recently emerged from Japan, Kan Takahama's art and story telling will surprise when least expected...

(Source: Ponent Mon)

1. Saigo no Onna-tachi (Women Who Survive) 2. Aoi Ehon (Kinderbook: A Picture Story for Melancholic Girls) 3. Highway, Motel, Skyline (Highway, Motel, Skyline [2001 amid a heat wave]) 4. Kahinashiko no Koi (Red Candles, Futile Love) 5. Gohon Ashi no Kage (Five-Legged Shadow) 6. Minnano Blues (Minanogawa Blues) 7. Asoko ni, Utsukushii Futatsu no Taiyou (Over There: Beautiful Binary Sins) 8. Mont Saint-Michel