Manga: Not dead yet

At Reverse Thieves, Hisui and Narutaki take a look at the changes in the manga market and point to some possible factors, including the fact that publishing in general has been hit by the recession. And translator William Flanagan nails it in the comments:

[T]here seems to be no real decline in popularity of manga, just that the fans aren’t paying for it anymore.

Meanwhile, Danielle Leigh is taking matters into her own hands by learning Japanese so she can read her favorite series without worrying they will come to an untimely end.

Kai-Ming Cha paints a brighter picture from the floor of Book Expo America, where a number of publishers reported they are still hanging in, and Dark Horse even saw a 13% increase in sales. Rod Lott talks to Vertical Marketing Director Ed Chavez at BookGasm, and Ed reveals that revenues were up 18% last year, another bit of good news to counter the general gloom.

Kate Dacey wraps up the Manga Moveable Feast links for day six and day seven, and she winds up the week with a reviewers’ roundtable on the featured book, Keiko Takemiya’s To Terra, and a look at two stories by Takemiya’s contemporary, Moto Hagio. Ed Sizemore also hosts a To Terra podcast featuring Kate, David Welsh, Johanna Draper Carlson, and Ed Chavez. Looking forward to next month, Melinda Beasi will host the next MMF, and the featured series will be the manhwa trilogy The Color of Earth.

Lori Henderson has a quick summary of the week’s manga news and a look at anti-war manga at Manga Xanadu. Erica Friedman covers her beat with Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Sean Gaffney finds a lot to look forward to in this week’s new manga list, and the Comics Village team looks at the most recent releases.

Helen McCarthy has some tips for potential buyers of anime and manga art.

Emily has added two new galleries to her site: samples of interior art and a look at covers with a special color haze effect.

Lissa Pattillo reports in from Anime North (day 1, day 2), and Deb Aoki has photos from Fanime.

Tangognat finds a bargain.

Not specific to manga, but useful nonetheless: J.L. Bell has a sneaky solution for piracy.

Ko Ransom provides a primer on the Afternoon Four Seasons Award, given four times a year by Kodansha, at welcome datacomp.

News from Japan: Hunter X Hunter is heading for another hiatus, and Kariko Koyama has started a shoujo manga series, Sheryl ~Kiss in the Galaxy~, based on the movie Macross Frontier ~Itsuwari no Utahime~.

Reviews: The Manga Recon bloggers celebrate the holiday with a fresh set of Manga Minis.

Kelly on vol. 2 of Alice in the Country of Hearts (kelkagandy’s ramblings)
Susan S. on vol. 6 of Crayon Shinchan (Manga Jouhou)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Fairy Navigator Runa (Comics Worth Reading)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 5 of Gestalt (Mania.com)
Ken Haley on .hack//4koma (Manga Recon)
Snow Wildsmith on How To Seduce A Vampire (Fujoshi Librarian)
Alexander Hoffman on vol. 1 of Itazura Na Kiss (Comics Village)
Lissa Pattillo on vols. 1 and 2 of Kobato (ANN)
Todd Douglass on vol. 1 of Library Wars (Anime Maki)
Snow Wildsmith on Love!! and vols. 1-2 of Ludwig II (Fujoshi Librarian)
Sophie Stevens on vol. 1 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (Animanga Nation)
Kristin on vols. 1-3 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (Comic Attack)
Alexander Hoffman on vol. 2 of Rin-Ne (Comics Village)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Saki (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Saturn Apartments (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Shonen Art Studio (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Starcraft: Ghost Academy (Prospero’s Manga)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 1 of Twin Spica (Read About Comics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Vampire Knight (The Comic Book Bin)
Julie Opipari on vol. 10 of Vampire Knight (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Susan S. on vol. 6 of Very! Very! Sweet (Manga Jouhou)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 15 of xxxHolic (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)

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