The commentary keeps on coming on the end of Tokyopop. Veteran translator and manga scholar Matt Thorn has an interesting post on how Tokyopop drove down wages for translators, which resulted in a drop in quality as well. (Although fans who were reading scanlations might not notice the difference.) Kate Dacey adds her own thoughts, and Tokyopop freelance editor Daniella Orihuela-Gruber weighs in with her point of view in the comments section. Charles Tan has a nice article up at Bibliophile Stalker that delves into the early experiments with format that resulted in the current package. Longtime reader J. Caleb Mozzocco weighs in with his thoughts and a look at his Tokyopop collection. Sho Murase reflects on her (sadly) unfinished series, Me2. Erica Friedman (Okazu) and Lissa Pattillo (Kuriousity) discuss the end of Tokyopop and the future of the manga industry on the ANNCast podcast. And the denizens of Manga Village have a farewell roundtable.
Is the Manga Revolution over? ICv2 reports that Naruto was the top seller in bookstores last month.
Kate Dacey has the April list of good manga for kids, and Lori Henderson has this week’s all-ages comics and manga, at Good Comics for Kids.
Jason Thompson looks at another weird, interesting old manga, Baron Gong Battle, in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.
Erica Friedman points to the signs of a worldwide Sailor Moon revival.
David Welsh’s latest license request is Aoi Hana.
Manga Therapy’s Tony Yao discusses one of his favorite manga characters, Saito Hajime of Rurouni Kenshin.
News from Japan: Hideki Ohwada has a new comedy manga series in the works titled Tonari no Zarathustra-san (My Neighbor Zarathustra). Apparently it’s about Nietzsche. Natsume Ono is working on a new historical series set in the Edo period, and Future Diary manga-ka Sakae Esuno will launch a new series this summer. The latest issue of Kodansha’s Magazine Special features a Fairy Tail/Rave crossover. An upcoming chapter of Skip Beat! will feature an idea from one lucky reader. Saturn Apartments is coming to an end. And Masahiro Itosugi has announced that volumes 1 and 3 of Aki Sora will not be reprinted; apparently the manga’s incest storyline is the problem.
Reviews: Todd Douglass posts some short reviews of recent manhwa at Anime Maki. Kristin reviews some Harlequin manga at Comic Attack.
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of Blue Exorcist (The Manga Critic)
Julie Opipari on vol. 2 of Bunny Drop (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Butterfly (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Todd Douglass on vol. 2 of Death Note: Black Edition (Anime Maki)
Collin David on Doing Time (Graphic Novel Reporter)
TSOTE on vol. 3 of Geobreeders (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Karakuri Odette (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of March Story (The Comic Book Bin)
Kinukitty on No Touching at All (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Casey Brienza on vol. 1 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Danica Davidson on vol. 1 of Red Angel (Graphic Novel Reporter)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 5 of Rin-ne (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Kristin on vols. 1 and 2 of Seiho Boys High School (Comic Attack)
[…] Is Like Wednesday. For additional links and commentary on TOKYOPOP’s impending closure, see Brigid Alverson’s latest post at […]