Archives for February 2008

I won’t be posting the news until later because I’m tied up this morning with a press conference and other complications. But in the meantime, here’s a nice press release from the folks at Manga University about a regional award for their books. MU is unique in that they are located in Japan and use Japanese talent to produce books in English for an American audience.

TOKYO, February 15, 2008 – Manga University’s “Kanji de Manga” series, which uses comic illustrations to teach students how to read and write Japanese, is the recipient of one of this year’s Business Innovation Awards presented by the prefectural government of Saitama, Japan.

In announcing the awards this month, Saitama Governor Kiyoshi Ueda praised the series’ creator, Japanime Co. Ltd., for spreading Japanese language and culture throughout the world. Japanime publishes the books under its Manga University imprint. Co-authored by Japanime founder Glenn Kardy and manga artist Chihiro Hattori, “Kanji de Manga” is available in seven different languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish and Finnish. Nearly 250,000 copies of the books have been sold worldwide.

Five volumes are currently available. “Kanji de Manga Special Edition: Yojijukugo,” which will feature Japanese idioms, goes on sale in April, while “Kanji de Manga Vol. 6” will be released this September.

Happy Valentine’s Day! David Welsh gets into the holiday mood with a survey of his favorite romantic comedies. Over at Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson goes in the opposite direction and picks some favorite shoujo manga that eschew the hearts and flowers. Tokyopop’s valenine to their readers is a volume a day of Loveless for free online; volume 7 is up today, and they promise a “sweet treat” starting at 9:15 a.m. (PST), but only for today.

At Manga Recon, Katherine Dacey posts this week’s new manga along with some short-and-sweet reviews. And the MangaCast team picks their favorites as well.

Go!Comi is looking for an artist for a webcomic and print project. (Via Kuri-ousity.)

Like many book editors, Del Rey’s Tricia Narwani often brings work home on the weekend. Tricia’s a little better off than most of her colleagues, however, because in her case “work” is “the Phoenix Wright game,” although she swears it’s just background research for the upcoming manga.

The Giant Napkin takes on the issues surrounding bookstore layout. (Warning: Satire!)

The Washington Post’s Read Express has a writeup on the Japan: Culture + Hyperculture event.

This year’s Japan Media Arts Festival will feature a symposium asking “Why Did Manga Overtake the World?”

Reviews: At Prospero’s Manga, Miranda gets into the Valentine’s Day mood with vol. 1 of Manga Sutra. Tangognat gives a big thumbs up to vol. 2 of Walkin’ Butterfly. Julie reviews vol. 1 of Doors of Chaos at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Mark Thomas enjoys the Azumanga Daoih omnibus at Anime on DVD. Connie reviews vol. 12 of Boys Be…, vol. 2 of Mai the Psychic Girl, and vol. 1 of Tarot Cafe at Slightly Biased Manga. Ed Chavez checks out vol. 1 of Hell Girl and vol. 1 of Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives at the MangaCast. James Fleenor posts his first impression of vol. 8 of D.Gray-Man at Anime Sentinel. At Active Anime, Sandra Scholes reviews vol. 1 of Do Whatever You Want and vol. 11 of Let Dai, Rachel Bentham checks out Love Circumstances, and Holly Ellingwood reads vol. 22 of Hana-Kimi. Leroy Douresseaux reviews vol. 1 of Short Sunzen! for The Comic Book Bin.

Today’s top story is ICv2’s report on 2007 anime and manga sales. The final numbers aren’t in for manga, but the ICv2 folks comment on the broad outlines:

it does appear that manga had another strong year in 2007 although its rate of growth is clearly slowing. The major problem facing both publishers and retailers engaged in the manga market remains the proliferation of new titles, which, if publisher projections are to be believed, will be coming at you at the rate of 33 volumes of manga per week.

I don’t actually regard lots of new titles as a “problem,” but then, I can stack the books on the floor if I run out of shelf space. Bookstores aren’t supposed to do that.

Oh, and here are their top ten manga properties for 2007, which should come as a surprise to no one:

1. Naruto
2. Fruits Basket
3. Death Note
4. Bleach
5. Kingdom Hearts
6. Pokemon
7. Vampire Knight
8. Fullmetal Alchemist
9. Absolute Boyfriend
10. Loveless

Meanwhile, this week’s PWCW has two interesting stories for manga readers: Calvin Reid’s article on Christian graphic novels (which I mentioned yesterday) and Stephanie Mangold’s story on global manga at Tokyopop.

David Welsh picks the best of this week’s new manga. The Comics Villagers list their picks as well, and Charles Tan has an article on manga in the Philippines.

Comics Should Be Good has a new manga columnist, Danielle Leigh, who kicks off her “Manga Before Flowers” column with a look back at how she came to love manga.

Iris Print’s Kellie Lynch tallies her reader surveys and comes up with an interesting portrait of how people’s Significant Others feel about their BL habit. Also: E-books are coming!

Stretching the definition: We’re pretty loose about the term “manga” around here—basically, if the creator says it’s manga, that’s good enough for me. But… Gilbert Hernandez’s short webcomic is titled “Manga,” and it has nosebleeds and fistfights, but the resemblance pretty much ends there. And this “manga” version of “Happy Days” from India is even less manga-like, plus it’s some Indian “Happy Days,” not our familiar Richie and Fonzie version. But it gets bonus points for being in both Telugu and English—no need for scanlation. (Second link via Simon Jones.)

Count the ironies: A lawyer has accused the creator of Bengoshi no Kuzu (Scum of Lawyers), which runs in Big Comic Original magazine, of plagiarizing his novel.

Reviews: At Sleep is for the Week, NotHayama doesn’t see what the big deal is about Mushishi. The Comics Villagers have posted this week’s set of reviews: Lissa Pattillo on Poison Cherry Drive, Charles Tan on vol. 1 of the Rurouni Kenshin omnibus, Sabrina on vol. 1 of With the Light, Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of The Guin Saga Manga: The Seven Magi, John Thomas on vol. 1 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and another defector from Manga Life, Michael Aronson on The Astro Boy Essays. At the MangaCast, BrianP has a written review of vol. 8 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure while Ed Chavez podcasts his thoughts on vol. 2 of Black Dog and vol. 5 of Gunslinger Girls. Snow Cleo reviews Garden Dreams at Manga Jouhou. Ferdinand checks out vol. 1 of Yozakura Quartet at Prospero’s Manga. Erica Friedman’s take on vol. 1 of He Is My Master: lamer than “Three’s Company.” On the other hand, Erica’s review is probably funnier than either one. Julie checks out vol. 3 of Hoshin Engi at the Manga Maniac Cafe. At Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood reviews Necratoholic and Be With You, and Rachel Bentham reads vol. 7 of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs.

Can’t get enough of Princess Ai? You’re in luck! Tokyopop continues to expand the Princess Ai-niverse with a new anthology containing 12 stories by an assortment of creators that includes T Campbell and Amy Mebberson, Emma Vieceli, and original Princess Ai collaborator Misaho Kujiradou.

No Den-Ai-ing the Rumors!

TOKYOPOP Proudly Presents …

PRINCESS AI: RUMORS FROM THE OTHER SIDE

All-New Scandalous Manga Packed with Gossip, Innuendo and Lies About Princess Ai!

Los Angeles, CA (February 12, 2008)― TOKYOPOP, the leader of the global manga revolution, is thrilled to announce the release of Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side. Part of the growing Princess Ai universe of properties, co-created by D.J. Milky and Courtney Love, Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side is a collection of untrue stories, rumors, gossip and bald-faced lies about Princess Ai and her cast of characters. Brought to you by a group of TOKYOPOP’s top manga creators, these 12 all-new spurious stories take a totally twisted view of Princess Ai and her friends!

Who would dare print innuendo and blatant lies about international rock diva Princess Ai? TOKYOPOP would! And who would TOKYOPOP enlist to create such trashy rumors? A group of our hottest global manga creators, including Misaho Kujiradou (Princess Ai trilogy), Steve Buccellato (Battle of the Bands), Ashly Raiti and Irene Flores (Mark of the Succubus), Hans Steinbach (A Midnight Opera), Armand Villavert (Zapt!), Sara Winningham (Pride & Prejudice), Emma Viceli (Rising Stars of Manga UK), Mike Schwark and Ron Kaulfersch (Van Von Hunter), Erica Reis (Sea Princess Azuri), T Campbell and Amy Mebberson (Divalicious), Che Gilson, Brett Uher and Mara Aum (Dark Moon Diary), Pauro Izaki (Princess Ai of Ai-Land comic strips) and Kim Mi-Kyung (11th Cat for Ice Kunion).

According to TOKYOPOP Editor-in-Chief Rob Tokar, “Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side is another manga first for TOKYOPOP, but considering that Princess Ai has always been a groundbreaking project, ‘unique’ should be expected! Since Ai is an outspoken, outrageous, controversial celebrity (with wings!), it wasn’t hard to find incredible stories from people who love her, hate her and love to hate her.”

Verif-Ai the rumors when TOKYOPOP’s much-anticipated Princess Ai: Rumors from the Other Side arrives in stores nationwide in March 2008!

The Manga Bible blitz continues, with Clint Rainey of World on the Web, R. Scott Clark of Heidelblog, and Glob-a-log weighing in today with cute headlines but varying degrees of enthusiasm. Slightly related: Calvin Reid writes about Christian publisher Thomas Nelson’s foray into graphic novels.

In another direction entirely, reporter Sean Thomas seems somewhat shocked by this new yaoi thing:

Yaoi is the name of a bizarre sex phenomenon sweeping Asia: girls who are devoted to comics and pornography which focus on love, sex and romance – between men.

And it’s coming to the UK! Quick, Mildred, the smelling salts! (Via Journalista.)

News from ComiPress: Shojo Beat announces its March art issue, and Del Rey is giving away just one advance copy of its new title, Fairy Tail, which is set to debut in March.

It’s old but it’s good: We’re having a slow news day, so check out this interview with Carl Horn from last year, which I think I’m seeing for the first time. (Hat tip: Charles Tan.)

Over in Japan, the monthly manga magazine Comic Flapper is celebrating its 100th issue with some new manga by famous artists, including Hiroaki Samura (Blade of the Immortal).

Cliffs Notes jumps on the bandwagon with their own manga editions of Shakespeare.

Reviews: Dave White is doing some very nice reviews with an eye to design and art at 741.5 Comics; check out his take on Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, and his explanation of the “Shonen Jump slowdown” in this review of vols. 7-12 of Eyeshield 21. Katie McNeill checks out vol. 1 of Trinity Blood at Blogcritics. Holly Ellingwood has a busy day at Active Anime, posting reviews of Love Training, vol. 7 of Enchanter, vol. 1 of I Wish…, and In the End. The theme of About Heroes’ Monday Manga Reviews this week seems to be Girls Gone Wild. Connie enjoys vol. 3 of Apothecarius Argentum at Slightly Biased Manga. D.M. Evans checks out vol. 1 of Spiral: The Bonds of Reasoning at Manga Jouhou. Ed Sizemore looks at vols. 1 and 2 of Narration of Love at 17 at Comics Worth Reading. At Soliloquy in Blue, Michelle gives a solid B to vol. 26 of Basara. Dave Ferraro devotes Manga Monday to vol. 8 of Nana at Comics-and-More. At Anime on DVD, Patricia Beard reviews Love Share and Duetto. Julie reads vol. 6 of After School Nightmare and vol. 2 of Camera Camera Camera at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Occasional Superheroine’s Valerie D’Orazio, whose street cred on the superhero side is as solid as it gets, is taking a walk on the manga side, starting with a review of vol. 4 of Pretty Face. Readers chime in in comments to suggest other titles for her to read; this should be fun. (Via Journalista.)

It’s not manga, but it sure is fun: At Digital Strips, I interviewed Josh Way this weekend about his webcomic Chronicle.

Deb Aoki interviews otaku extraordinaire and JaPRESS co-owners Patrick Macias and Izumi Evers.

Siku’s version of The Manga Bible gets a writeup in The New York Times and a column in the Daily News. And The Star of Malaysia has an article by Lee Sook Hwai about her recent manga-tinged trip to Japan. Meanwhile, the Episcopal Cafe lists Siku’s four versions of the Good Book.

Ed Chavez points to an interesting rumor that DrMaster may be picking up the Kage kara Mamoru manga (Seven Seas has the light novel).

Volume 2 of Gyakushu is due out this week, and creator Dan Hipp is celebrating with Gyakushu Week on his blog. Click over to see lots of Dan’s art, the evolution of the cover designs, and a five-step lesson so awesome he wrote it IN ALL CAPS!!!!

At Okazu, Erica Friedman has lots of yuri news, including the fact that Comic Seed is putting its issues online. They’re in Japanese, but interesting to look at.

Kellie Lynch has some advice for would-be authors at the Iris Print blog: Finish the book before you start shopping it around.

Who is the busiest mangaka? Go Nagai!

Cooking with manga: It’s Takoyaki Night at One Potato Two.

News from Japan: ComiPress reports that the Japanese doujinshi magazine Comic Techno is folding, in part because of the high price of oil. ANN gets learns that Monthly Shonen Rival, the Monthly Shonen Jump replacement due to debut on April 4, will feature manga by Randy Ayamine (Get Backers) and Seishi Kishimoto (O-Parts Hunter). And Warriors of Tao mangaka Shinya Kuwahara has a new action manga, Rasenbana, in Monthly Young King.

Manga is cheap in Shangri-La: Charles Tan finds a bargain at a bookstore in the Phillippines.

Japanator has redesigned their website, and it’s quite an improvement—as Giapet says, “the site finally looks like it might function properly!” But she has some other issues with it. And Sakura Kiss of The Yaoi Review finds some nice yaoi sites—in French.

Reviews: It’s a Garden party: Christopher Butcher and Dave White give their opinions of Tokyo Is My Garden. At the MangaCast, Mangamaniac Julie reviews Maybe I’m Your Steppin’ Stone, BrianP checks out vol. 7 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Ed Chavez has audio reviews of vol. 1 of Kyoukaku DOG’s and vol. 2 of The Last Uniform and vol. 2 of Unbalance Unbalance and vol. 1 of The Guin Saga Manga. James Fleenor gives his first impression of vol. 1 of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time at Anime Sentinel. Ken Haley reviews the adult title vol. 1 of Manga Sutra at PopCultureShock. Erica Friedman critiques vol. 1 of Girl Friends. Connie checks out vol. 1 of Mai the Psychic Girl, vol. 4 of Go Go Heaven, vol. 10 of Phoenix, vol. 1 of Suppli, vol. 14 of Lupin III, vol. 3 of MPD-Psycho, and vol. 6 of +Anima at Slightly Biased Manga. Julie reviews vol. 8 of Kage Tora and vol. 2 of Kanna at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Tangognat looks at two of CMX’s mature titles, Variante and Orfina. Kethylia reads vol. 2 of Little Queen. David Welsh has some comments on A.I. Revolution and Beauty Pop at Precocious Curmudgeon. At Active Anime Davey C. Jones reads vol. 17 of Zatch Bell and vol. 6 of Hayate the Combat Butler, Holly Ellingwood checks out vol. 7 of Chibi Vampire, vol. 7 of Kami Kaze, and vol. 2 of Shinsoku Kiss, and Sandra Scholes sums up vol. 6 of Aegis. Johanna Draper Carlson enjoys vol. 1 of Gon at Comics Worth Reading. At Soliloquy in Blue, Michelle reviews vols. 1 and 2 of Love*Com and vol. 3 of Boys Over Flowers. Youth corner: At Manga Xanadu, daughter Jenny gives a kids-eye-view on vol. 1 of Dragon Drive, and at Newsarama, mom Tracy and daughters Shelby (12) and Sarah (9) give their take on all four volumes of Miki Falls.