nex3 reviewed Galette 01 (Galette Yuri Comic Magazine, #1)
Review of Galette 01
4 stars
I've read so many comic anthologies that come from the anglosphere, I'm fascinated by how different this one is structurally. English anthologies tend to be full of works commissioned for the book itself, which are as a consequence all self-contained. This anthology represents the more common Japanese practice of having multiple manga serialized in the same journal, which then collects a range of issues into a book, which will include only pieces of each story ending (perhaps indefinitely) with a "to be continued...".
For the best comics, it's certainly the case that the more self-contained format works best. But many many authors struggle to fit something that feels compelling and satisfying in such a short space, especially given that comics as a form already have so little room for pure text. I think the hit rate of Galette is substantially higher than most English anthologies of comparable professionalism I've seen, and I think a lot of that comes from not being obligated to try to cram an entire plot arc in six to twelve pages.
