Naomi Nowak's Unholy Kinship, which NBM is publishing in November, is an excellent example of the visual and thematic influence of manga on American comics.  The emotional saga of the troubled relationship between sisters, Unholy Kinship ($9.95) delves deeply into the problems of its protagonist, a young woman who's a disaster in relationships with the opposite sex and whose family is riddled with mental illness and instability.

Although it does feature Japanese-influenced visuals and concentrate on relationships with a shojo-like fervor, Unholy Kinship is far more serious than the vast majority of high school romance manga and, while it is aimed at female readers, it is clearly targeted at an older, more mature audience.  Unholy Kinship also differs from manga in several other key ways -- it is printed in full color and it manages to tell its story in just 112 pages.