Corruption of the innocent? Six junior-high-school boys were arrested in Tokyo for stealing about 400 comic books from bookstores.
“I wanted to read popular comic books and stole them. I sold some of the books to friends because I wanted money,” one of the suspects was quoted as telling investigators.
The boys, aged 14 and 15, only sold 21 of the books, and only netted 4,000 yen (the stolen books were worth 183,000 yen). If they’d rather read than fence, I’d say there’s hope for these lads yet. Perhaps they should read the new manga about changes in the Japanese court system.
I remember when… At Buzzscope, Tania del Rio enjoys all the manga action at NYCC and compares it to a less enlightened time.
Megatokyo artist Fred Gallagher will be appearing at Sakura-Con.
Japanzine has compiled a “best of Japan on the web” list, and it includes two sites I visit frequently: 3Yen and Anime News Network. It’s worth looking over the whole list, as I’ve found several new sites that look interesting.
And since he often is credited as the first manga-ka, it’s worth mentioning that Hokusai has a one-man show at the Smithsonian.
Hi! I’m impressed that a soccer-mother like yourself would be into manga. I usually think that American moms are suspicious and doubtful of the genre, but I guess I was wrong. I’m happy that you appreciate manga and I hope you continue to do this blog.
btw, I live in the philippines and many teens and tweens share your passion for manga/anime, me included. The genre is king here, but the materials are scarce because of the exorbitant prices of the volumes compared to our budget, and the bookstores are wary of carrying manga.
just on a side note, all the manga artists in Seven Seas Entertainment are filipinos and most are based in Manila. That’s why you won’t see them in conventions in the states. hehehehe… cheers!! (hope you make an article on them!)
Welcome, jj! It’s awesome to have a reader from the Philippines!
I loved comics as a kid, but when my kids started reading manga I was suspicious and doubtful myself, so I started reading it to check it out—and got hooked. In addition to the blog, I have a manga site specifically designed for parents, http://www.manga4kids.com. It’s designed to demystify the medium a bit and let parents know what to expect. But the format is too complicated; I need to streamline it a bit.
I wonder if web manga like Netcomics will make manga more accessible in places like the Philippines.