Archives for December 2009

East Coast Rising artist Becky Cloonan is the featured artist in the latest edition of The Gallery at ANN.

Lori Henderson rounds up the week’s manga news and announces the winner of her The Color of Earth giveaway at Manga Xanadu.

Deb Aoki presents her list of the 25 best new manga released this year at About.com. At Comics-and-More, Dave Ferraro lists his choices for the 10 best manga of 2009.

Reviews: The Manga Recon team has a new set of Manga Minis to start the week.

Megan M. on vol. 2 of Bamboo Blade (Manga Bookshelf)
Connie on vol. 10 of Enchanter (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sesho on vol. 2 of Inukami (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Julie on vol. 5 of Mixed Vegetables (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Moyasimon: Tales of Agriculture (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Connie on vol. 9 of Nora: The Last Chronicle of Devildom (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg McElhatton on not simple (Read About Comics)
Eva Volin on vol. 1 of Pandora Hearts (ICv2)
Eva Volin on vol. 1 of Raiders (ICv2)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Tenbin ha Hana to Asobu (Okazu)

I was running around all day Friday and never got to post, but now we have a nice snowfall here north of Boston—not that much, really, but enough to give me an excuse to stay home and blog a bit. So here’s the latest update, and happy reading to those of you who really are snowed in!

Lori Henderson lists this week’s kid-friendly comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

Erica Friedman brings us the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

The year-in-review posts keep coming. Kate Dacey lists her picks for the best manga of 2009 at The Manga Critic and Lori Henderson looks at the world of manga in digital formats at Manga Xanadu. David Welsh compiles recommendations for the best manga covers of the year at Precocious Curmudgeon. Two global manga make it onto Dave Ferraro’s list of the three worst comics he read all year—that’s harsh!

David Welsh has some recommendations for Eisner nominations, and he also drops in for an interview at Manga Views.

This week’s NY Times best-seller list is up.

Create a character for a role-playing game, win a big bundle of manga from Jason Thompson, creator of the soon-to-be-published King of RPGs. Details are here.

Danielle Leigh recommends manga that would appeal to Vertigo fans in her latest Manga Before Flowers column at Comics Should Be Good.

Not manga, but hopefully interesting nonetheless: I interviewed all ten participants in this month’s Zuda competition for the Zudist Colony column at Robot 6.

Speaking of webcomics, Snow Wildsmith takes Digital’s eManga site out for a spin at Fujoshi Librarian. She starts with an overview of the site and then reviews the books in pairs: Honor’s Promise and Keeping Luke’s Secret, Married Under the Italian Sun and Millionaire Husband, Sale or Return Bride and The Shiekh’s Reluctant Bride, and Prisoner of the Tower and Word of a Gentleman.

Holiday specials: Some good deals online right now: Deux is having a big sale—get all of Yakuza in Love for $7 or both est em books for $5! And Viz has a holiday special as well—buy 3 manga, get one free.

News from Japan: Only moments after ending Shugo Chara, Peach-Pit is resurrecting it.

Reviews: Martha Cornog’s roundup of alcohol-soaked graphic novels at Library Journal includes short takes on several manga. The folks at About Heroes have a handful of brief reviews of a varied selection of manga.

Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 1 of Akira (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 2 of Baby & Me (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie on vol. 2 of Ballad of a Shinigami (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of Beast Master (Soliloquy in Blue)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 29 of Bleach (Kuriousity)
Rob on vol. 1 of Click (Panel Patter)
Michelle Smith on vol. 12 of Crimson Hero (Soliloquy in Blue)
Andre on vol. 3 of Detroit Metal City (Kuriousity)
Jeanine Floreani on Yoshihiro Tatsumi’s L’Enfer (the French edition of Good-Bye, I think) (du9)
Michelle Smith on vols. 8 and 9 of Fairy Tail (Soliloquy in Blue)
Connie on vol. 22 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Slightly Biased Manga)
Tangognat on vols. 1-9 of Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (Tangognat)
Deb Aoki on vol. 1 of Happy Cafe (About.com)
Sam on vol. 1 of Hibiki’s Magic (The Otaku’s Study)
Michelle Smith on vol. 13 of High School Debut (Soliloquy in Blue)
Sam on vol. 1 of Higurashi When They Cry: Abducted by Demons Arc (The Otaku’s Study)
Sesho on vol. 3 of Honey Hunt (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 5 of I.N.V.U. (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 3 of Love Hina (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Love Hurts (Comics Worth Reading)
Julie on vol. 2 of Millennium Prime Minister (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Chris Mautner on vol. 1 of Moyasimon (Robot 6)
Edward Zacharias on vol. 45 of Naruto (Animanga Nation)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Manga Bookshelf)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Shinobi Life (i heart manga)
Colleen Mondor on The Summit of the Gods (Chasing Ray)
Ed Sizemore on vol. 1 of The Summit of the Gods (Comics Worth Reading)
Derik Badman on vols. 1-3 of Suppli (Madinkbeard)
Rob on vol. 2 of Tanpenshu (Panel Patter)
Connie on vol. 3 of Totally Captivated (Slightly Biased Manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 8 of We Were There (Manga Bookshelf)
Byron Kerman on vol. 1 of X-Men Misfits (PLAYBACK:stl)

The march of the Best Of lists continues: Flashlight Worthy asked me and a bunch of other comics bloggers to name our favorite book of the year; their list is up so go see our picks! Scott VonSchilling posts his list of the top ten manga releases of 2009 at Anime Almanac.

David Welsh is psyched about the upcoming release of not simple, and he reaches the letter J in his shoujo-sunjeong alphabet.

Least surprising statement of the year: Kurt Hassler tells Tiamat’s Disciple to expect more adaptations and original manga from Yen Press in the future.

News from Japan: ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings and the news that all 56 volumes of One Piece are on Oricon’s top 200 chart.

Reviews: The Manga Recon team is On the Shojo Beat again with brief reviews of Butterflies, Flowers, and some new volumes of longer-running series.

Danica Davidson on 9 Faces of Love (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 1 of The Battle of Genryu (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Casey Brienza on vol. 1 of Beast Master (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Casey Brienza on vol. 2 of Black Bird (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Butterflies, Flowers (i heart manga)
Tangognat on vol. 1 of Happy Cafe (Tangognat)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 1 of Karakuri Odette (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Joy Kim on vol. 2 of Kimi ni Todoke (Joy Kim)
Deb Aoki on Manga Kamishibai: The Art of Japanese Paper Theater (About.com)
David Welsh on vol. 1 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Precocious Curmudgeon)
Julie on One Piece: East Blue Vols. 1-2-3 (omnibus) (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Only One Wish (Comics Worth Reading)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Tegami Bachi (Good Comics for Kids)

Gottsu-Iiyan has a question:

How many “manga” readers out there who are not happy that manga have been left off of so many of the year end & decade end “best of” comics lists, also think that manga and comics are different?

… and then he expands on it a bit.

Laura asks: What’s your favorite New Year’s scene in a shoujo manga? She has a few suggestions and invites readers to post their faves in comments.

David Welsh checks out this week’s new comics.

Best of the year: Johanna Draper Carlson picks her top five new manga and top five continuing series, as well as a few other notable manga of 2009, at Comics Worth Reading. The Manga Recon team posts their nominations for best manga of the year. Detroit Metal City tops Whitney Matheson’s list of the top ten graphic novels at Pop Candy. (Via Graphic Novel Reporter.) At Anime Vice, Gia lists manga and anime that let her down this year. At Japanator, Brad Rice lists Japan’s top-selling manga for 2009.

Viz has confirmed some new titles for next year, including the manga Kirby.

The St. Louis News posts a roundup of responses to last week’s article about Bishie-Con. (Via The Yaoi Review.)

Kristy Valenti visits an exhibit of Junko Mizuno’s paintings.

News from Japan: Japanator reports that a manga adaptation of Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex is coming soon to Comic Young.

Reviews: Danielle Leigh, Michelle Smith, and Melinda Beasi discuss vols. 7 and 8 of Nana at Comics Should Be Good. Other reviews of note:

Jack T on vol. 1 of Akira (MangaCast)
Connie on All My Darling Daughters (Slightly Biased Manga)
Dan Polley on vol. 2 of AmeFurashi: The Rain Goddess (Comics Village)
Lori Henderson on vol. 3 of Bakegyamon (Manga Xanadu)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 2 of Children of the Sea (Read About Comics)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Choco Mimi (Prospero’s Manga)
Emily on Danshi Kinshi!! (Emilys Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Johanna Draper Carlson on A Drifting Life (Comics Worth Reading)
Dave Ferraro on GoGo Monster (Comics-and-More)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 12 of High School Debut (Manga Life)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 2 of Ichiroh! (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Deb Aoki on vol. 1 of Itazura Na Kiss (About.com)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of Love Hina (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Penny Kenny on Oishinbo A la Carte, Izakaya: Pub Food (Manga Life)
Joy Kim on vol. 1 of Time and Again (Manga Life)
Connie on vol. 2 of Totally Captivated (Slightly Biased Manga)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 7 of Yotsuba&! (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)

I was happy to be part of the ComixTalk year-end roundtable, in which a bunch of bloggers look over the year in webcomics; I only wish we could all have been sitting around a table in real life, because it’s such a great bunch of people.

Sci Fi Soundtrack offers its list of the best comics of the decade, and Planetes and Pluto make the cut.

Melinda Beasi talks a bit about one of her favorite series, One Thousand and One Nights, in her latest Manhwa Monday post.

Reviews

Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Angelic Runes (Comics Village)
Derik Badman on vol. 5 of Aria (Madinkbeard)
David Welsh on GoGo Monster (The Comics Reporter)
Chris Zimmerman on .hack//Legend of the Twilight: Complete Edition and This Ugly Yet Beautiful World (CBS4 Miami)
Erica Friedman on vol. 5 of Hayate x Blade (Okazu)
Kris on Hey, Sensei? (Manic About Manga)
Kris on Oishinbo A La Carte: Japanese Cuisine (Manic About Manga)
Kate Dacey on Oishinbo A La Carte: Vegetables (The Manga Critic)
James Fleenor on vol. 2 of Samurai Harem (Anime Sentinel)
Jason Punda on vol. 1 of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro (Manga Jouhou)
Connie on vol. 1 of Totally Captivated (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of Two Flowers for the Dragon (i heart manga)
Connie on vol. 8 of We Were There (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie on Word of a Gentleman (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Rob on vol. 1 of Yotsuba&! (Panel Patter)

ICv2 has an interview up with Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson, and part two is where he talks about manga. His take: Shoujo brought in a lot of new readers, but that market seems to have peaked. Dark Horse appeals to a different audience:

Dark Horse has been in sort of a different area of manga, focusing on specific creators and titles, probably more likely to be science fiction, fantasy, or horror and not so much shojo although we have had some and continue to have some. We’re probably less affected by the trends in the book market that the bookstores created.

It’s true that Dark Horse manga appeal to the traditional comics-shop market rather than the bookstore-centered shoujo titles; Richardson says their best-selling series is Lone Wolf & Cub, which got its start in comics stores rather than bookstores.

The New York Times best-seller list is up, and it’s heavy on the Viz this week.

The Comics Village team make their recommendations from the past week’s new releases.

Lori Henderson presents her handy digest of the week’s manga news at Manga Xanadu.

For those who missed it, Deb Aoki summarizes and provides transcripts of Tokyopop’s recent webcast in which CEO Stu Levy talked about fan translations, making movies, and global manga.

Erica Friedman focuses on some new yuri manga to look forward to in her weekly yuri roundup at Okazu.

At Mania.com, Chris Beveridge comments on the recent trend toward omnibuses, especially at Del Rey.

MTV has some preview pages of the upcoming Gossip Girl manga. (Via Comics Worth Reading.)

Gia Manry lists some anime and manga released this year that… er… exceeded expectations at Anime Vice.

Y! Gallery is looking for some new staffers. (Via Kuriousity.)

News from Japan: Boys Over Flowers manga-ka Yoko Kamio has a new manga in the works for Bessatsu Margaret magazine, and Beck creator Harold Sakuishi has a manga about Shakespeare in the works. Meanwhile, Tooko Mizuno is bringing Haruka-Beyond the Stream of Time to an end. The last volume of Bokurano, vol. 11, will include a previously unpublished spinoff.

Reviews

John Thomas on vol. 1 of Akira (Comics Village)
Connie on vol. 1 of Baby & Me (Slightly Biased Manga)
Andre on vol. 2 of Bamboo Blade (Kuriousity)
Cynthia on Black-Winged Love (Boys Next Door)
Andre on Crimson Shell (Kuriousity)
Derik Badman on A Drifting Life (Madinkbeard)
Megan M. on vol. 1 of Dystopia (Manga Bookshelf)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 10 of Emma (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vols. 28 and 29 of Eyeshield 21 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Joy Kim on vols. 20 and 21 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Joy Kim)
Ken Haley on .hack//Legend of the Twilight: The Complete Collection (Manga Recon)
Bill Sherman on .hack//Legend of the Twilight: The Complete Collection (BlogCritics)
Susan S. on vol. 1 of Happy Boys (Manga Jouhou)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Happy Boys (Mania.com)
Michelle Smith on vols. 6-8 of Kaze Hikaru (Soliloquy in Blue)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Lizard Prince (MangaCast)
Cynthia on Love Skit (Boys Next Door)
Connie on vol. 1 of Madness (Manga Recon)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of The Name of the Flower (i heart manga)
Connie on vol. 20 of Nana (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Octave (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 28 of One Piece (Slightly Biased Manga)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 2 of Ooku (Comics Should Be Good)
Julie on vol. 8 of Parasyte (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Laura on vol. 3 of Pig Bride (Heart of Manga)
Clive Owen on vol. 8 of Rosario + Vampire (Animanga Nation)
Julie on The Sheikh’s Reluctant Bride (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Cynthia on vol. 3 of Tea for Two (Boys Next Door)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Tsubasa Album de Reproductions (Comics Worth Reading)
Julie on vol. 7 of The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls: Revenge of the Hori Clan (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Lori Henderson on the December issue of Yen Plus (Manga Xanadu)
Sarah Boslaugh on vol. 2 of Yokaiden (PLAYBACK:stl)