Back from the midwest…

I’m back from C2E2 and almost recovered. It was a great con, but there was almost no manga there. I’m saying “almost” because Del Rey’s Ali T. Kokmen was there, and we chatted a bit, but there were no panels or publisher booths. Everyone at the show was having a good time, though, and it was a much calmer, nicer atmosphere than NYCC, so maybe next year.

Oh, I also talked to Dark Horse marketing director Jeremy Atkins about the CLAMP mangettes, and he said they were focusing on doing a good job with the omnibus editions of CLAMP’s older work before diving into anything new.

And I went to the ICv2 White Paper presentation, in which they noted that manga sales are down, not surprising as manga releases are down as well. Comics maven Milton Greipp speculated that one reason was that girls have shifted from shoujo manga to Twilight, and he also pointed out that Cartoon Network isn’t showing much anime these days. I’ll try to parse out those numbers a little better later in the week.

My other C2E2 coverage was not manga-specific, but check it out anyhow: Talked to Carla Speed McNeil, Brad Guigar, Amy Mebberson, a bunch of creators, and another bunch of creators, and covered the Oni Press and BOOM! Studios panels. Yes, I was in the same room with Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba! That alone was probably worth the trip.

Curious about Kodansha USA’s rather desultory debut—two reprints, nothing since then, no website, next volumes pushed back—Gia Manry went straight to the source and asked KUSA general manager Kumi Shimizu about it. The response was fairly vague but suggests that yes, they are in business here for the long haul; it’s just taking them a while to sort things out.

Meanwhile, back in Japan, the editors of Kodansha’s Weekly Morning magazine have announced the list of comics that made the first cut in their Morning International Comics Competition.

A site called Tsurupeta says that Google has delisted a lolicon doujinshi site because of a complaint that it was hosting child porn. The complaint appears to be false (but possibly plausible). Simon Jones explains why this is a bad thing for all involved.

Lissa Pattillo takes a look at manga about making manga at Kuriousity.

Check this out: Vertical just posted a 30-page preview of Twin Spica. The first volume will be out next month.

Manga-ka Akindo Kondoh, who is a contributor to the underground anthology AX, will be speaking in New York on April 21 in connection with the “Garo Manga, 1964-1973” exhibit at The Center for Book Arts.

More podcast! Ed Sizemore and Johanna Draper Carlson discuss Pluto in the latest episode of Manga Out Loud.

David Welsh winds up his shoujo-sunjeong alphabet at The Manga Curmudgeon with a look at manga that start with the letter Z.

News from Japan: The 14th annual Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize winners have been announced, and Thermae Romae picks up its second prize of the year. And the editors of Weekly Shonen Jump are publishing an open letter to their readers regarding bootleg manga, stating that “the unauthorized online copies do harm to the manga culture, the manga creators’ rights, and above all, the manga creators’ spirits.” (ANN’s translation.) And this sidenote is an interesting twist:

In another development, the raw-paradise.com website, which hosted scanned copies of manga magazines without permission, currently redirects to Shueisha’s website.

Coincidence? I think not!

Reviews: Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane has short takes on manga she’s reading at Manga Life.

Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Comic Lily (Okazu)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Diamond Girl (The Manga Critic)
Danica Davidson on vol. 1 of Nabari no Ou (About.com)
Sarah Boslaugh on vol. 1 of Ninja Girls and vol. 2 of ES: Eternal Sabbath (PLAYBACK:stl)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Gestalt (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of Gunsmith Cats Burst (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 4 of Honey Hunt (Comics Should Be Good)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Maid-Sama! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 42 and 43 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Zack Davisson on vol. 2 of Soul Eater (Manga Life)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Stepping on Roses (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ai Kano on vol. 2 of Tegami Bachi: Letter Bee (Animanga Nation)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Yotsuba&! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ed Sizemore on vol. 8 of Yotsuba&! (Comics Worth Reading)
Susan S. on vol. 3 of Ze (Manga Jouhou)

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