is a Japanese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 series written and illustrated by Akira Hiramoto about the blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 legend Robert Johnson. It was originally serialized in Kodansha

Kodansha

, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

's Afternoon

Afternoon (magazine)

is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Kodansha. It is a monthly anthology, and each issue typically has around thirty ongoing stories by various authors and runs about 800 pages...

. The manga is licensed in North America by Del Rey Manga

Del Rey Manga

was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...

 and in France by Kana

Kana (publisher)

Kana is a French publisher affiliated with Les Éditions Dargaud. Kana was founded in 1996 by Yves Schlirf. The company publishes manga in French and Dutch. Its headquarters are in the Dargaud offices in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.-External links:*...

. School Library Journal

School Library Journal

The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...

named Me and the Devil Blues as one of the best adult books for high school students in 2008. Me and the Devil Blues won the 2009 Glyph Comics Awards

Glyph Comics Awards

The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and...

 in the Best Reprint Publication category.

Manga

The manga takes its name from the title of the Robert Johnson song,Me and the Devil Blues. It is written and illustrated by Akira Hiramoto. Kodansha

Kodansha

, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

 published the first four bound volumes

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

of the manga between January 2005 and September 21, 2006. Del Rey Manga

Del Rey Manga

was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. It was formed as part of a cross-publishing relationship with Japanese publisher Kodansha. Some of the Del Rey titles, such as Tsubasa...

 released the manga in two tankōbon volumes, the first published on July 2008 and the last on December 2008. The manga is licensed in France by Kana

Kana (publisher)

Kana is a French publisher affiliated with Les Éditions Dargaud. Kana was founded in 1996 by Yves Schlirf. The company publishes manga in French and Dutch. Its headquarters are in the Dargaud offices in the 18th arrondissement of Paris.-External links:*...

.

Volume listing

Reception

School Library Journal

School Library Journal

The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...

named Me and the Devil Blues as one of the best adult books for high school students in 2008. The 2009 Glyph Comics Awards

Glyph Comics Awards

The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and...

 was awarded to Me and the Devil Blues for the Best Reprint Publication. About.com

About.com

About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

's Deb Aoki lists Me and the Devil Blues as the best "underappreciated gem" of 2008 along with Shoulder-A-Coffin Kuro.

Anime News Network

Anime News Network

Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...

's Casey Brienza commends the manga for its "superb, historically accurate artwork and an intriguing, original story premise" but criticises the manga for its "painfully slow narrative pacing, silly plot points, and a whiff of unintentional bigotry".
About.com

About.com

About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

's Deb Aoki criticises the manga for its "lots of strong language, sex and graphic violence [which] makes this mostly an adult pleasure". Mania.com's Nadia Oxford commends the manga for its "surreal mix of fantasy and reality" that portray what could have happened to Robert Johnson. Coolstreak Cartoons's Leroy Douresseaux commends the manga for its "stunning visuals, which Hiramoto composes using a variety of styles, techniques, and media". Peter Gutiérrez from Graphic Novel Reporter comments on the manga's use of its "Faustian

Deal with the Devil

Deal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...

 premise to work squarely in the Southern Gothic mode of the horror genre, Hiramoto then shifts the tempo and tone quite radically". John Thomas from Comics Village

Comics Village

Comics Village is a UK based comics website launched in November 2007 and predominantly aimed at publicizing non-mainstream comics. Over time, it has extended its remit into other forms of pop culture, into providing a different take on the so-called mainstream than that provided by the...

commends Hiramoto for "his valiant attempt to bring a long-gone Southern bluesman's story to a modern Japanese audience".