The sound you just heard is Dirk Deppey smacking himself upside the head as he realizes he missed the first kiss in the history of BL. He makes up for leaving it out of the Shoujo Manga issue of TCJ by posting it at Journalista, so go check it out.
Dirk also discovered that the avant-garde comic Garo is being digitized for cell phone and internet.
A Korean newspaper worries that Japanese pop culture is taking over Korea. This leads to some interesting numbers:
All this enthusiasm has sent prices for rights soaring. It now costs some W30-100 million (US$1=W938) for a novel and W10-70 million for a manga, depending on the reputation of the artist or work. Industry insiders say that is nearly double what they cost in late 2005. “Just in 2002, it was possible to buy a good Japanese work for as little as W5 million if we did well in negotiations,” says KimJongHak Production. “But prices for Japanese works are skyrocketing as broadcasters and producers compete.”
At the same time, there is more manhwa than ever out there, although it’s not always marketed as such.
OT but worth a peek: What happens when you let one of the Same Hat guys decorate the office.
ComiPress has bad news for fans of Hayate the Combat Butler: Manga-ka Kenjirou Hata seems to have injured his right hand. Also: Chinese students take Death Note a little too literally.
Blogging from Japan, where he is trying to break into the manga industry, Spiderman Loves Mary Jane artist Takeshi Miyazawa posts some cover sketches.
Reviews: At the MangaCast, Mangamaniac Julie reviews vol. 1 of Shakugan no Shana and Readilbert checks out three books, vol. 5 of Natural, vol. 5 of Hana Kimi, and vol. 10 of Harukanaru. At Active Anime, Christopher Seaman reviews vol. 3 of Zombie Powder and Holly Ellingwood checks out vol. 9 of Hana Kimi. Leroy Duresseaux checks out vol. 1 of The Gentlemen’s Alliance -Cross- for the Comic Book Bin. And it’s a different kind of March Madness at PopCultureShock, where Erin F. reviews a whole slew of titles.
Koreans worry about Japanese influence since the first time Toyotomi Hideyori sent his samuris over for a suprise visit. Nowdays the influence is indoubtly two ways – Korean stars isn’t considered successful unless they’re well-known in Japan. But they are still worry about areas in which they’re preceived as weak – and Japan’s visual culture is probably the strongest in the world. I’d say as long as they don’t start banning stuff again then it’s all good.