For Shintaro Kago, the body is a playground. Or open-source software susceptible to modification (or, directly, hacking). Or a piñata that needs to be burst to discover what candies and toys it hides in its belly. All of this, in short, to say that the panels of the mangaka, a distinguished guest of this year's Comic Barcelona, spill fluids, viscera, and all sorts of unimaginable substances. , the title just published by Moztros, is no exception: the four chapters that make up the bulk of this volume have as their leitmotif the intrusion of sharp items (worms, cables, spaghetti...) that cause havoc and burst the characters from the inside out.With this premise, it is understood that Kago is one of the most prominent contemporary exponents of eroguro, a Japanese aesthetic tradition that delights in showing grotesque scenes, extreme violence, and aberrant sexuality, and which, far from being the exclusive heritage of manga, links revered ukiyo-e painters such as Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, writers like Edogawa Rampo, and filmmakers acclaimed at Sitges like Shinya Tsukamoto. In addition to defending a particularly psychedelic take on nausea (it's no wonder that the twisted electronics producer Flying Lotus commissioned him to design the cover for his album

The Catalan comic book edition continues in an expansive phaseJournalist and comics expert Vicent Sanchis, director of TV3, is behind the creation of the new Catalan-language manga imprint Catway, which aims to normalize the presence of comics in Catalan. "The publishers that release the most manga in Catalan are Norma and Planeta, but they are always series that have already been released in Spanish, and sometimes with less quality," says Sanchis, who at Catway doesn't rule out publishing manga in Spanish as well. "But it will always be published first in Catalan," he assures.

The 92,000 square meters of pavilions 3 and 5 at Fira Barcelona Gran Via are preparing to welcome attendees to Manga Barcelona from December 5th to 8th. This event has long been the second most popular cultural event in Barcelona – with over 167,000 people attending last year – second only to Primavera Sound. With Saturday and Sunday tickets sold out well in advance, it's likely that attendance records will be broken again this year. We highlight ten highlights from its program.

It wasn't among the favorites in a program featuring prestigious names in the film world such as Radu Jude, Abdellatif Kechiche, or Naomi Kawase. But the jury of the 78th Locarno Film Festival, chaired by Cambodian Rithy Panh, opted to ignore the better-known directors and award it the Golden Leopard. Tabi to hibi (Two seasons, two strangers) by Sho Miyake. A Japanese director who is by no means a debutant (one of his previous films, Keiko's fight, premiered on Filmin), but had not yet established himself as one of the filmmakers to watch on the contemporary scene. In Two seasons, two strangers, Miyake adapts two independent stories from Yoshiharu Tsuge, a pioneer of alternative manga and a cult author who stopped drawing decades ago. The stories feature lonely male characters who eventually connect with a woman at a specific moment. And in both cases, the detailed and exquisite descriptions of the respective natural and atmospheric environments help convey a state of profound yet restrained sadness. Two seasons, two strangers represents this new Japanese cinema with special sensitivity and subtlety when it comes to portraying characters on the fringes or those hiding deep pain.