'Ebisu Yoshikazu's comics are familiar in a strange way. You'd realize why yourself soon enough, but it's because these comics are exactly like what we all see every night ... '
A teacher tortured by his students finally explodes in a violent rage. Exhausted Salarymen are pushed beyond the brink. Blood, sweat and screams of 'FUCK YOU!' pour out of the characters within The Pits of Hell, and yet a sense of humour always shines through.
Bold, absurd and all too real, Ebisu Yoshikazu's work feels distinctly underground, almost punk. Many of his works were created for alternative manga magazine Garo in the '70s, forming a bridge between the leftwing counterculture of the '60s and the subculture of the '80s. It is important that they are angry, awkwardly drawn, and funny - the stories in this collection reflect a time of personal, playful and expressionistic creativity.
The Pits of Hell collects eight classic stories by Ebisu Yoshikazu, originally published between 1969 and 1981. The collection features a foreword by Minami Shinbo and an essay by Ryan Holmberg placing Ebisu Yoshikazu and his work into context. Also included is a retrospective essay by Ebisu Yoshikazu in which he offers background on each of the stories.
