Archives for April 2009

Just a week after its launch, Rin-ne is already running a bit behind: Editor Mike Montesa said that the second intstallment (due out yesterday) will be delayed until May 2 because of Golden Week, a Japanese holiday, and the third chapter will be published on May 13. John Jakala asks some good questions at Sporadic Sequential.

Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, and Viz’s offering will be a Shonen Jump sampler with a chapter of Ultimo, the Stan Lee/Hiroyuki Takei collaboration.

Charles Tan has an interesting essay on the difficulties of buying books in the Philippines at Bibliophile Stalker.

News from Japan: Yuji Iwahara will launch a second Darker than Black manga in Young Gangan magazine. Fullmetal Alchemist manga-ka Hiromu Arakawa has did the cover illustration for the Japanese edition of the Irish novel The Demon’s Lexicon. ANN has the latest manga rankings from Oricon and Tohan. Canned Dogs has a few interesting tidbits, including the news that a new, as-yet-unnamed supplement to Shounen Magazine will feature a new manga by Raiku Makoto.

Reviews: At The Chocolate Mud Wyvern Presents, salimbol has brief reviews of a variety of girl and boy manga. Park Cooper provides a peek at what he’s been reading lately at Manga Life.

Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of 13th Boy (there it is, plain as daylight)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Animal Academy (Prospero’s Manga)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vols. 9 and 10 of Beauty Pop (Manga Life)
David Rasmussen on vol. 4 of Black Lagoon (Manga Life)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 7 of Black Sun, Silver Moon (Kuriousity)
Tangognat on vol. 1 of Cafe Kichijouji De (Tangognat)
Deb Aoki on vol. 2 of Future Lovers (About.com)
Joy Kim on vol. 1 of GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class (Manga Life)
Michelle Smith on vol. 35 of InuYasha (soliloquy in blue)
Michelle Smith on vols. 36-37 of InuYasha (Manga Recon)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Maid War Chronicle (Prospero’s Manga)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Negima!? Neo (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Katherine Farmar on vol. 1 of Ordinary Crush (Comics Village)
Julie on vol. 7 of The Prince of Tennis (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Emily on Romance Godan Katsuyou (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Danielle Leigh on Suggestive Eyes (Comics Should Be Good)

The inimitable Kate Dacey, who started out blogging as ChunHyang72 at the Tokyopop site and then moved on to become senior editor at Manga Recon, has her own blog: The Manga Critic. Kate is a sharp, funny, perceptive reviewer, and her site will be a mandatory stop for me every morning. Update your RSS feed now so you don’t miss a word! She kicks it off with an account of her own experiences as a reader and reviewer as well as a roundtable of what other reviewers are reading, and a look at vol. 1 of Samurai 7. Welcome, Kate!

Central Park Media, parent company of the BeBeautiful yaoi line and publisher of a whole slew of manga and manhwa, has filed for bankruptcy.

I spent last weekend at Kids Comic Con in The Bronx, where I got to meet a ton of creators and publishers. I didn’t see a lot of manga, aside from Papercutz’ manga-style Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys graphic novels, but con organizer Alex Simmons told me that the manga workshops were among the most popular events. Read all about it in my con report for PWCW.

Del Rey has announced it will publish a series of Secret Saturdays graphic novels, based on the Cartoon Network series of the same name. Del Rey’s other CN properties are Bakugan Battle Brawlers and Ben 10 Alien Force.

And Ryan at Same Hat! has news of two new decidedly less kid-friendly titles from Drawn & Quarterly, The Box Man and Red Snow.

Lissa Pattillo looks at upcoming manga in May at Kuriousity.

Glen Weldon has a longish piece on Yoshihiro Tatsumi and A Drifting Life at NPR.

ICv2 has more on Little Fluffy Gigolo Pelu, the new Junko Mizuno manga to be published by Last Gasp.

The Otaku Librarian has some thoughts on manga for young teens.

You never forget your first one: gottsu-iiyan remembers Teppen, the manga that started it all for him.

Melinda Beasi posts about why she Twitters and the difficulty of assigning a letter grade in a review.

John Thomas has a quick rundown of comics-related events in the Portland (Oregon) area at Mecha Mecha Media.

News from Japan: Author Frederik L. Schodt will receive the Order of the Rising Sun Award from the Japanese government. Japanese Weekly Playboy is spinning off a manga magazine, Man’s Playboy.

Reviews: Carlo Santos treats us to another roundup of short reviews in his latest Right Turn Only!! column. Andrew Wheeler posts short reviews of recent releases at his blog, The Antick Musing of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent.

A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Antique Bakery (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Connie on vol. 4 of Aria (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 7 of Banana Fish (Slightly Biased Manga)
Chris Mautner on The Color of Earth (Robot 6)
Connie on vol. 13 of D.Gray-Man (Slightly Biased Manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Her Majesty’s Dog (there it is, plain as daylight)
Snow Wildsmith on Idol Pleasures (Fujoshi Librarian)
Julie on vol. 9 of Muhyo and Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Nodame Cantabile (there it is, plain as daylight)
Connie on vol. 1 of Oath to Love and Passion (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 2 of Pretty Face (Comics Village)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 1 of Wolverine: Prodigal Son (Read About Comics)

God Len posts this week’s new releases at Japanator, and David Welsh picks the best of them at Precocious Curmudgeon.

Matt Blind takes a look at online sales of graphic novels for the week ending April 5 at Rocket Bomber.

Haruka Minami, who also publishes under the name Kazuka Minami, will be a guest at Yaoi-Con this year.

Same Hat! Same Hat! presents a week of Shintaro Kago comics, all on the theme of suicide. (And not for the faint of heart, or stomach.)

Lori Henderson discovers manga cross-stitch.

News from Japan: ANN has news of two new launches, Captain Alice, by Yuzo Takada (3×3 Eyes) and a new series (title pending) from Makoto Raiku (Zatch Bell). Also, Glass Mask is going on hiatus until October. MangaCast has the April 20 manga rankings from Taiyosha.

Reviews

Connie on vol. 6 of Banana Fish (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Black Jack (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 8 of Enchanter (Slightly Biased Manga)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Gakuen Prince (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Dan Polley on vol. 1 of Gakuen Prince (Comics Village)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of High School Debut (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Connie on vol. 5 of Honey and Clover (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 8 of Human Club (Slightly Biased Manga)
Deb Aoki on vol. 1 of Leave it to PET (About.com)
Julie on Love/Knot (MangaCast)
Connie on vol. 12 of Lovely Complex (Slightly Biased Manga)
Joe Iglesias on vol. 2 of Pluto (The Eastern Standard)
Lianne Sentar on vols. 1-4 of S (novels) (Sleep Is for the Weak)
John Thomas on vol. 1 of Samurai 7 (Comics Village)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Tokyo Boys and Girls (Comics-and-More)
Connie on vol. 14 of Yakitate!! Japan (Slightly Biased Manga)

David Welsh writes about four-panel (yonkoma) manga in his latest Flipped column.

Meanwhile, Jason Thompson has wrapped up his updates to Manga: The Complete Guide, and he has some reflections and deep thoughts about the evolution of the manga industry, how people perceive manga, and the lack of manga in libraries.

Exciting news from Same Hat! Same Hat!: Last Gasp will be publishing Junko Mizuno’s Pelu, with the first volume out this fall.

Hmm. UPI reports that the Shogakukan people actually said out loud that they are putting their manga online in English to fight scanlators. I think this was in the back of my head all along, but it’s interesting to see it articulated to the press (although it would be more interesting to see it credited to an actual person, rather than “Shogakukan,” which is a large company).

Erica Friedman briefs us on all the yuri news at Okazu.

John Jakala catches a lame typo in the New Yorker (a rarity!) and a rude gesture in Ranma 1/2.

Here’s a cartoonist’s take on manga hipsters (via Comics212).

News from Japan: Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service is moving from Shonen Ace to the new magazine Young Ace when the latter launches in July. Click the link for info on another Young Ace story, a Haruhi spinoff. The gambling manga Kaiji is about to return to the pages of Young Magazine. And here are some new series to watch out for: Sayonara Ginjō (Farewell, Ultramarine), by Akira Saso, and Otogimoyou Ayanishiki Futatabi (Otogimoyou Ayanishiki Again), by Kyouko Hikawa. Meanwhile, Canned Dogs posts some reactions to Satou Shuuhou’s announcement that he will put Say Hello to Black Jack online.

Reviews: At Good Comics for Kids, Sabrina Fritz reviews two manga by Svetlana Chmakova, vol. 1 of Nightschool and vol. 1 of Dramacon. Fellow GC4K blogger Lori Henderson checks out vol. 1 of The Big Adventures of Majoko at her own blog, Manga Xanadu.

Rachel Bentham on Awaken Forest (Active Anime)
Danielle Van Gorder on vol. 27 of Berserk (Mania.com)
Scott Campbell on vol. 28 of Berserk (Active Anime)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of B.ichi (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 1 of Bogle (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Greg McElhatton on The Color of Earth (Read About Comics)
Lissa Pattillo on The Color of Water (Kuriousity)
Rachel Bentham on Eat or Be Eaten (Active Anime)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Future Diary (Prospero’s Manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 8 of High School Debut (soliloquy in blue)
Sesho on vol. 1 of Honey Hunt (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Ichigo Mashimaro (Okazu)
Julie on vol. 16 of Nana (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Edward Zacharias on vol. 34 of Naruto (Animanga Nation)
Ed Sizemore on vol. 1 of Nightschool (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vol. 1 of Reading Club (Manga Recon)
Danielle Leigh on vols. 2, 3, and 4 of Slam Dunk (Comics Should Be Good)
Erica Friedman on vol. 4 of Tetragrammaton Labyrinth (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Venus Capriccio (Comics Worth Reading)
Lissa Pattillo on You Will Fall in Love (Kuriousity)

The Hooded Utilitarian has a new writer, Kinukitty, who focuses on yaoi manga. In this post, develops an almost unhealthy curiousity about the creators of In the End, an Original German Language manga that actually made it to Japan in cell phone form.

Ed and the MangaCast crew roll out this week’s new releases and pick the best of the lot.

Melinda Beasi writes about what she looks for in manga, yaoi or otherwise: a good story.

Keiji Nakazawa is wrapping up Barefoot Gen, his semi-autobiographical manga about surviving the bombing of Hiroshima, and he would like to present a copy to President Obama.

John Jakala lists the 25 greatest romances in manga at Sporadic Sequential, and commenters chime in with more.

Shaenon Garrity tries to explain her trip to Japan in her latest comiXology column, but she ends up writing about much, much more.

DokiDoki is offering signed art to readers who buy their books and fill out a survey. Lissa Pattillo just got hers, and she’s impressed.

The Manga Recon folks are having a poetry contest: write a haiku about Death Note, win tickets to a showing of the live-action movie DEATH NOTE: L, change the WorLd.

If you’re under 20 and in the San Francisco area, check out the Comic Arts & Anime Teen Expo. Deb Aoki has the details.

Coming this fall: more Mega Man art books and manga from Udon.

News from Japan: Canned Dogs reports that the June issue of Dengeki Daioh will include a special heroine’s gallery. ANN catches Takehiko Inoue’s comment that he plans to wrap up Vagabond in a year or two. And manga versions of The Fujoshi Manual and The Middle School Second-Grade Disease Manual are in the works.

Reviews: At Good Comics for Kids, Snow Wildsmith looks at three hefty shoujo manga tomes: Castle of Dreams and the VizBig editions of vol. 1 of Fushigi Yugi and vol. 1 of Hot Gimmick. The deconstruction of Helter Skelter continues at The Hooded Utilitarian, as Bill Randall discusses fashion and body image and Tom Crippen takes a look at the art. And there are more responses to Rumiko Takahashi’s Rin-ne from Brad Rice and the Japanator commenters and Lori Henderson.

Justin Colussy-Estes on vol. 26 of Case Closed (Comics Village)
Diana Dang on vols. 1 and 2 of Emma (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Sam on vol. 3 of Free Collars Kingdom (The Otaku’s Study)
Tangognat on vol. 1 of Future Diary (Tangognat)
Connie on vol. 7 of Go Go Heaven (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 4 of Goong (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Hayate x Blade (Slightly Biased Manga)
Snow Wildsmith on Hey, Sensei? (Fujoshi Librarian)
Emily on Kinkyori Lovers (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Julie on vol. 7 of Kurohime (Manga Maniac Cafe)
AstroNerdBoy on The Manga Guide to Electricity (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Nightschool (Comics Should Be Good)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Octave (Okazu)
Margaret Veira on vol. 30 of The Prince of Tennis (Active Anime)
Rachel Bentham on vol. 5 of Shugo Chara! (Active Anime)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 2 of St. Dragon Girl (there it is, plain as daylight)
Cynthia Ward on vol. 1 of Wolverine: Prodigal Son (Sci Fi Wire)
Sarah Boslaugh on vol. 1 of Yokaiden (PLAYBACK:stl)
Sam on Yoki Koto Kiku (The Otaku’s Study)

Let’s start today with some Rumiko Takahashi news: The first chapter of Rin-ne went online yesterday; here’s a roundup of early reactions from Deb Aoki, Gia, Greg Hackmann, John Jakala, Lissa Pattillo, and Tangognat.

Also, there’s a blog on the site, and they kicked right off with some big news: Starting in July, with vol. 38, InuYasha will be released unflipped at the rate of one volume a month.

David Welsh takes a look at this week’s new releases at Precocious Curmudgeon, and he has a question for readers: Pluto or 20th Century Boys?

There’s lots of interesting stuff in the latest Ninja Consultant Podcast, including the 411 on Erin and Noah’s planned Zero-G wedding.

The Comics Journal has a podcast (direct link) of a Sakuracon panel discussion on the state of the anime and manga industries, featuring Carl Horn and Philip Simon of Dark Horse, Adam Sheenan of Funimation, and Japanamerica author Roland Kelts. And Karl Olson posts a Sakuracon roundup at Toon Zone.

At Yaoi 911, Alex Woolfson shows off the cover art for his upcoming comic Tough.

News from Japan: Canned Dogs has more on the new Azumanga Daioh chapters, including a clarification on the shift in publishers. And Takenashi Eri reassures her fans that she is still alive, although serious health problems have forced her to put Kannagi on hiatus. ANN has this week’s comic rankings from Oricon and Tohan.

Reviews

Carlo Santos on vol. 2 of 20th Century Boys (ANN)
Karen Maeda on vol. 1 of Animal Academy (Sequential Tart)
Scott Campbell on Appleseed, vol. 4: The Promethean Balance (Active Anime)
Leroy Douresseaux on Battlestar Galactica: Echoes of New Caprica (The Comic Book Bin)
Rachel Bentham on Don’t Rush Love (Active Anime)
Deb Aoki on vol. 1 of Future Diary (About.com)
Connie on vol. 3 of Goong (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sesho on vol. 14 of Hikaru No Go (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Karen Maeda on vol. 12 of Love*Com (Sequential Tart)
Holly Ellingwood on The Manga Cookbook (Active Anime)
Elena on The Manga Guide to Statistics (Sequential Smarts)
Phil Guie on My Only King (Manga Recon)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 37 of Naruto (The Comic Book Bin)
Julie on vol. 4 of Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vol. 5 of Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 6 of One Piece (soliloquy in blue)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Our Kingdom (The Comic Book Bin)
Ed Sizemore on vol. 2 of Pluto (Comics Worth Reading)
Patti Martinson on vol. 4 of Record of the Fallen Vampire (Sequential Tart)
Scott VonSchilling on vol. 1 of Venus Capriccio (The Anime Almanac)
Karen Maeda on vol. 4 of We Were There (Sequential Tart)
Tom Spurgeon on Wolverine: Prodigal Son (The Comics Reporter)