Milestones, retrospectives, and critiques

Kai-Ming Cha looks at the year in manga, and she counts down her picks for the top ten books of 2009. And 2009 was the year Faith Erin Hicks cut way back on movies so she could afford all that Naoki Urasawa manga. Seems like a good tradeoff to me.

Why did Christopher Butcher chose Shonen Jump #1 and vol. 13 of InuYasha as two of the 10 manga that changed comics? Read it and see! Then check out his column on Tezuka’s Buddha. Meanwhile, David Welsh reflects on some other manga milestones at Precocious Curmudgeon)

Want to get in on the retrospective game? Head on down to Deb’s manga blog and vote for the best new comedy and action/drama series of the past year.

Gia Manry presents her license requests for 2010 at Anime Vice, and Kate Dacey has her 2010 wish list up at The Manga Critic. Brad Rice takes a different tack, looking back at Japanator’s 2009 wish list.

In the nearer future, David Welsh and Brad Rice look at this week’s new comics.

Joe McCulloch and Tom Spurgeon dissect Death Note at The Comics Reporter. Joe also links to a 2006 interview with Yotsuba&! creator Kiyohiko Azuma.

At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna Draper Carlson takes exception to a decade-in-review article at CBR that devotes just one section to “The rise and fall of manga.” Michael Pinto has a pretty good response at Fanboy.com that gives a much more accurate picture of the trajectory of manga in the 00s and its place in the overall comics market.

Gottsu-Iiyan argues that the weekly manga serial has got to go in order to save Japanese manga, and he explains why Ultimo is important, at The Eastern Edge.

Comparison shopping: Johanna Draper Carlson explains how a $10.99 book can be cheaper than a $9.99 book, and why it pays to buy early. Commenters chime in with buying tips of their own. This will be useful very soon for fans of Blu manga, as Tokyopop confirmed their price increase to $14.99 per volume. Lissa Pattillo has more at Kuriousity.

Sadie Mattox lists five manga workout routines she would like to try, plus a bonus diet and exercise plan!

Kate Dacey is giving away free manga at The Manga Critic; she kicks things off by offering vols. 1 and 2 of What a Wonderful World; to enter, tell her your favorite manga anthology.

The Taiwanese justice ministry is distributing copies of the manga Love to its prosecutors to teach them to be more compassionate and promote understanding between the two sides in a criminal case. The manga, which was made into a TV drama, tells the story of a woman who reconciled with the family of her son’s murderer.

News from Japan: Takehiko Inoue is starting to wrap up Vagabond, but he still has a year or so to go.

Reviews: Carlo Santos deals briskly with a stack of new manga in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN.

D.M. Evans on vol. 4 of B.Ichi (Manga Jouhou)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Black God (Manga Xanadu)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Butterflies, Flowers (Comics Should Be Good)
Julie on vol. 2 of Captive Hearts (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vol. 3 of Choco Mimi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Snow Wildsmith on Ciao Ciao Bambino and La Satana (Fujoshi Librarian)
Tiamat’s Disciple on Destiny’s Hand (omnibus edition) (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Jennifer Dunbar on vols. 1 and 2 of Emma (A word is a unit of language)
Lori Henderson on vol. 3 of <em Happy Happy Clover (Good Comics for Kids)
Alexander Hoffman on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You (Comics Village)
Tangognat on vols. 1-3 of Let Dai (Tangognat)
Julie on vol. 5 of Moon Boy (Mania.com)
Julie on vol. 6 of Moon Boy (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Faith McAdams on vol. 1 of Oh! My Brother (Animanga Nation)
Joy Kim on vols. 1-6 of Oyayubihime Infinity (Joy Kim)
Connie on vol. 6 of Pluto (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 4 of Rakka Ryuusui (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 7 of Sand Chronicles (Comics Worth Reading)
Julie on vol. 7 of Sand Chronicles (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Marsha Reid on vol. 1 of Time and Again (Kuriousity)
Kate Dacey on Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (The Manga Critic)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms (i heart manga)
Connie on vol. 24 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 21 of Yakitate!! Japan (The Comic Book Bin)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of Yotsuba&! (i heart manga)
Joy Kim on vol. 7 of Yotsuba&! (Manga Life)
Sam Kusek on vol. 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh! R (Manga Recon)

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