Apres le deluge, manga

San Diego Comic-Con was busy but didn’t feature as many manga announcements as in previous years. I rounded up the weekend’s news at Robot 6; The big news was that Drawn & Quarterly licensed two manga by Shigeru Mizuki, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths and NonNonBā. The latter won the Best Album prize at Angouleme a few years ago, and I believe it was the first manga to earn that honor. Emma fans will be pleased to hear that Yen Press has licensed another Kaoru Mori series, Otoyome-Gatari (The Bride’s Stories). Their other titles include Highschool of the Dead, Betrayal Knows My Name (Uragiri wa Boku no Namae o Shitteiru/Uraboku), and another Higurashi When They Cry arc, as well as Aron’s Absurd Armada, which will be published online. The future of Yen Plus magazine was also revealed: It will be published online, and the first month will be free; after that, the subscription is $2.99 per month. Tokyopop also had some new titles to announce: Koge-Donbo’s Naki Shōjo no Tame no Pavane (Pavane for a Dead Girl); Sakura no Ichiban, by the creator of Chibi Vampire; Mr. Clean: Fully Equipped (Keppeki Shōnen Kanzen Sōbi); and Ghost Face, by Min-Woo Hyung, the creator of Priest.

Some con reports of special interest to manga readers: Eva Volin of Good Comics for Kids made it to the VizKIDS, Yen Press, and Moto Hagio panels; Heidi MacDonald reports on the piracy panel; Deb Aoki gives a firshand account of Preview Night, with stops at the Vertical and Fantagraphics booths; and Daniella Orihuela-Gruber recounts her first-day experiences, including seeing a book she worked on end up on the “worst” list in the Best and Worst Manga panel.

Lori Henderson sums up the week’s manga news at Manga Xanadu and Erica Friedman posts the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu. Meanwhile, the Comics Village team looks over the past week’s new releases.

Meanwhile, the scanlation debate inspires Ed Sizemore to pen a little parody at his blog.

Michelle Smith is hosting this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, and the topic for July is Paradise Kiss. Michelle gets things with an intro to the series and a review at Soliloquy in Blue.

Melinda Beasi wraps up Fumi Yoshinaga Week at Manga Bookshelf with a review of vols. 1-4 of Antique Bakery and a final post.

Reviews: At Heart of Manga, Laura pits Panic x Panic against Fairy Navigator Runa.

Johanna Draper Carlson on Angus’s Lost Lady (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vol. 11 of Black Jack (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sesho on vol. 3 of Blame! (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Susan S. on The Dawn of Love (Manga Jouhou)
Julie on vol. 17 of D.Gray-Man (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Dan Polley on A Drifting Life (Comics Village)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Fairy Navigator Runa (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Connie on vols. 6 and 7 of Fake (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on HER (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on Himeyuka and Rozione’s Story (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vols. 9 and 10 of Honey and Clover (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of InuYasha (VizBIG edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Shannon Fay on vol. 1 of Kingyo Used Books (Kuriousity)
Greg McElhatton on vols. 1 and 2 of Kobato (Read About Comics)
Lissa Pattillo on The Last Airbender: Zuko’s Story (Kuriousity)
James Fleenor on vol. 1 of Mad Love Chase (Anime Sentinel)
Ken Haley on vol. 3 of Ninja Girls (Sequential Ink)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 7 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Comics Worth Reading)
Tangognat on vol. 4 of Shinobi Life (Tangognat)
Connie on vol. 1 of Seduction More Beautiful Than Love (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Strawberry 100% (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 2 of Sugarholic (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Twin Spica (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna (Tangognat) on Twin Spica and Saturn Apartments (The Bureau Chiefs)