朝日新聞では，「地球防衛家のヒトビト」という４コマ漫画が掲載されています。ほのぼのとしたタッチで，新聞の４コマ漫画らしい風刺とウィットに満ちたこの作品は，しりあがり寿さんが描いているものです。
９０年代には，しりあがり寿さんが放つ，エッジの効いたギャグ漫画を楽しみにしていた方は多いと思います。「少年マーケッター五郎」，「ヒゲのOL薮内笹子」など甲乙付けがたい素晴らしい作品が目白押しでした。その中でも異色だと感じさせる作品が「カモン！恐怖」でした。
A four-frame comic titled “Chikyuu Boueike no Hitobito” is serialized in Asahi News Paper. This work which has somewhat warm atmosphere but being filled with satire and wit is illustrated by Shiriagari Kotobuki.
In the 90th, there must have been many people who were always looking forward to reading his gag comics because of the sharp-edged wit it had. I remember some of his works, for example, “Shonen marketer Goro”, “Hige no OL Yabuuchi Sasako” and so on, and it is difficult for me to say which one is the best. However, “Come on Kyofu” is very eccentric one for me of all his works.
予知夢，ポルターガイスト，金縛り，心霊写真といった，人を恐怖におののかせる怪奇現象が，しりあがり寿さんの手にかかると実に味わい深い可笑しみに変わってしまうから不思議です。文庫版の解説は，京極夏彦さんが書かれています。その中に，「しりあがりさんの漫画はいつも優しい」という一節があって，何かしら腑に落ちました。幽霊や憑き物，そして悪魔といったものがもつ得体の知れなさは，見方を変えれば、胡散臭さです。胡散臭いと気付いた時，優しい気持ちで見つめればそれは可笑しみとして受容できるものになり，上から目線で見れば軽蔑や嫌悪，無視の対象になってしまいます。
久しぶりに読みたくなって，アマゾンで購入しました。１円という値段に驚きました。１円で無限の価値をすぐに入手できる，すごい時代です。
It’s strange, but for some reason or other such bizarre phenomena which make people shiver as premonition dreams，poltergeists, being paralyzed during sleep, spirit photographs turn into something palatably humorous when Shiriagri Kotobuki depicts them. A commentary located at the back of the book was written by Kyogoku Natsuhiko. A passage in the commentary which says “Shiriagari’s manga is always affectionate” somehow sounds convincing to me. Something mysterious like ghosts, evil spirits or devils can be turned into something fishy when you look at them from a different viewpoint. If you look at them affectionately, they could be something humorous, but if you look down on them, they are something contemptible or ignorable.
I wanted to read it again after a long time so I bought it on Amazon. I was surprised at the price, it only cost 1 yen. I felt that we are living in a great era where we can get something infinitely valuable with one yen soon enough.
