ken niimura

henshin

2. kitty and me

3. last train

4. the bully bros

5. salieri

6. watermelon in summer

7. merci

8. lying is bad

9. par-tay

10. the victory sign

11. first snow

12. cat on guard

13. shut up

1. no good

T.v

vmui

'

poop suy. YOU'LL 66 SETTINS

LOTS OF ATTENTION HEPE. YOU MISHT EVEN END UP WITH SEVEPAL TOKYO 60YFPIENDS.

I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND. I HAD LOTS

COINS ON TOO, WHEN I WAS

YOUNS.

2. kitty and me

HI, I'M KEN, AND I MADE THIS COMIC.

BUT I COULDN'T AFFOPD IT, 50 I'C JUST WATCH CAT

VIDEOS ONLINE.

PEDA WAY TO DIVIDE AU

S: THOSE WHO CAM ONLY SO AT HOME.

A: THOSE WHO CAN

TAKE A DUMP ANYWHEPE.

a Few yeAt?s ASO, I WAS OUT IN THe

couNTpysioe...

36

I DECIDED TO PUT OUT SOME FOOD AND WATEP,

EVEPy EVENINS.

??L£

AND THEPE WOULD BE POOP IN THE SAME

PLACE AS ALWAYS.

XT'S LIKE TALKINS TO

A FPIEND IN A SECPET LANSUASE.

3. last train

4. the bully bros

NAOKI... CAN you

HEAP MEP THIS IS yout?

MOTHEP...

6E FPIENDLy WITH THEM.

AND DO NOT USE "IT.

IT'S FOP THE BEST, FOP ALL CONCEPNED.

CPAP..

I COULD SAVE THEM IF I USED "IT"...

BUT THEN THEY'LL FIND OUT, AND

MOM WILL KILL ME.

OUST A MiNUTer

5. salieri

POPMINS SOMETHIN©.

■rh rv' c~\ I-L

THIS TIME, IT'LL BE A

MASTERPIECE.'

ij ill/my,

&oooese of CQBATIVlTYf

V

6. watermelon in summer

"Vli

'rr.

-Mh

7. merci

WOULD GAY, ''ANYTHING

TO GET THE MESSAGE Aceoss."

8. lying is bad

AND DECIDED? iLO^TAYilNiTHIS SfCOUftte^HE' ?TCAM£jT O' LOVE.

WOPKED HAPD TO LAND A 006,

PLEASE TPY AND IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS

LIKE POP THIS PEPSON WHEN THEY PIPST APPIVED IN OAPAN.

6UT NO MATTEP HOW

HAPD HE TPIES, HE'S ALWAYS

CONSIDEPED A "POPEISNEP."

I UNDERSTAND HIS FEELINSS

9. par-tay

you SET TO DO THE ANNOyiNS

PACT.

60 WASH youp

HANDS.

©uess i'll HAVE TO MAKE

SOMETHIN© OUT OF NOTHIN©...*

Mwca.

you CAN TASTE EACH INSPECMENT.

GOOO OL' FASHION£0 CHICK PEAS 6 CHOPIZO OF yOPF

-400(5 CHICK PEAS COPIED OP CANNED? -aoos chopizo sausase

COP DOOS BEEF + PAPPIKA POWDEP TO TASTE? -IX LAPSE POTATO -IX SMALL ONION -IX CAPPOT -IX BAY LEAF -A DASH OF WHITE WINE -OLIVE OIL, TO TASTE -SALT 6 PEPPEP, TO TASTE

10. the victory sign

o

11. first snow

12. cat on guard

LIKE THAT STRAY I LIKE IN PARTICULAR

THAT COMES INTO THE CORRIDOR.

MYSTERIOUS X HAVEN'T EVEN MET HIM YET.

d

i

...BUT WHEN I think: about it..

13. shut up

jd <jS Sm

THANKS FOP

THE TeA IN IS NOW OEPAQTINS.

henshin - the end

words and drawings

ken niimura

editor

yumetaro toyoda

translation

ivy yukiko ishihara oldford

special thanks

chris butcher joe kelly

takeshi miyazawa miho ota

emma rios

HENSHIN. January 2015. Copyright © 2015 Ken Niimura. All rights reserved. Published by Image Comics, Inc. Office of publication: 2001 Center Street, Sixth Floor, Berkeley, CA 94704. “Henshin,” the Henshin logo, and the likenesses of all characters herein are trademarks of Ken Niimura, unless otherwise noted. “Image” and the Image Comics logos are registered trademarks of Image Comics, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means

Comics, Inc. All names, characters, events, and locales in this publication are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual

DIGITAL EDITION. For international rights, contact: sakai@madlead.jp.

WRONG DIRECTION!

This is the BACK of the book!

This book has been printed in the

original Japanese format in order to preserve

the orientation of the original artwork.

Traditional Japanese manga starts in the

upper right-hand corner of the page and reads

from right-to-left as you move down the page.

A unique vision of Japanese life unfolds in HENSHIN, a collection of

thirteen short stories by Eisner and International Manga Award winner

Ken Niimura (I KILL GIANTS), presented in English for the first time. A “Henshin” means "transformation" in Japanese, and in all thirteen

stories, choices and events — whether momentous or seemingly

small — change the lives of people finding their way in modern Japan.

Niimura’s imaginative storytelling delves into the emotional

lives of his characters, from a kid with peculiar powers to a lonely

girl finding her way in the big city to a salaryman out on the town,

who all discover that change is the only constant in life.

EMPIRE BLURPIXEL