A
manga series by
Masahiko Kikuni, a
pseudonym for someone who wisely hides their involvement with this series. The strips are published in the famous manga serial
Shonen Sunday in Japan and in
Viz's
PULP magazine in the United States. Viz recently released a
graphic novel collecting the series and featuring bonus material.
A strip is typically composed of a title, a sub-title and four panels. Sometimes there's full page or multi-page strips as well.
What makes Heartbroken Angels so memorable is the humor. Sick, perverted, disgusting, scatologic - can I throw out some more adjectives, or are you getting the idea? One strip has a young girl stab a man as he opens the door. Finding out it's the wrong address, she apologizes but is forgiven by the dying man, who explains "You're the first girl who's ever come to visit me. Even though it was a mistake, it makes me really happy." Too bad she's a transvestite. Other strips have strange sex between siblings - "Pull out my armpit hair...", students using nude photos to blackmail their teachers into afterschool lessons, crushed subway passengers, and whatever else pops into the author's head. There's some great digs at anime otaku thrown in there too, and a truly heartbreaking group of strips about a poor family and their struggles through poverty. Not every strip is funny, but the ones that suceed are hilarious. Examples of the strip are online at http://www.pulp-mag.com/
Heartbroken Angels also has some American disciples. The absolutely hilarious The Thin H Line was inspired by the series, and it's almost more raunchy at times.