Archives for November 2010

Deb Aoki talks to Digital CEO Hikaru Sasahara about his plans for the Digital Manga Guild and how he hopes it will change the licensing system for manga.

Melinda Beasi rounds up the latest manhwa news in her Manhwa Monday post.

Opinion pieces: AstroNerdBoy is getting impatient for his Del Rey series; Kodansha has taken back the licenses but seems to be slow getting the books out. Lori Henderson is pleased to see Asako Suzuki is back to editing manga, having moved from CMX to Tokyopop.

The Japanese company Katalyst is publishing a manga direct to iPad: Maniac Tours was released simultaneously in Japanese, English, and French on Saturday, and the first chapter is free.

News from Japan: A four-volume full-color manga adaptation of the anime Highschool of the Dead will be coming out next spring.

Reviews: Omar posts some short reviews of recent releases at About Heroes, and Kate Dacey has more short takes at The Manga Critic. Ash Brown looks at a week’s worth of reading at Experiments in Manga. Other reviews of note:

Alex Woolfson on vol. 1 of Adamo Anthology (Yaoi 911)
Nick Smith on vol. 1 of Arisa (ICv2)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Biomega (The Comic Book Bin)
Todd Douglass on vol. 3 of Black Butler (Anime Maki)
Sophie Stevens on vol. 2 of Chobits (omnibus edition)
Michelle Smith on vol. 1 of K-ON! (Soliloquy in Blue)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Kuro Zakuro (Comics-and-More)
Anna on vols. 2 and 3 of Library Wars: Love and War (Manga Report)
Kristin on vol. 3 of MAOH Juvenile Remix (Comic Attack)
Michelle Smith on not simple and Ristorante Paradiso (Comics Should Be Good)
Anna on vol. 1 of The Stellar Six of Gingacho (Manga Report)
Animemiz on Yakitate!! Japan (Anime Diet)

Tokyopop has begun selling print-on-demand editions of both old and new books through its online shop. Johanna Draper Carlson looks over some of the offerings at Comics Worth Reading.

Lori Henderson takes a look at the week in manga at Manga Xanadu.

The Yaoi Review talks to Tina Anderson, global BL manga writer (and coiner of the term GloBL).

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber writes about iSee Toon, a Korean company that is publishing webtoons for the iPhone. The app is free, and so are the first two chapters.

David Welsh starts winterizing his blog by asking the readers: What are your favorite comics with snow scenes?

Marc Bernabe profiles Jiro Tsunoda at Masters of Manga.

News from Japan: The Japanese government is honoring two manga creators: Galaxy Express 999 creator Leiji Matsumoto will be one of 4,173 people to receive the The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, next week, and GeGeGe no Kitarō creator Shigero Mizuki is one of 17 to be named Persons of Cultural Merit.

Reviews: Deb Aoki takes us through the express line with short reviews of 18 manga at About.com.

Ken Haley on vol. 1 of 7 Billion Needles (Sequential Ink)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 3 of Black Butler (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie Opipari on vol. 6 of Bride of the Water God (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vol. 8 of Le Chevalier d’Eon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Cross Game (Manga Widget)
David Welsh on vol. 1 of Cross Game (The Manga Curmudgeon)
Anna on vol. 1 of Dragon Girl (omnibus edition) (Manga Report)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 12 of Gakuen Alice (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 20 of Gin Tama (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on Himeyuka & Rozione’s Story (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Kimi ni Todoke (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Cynthia on vol. 1 of Kizuna (deluxe edition) and Finder, vol. 1: Target in the Finder (Boys Next Door)
Andre Paploo on vol. 3 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Otomen (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 17 of SA (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Todd Douglass on vol. 1 of Sasameke (Anime Maki)
Leroy Douressaux on vol. 3 of Shiki Tsukai (I Reads You)
Cynthia on Stay Close to Me (Boys Next Door)
Cynthia on vol. 2 of Under Grand Hotel (Boys Next Door)
Leroy Douressaux on vols. 1-3 of Wild At Heart (omnibus) (The Comic Book Bin)

Actually, this has been on Yen Plus, their online magazine, for two months, but if you don’t subscribe, now is the time to jump in. Here are the details.

Seems it was just yesterday that Tim Beedle was saying that no one is publishing global manga any more… oh wait, it was! Yen has actually been taking submissions for a while, and they ran a short story by Queenie Chan in the print magazine. Most of their global manga are based on licensed products (Maximum Ride, Twilight, Gossip Girl) so it will be interesting to see where this is going.

I spoke to Shonen Jump senior editor Joel Enos a couple of days ago about that magazine’s new subscriber-only digital comics. Joel provided some additional details on the program and reassured me that parent company Viz is not contemplating dropping the print edition. Now ANN has confirmed that Viz has licensed Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s and will start serializing it in SJ in January. And he talked a bit more what’s going on here:

When asked about VIZ’s digital and print strategies in general, Enos explained that with Shonen Jump magazine is nearing 10 years old — its first issue was released in December 2002. “It was time for a new look and feel,” he said. “The world of reading, magazines, and manga have changed a lot in the past two to three years.” He stated that Shonen Jump will integrate both digital and print distribution as much as possible rather than shifting focus away from print.

Meanwhile, at Manga Xanadu, Lori Henderson isn’t all that impressed with Viz’s digital news.

Sean Gaffney is first out of the gate with a look at this week’s new manga at A Case Suitable for Treatment, while Lori Henderson has this week’s list of all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

At ANN, Jason Thompson takes a fond look at Immortal Rain, which unfortunately is stuck in licensing limbo at the moment, although you can read the whole series online if you read Japanese. Here’s Jason’s summary:

Apocalypse, love, strong female characters, attractive guys, one of the greatest villains ever, and a 600-year-old reincarnation simulation game named Wakuwaku Samsara (“Exciting Samsara”) – this is what Immortal Rain is all about.

So there’s something for everyone, then.

Melinda Beasi points out three digital comics you shouldn’t miss at Manga Bookshelf, and she also takes a look at fanservice for girls in the nominally shonen manga (Black Butler, Gestalt) of Square Enix’s Monthly GFantasy magazine.

Former Tokyopop editor Tim Beedle has some thoughts on global manga and wonders why it isn’t popular despite the obvious talent of many creators.

David Welsh’s license request this week is Piece, by Sand Chronicles creator Hinako Ashihara.

Danica Davidson will be familiar to many readers of this blog, as I frequently link to her manga reviews. At the freelance writers’ site The WM Freelance Writers Connection, she writes about her work adapting manga for American readers. (Via The Manga Critic.)

Faith Erin Hicks is making fanart of her favorite manga! And posting it at her LJ!

News from Italy: Jiro Taniguchi has won Italy’s highest comics award.

News from Japan: Remember that manga on psychosomatic illnesses we mentioned yesterday? ANN found that the publisher has posted several chapters online. At Same Hat!, Ryan posts the cover of the new Shintaro Kago manga, The Dark Beast Animorphosis, along with the book trailer and some other info—sadly, in Japanese. And a Hokkaido man who illicitly shared some chapters of One Piece via the internet has been arrested.

Reviews

Caddy C on vol. 1 of Afterschool Charisma (A Feminist Otaku)
Kristin on vol. 3 of Black Butler and vol. 1 of Bamboo Blade (Comic Attack)
Julie Opipari on Che Guevara: A Manga Biography (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Nick Smith on vol. 1 of Daniel X (ICv2)
Ed Sizemore on vols. 4-6 of Detroit Metal City (Comics Worth Reading)
Emily on Heroine Shikkaku (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
James Fleenor on vol. 1 of House of Five Leaves (Anime Sentinel)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-4 of Maid Sama! (Soliloquy in Blue)
James Fleenor on vol. 4 of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project (Anime Sentinel)
Clive Owen on vol. 2 of Rosario + Vampire: Season II (Animanga Nation)
Victoria Martin on vol. 1 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Manga Life)
Zack Davisson on vol. 8 of Tactics (Japan Reviewed)
Carlo Santos on vol. 16 of xxxHOLiC (ANN)

Tokyopop revives weekly serialization: They are releasing the second volume of Hetalia in weekly issues via the comiXology app.

Kristin takes a manga-centric look at the November Previews at Comic Attack.

Sean Gaffney has been looking over the Japanese best-seller lists, and he has ten more license requests for American publishers.

David Welsh has reached the letter O in his Seinen Alphabet at The Manga Curmudgeon.

News from Japan: Matt Alt points to a nonfiction manga that’s “climbing the bestseller lists” right now: The Manga Guide to Psychosomatic Illnesses. Good times.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss new volumes of ongoing series in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf. John Thomas includes some short reviews of recent releases in his latest Yuuyake Shimbum column.

Connie on vol. 2 of Evil’s Return (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 7 of Goong (Slightly Biased Manga)
Casey Brienza on vol. 1 of Hetalia: Axis Powers (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Zack Davisson on vol. 21 of Hikaru No Go (Japan Reviewed)
Connie on vol. 6 of Kimi ni Todoke (Slightly Biased Manga)
Ken Haley on vol. 2 of Knights (Sequential Ink)
Jaime Samms on Loud Snow (Kuriousity)
Justin Colussy-Estes on vol. 9 of One Thousand and One Nights (Comics Village)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Princess Princess (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Todd Douglass on vol. 3 of Spice & Wolf (Anime Maki)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 22-24 of The Wallflower (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson on the October issue of Yen Plus (Manga Xanadu)

Caleb Goellner of Comics Alliance takes the Viz iPad app for a test drive and likes what he sees:

Its interface is comparable to comiXology’s prominent reader and creating an account to buy content is a simple, streamlined process. Much like our earlier experience with the Scott Pilgrim iPad app, Viz’s digest-sized pages translate nicely to the iPad’s larger screen, a presentation style that should prove ideal for fans who already enjoy reading digital comics content on the device.

For now it doesn’t appear that content purchased in Viz’s iPad can be used or stored across multiple devices the way it can on other existing digital comic book platforms, but there’s always potential for Viz to address that functionality down the road provided users demand it.

At About.com, Deb Aoki has some ideas for things Viz might use the app for in the future. Kate Dacey posts her reaction The Manga Critic, and briefly compares the Viz and Yen Press apps.

David Welsh and Brad Rice look at this week’s new releases.

At Manga Therapy, Tony Yao takes a look at why incest is such a popular theme in anime and manga. Tony also points us to an interesting scholarly paper, The Diffusion of Foreign Cultural Products: The Case Analysis of Japanese Comics (Manga) Market in the US, which I’m looking forward to reading this weekend. Translators Alethea and Athena Nibley clear up some misconceptions about moe at Manga Life.

News from Japan: CLAMP already announced a Gate 7 one-shot in the December Jump Square, and now they say it will be a series starting with the March issue. BL publisher Libre is has just released Seitō Kijinka Seitō-tan (Seitō-tan, Political Parties Personified) which is exactly what it sounds like; ANN has the full explanation. Also, Shogakukan Creative is about to publish the notebooks of Osamu Tezuka, an item that should be on lots of otaku wish-lists this holiday season.

Reviews

Animemiz on 20th Century Boys (Anime Diet)
Sean Kleefeld on The 14th Dalai Lama: A Manga Biography (Kleefeld on Comics)
Chris Zimmerman on vols. 1 and 2 of Biomega and vol. 1 of March Story (CBS4.com)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 3 of Black Butler (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 19 of D.Gray-Man (The Comic Book Bin)
Animemiz on High School Debut (Anime Diet)
Anna on vols. 2 and 3 of Jyu-Oh-Sei (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on Kaichou to Fukukaichou (Okazu)
Todd Douglass on vol. 1 of K-On!! (Anime Maki)
Greg McElhatton on Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators (Read About Comics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Stellar Six of Gingacho (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Todd Douglass on vol. 1 of Summoner Girl (Anime Maki)