Over the past three years, I have come to admire the work of Jiro Taniguchi. Through The Quest for the Missing Girl and A Distant Neighborhood, I have come to appreciate Taniguchi’s masterful draftmanship, his unique stories, and his strength as both a writer and a cartoonist. Of all his great qualities throughout books adapted by Fanfare/Ponent Mon, I have noticed one key feature, one slight detriment to his impressive works: Taniguchi has a difficulty creating people. His characters are impressively constructed, but like the craggy cliffs and towering skyscrapers he so ornately crafts, they are inscrutable. It is hard to understand their emotions, and their faces are mask-like in quality. And while the beauties of the scene that surround each character are readily apparent, the beauties of the characters themselves are often hidden behind a wall. Written and Illustrated by Jiro Taniguchi Publisher: Ponent Mon S.L. (June 23, 2011) Age Rating: Older Teen Genre: Slice of life Price: $23.00 In A Zoo In Winter, Taniguchi sets his sights on himself – and thereby, other people. The focus he puts into drawing the emotions of his characters is equal if not greater than the usual care he devotes to mountains…