Quick Wednesday manga links

Pour yourself a cup of coffee and grab a Danish — Ryan Holmberg has posted another in-depth article about the early manga industry, this time examining the influence of American cartoonists on Osamu Tezuka’s early artistic development.

Derek Bown dedicates his latest Combat Commentary column to Naruto.

Sequential Tart interviews Gina Biggs, creator of the OEL manga Red String.

And the Eisner goes to… Shigeru Mizuki’s autobiographical comic Onwards Towards Our Noble Deaths, which won the award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material — Asia. Katsuhiro Otomo also got a nod from the judges, earning himself a spot in the Eisner Hall of Fame.

Shiftylook, a webcomic initiative of Namco/Bandai, has hired manga-ka Hitoshi Ariga (The Big O, Megaman Megamix) to draw a new webcomic based on popular game Klonoa; Canadian artist and writer Jim Zub will pen the script.

Reviews: Over at Anime News Network, Carlo Santos dedicates his latest Right Turn Only!! column to such new releases as 5 Centimeters Per Second and Jiu Jiu. Closer to home, the Manga Bookshelf gang posts an assortment of brief reviews.

Patti Martinson on vol. 20 of Claymore (Sequential Tart)
Connie on vol. 2 of Dawn of the Arcana (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Genshinken: Second Season Book One (Manga Worth Reading)
Erica Friedman on Jigoku NEET (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 14 of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 63 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Patillo on vol. 18 of Ouran High School Host Club (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 2 of Princess Knight (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vols. 8-9 of Rin-ne (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on vol. 2 of Wandering Son (Slightly Biased Manga)