Bleach

    (Viz, 2004-Present)
™ and © 2001 Tite Kubo
Shonen Jump graphic novel; reads right to left; b&w.

Boys who can see dead people have been a manga staple for years and can be found in such kids’ titles as YuYu Hakusho and Shaman King as well as the more adult Eerie Queerie. But Bleach (seriously, is that the best title they could come up with?) splits the difference between those extremes, creating a lead who’s half ghost-breaker and half ghost-whisperer.

Ichigo has always taken seeing ghosts for granted, but life didn’t get really weird until Rukia, a member of the Soul Society, inadvertently transferred her powers and duties to him. Now, it’s up to him to protect mankind from The Hollow: hungry ghosts who prey on humans. Although he wants no part of the job, Rukia hangs about as Ichigo’s unwanted mentor. These are standard, we’ve-seen-it-all-before situations. What makes this different (besides the ultra-modern-looking art) is its unconventional working-class characters and their attitudes toward the supernatural. Moreover, it’s refreshing having a hero whose first impulse isn’t to smack something around.

— S.A. Bennett
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#1

May, 2004
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#2

July, 2004
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#2 - 3rd printing

June, 2005
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#3

September, 2004
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#4

November, 2004
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#5

January, 2005
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#6

March, 2005
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#7

May, 2005
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#8

July, 2005
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#10

November, 2005
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#11

January, 2006
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#13

June, 2006
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#14

August, 2006
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#14 - 4th printing

May, 2008
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#15

October, 2006
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#16

December, 2006
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#26

March, 2009
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#29

December, 2009
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#46

September, 2012
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Collector's Set #3

October, 2011
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Collector's Set #6

September, 2013
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