Archives for December 2007

PR: DrMaster to publisher King of Fighters art book

The folks at DrMaster sure have been busy lately. Here’s the latest on their newest art book.

WANT MORE OF YOUR FAVORITE FIGHTERS?
DRMASTER & SNK PLAYMORE DELIVER THE ULTIMATE ART COMPILATION!

San Jose, CA – December 2007 DrMaster Publications Inc. and DGN Productions, has just announced (to the delight of gamers everywhere) the impending release of THE KING OF FIGHTERS Art Book.

Gamers out there, your wait is finally over! All of your favorite characters are here in this explosive THE KING OF FIGHTERS Art Book! Kyo, Iori, Mai, Terry, Geese and many more are present and accounted for in this collection. Original illustrations produced by artists Wing Yan and King Tun for the long running comic series in Hong Kong, have been compiled in a collection that has never been seen before!

If you loved the fighting game and didn’t get enough of THE KING OF FIGHTERS comics, this art book is a MUST-HAVE for you! This awesome collection of SNK’s greatest video game characters will be heading to a store near you this Spring/Summer season, just in time to be paired with the release of SNK PLAYMORE’s new arcade game THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’98 Ultimate Match. Whether you love them all – or are a die-hard fan for a particular character, this book has something for every THE KING OF FIGHTERS fan! You don’t want to miss the action on-screen and on the page this Spring/Summer season!

Availability
THE KING OF FIGHTERS Art Book will be available in April 2008. Each full-size/full-color 96 page art book will be priced at $21.95. Visit www.drmasterbooks.com for more detailed series information.

New SNK PLAYMORE Arcade Game Titles
THE KING OF FIGHTERS ’98 Ultimate Match SPRING 2008
SAMURAI SHODOWN -EDGE OF DESTINY- 2008
THE KING OF FIGHTERS XII COMING SOON
THE KING OF FIGHTERS Maximum Impact Regulation “A” 2 COMING SOON

The year in webcomics

My year-in-review column on web manga is up at Comix Talk. Enjoy!

What’s up, DC?

Newsarama has their annual interview with DC prez Paul Levitz. I’ll spare you the blinky interface and reams of superhero stuff and excerpt the only part we care about here on MangaBlog:

NRAMA: Somewhat connected to WildStorm – CMX. As a whole, how is it performing compared to expectations and within the marketplace?

PL: The goal with CMX was to get us into the world of manga and to begin to build the relationships in Japan as we saw them as a growing part of the world of popular culture. It’s done that job – evidenced in part by opening the opportunity for the investment in FLEX Comics, which we think is a very interesting learning experience for us, and will hopefully lead to some very interesting projects both here and overseas.

It’s opened up a number of opportunities for us over there as well that we haven’t pursued, but that might not have been available to us otherwise. So the basic bsuienss goals, I think, we’ve met quite nicely. The success of the CMX print line itself has been…okay – not awe inspiring yet, but manga remains a very viable and growing segment fo the market, and hopefully, we’ll continue to improve our track record of what we pick and how we publish, and get a bigger and bigger share of that. We’re not in any danger of overtaking Viz any time soon.

NRAMA: I think that was a lot of the reaction when CMX was first announced – “Look out Viz, look out TokyoPop!”… and when it wasn’t that, the imprint took a hit in image (as well as for other issues at the time, too)…

PL: It would be pretty ridiculous for someone to assume that they could overtake Viz since they have the base relationship with the two best oil wells in the field. TokyoPop has had years to build their relationships with creators, hone their skill sets as a publisher, and get product out there that people wanted. It’s not shocking that they’re still doing well at it.

So, we’re content to be behind the two of them, but hopefully making our own place in the game.

Well, that puts a nice spin on the admission that CMX manga don’t seem to be selling very well. Let me be up front here: I have a lot of admiration for Asako Suzuki and Jim Chadwick and the rest of the CMX crew. They cleaned up the TenTen mess and have been publishing some very strong books: Emma, Oyayubihime Infinity, Canon. They are branching out into horror with Presents, which got some good critical buzz, and they also publish a lot of kid-friendly manga that doesn’t get as much attention, such as Time Guardian, Chikyu Misaki, and Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne. My girls, who turn up their nose at the Minx line that is supposedly designed just for them, really like a lot of the CMX titles. And they’re not alone; Emma, Canon, and Gon were all nominated for the ALA Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, and David Welsh recently remarked that Shaenon Garrity could do an Overlooked Publisher Festival about them.

I think CMX would do a lot better if DC would back them up a bit more, maybe shell out for more color pages and better paper and a more commanding web presence. Perhaps if the guys in Corporate regarded them as a book publisher, rather than a tool for making deals with third parties, that would happen.

The Dreaming ends, the list-making begins

At PWCW, Kai-Ming Cha interviews Aimee Steinberger about Japan Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventure in Japan, and Laurel Maury sums up the ICv2 Anime and Technology panel.

The last volume of The Dreaming is out, and creator Queenie Chan takes a moment to look back. Also: She’s got a secret. Go to the post to find a link—I’m not going to give it away here!

Speaking of looking back, ’tis the season to compile best-of lists. At PopCultureShock’s Manga Recon blog, Katherine, Erin, and Ken present their picks for the best—and worst—manga and books of 2007.

At the MangaCast, the team checks out this week’s new manga, Ed Chavez posts covers and his thoughts on Yen Press’s new titles, and Jack Tse podcasts his thoughts on This Week in Manga.

There’s gold in them thar otaku: ANN reports that sales of anime, manga, plastic figurines with removable panties, etc. in Japan totaled 187 billion yen ($1.651 billion) in 2007. It’s worth a peek at their chart, if only to see that doujinshi accounted for 14.9% of the market. Stateside, Kethylia goes to Borders and photographs a happy scene: Shelves of manga, stretching as far as the eye can see.

GTO creator Tohru Fujisawa has a new manga series, Animal Joe.

Reviews: Connie checks out vol. 15 of Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 12 of Astro Boy, Silky Whip Extreme, vol. 2 of Iron Wok Jan, vols. 6 and 7 of Land of Silver Rain, and vol. 7 of 3×3 Eyes. At the Sunny Side Up Anime Blog, huamulan03 posts a lengthy synopsis and review of the shoujo manga M to N no Shouzou (Portrait of M & N). David Welsh makes some quick comments on vol. 1 of Psycho Busters and vol. 1 of High School Debut at Precocious Curmudgeon. Miranda reviews vol. 1 of Orfina and Ferdinand checks out vol. 1 of Teru Teru x Shonen at Prospero’s Manga. Michelle checks out vol. 20 of Basara at Soliloquy in Blue. Johanna Draper Carlson enjoys the Azumanga Daioh omnibus at Comics Worth Reading. At Active Anime, Scott Campbell checks out vol. 1 of The Outcast, Holly Ellingwood checks out vol. 2 of Hoshin Engi, and Sandra Scholes enjoys Honey Senior, Darling Junior. and EvilOmar posts a heap of short reviews at About Heroes, and at Anime on DVD, the staff contributes their Small Bodied Manga Reviews.

NYAF: News and views

I still have some notes to write up from NYAF, but before it all fades, I wanted to round up all the links I could find from folks who were at the show.

One of the pleasures of freelancing for PWCW is getting to hang out a bit with Heidi MacDonald. At The Beat, she posts her first impressions, an overview, and some cool photos.

Also, the hard-working circle of PWCW freelancers posted a roundup of the big stories and brief reports on a number of panels.

Deb Aoki of About.com’s manga section was not only dedicated but also friendly, rescuing me in one panel by sharing her power cord when my battery was about to die. She covered the festival extensively and posted this cool photo gallery.

Krista at Animetique posted coverage of activities on the floor and the panels.

Casey, who blogs as Kethylia, posts detailed notes of her impressions.

Okazu’s Erica Friedman shares her overall impressions plus some tidbits of gossip she picked up on the floor. (Possible new license?)

JP Meyer gave NYAF an “incomplete.”

Wendy Pini, who was there with the Go!Comi crew, wrote about her experiences, and she included photos!

Dallas Middaugh and Tricia Narwani of Del Rey had a number of short posts and photos at the Del Rey blog.

Edward Liu of Toon Zone has a coverage from an anime point of view and photos of cosplayers.

At PopCultureShock’s Manga Recon blog, Katherine Dacey-Tsuei put it all in perspective with a post on the five most important stories from NYAF.

ANN posted video reports on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

And here’s coverage of the various panels:

ICv2 Conference

This professionals-only conference kicked off the festival, and it gave us plenty to talk about over the next few days. The Beat had an overview, as did ICv2 themselves.

ICv2 White Paper on Anime and Manga
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Erin F. (notes and audio)

Marketing to the Otaku Generation
ANN (Mikhail Kulikov)
Erin F. (notes and audio)
Laura Hudson on Al Kahn’s comments and the marketing panel

Girls: The Other Half of the Otaku Generation
<a href="http://www.popcultureshock.com/icv2-nyaf-girls/43026/Erin F. (notes and audio)

Technology and the Otaku
Erin F. (notes and audio)
PWCW (Laurel Maury)

Other panels:

Central Park Media
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Giapet

Del Rey
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Deb Aoki

Mangacast (Ed Chavez)
Giapet
ICv2
MangaBlog

Del Rey/Marvel Panel
Deb Aoki
The Beat
Giapet
ICv2
Newsarama
PWCW (Heidi MacDonald)
Official press release

Drama Queen
Giapet

Go!Comi
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Deb Aoki
MangaBlog

Tokyopop
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Giapet
ICv2

Udon
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
ICv2
Official press release

Vertical
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Deb Aoki
Giapet

Viz
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Deb Aoki
Giapet

Yen Press
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)
Deb Aoki
Giapet
ICv2
MangaBlog

State of the Manga Industry
ANN (Mikhail Koulikov)

News from all over

Comix Talk, the webcomics megasite, has their year in review roundtable up. I am one of the participants, and I have to say it was awesome being in a virtual conversation with such an eminent group—Tom Spurgeon, Heidi MacDonald, Dirk Deppey, Derik Badman, Gary Tyrrell, Reinder Dijkhuis, and JT Shea and Scott Gallatin. It’s long, so grab a grande latte and sit back for a great read.

In this week’s Flipped column, David Welsh goes all Shaenon Garrity on us and asks various mangaphiles (including yours truly) to name their favorite underrated manga.

ICv2 has the news about the six new Go!Comi titles announced at NYAF.

Two series left hanging after the demise of Monthly Shonen Jump and Comic BonBon in Japan are now being published online.

Heisei Democracy (possibly NSFW) has a guide to Comiket. (Via Simon Jones (definitely NSFW)).

Journalistic oddity of the day: A French artist offers his opinion on manga to an Indian newspaper:

“Manga has some real graphic qualities. I have myself been inspired by some techniques of Manga earlier. But Manga has got its limitations. Because, the stories that they say through Manga are not as good as the comics’ graphic quality,” notes [Francois] Dermaut.

Manga Life is looking for reviewers. No pay, but you may get comp copies.

The Spanish publisher Norma Editorial is holding a manga competition.

Reviews: At Manga Life, Dan Polley reviews vol. 1 of Yagyu Ninja Scrolls vol. 3 of Togari, and vol. 9 of Genshiken, and Lori Henderson checks out vol. 4 of The Gentlemen’s Alliance +. Scott Campbell checks out Dead Already, Davey C. Jones takes a look at vol. 7 of Bleach, and Holly Ellingwood reviews the fifth Fullmetal Alchemist novel, The Ties that Bind, and the yaoi one-shot Dash! at Active Anime. Ariadne Roberts reviews vol. 1 of King of Thorn at Anime on DVD. Bibliophile Stalker Charles Tan thinks pink with his review of vol. 5 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Julie checks out vol. 6 of Emma at the Manga Maniac Cafe.