Around the blogosphere everyone had something to say about the news that Kodansha was moving from licensing their manga to Del Rey to publishing their manga through their Kodansha USA division but having Random House (Del Rey’s parent company) help with editing, production, and distribution.
Deb Aoki wonders if Kodansha USA will be putting a bit more marketing muscle behind manga that are more popular in Japan than here, such as Moyasimon and Nodame Cantabile.
Christopher Butcher has harsh words for Kodansha’s American venture so far, and his reaction to yesterday’s announcement is “Disappointment bordering on dread.”
Lissa Pattillo thinks we should hold off on the dismal predictions, noting that we may see continuity in design and editing and an expanded range of titles… or then again, maybe not.
Kate Dacey thinks Kodansha should do a better job of communicating with fans. Seconded!
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber has some advice for Kodansha USA.
ANN lists Del Rey’s remaining unfinished series.
A number of people point out that the Kodansha Comics website contains only the press release. This is disappointing but not that unusual; Yen Press didn’t have a working website until their books started coming out either. Publishers in general seem to understimate the importance of having a good website. The important thing is to get the Del Rey manga off the horrible Suvudu.com and onto their own website.
In other news and commentary:
Erica Friedman has an interesting piece at The Hooded Utilitarian asking which manga pass the Bechdel Test; she ends up asking Alison Bechdel herself for her opinion, and that in turn leads her to some deeper thoughts about the portrayal of women in comics in general, and the difference between the letter and the spirit of the Bechdel Test. David Welsh follows up with a discussion of both general issues and specific manga at The Manga Curmudgeon.
Melinda Beasi takes a look at manhwa at NYCC in her latest Manhwa Monday post.
Oliver Ho takes a fond look at Gon, the wordless dinosaur comic that was published not once but twice in the U.S.
Kaiji Kawaguchi shows how he draws a manga character from scratch in the latest video at Masters of Manga.
News from Japan: Big Comic Spirits is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a series of one-shots by well-known manga-ka, including Rumiko Takahashi and Taiyo Matsumoto. Hiroyuki Tamakoshi, who drew Boys Be… and Gacha Gacha, is working on a new series, Double Heroine.
Reviews
Julie Opipari on vol. 12 of Gantz (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Tangognat on vols. 1-4, 6, and 8 of Kaze Hikaru (Tangognat)
Lori Henderson on vol. 7 of Mixed Vegetables (Comics Village)
Connie on vol. 1 of NG Life (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lexie on vol. 1 of Nightschool (Poisoned Rationality)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Pink Innocent (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 9 of Sand Chronicles (Comics-and-More)
Greg McElhatton on vol. 12 of Slam Dunk (Read About Comics)