Yeah, I really like the art. I’ve got more Yasuko Aoike artbooks than any other artist, and just splurged and ordered a whole bunch more because I didn’t know what else to do with all my pent-up recent love for the series. It’s really amazing to look at how the Eroica art changes through the years, for better and worse. I have to admit I’m a bigger fan of the art from around where these volumes are at now, it does change pretty drastically when she picks the series back up after a hiatus. It’s a lot more masculine and plain presently, though it’s hard to truly dislike any rendition of Klaus and Eroica. A lot of people don’t seem to like the long legs and big hair, either, which is my favorite part. I’m always mildly offended when that’s taken as a weak point. I also love the random objects that show up in the background behind characters. Aoike really seems to take a lot of joy from drawing little things like guns, flowers, and such repeating through the background behind people at appropriate moments.

Oh, god, I love this manga way too much for my own good. My love goes beyond obsession and into…well something unimaginable. ^^”

But you’re right, NO-ONE reads this manga. I’m doing my darnest to convert as many people as possible but they take one look at the drawings and scream “big chin! EWWW!”
For god’s sake just give it a chance. If you had sense enough you’d see the unique style is actually one of the reasons this manga is so precious. It’s not your run of the mill processed shoujo crap. It’s GOOD! The drawings are AMAZING!

I wish I still had access to an Ingram account so I could check. I’m curious now.

I think I read in one of the Eroica fan groups that they were having an informal gathering at the local Kinokuniya on the release date to get the newest volume together, and if anywhere around here would stock multiple copies of the latest volume of Eroica on the release date, it’s Kinokuniya. However, I didn’t go.

I started re-reading the series from volume one, and I think the James jokes are the only thing I really liked better in the first volume. I kind of preferred it when he was being teased relentlessly, then he slowly started living up to all the teasing and it became less funny. He still seems necessary to have around though, and he’s good for a laugh on occasion. The team-up between he and Lawrence was a match made in heaven, and using him for the NATO Director’s birthday was also great. And thanks for pointing out that error, I always have problems remembering the usage for “spendthrift.”

The bang, bang line was made even better somehow by the random spanking he administered later. I wasn’t sure what good deed I’d done to earn that bizarre scene. I think the Zorba and Kanzantzakis references were intentional now too, actually, since she’d used other Greek names in earlier volumes that weren’t references to anything, as far as I know.

I’d heard about the problems with the source material somewhere before, but I have a hard time believing that since it wasn’t a problem in the past, and suddenly became a problem for several series at the same time. But it may just be as you say, that it wasn’t worth the resources anymore for series that weren’t selling well. That’s a shame.