Archives for November 2010

Hi there! This is Kate Dacey (a.k.a. The Manga Critic). I’ll be sharing manga-blogging duties with Melinda Beasi this week while Brigid is away. As Shonen Jump characters are fond of saying, “I’ll do my best!”, though I have no illusions about the size of the shoes I’m filling. On to the links!

The December Manga Movable Feast continues with more essays and reviews; David Welsh shares day two highlights. And in a special guest post at The Manga Curmudgeon, Erica Friedman examines those time-honored shonen themes of friendship and teamwork in One Piece.

Planning to go to the comic store this week? Melinda Beasi offers her pick for Wednesday’s must-read manga.

Over at The Manga Critic, I post a holiday gift guide for readers under fourteen.

Do you have a secret stash of old manga in your garage or basement? You might find Sheena McNeil’s article on the valuation of comics informative, especially if you’re trying decide which titles might be worth selling and which ones have depreciated in value.

Melinda Beasi offers recommendations from the Yen Press/ICE Kunion catalog in her latest Manhwa Monday column.

Esther Keller, Lori Henderson, Robin Brenner, and I discuss what we’re reading at Good Comics for Kids.

VIZ Media is hiring! They’re looking for an Associate Producer (Animation Production) and a Digital Production Coordinator (Editorial). If you’re still in school, consider applying for one of VIZ’s Spring 2011 Internships; applications are being accepted now.

News from Japan: Anime News Network reports that The Magic of Chocolate, a shojo horror manga set in an enchanted confectioner’s shop, will be getting the anime treatment in 2011. Take that, Godiva! Also on the ANN news blotter: VIZ is sponsoring the world premiere of the first two Gantz live-action movies on January 20, 2011 at theaters around the US.

Reviews: Johanna Draper-Carlson is first out of the gate with her review of the eagerly anticipated Not Love But Delicious Foods Make Me So Happy!, Fumi Yoshinaga’s valentine to the Tokyo restaurant scene, while Ash Brown offers quick takes on an assortment of books, manga, and DVDs. Other reviews of note:

Alexander Hoffman on Ayako (Manga Village)
Connie on Deka Kyoshi, Vol. 1 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Karen Maeda on Hikaru no Go, Vol. 21 (Sequential Tart)
Connie on I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow, Vol. 2 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Danica Davidson on Monster, Vols. 1-3 (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lori Henderson on One Piece, Vols. 1-4 (Manga Xanadu)
Victoria Martin on Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 3 (Manga Life)
Carlo Santos on Pandora Hearts, Vol. 3 (Anime News Network)
Leroy Douresseaux on Papillon, Vols. 5-6 (Comic Book Bin)
Grant Goodman on The Push Man and Other Stories (Manga Village)
Erica Friedman on Rakuen Le Paradis, Vol. 4 (Okazu)
Karen Maeda on Shinobi Life, Vol. 6 (Sequential Tart)
Wolfen Moondaughter on Slam Dunk, Vol. 13 (Sequential Tart)
Carlo Santos on Ultimo, Vol. 3 (Anime News Network)

– from Melinda Beasi

There’s a lot to catch up on after a long weekend, so let’s be sure to consume slowly and carefully.

First, a little holiday cheer! At Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson shares some food-related manga to set the Turkey-Day mood, while Daniella Orihuela-Gruber warns against it. At The Manga Curmudgeon, David Welsh gives thanks for some of his favorite manga this year so far, while at Manga Bookshelf, I thank those who introduced me to some of my favorite manga. Katherine at Yuri no Boke, Erica Friedman at Okazu, and the Reverse Thieves also give thanks.

Moving on to the real focus of the holidays, Lissa Pattillo starts the shopping season off right at Kuriousity. And Manga bloggers do their part to ease your shopping anxiety with some new additions to the Great Manga Gift Guide. This weekend saw offerings from Rob McMonigal, Erica Friedman, Manga Report’s Anna, and Daniella Orihuela-Gruber.

At About.com Deb Aoki weighs in with her list of the Best Continuing Series of 2010. She also reports that TOKYOPOP’s Alice in the Country of Hearts has topped the New York Times Graphic Books list.

Sean Gaffney gets a jump on December, with a roundup of this week’s new manga, while Lori Henderson rounds up the Week in Manga.

I get my rant on at Manga Bookshelf for the latest Failure Friday.

At Soliloquy in Blue, Michelle Smith and I discuss artwork from Children of the Sea and Suppli in our latest installment of Let’s Get Visual.

November’s Manga Moveable Feast is now underway, this month featuring One Piece! Host David Welsh shares links to the Feast’s first offerings at The Manga Curmudgeon. David also puts in a license request for Rainbow, George Abe and Masasumi Kakizaki’s tale of juvenile delinquints in the 1950s.

Erica Friendman shares the latest Yuri news at Okazu.

News from Japan: As more manga publishers look to digital distribution, ANN reports that Kodansha’s popular seinen magazine Morning will soon be available in English on the web.

Reviews: Kate Dacey offers up a new set of Short Takes at The Manga Critic. At Manga Bookshelf, Michelle Smith and I discuss some manga from Del Rey, Viz, and Vertical in our latest Off the Shelf. And Ed Sizemore talks Chi’s Sweet Home with his nephew Christopher in his newest podcast at Manga Out Loud.

Connie on vol. 2 of Beast Master (Slightly Biased Manga)
Shannon Fay on vol. 1 of Cross Game (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Eensy Weensy Monster, Vol. 1
Jason Thompson on From Eroica With Love (ANN)
Chris Zimmerman on vol. 4 of Hero Tales (The Comic Book Bin)
Snow Wildsmith on How to Draw Shojo Manga (Good Comics for Kids)
Rob McMonical on vol. 1 of Jormandgand (Panel Patter)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of K-ON! (A Case Suitable For Treatment)
Bruce on Lesbian II: Mitsu no Heya (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Maid-sama! (A Case Suitable For Treatment)
Connie on vol. 36 of Oh My Goddess (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 8 of Pokemon Adventures (ANN)
Lissa Pattillo on Short-Tempered Melancholic and Other Stories (Kuriousity)
Phoenix on vol. 2 of Spice & Wolf (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Urusei Yatsura (A Case Suitable For Treatment)
Connie on vol. 8 of Vagabond (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Wild Adapter (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 16 of xxxHolic (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 24 of Yakitate!! Japan (The Comic Book Bin)

Good morning, and welcome back from the long weekend! I will be away from this blog for a few days while I deal with a minor medical matter, but Kate Dacey (a.k.a. The Manga Critic) and Melinda Beasi (of Manga Bookshelf) have kindly agreed to help out in my absence. Please give them a warm welcome!

Melinda Beasi rounds up a couple of reviews and a Netcomics contest in her latest Manhwa Bookshelf column, and her Pick of the Week is the ghost-hunting manhwa Time and Again.

David Welsh looks at this week’s new comics at The Manga Curmudgeon.

Lori Henderson wraps up the week’s manga news at Manga Xanadu. Erica Friedman has your yuri news of the week at Okazu.

Chris Mautner shows off a true manga rarity: He has a galley of Sweet Cream and Strawberries, which was licensed and apparently translated by CPM but never actually published.

At MangaCast, Niki talks to doujinshi creator Polly Guo, whose subjects include Sherlock Holmes and Harry Houdini.

Cecil Adams gives a concise history of tentacle porn at The Straight Dope. (Via Comics Worth Reading.)

Reviews: Omar posts some short manga reviews at About Heroes. Ash Brown looks at a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. Anna has quick takes on some new Tokyopop titles and some recent shonen manga at Manga Report.

Connie on vol. 5 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on vols. 1 and 2 of 7 Billion Needles (The Manga Critic)
Diana Dang on vol. 1 of Arisa (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Arisa (Comics-and-More)
Anna on vol. 1 of AX (Manga Report)
Hisui and Narutaki on vol. 1 of AX (Reverse Thieves)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 1 of Bakuman (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Bakuman (Manga Xanadu)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1 and 2 of Bokurano: Ours (Comics Should Be Good)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Daniel X (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Casey Brienza on vols. 1 and 2 of Demon Sacred (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Connie on Gay’s Anatomy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Ghost Hunt (The Comic Book Bin)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Kristin on vol. 2 of House of Five Leaves (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Itazura na Kiss (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 21 of Knights of the Zodiac (Slightly Biased Manga)
Casey Brienza on vol. 1 of K-ON! (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Ken Haley on vol. 11 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Sequential Ink)
Kinukitty on vol. 1 of Maiden Rose (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Deb Aoki on Mega Man Megamix (About.com)
Andre on vol. 4 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Kuriousity)
Emily on Ookami Shounen (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Oyceter on vols. 3-5 of Phantom Dream (Sakura of DOOM)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Saturn Apartments (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Saturn Apartments (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vol. 3 of Seiho Boys’ High School (Slightly Biased Manga)
Katherine Farmar on Seven Days: Monday-Thursday (Comics Village)
Erica Friedman on Sore ga Kimi ni Naru (Okazu)
Anna on vol. 1 of Summoner Girl (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Tokimeki Mononoke Gakuen (Okazu)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Wolf God (Comic Attack)
Erica Friedman on vol. 14 of Yuri Hime S (Okazu)

Media Blasters is back in the yaoi manga game with the announcement that they will publish You Higashino’s Gay’s Anatomy: Episode Zero, which had been solicited and then cancelled last June. The company’s anime division is still going strong but they laid off part of their print division earlier this year.

Zack Davisson talks to Dark Horse director of Asian licensing Michael Gombos and online marketing manager Matt Parkinson at Manga Life.

Sean Gaffney looks ahead to this week’s new manga.

The Banana Fish roundtable continues at Manga Bookshelf with Melinda Beasi, Robin Brenner, Connie C., Khursten Santos, and Michelle Smith taking a look at volumes 9 and 10.

Ash Brown takes a look at manga podcasts at Experiments in Manga, and in the latest Manga Out Loud podcast, Ed Sizemore, Johanna Draper Carlson, and their guests discuss Moto Hagio’s A Drunken Dream and Other Stories.

Jason Thompson devotes his latest House of 1000 Manga column to Saint Seiya: Knights of the Zodiac, which he describes as “possibly the ultimate ’80s Shonen Jump fighting manga.”

One Great Turtle has a close encounter with the teenage point of view: Reading print manga is for squares, man. (Via Ogiue Maniax.)

Melinda Beasi looks at three workplace manga at Manga Bookshelf.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber provides one-stop shopping with a roundup of manga gift guides at All About Comics. She also asks her readers: What are your favorite shoujo manga cliches?

Seven manga, including Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto, were nominated for awards at the Angoulême International Comics Festival; Deb Aoki provides a brief look at each one.

News from Japan: The last volume of Tenjho Tenge was published this month, and Shueisha marked the occasion with a one-shot story in Ultra Jump. Also, Dragonball is coming back but not in its original form: Shueisha has announced a new children’s magazine, Saikyō Jump (Super Strong Jump), that will include spinoffs of Shonen Jump manga, including Naruto and One Piece. The Dragonball spinoff, Dragonball SD, will be a color strip drawn by Naho Ooishi. And the latest educational manga is coming out courtesy of the World Intellectual Property Organization, which is looking for artists to draw an anti-piracy manga to be translated into six languages and published online.

Reviews: Deb Aoki shares a quick look at what she has been reading lately with her 10 mini-manga reviews at About.com. Johanna Draper Carlson lines up some short reviews of Shojo Beat titles at Comics Worth Reading.

Deb Aoki on Ayako (About.com)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Bakuman (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Fairy Navigator Runa (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Zack Davisson on vol. 5 of Jormungand (Japan Reviewed)
Andre on vol. 1 of Kurozakuro (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Ninja Girls (I Reads You)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 3 of Seiho Boys’ High School (Kuriousity)
Kate Dacey on Short Cuts and vol. 1 of Genkaku Picasso (The Manga Critic)
Deb Aoki on vol. 1 of The Story of Saiunkoku (About.com)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Story of Saiunkoku (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Deb Aoki has a long list of the 21 best manga of 2010.

Peepo Choo creator Felipe Smith is living the dream—he is one of the few Americans to get a gig making manga in Japan, for a Japanese magazine. Marc Bernabe interviews him on video for Masters of Manga, and his advice can be boiled down to this: Learn the language, and be prepared to work really, really hard.

Share your knowledge: Same Hat posts some questions from Ryan Holmberg, who curated the Garo manga show and is doing a postdoc in contemporary art, about American reactions to the work of Kazuo Koike.

Sean Kleefeld finds a manga reader, a extension for the Chrome browser, that’s so good, users might not realize it’s pulling in scanlated manga.

Two manga, Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto and Suehiro Maruo and Edogawa Rampo’s La Chenille (Imomushi) have been nominated for the Best Comic award at the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

David Welsh reaches the letter Q in his Seinen Alphabet at The Manga Curmudgeon.

Tanbishugi spots a new Tokoyopop license on Amazon: The Sacred Blacksmith. ANN has more.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss four Juné manga in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf. Ng Suat Tong puts the beat down on vol. 1 of Genkaku Picasso at The Hooded Utilitarian. Other reviews of note:

Greg McElhatton on vol. 1 of AX (Read About Comics)
Lissa Pattillo on <a href="Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Demon Sacred (ANN)
Kristin on vol. 19 of D.Gray-Man (Comic Attack)
Ken Haley on vol. 1 of Fafner: Dead Aggressor (Sequential Ink)
Lori Henderson on vol. 8 of Gestalt (Manga Xanadu)
Anna on vol. 3 of Itazura na Kiss and vol. 2 of Alice the 101st (Manga Report)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 8 of Pokemon Adventures (ANN)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of Time and Again (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Vagabond (VizBig edition)