Jason Thompson’s latest House of 1000 Manga column dredges up a classic that has a small but dedicated band of fans: Firefighter: Daigo of Fire Company M.
Be sure to check out Sean Gaffney’s blog, A Case Suitable for Treatment, for the latest additions to the Manga Moveable Feast, which is celebrating After School Nightmare this month. David Welsh’s latest license request is another manga by Setona Mizushiro, The Cornered Mouse Dreams of Cheese.
Lori Henderson has this week’s top all-ages manga and comics releases at Good Comics for Kids.
At Masters of Manga, Marc Bernabe has a great video of manga creator and expert Akira Maruyama talking about the changing perceptions of manga, from funnybooks to real stories, and manga’s own “Seduction of the Innocent” moment—yes, there were real manga burnings—and its lasting effects.
And to celebrate Banned Books Week, Erica Friedman is offering free yuri manga to libraries.
Lori Henderson posts her thoughts on censorship at Manga Xanadu.
There seems to have been a flurry of activity lately with Japanese publishers releasing manga in varous digital formats. ANN has a roundup of some recent announcements, including Joan and Jesus, by Mobile Suit Gundam creator Yoshikazu Yasuhiko in the Apple app store, and Kazuo Umezu’s Cat-Eyed Girl in the Nokia Ovi store.
News from Japan: The Japanese magazine Jump Square is announcing it will publish a one-shot CLAMP story, Gate 7, in an upcoming issue. Dark Horse had listed this as the title of one of its “mangettes,” short standalone manga by CLAMP, but the listings for the mangettes have been removed from most retail sites.
Reviews
Lori Henderson on vol. 28 of Bleach (Comics Village)
Shaenon Garrity on vols. 1 and 2 of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory (About.com)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Hetalia: Axis Powers (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 1 of Hetalia: Axis Powers (Blog@Newsarama)
Julie Opipari on Moonlit Promises (Mania.com)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 55 of One Piece (The Comic Book Bin)
Kiki Van De Camp on vol. 3 of Rin-ne (Animanga Nation)
Carlo Santos on vol. 4 of Rin-ne (ANN)
Kristin on vol. 12 of Slam Dunk (Comic Attack)
Lissa Pattillo on Your Love Sickness (ANN)
Dark Horse is one of the most prolific publishers in the business. It seems like its been years since they first announced the whole CLAMP shenanigans. From what I remember they wanted to rerelease the old Tokyopop CLAMP catalog so stupid people could realize that Dark Horse is now publishing CLAMP (even though Yen and Del Rey are as well). So when exactly are these mangettes coming out? Instead of identifying themselves with CLAMP, I identify Dark Horse as a subpar publisher that cancels most of its series. Yeah, I am pissed and continue to be pissed about Eden. I guess I should ID those “cancelled” titles as “on hiatus” or something to that effect like Horse says. Well, I have to say, since I don’t have to buy the Horse series that I like (they are cancelled), it gives me lots more money to buy the Kodansha USA releases. im gonna have to buy another bookshelf to fit all of their titles on. I might run out of room in 20 years though. I don’t even remember the Eden storyline anymore. I basically have to go back and reread the entire series everytime they release a volume, like once every year or so. I really think its time for them to get out of the business. The Blood titles were not the titanic success they thought theyd be, or maybe they were, according to how you see the Titanic.