REVIEW: ‘ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE]’ on When You Miss Being a Legend at 27

I gotta to give credit where credit is due–I came across the titles such as ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE] in the Manga Mavericks lineup thanks to translator Mike Jokoh. I had been following his in-depth interviews with mangakas and blogging about manga for years so when he started mentioning this publisher and the indie titles they were putting out, I knew that I would check it out. The company aims to license, localize, and distribute works worldwide from indie creators in Japan which was a joy to learn. I, not only love manga, but I always want to see more indie manga and a more diverse sampling of new and emerging voices from the manga industry.

ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE] Words and Art: Chiaki Yagura Translation: Michael Jokoh Lettering: Victoria Esnard Editing: Miki Davis, Joshua Martin-Corrales Quality Assurance: Siddharth Gupta, Colton Solem Release Date: July 16th, 2025 Age Rating: 13+

ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE] Page 1 [ Chiaki Yagura, Manga Mavericks Books]

ALTERNATIVE[SELF LINER NOTE] opens to a young woman standing with guitar in case strapped to her back, headphones in with Nirvana’s ‘Heart-Shaped Box” playing.  She stands with an unexpressive look upon her face, standing alone but taking up space on a subway train. The text box reads: “My God died when he was 27. Me? I’m 28 with nothing to show for it.” It is implied that she’s referring to Kurt Cobain, best known as the lead singer, main songwriter and guitarist for the Seattle-based grunge band N…