Here’s the article you should be reading today, but set aside a bit of time, as it’s long: Ryan Holmberg’s fascinating piece on Akahon manga, the cheap precursors of today’s comics.
I joined my new Manga Bookshelf colleagues yesterday for a discussion of this week’s Pick of the Week.
At Manga Widget, Alex Hoffman looks back at some of the manga highlights of 2011. The Manga Village team takes a look back at 2011 as well.
Connie has a license request: Tokumu Sentai Shinesman, about a group of color-coordinated corporate spies.
Erica Friedman is just back from Comiket, and she shows off her purchases at Okazu.
News from Japan: Translator Tomo Kimura shows off some Black Butler extras. Est em, the creator of Seduce Me After the Show and Red Blinds the Foolish, has a new series in the works, titled Ippo, about a young man who makes fine shoes by hand. Hayate the Combat Butler creator Kenjirou Hata says that the series, which is about to go on hiatus, is about 60% complete. Three Steps Over Japan is curious about a Vagabond parody.
Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files the latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. It’s time for Ash Brown to present the latest week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.
Kristin on vol. 5 of Afterschool Charisma (Comic Attack)
Sakura Eries on vol. 3 of Ai Ore (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Beauty Pop (Blogcritics)
John Rose on vol. 17 of Black Jack (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 26 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Jormungand (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on Kyudo Boys (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on Lonely Wolf, Lonely Sheep (Okazu)
TSOTE on The Minotaur’s Plate (Three Steps Over Japan)
Ken Haley on vol. 10 of MPD Psycho (Sequential Ink)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Oresama Teacher (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 17 of Ouran High School Host Club (Kuriousity)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 14 of Pokemon Adventures (Blogcritics)
Tomo K. on Prunus Girl (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 26 of Skip Beat (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Song of the Hanging Sky (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on vol. 14 of Tsubomi (Okazu)
Matthew Warner on vol. 10 of Yotsuba&! (The Fandom Post)