Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki

In a post apocalyptic world, Nausicaä and her subjects eek out a meager existence in their small valley hedged between a toxic forest and an acid lake. When politics and war from invading neighbors encroaches upon their idyllic life, Nausicaä leaves her valley to solve the mystery of the toxic forest and find a resolution to the political conflict that threatens her valley.

This epic tale has little in common with the average comic book. The world depicted in this manga (pronounced mah-n-gah) has more in common with novels like "Dune" and "Lord of the Rings". The characters are deep and three dimensional, the story does not pander to popular trends or fads, and when the tale comes to an end, it is over - satisfyingly. No "Son of Nausicaä" or "Nausicaä II" muddying the series. Hayao Miyazaki, the author and illustrator, had a vision and brought it to life. That consistency to his vision helped tie the story together over the 14 years he took to finish it and created a rich graphic novel experience.

Started in 1982 and finished in 1995, Nausicaä was published in fits and starts due to Miyazaki's very busy anime schedule at Studioi Ghibli. I felt the narrative suffered at times from these long breaks between publication. However, I was very impressed that he saw the project through to the end. Although the narrative can seem jerky at times, the scope of the tale is solid and delivers. There is a depth to this tale that bears repeated readings. This manga was one of the most influential manga to me as an artist and future storyteller. It showed me how powerful and emotional graphic novels could be as well as exemplifying to me how enormous tasks can be completed with perseverance and dedication.

A lot is made in the press about the degenerate side of Japan's comic culture, but "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" is the pearl of the manga scene. I highly recommend it as an example of the heights graphic novels can obtain. It is well worth reading.