Lots of good reading in this month’s Manga Moveable Feast ( “where a bunch of bloggers write about a single title over the course of a week,” for those who have no idea what the fuck I’m talking about) on one of the greatest manga series you can find, One Piece. Don’t just take my word for it, check it out! [Primer] [Day 1] [Day 2] [Day 3] [Day 4] [Day 5] [Day 6] [Day 7]

Don’t really have much of anything to say to add to the MMF, so here’s some sketches instead.

First up, a daydream I’m surprised newer character Boa Hancock hasn’t yet had of main protagonist Monkey D. Luffy:

She really didn’t turn out well at all. Note to self: drawing when you’re bored is good. Being bored with what you’re drawing, not so much. Luffy’s babies still amuse me, though. Boa Hancock… It’s hard for me not to love a character who kicks kittens and baby seals to make an entrance. Yes, really.

And for a bonus, here’s one of Luffy and my favorite new character, who sadly will probably not make many more appearances beyond the Impel Down storyline, the Sphinx:

I love the way Oda designed as basically a lion with some feathers thrown on its back, and the face of a dirty old man. And he gave it a huge forehead that more than vaguely looks like a hairy ass-crack. The occasional stray panel aside, he sadly only appears in a few pages (reads top to bottom, right to left).

click to view full size-ish

click to view full size-ish

These pages got expanded into an episode all its own when they were adapted into the anime, and the episode is magical. And yes, I am thoroughly disappointed the Sphinx didn’t get adopted as the official mascot for the comic. Don’t judge me.

As if I needed more reason to love this comic, it also gave us 10 of the best (and most satisfying) seconds of fist-to-mouth in animation history: