Danica Davidson
July 25, 2024 
Alley is the latest short story collection from horror icon Junji Ito to be published by VIZ Media. The first story, the titular “Alley,” is a creepy tale where a young man moves into a boardinghouse near an alley and thinks he hears kids. But is he really hearing the voices of murder victims?
“Descent” involves young people mysteriously disappearing, and then reappearing in a most unbelievable way.
In “The Ward,” two women involved in a car crash end up in a hospital room together, but there’s something very wrong (and gross) about their roommates.
“The Inn” has a man seem to go insane after following a dream he had. This one might have been more powerful if it were in color instead of black and white.
“Blessings” is a really solid story about a couple trying to get a father to bless his daughter’s marriage.
“Smokers Club” is where you can join a certain club, but the cigarettes they smoke aren’t like any others on earth.
“Mold” shows a real nightmare of a story about a man renting his place to another man he doesn’t like. You might feel itchy at the end of this one.
“Town Without Roads” opens with a girl having weird dreams, then goes in a very unusual direction.
“Memory” has a young woman block out years of her life because she doesn’t want to remember something that happened.
“Ice Cream Bus” follows a divorced dad who has custody of his son, and an ice cream truck that has something sinister going on.
The stories are set in slice-of-life scenarios, but then something invariably goes horribly wrong. Ito likes mysteries as opposed to horror that can be explained, and this flair for the mysterious continues throughout the collection. This is another creepy and entertaining anthology from a man often thought of as the master of horror manga.
Story & Art: Junji Ito
Publisher: VIZ Media
Translator: Jocelyne Allen
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
