Sally Madden | November 6, 2024
Kazuo Umezz, the god of horror manga, passed away last week at the age of 88. While not necessarily qualifying as a youngster, I was stunned to hear of his death. The gnashing teeth of Umezz’s work overflows with such bristling exuberance (screaming, laughing, screaming) I figured even if he doesn’t live forever, at least you and I would go first.
As it should be, Umezz is a beloved favorite around here. We're staying up rereading Baptism, The Drifting Classroom, Orochi, My Name is Shingo, among others, gasping into the night. His ghastly penchant for pushing the boundaries of gore balances with a certain tenderness- adults are villains not to be trusted, but children are able to level the illogical and collaborate. The slightest possibility for vengeance as well as anyone operating a motor vehicle near a crosswalk ends in bloody heartbreak, but the family cat gets away unscathed.
Umezz is wonderful for tripping up those who, like some authors of this particular blog post, mistakenly think themselves unflappable. In his world of actual monsters and people behaving monstrously, human entrails emerge through all kinds of ingenious openings, characters save their speaking voices for Hell- choosing to relentlessly scream all conversation. These ring in the ears like a quartet of jackhammers, leaving me clutching both my pearls and the Alka-Seltzer.
But I simply must keep reading. Umezz’s stories unfold with campy gotcha of a Tales From the Crypt and the petty snooping of an Archie digest, it’s impossible not to give yourself over to the pleasure of reading, reading like you did when you were young, as much as you can in one sitting because you have to find out what happens or you’ll just die.
While we assemble a more formal remembrance, here are some items from around the site as well as two from the archives we’re re-running today (Joe McCulloch instructed me that “Umezz” was his preferred diminutive, don’t bother me):
An essay from The Comics Journal #233 by Ng Suat Tong
A 2003 interview by John A. Lent
The Drifting Classroom Vol. 1 and 2 reviewed by Helen Chazan
"I'm Sure Their Wounds Will Heal: Orochi, "Prodigy", Kazuo Umezz and The Family also by Helen Chazan
a look at "Sisters" from Orochi vol. 1 by Joe McCulloch
assorted Umezz
English (US) · 