Archives for April 2009

The Eisner nominations are out. Time for everyone to start arguing! Manga is pretty sparse among this year’s nominations, and weirdly, none of the titles in the Best Publications for Teens/Tweens is manga. Naoki Urasawa’s Monster gets the nod for Best Continuing Series, as well it should, and Cowa! makes the cut for Best Publication for Kids. Yoshihiro Tatsumi, the darling of the manga-sucks crowd, gets his annual nomination, for Good-Bye, in the Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books category. And of course there are five manga nominated for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan: Cat-Eyed Boy, Dororo, Monster, The Quest for the Missing Girl, and Solanin. And that’s it. That’s in sharp contrast to 2007 and 2008, when quite a few manga were nominated in a variety of categories.

God Len lists this week’s new releases at Japanator. (Image: Cover of vol. 3 of Astral Project, one of this week’s new manga. David Welsh has more to say about the series in this week’s Flipped column. Do want!)

Alex Hoffman has some good pointers for buying manga on eBay at Manga Widget.

Otaku News has an audio interview with anime and manga expert Helen McCarthy.

At Sporadic Sequential, John Jakala is hankering for some business manga.

Lori Henderson thinks the demise of Anime Insider was inevitable.

New blog alert: Same Hat’s Ryan Sands recommends a new blog about all things strange and Japanese, KURUTTA!

News from Japan: At Same Hat! Same Hat!, Ryan has a photo memoir of his visit to the underground manga shop TACO che. ANN reports that the new Jinki: Extend manga, the fourth series, will be titled Jinki: Extend: Relation. And the webcomic Tonari no 801-chan is going into print; it will be serialized in Ohzora’s Romance Publishing magazine along with a one-shot spinoff.

Reviews: Lissa Pattillo turns in the first review I have seen of First Second’s manhwa The Color of Earth, which will be the subject of a roundtable at Good Comics for Kids soon. At Tokyo Jupiter, Anna works hard to get a copy of the newest Aurora release, vol. 1 of Chika Shiomi’s Queen of Ragtonia, and then is disappointed by the book itself. Melinda Beasi has a better reaction to another Aurora title, vol. 2 of Hitohira, at there it is, plain as daylight. Other reviews of note:

Wolfen Moondaughter on Battlestar Galactica: Echoes of New Caprica (Sequential Tart)
Connie on vol. 2 of BoBoBo-Bo Bo-BoBo (Slightly Biased Manga)
TreBro on vol. 2 of Ceres Celestial Legend (Panel Patter)
Cynthia on Clan of the Nakagamis: The Devil Cometh (Boys Next Door)
Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of Click (soliloquy in blue)
Scott Campbell on vol. 1 of Dinosaur Hour (Active Anime)
Charles Tan on vol. 3 of The Drifting Classroom (Comics Village)
Alan David Doane on A Drifting Life (The ADD Blog at Comic Book Galaxy)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 8 of Emma (Comics-and-More)
David Goodwin on vol. 8 of Emma (Eastern Standard)
Patti Martinson on vol. 8 of Fushigi Yugi: Genbu Kaiden (Sequential Tart)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Gakuen Prince (Prospero’s Manga)
Connie on vol. 27 of GetBackers (Infinity Fortress 2) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 2 of Goong (soliloquy in blue)
Connie on vol. 18 of Hana-Kimi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Hey, Class President! (Fujoshi Librarian)
Oyceter on vols. 2-5 of High School Debut (Sakura of DOOM)
Holly Ellingwood on vol. 1 of Honey Hunt (Active Anime)
Alexandra Duff on vol. 2 of Kasumi (Sequential Tart)
Julie on vol. 8 of Muhyo & Roji’s Bureau of Supernatural Investigation (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Erica Friedman on PreCure Splash Star: Chikuwaku Kiki Ippatsu! (Okazu)
James Fleenor on vol. 2 of Ral Ω Grad (Anime Sentinel)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 5 of Rosario + Vampire (Sequential Tart)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vols. 2-4 of Rose Hip Rose (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Karen Maeda on vol. 10 of S A (Sequential Tart)
Davey C. Jones on vol. 3 of Slam Dunk (Active Anime)
Holly Ellingwood on vol. 6 of Vampire Knight (Active Anime)
Rachel Manija Brown on Vampire Knight (The Neon Season) WARNING: SPOILERS!
Karen Maeda on vol. 3 of We Were There (Sequential Tart)
Holly Ellingwood on vol. 1 of Wolverine (Active Anime)
Cynthia on Yokai’s Hunger (Boys Next Door)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 6 of Yumekui Kenbun: Nightmare Inspector (Sequential Tart)

Aurora Publishing’s big manga sale will go on until April 30, and they have put up special pages for each of their lines—Aurora, Deux, and LuvLuv—to make life easier. The shipping is reasonable as well. To help with decision-making, here are links to the titles I have reviewed: vol. 1 of The Manzai Comics, vol. 1 of Hitohira, vol. 1 of Yakuza in Love and Hate to Love You, and vol. 2 of Yakuza in Love. If I had only ten bucks to spend, though, I would put it toward the two est em books, Seduce Me After the Show and Red Blinds the Foolish. That’s a lot of awesomeness for ten dollars.

The New York Times manga best-seller list is up, and vol. 22 of Fruits Basket nabs the top slot, followed by Naruto, Naruto, Naruto, Naruto, Negima!, Naruto, Naruto, Vampire Knight, and Bleach. At least we’re getting a bit of variety. Meanwhile, Matt Blind posts the top 500 manga in online sales at Rocket Bomber.

Lissa Pattillo reports that it looks like the Yen Press Rescue Squad has pulled a former Broccoli title, Pandora Hearts, back from oblivion, and picked up another series by the same creator, Crimson Shell. This comes from the Amazon listings, so no guarantees.

Price-conscious John Jakala notes something that slipped by the rest of us: Tokyopop’s standard cover price seems to have gone up by a dollar.

This Wolverine preview won’t get you in trouble: Del Rey posts some pages from their upcoming Wolverine manga at MySpace Comics. (Via AnimeVice.)

Erica Friedman posts the latest news from the world of yuri at Okazu.

At The Eastern Edge, Gottsu-Iiyan says that while the Japanese may like foreigners, they don’t want to be them, and he discusses how that relates to the national tendency toward conformity.

Noah Berlatsky has more to say on his recent juxtaposition of images from Dokebi Bride and All Star Superman; this time he goes more into the cultural aspects of both images and the milieux they are drawn from.

Here’s a nice article about a teenager who donated her manga collection to her local library, a course of action that I heartily recommend that folks who are trying to clear their shelves. My local library has a pretty good collection, so I often send my used review copies to the Reader to Reader program, which sends books to schools and libraries in low-income areas. For some reason most of the manga goes to a library on the Navajo Reservation, which tickles me no end as I have Navajo relatives and I visited the reservation several times. Anyway, one thing I was curious about in the original article was whether this 15-year-old girl was still reading manga; it turns out that she is, and in fact she’s running her own scanlation site.

Shop talk: Yamila Abraham posts about lettering Yaoi Press titles and how the publisher’s instructions shape the final look.

John Hogan brings some good news: The Brooklyn Botanic Garden will be holding a manga festival during its annual Cherry Blossom Festival. I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival when I lived in Brooklyn, and it was lovely, down to the bento-box lunch (the first one I had ever seen).

Good news for users of Android mobile phones: Their comics viewer can now handle manga that reads right-to-left.

News from Japan: Shuho Sato, creator of Say Hello to Black Jack, provides some interesting insights into the economics of manga by revealing his gross income from magazines and tankoubon and the cost of his staff of six. He actually loses money on the magazine series but makes it back on the compiled volumes. And watch out soon for new manga from a host of familiar names: Atsushi Suzumi (Venus Versus Virus, Haridama Magic Cram School), Izumi Kirihara (Hitohira), and Yuji Iwahara (King of Thorn, Chikyu Misaki). (Promo image for the Suzumi manga borrowed from ANN.)

Reviews: The Manga Recon team looks at some recent releases in their latest Manga Minis column.

Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of 10, 20, and 30 (soliloquy in blue)
Connie on vol. 2 of 20th Century Boys (Slightly Biased Manga)
Danielle Leigh on Dogs: Prelude (Comics Should Be Good)
Sesho on vol. 9 of Eden (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 9 of Golgo 13 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of Goong (Comics Should Be Good)
Connie on vol. 2 of Goong (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vols. 16 and 17 of Hana-Kimi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Katherine Farmar on Heavenly Body (Comics Village)
Julie on Hey, Sensei? (MangaCast)
Nick Smith on vol. 1 of Leave it to PET! (ICv2)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 12 of Love*Com (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Maid Sama! (Comics Worth Reading)
George R. on Memories Off 2nd (light novel) (Okazu)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Negima!? neo (Prospero’s Manga)
Michelle Smith on vol. 4 of One Piece (soliloquy in blue)
Connie on vol. 12 of Pastel (Slightly Biased Manga)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Pig Bride (Comics Should Be Good)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Pixie (Stop, Drop, and Read)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 1 of RahXephon (novel) (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 3 of Record of a Fallen Vampire (Comics Worth Reading)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Samurai 7 (Prospero’s Manga)
Tangognat on vol. 2 of Shinobi Life (Tangognat)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Walkin’ Butterfly (there it is, plain as daylight)

Tiamat’s Disciple has some followup questions for Kurt Hassler, including more info on that new edition of Azumanga Daioh that he announced in their previous interview.

At The Hooded Utilitarian, Noah Berlatsky contrasts an image from Dokebi Bride with one from (I think) All Star Superman, to highlight the difference between Asian and American artists when they are trying to be awesome.

Kawaii Kon is next weekend!

News from Japan: At the Daily Yomiuri, Makoto Fukuda takes a look at the newest incarnation of 1980s manga Kinniku Man, as the webcomic Kinniku Man Lady. Kotaku has a peek at Gyakuten Kenji, the newest Ace Attorney manga. Gia reports that Boys Be… is back, with a new series via cell phone. ANN reports that there’s a new Tales of the Abyss manga, based on the RPG, in the works, and that Jyu-Oh-Sei creator Natsumi Itsuki will draw a one-shot sequel to her shoujo manga Hanasakeru Seishōnen.

Reviews: Fujio Akatsuka reviews a collection of the 1960s manga Himitsu no Akko-chan for the Daily Yomiuri. Chris Mautner takes a look at a handful of recent titles from Del Rey at Robot6. And David Welsh devotes his latest Flipped! column to Eden: It’s an Endless World.

Melinda Beasi on vol. 9 of 100% Perfect Girl (Manga Recon)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Captive Hearts (Manga Xanadu)
Emily on Cinderella no Jouken (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Lissa Pattillo on Cut (Kuriousity)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 22 of Fruits Basket (there it is, plain as daylight)
Scott Campbell on vol. 3 of Gantz (Active Anime)
Erin Jones on vol. 3 of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time (Mania.com)
Sam Kusek on vol. 11 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (Manga Recon)
Julie on vol. 5 of Kurohime (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Maid Sama (Prospero’s Manga)
Carlo Santos on vol. 1 of Negima!? neo (ANN)
Jessie Bi on Taiyo Matsumoto’s Number 5 (in French) (du9)
Scott Campbell on vol. 1 of Pluto (Active Anime)
Tim Callahan on vol. 2 of Pluto (Comic Book Resources)
Rachel Bentham on vol. 1 of Pure Heart (Active Anime)

Digital Manga Publishing announced two new licenses yesterday, both from Vampire Hunter D writer Hideyuki Kikuchi. Yashakiden: The Demon Princess, is a novel series and is rated 16+, for YA readers; DMP has posted a preview of the first chapter at their website, which was recently revamped. Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist, is a manga series, rated 18+, and you can see some preview pages here. Both books are due out in December. Read on for more details.

Gardena, CA (April 2, 2009) – Digital Manga Publishing, one of the industry’s most innovative and creative publishing companies, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of two great Hideyuki Kikuchi titles: Yashakiden: The Demon Princess and Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist.

From acclaimed Japanese horror writer, Hideyuki Kikuchi (Vampire Hunter D & Wicked City novel series), comes his next big hit novel series: Yashakiden: The Demon Princess. Taking place in the city of Shinjuku-the novel is based in the same universe as the popular Wicked City animated series, and is spun out of the Demon City Shinjuku world. Of all the novels Kikuchi has ever written, Yashakiden is the one series he has wanted to have published stateside, and he considers it to be in his own words, “…the best novel series I’ve ever written, this is my vampire masterpiece. In my personal opinion, this novel transcends Vampire Hunter D.” The novel is peppered with beautiful illustrations by Jun Suemi, who also illustrated a number of “The Guin Saga” novels in Japan. Beginning with volume one in December, Yashakiden: The Demon Princess will span four vampire-filled volumes of horror. Read the first chapter preview in the May 2009 release of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D vol. 3 (pre-order available now ) and on the newly revamped DMP books website www.dmpbooks.com .

Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist is based upon a novel series also by Kikuchi, and is illustrated by manwha artist Shin Yong-Gwan. An ongoing series in Japan, with over 20,000 units sold, Taimashin: The Red Spider Exorcist is a crafty story about a demon-hunter who traverses between the worlds of the living and the dead, all to save lost souls being preyed upon by evil spirits of the underworld. With amazingly detailed art by Shin Yong-Gwan, this manga will appeal to horror lovers everywhere! Catch preview pages of this title in the November 2009 release of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D vol. 4 and on the newly revamped DMP books website www.dmpbooks.com .

Look for these two great titles to slither their ways into your hands this dark December, all part of “D”emon month from Digital Manga Publishing.
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YASHAKIDEN: THE DEMON PRINCESS VOL. 1-Rated YA+ (for ages 16+), MSRP: $13.95, Available: December 16, 2009, DMP Novel,
5 1/8″x 7 3/16”, Preview Pages HERE!

After a devastating earthquake leaving most of Japan in ruins, the district ward of Shinjuku in Tokyo has opened up a doorway into another dimension—becoming the halfway-house suspended between the real world and the supernatural. It has become a place where the living fights a losing battle with monsters and demons from the netherworld—a constant struggle for control on grounds which inevitably may be consumed into the depths of Hell.

Factory manager by day and moonlighting P.I. by night, Setsura Aki is no stranger to danger. Specializing in missing-persons cases and considered the best “man hunter” in the business, he allies himself with friend and rival, Doctor Mephisto—a wizard of physical and spiritual surgery. Together in battle, there is none that can compete with their combined wit and power—until now.

Coming from the deepest and darkest parts of China, four immortal vampires, lead by one of unmatched beauty and calling herself nothing more than “Princess,” mystically sail into landlocked Shinjuku aboard an ancient ghost ship one roiling hot night. She and her ancient undead entourage with powers never before seen of vampires, have surmounted four thousand years of space and time to seize control of Shinjuku and to make it their own.

It is up to Setsura and Mephisto to uncover their new formidable foes’ true origins and to reveal the truth to the Princess’s dark plans for the city. Can the duo stop them before they plunge the living populace into a new level of fear and slavery none can escape?

Set in Hideyuki Kikuchi’s popular demonic ward of Shinjuku—favorite locale for his other recognized works, the Demon City Shinjuku and Wicked City novel series—this new epic tale touches the conscious fear of the unknown and dips deep into the soul of one’s own heart of darkness.

TAIMASHIN: THE RED SPIDER EXORCIST VOL. 1- Rated 18+ (for ages 18+), MSRP: $9.95, Available: December 16, 2009, DMP Manga,
5 1/8″x 7 3/16″, Preview Pages HERE!

Traveling in-between the world of the living and the twilight world of the dead, Akamushi, the shaman, priest, demon-hunter, or specifically, the Red Spider Exorcist, is one that’ll never refuse a request for help from lost souls falling prey to evil spirits and demons of the underworld. With the strength and regeneration powers of a giant spider, and the ability to command his swarm of arachnids to his will, he combats the malevolent supernatural and is a force to be reckoned with.

When career woman Megumi is suddenly pursued and attacked by the unholy demons of the afterlife, she seeks the help from the phlegmatic shaman to eradicate the infestation of unholy beasts seeking to take her soul and turn her into a vindictive minion. But as it seems, these demons are more than persistent—everywhere Megumi tries to hide, they follow. With Megumi’s cry for help, is this more than what Akamushi can handle—as he too collapses to the will of their malicious powers?

But why are these creatures of twilight after her? What does she know, or doesn’t know, that’ll unravel the truths about her true self and everyone around her? And what of Akamushi—can he use his unique shamanic spider-like powers to cast out and purify himself from the demon scourge?

From acclaimed Japanese horror writer, Hideyuki Kikuchi—(famed Vampire Hunter D & Wicked City novel series), Taimashin – The Red Spider Exorcist—vol.1 of an ongoing series—takes you to a world of monsters and demons that’ll twist your senses and blur your mind, from real world to pseudo-reality.

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HIDEYUKI KIKUCHI was born on September 25, 1949, and is one of Japan’s top horror/sci-fi writers. Over the past two decades, several of his works have been adapted into animated movies including VAMPIRE HUNTER D and his first novel, DEMON CITY SHINJUKU. He is the writer of the best-selling VAMPIRE HUNTER D novel and manga series also available through Digital Manga Publishing.

ICv2 lists BookScan’s top 20 graphic novels for March. Watchmen leads the list, but after that, it’s pretty manga-heavy, with Naruto dominating and Fruits Basket, Vampire Knight, Bleach, Rosario + Vampire, Negima, and Maximum Ride making single-volume showings as well.

Speaking of Fruits Basket, the Anime Pulse folks bid Tohru and the gang “sayonara” in their latest Manga Pulse podcast.

John Jakala would like to see some salaryman manga, please!

At the Hooded Utilitarian, Noah Berlatsky reflects further on his previous post about the Japanese self-image as reflected in manga and other media, and he also reprints his best-of list from The Comics Journal and makes some further notes on TCJ’s manga coverage.

Reviews Hisui and Narutaki of Reverse Thieves makes some interesting picks for their manga of the month: X-Day, by After School Nightmare creator Setona Mizushiro, and Addicted to Curry, which I don’t believe has been licensed here yet.

Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of Black Knight (Kuriousity)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Cat-Eyed Boy (Comics Village)
Erin Jones on vol. 2 of Cross x Break (Mania.com)
Ed Sizemore on vols. 3-6 of Dragon Eye (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean T. Collins on Dragon Head (Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat)
Tom Batten on A Drifting Life (Brick Weekly)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 22 of Fruits Basket (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Ghost Talker’s Daydream (Mania.com)
Faith McAdams on vol. 9 of Kurohime (Animanga Nation)
Kris on Laugh Under the Sun (Manic About Manga)
Julie on vol. 1 of Negima!? neo (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Otome Kikan Gretel (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Train*Train (Comics Should Be Good)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Your and My Secret (there it is, plain as daylight)