Free Vampire Hunter D; new yaoi licenses

I took a look at this week’s new manga at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo goes over her list in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney looks ahead to next week’s new releases at A Case Suitable for Treatment.

Here’s the deal of the holiday season: Digital is offering vols. 1-5 of Vampire Hunter D for free via its eManga site from December 24 through January 8. Volume 6 comes out on December 28, so I guess they want you to be caught up.

Two publishers announced new yaoi licenses this week: Viz has the license for the first three volumes of Yebisu Celebrities, which will be published digitally under its new SuBLime imprint (old-timers may remember that BeBeautiful had the license for this series at one time), and Digital just announced two new titles, Secretary’s Job and vol. 3 of Private Teacher. SuBLime also unveiled their shiny new website.

Gottsu-Iiyan posts some photos of artwork from Takehiko Inoue’s new book, Pepita: Inoue Takehiko Meets Gaudi.

News from Japan: Lots of new series are launching next month: Three new series based on older properties will launch in the March issue of Shonen Sunday (due out on Jan. 25): Colorful Hayate no Gotoku (Colorful Hayate the Combat Butler), Meitantei Conan: Seiki matsu no majutsushi (Case Closed: The Last Magician of the Century), and a new Mobile Suit Gundam AGE story. Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, who was the character designer for Mobile Suit Gundam and the artist for the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga, has started a new series of his own, Ten no Kechimyaku, a historical drama set in 1903, in the days before the Russo-Japanese war. It will launch in the March issue of Afternoon magazine. Monthly Shōnen Ace has announced a new series based on the television mystery series Hyoka and a Eureka Seven sequel. creator of Flowers of Evil and Drifting Net Cafe, is launching a new series, Shino-chan wa Jibun no Namae ga Ienai (Shino Can’t Say Her Own Name) in the online manga magazine Poco Poco.

In other news, Mainichi profiles Dr. Vivian Wijaya, an Indonesian doctor-turned-manga-ka whose first manga, Kokkyonaki Gakuen (Campus Dwellers Without Borders) debuted on Shogakukan’s Club Sunday website last month. Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at yet another seinen manga magazine, Young Champion. And ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss some recent yaoi releases in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf.

Connie on vol. 8 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Andre Paploo on vol. 11 of Bamboo Blade (Kuriousity)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Dawn of the Arcana (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 27 of Fullmetal Alchemist (The Comic Book Bin)
Julie Opipari on vol. 2 of Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 1 and 2 of My Boyfriend is a Vampire (ANN)
Matthew Warner on vol. 59 of One Piece (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 7 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Pokemon: Black and White (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Rakuen Le Paradis (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 10 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna on vol. 2 of Stellar Six of Gangacho (Manga Report)
TSOTE on vol. 2 of Yuukoku no Rasputin (Three Steps Over Japan)

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