“If You peel back the face of a beautiful woman, you will see it clogged with viscera” rests as a lone quote from Daisuke Ichiba on the back cover of the ‘Hollow Press’ edition of “Hospital Train”. This quote wonderfully sums up the artistic style and narrative displayed within the pages, as beauty and the grotesque meld together in a violent, delirious manner.

Hospital Train is available through Hollow Press

The visual styling of Ichiba is undeniably the biggest draw to this particular edition, which is only heightened by the presentation from Hollow Press printed on A4 paper, with 32 pages plus a full color hardcover. Having the ability to experience the artwork on such a large scale allows the reader to better realize (deceptively) the detailed style of Ichiba. The charm of artwork comes in a mix of genres, although some might put it in the same class as ‘ero guro’ with the implied sexual undertones and body distortions, the blending of violence, beauty, surrealism, underlined by an abstract narrative that creates more of a sense of an experimental amalgamation of the mangaka’s various inspirations.

This mix of influences also becomes harder to discern with art seemingly projected through overt obsession with scribbled textures that create revolting scenarios. Ultimately, capturing these detailed textures feels important to better understand the complexity and time taken in the illustrations, particularly in comparison to commonly formatted manga releases where fine detail can occasionally become lost. Overall, it is hard to really relay the dizzying and frenetic energy in the illustrations outside of the printed format, making editions like this a great way to celebrate the artistic prowess of Daisuke Ichiba.

The narrative is rather abstract and not necessarily as engaging, with sparse dialogue that more resemble a series of disturbing non sequiturs. The delivery is so peculiar that makes it difficult to even classify the work as manga in the traditional sense. The story, or lack thereof, plays out more akin to a nightmare soaked in blood and gore, with a particular focus on extreme body distortions and over animated facial features. The content is very much geared towards an adult audience, but there is also something somewhat juvenile in Ichiba’s style, as it mimics the mad scribbling of a troubled teen in both art and narrative. The end product really does not feel cohesive and it may frustrate some readers, but for those who love to embrace chaos, it is difficult to find anything else remotely comparable.

“Hospital Train” may be tragically short to really showcase the scope of Daisuke Ichiba’s talent, but Hollow Press does an admirable job in presenting the work in a highly appealing format. When I finished the edition I could not help to want more, but the time spent admiring the art puts great value in owning this physical edition. If it was not for the limited run, and my perception of deconstructing a book being extremely taboo, (I am not sure how spread this sentiment actually is) the pages would be cut up and displayed all around my place, since it is an utterly gorgeous presentation of the artwork. Hollow Press has also published the work in Italian and Japanese, giving fans additional options and allowing for wider distribution and exposure. The book would make a great personal library addition for fans of both ‘outsider art’ and bizarre manga.