Archives for 2012

The nominees for the awards given at the international comics festival in Angouleme have been announced, and they include Thermae Romae, SOIL, and I am a Hero, which were all nominated for the Best Comic prize; Chi’s Sweet Home for the Youth Award; and 2001 Nights and Anjin San for the Heritage Award.

I have been extremely remiss in my blogging duties—I blame it on a crazy Thanksgiving weekend—because I haven’t covered this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, which was hosted by Matt Blind at Rocket Bomber and took thankfulness as its theme. Here are the links:
Call for entries
Matt’s introduction
Wednesday roundup (appetizers)
Matt’s list of manga people he is thankful for
Thursday roundup
Friday roundup
Closing remarks and final roundup

Great job, Matt!

At Okazu, Erica Friedman reports in on her trip to Japan, which included shopping for yuri in Tokyo and a visit to the Maidens Garden 7 doujinshi event.

JManga is giving away a package of Aoi Hana (Sweet Blue Flowers) merch, Ash Brown is giving away the first four volumes of Beck, and Alex Hoffman is giving away a copy of Osamu Tezuka’s Barbara; hit the links to see how you can enter.

News from Japan: I Kill Giants, the winner of this year’s International Manga Award, will be published in Ikki magazine. Seven manga creators, including Go Nagai, have sued seven companies that digitize manga; this is done for private individuals for their own use, but there is concern it leads to piracy. The Puella Magi Madoka Magica spinoff Puella Magi Kazuma Magica – The Innocent Malice is ending; the final volume will be the fifth. LaLa magazine has announced that the next story arc of Vampire Knight will be the last. ANN has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Anna on vol. 1 of 07-Ghost (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of A Bride’s Story (Blogcritics)
Justin on chapter 8 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Ken H on vol. 1 of The Flowers of Evil (Comics Should Be Good)
Connie on vol. 2 of Fluffy, Fluffy Cinnamoroll (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Good Witch of the West (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends (ANN)
Erica Friedman on Hirara Special Girls’ School Life Anthology Houkago! (Okazu)
Joe on Interview with the Vampire: Claudia’s Story (Forbidden Planet)
Erica Friedman on Itazura Choucho (Okazu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of Loveless (omnibus edition)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (3-in-1 edition) (I Reads You)
Connie on No One Loves Me (Slightly Biased Manga)
Tony Yao on Onepunch-Man (Manga Therapy)
Erica Friedman on Renai Joshi File (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 8 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Umineko When They Cry (ANN)

I talked to Viz executive vice president Alvin Lu and the head of Viz Labs, Gagan Singh, at New York Comic Con, and a lot of what they said is particularly relevant this week, as the news came out that Shonen Jump Alpha will go to simultaneous releases with Japan.

Kevin Hamric, director of publishing sales and marketing for Viz, talks about what’s hot and what’s coming in 2013; the Nausicaa box set has sold out, the simultaneous release of vol. 13 of Neon Genesis Evangelion in Japan and the U.S. was a success, and more Pokemon manga are on the way. Overall, Hamric expects the distribution of manga across the different imprints to stay about the same, but they are looking at doing more omnibuses and collecting stories that are serialized in Shonen Jump Alpha, such as Barrage.

News from Japan: 2001 Nights manga-ka Yukinobu Hoshino has begun a manga adaptation of J.P. Hogan’s science fiction novel Thrice Upon a Time.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks at the past week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of 07-Ghost (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Blogcritics)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Clair Voyance (Manga Xanadu)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel (The Fandom Post)
Manjiorin on vol. 3 of Itazura Na Kiss (Organization ASG)
Svetlana Fedotov on vol. 13 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Fangoria)
Laura on vol. 8 of Library Wars (Heart of Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Loveless (2 in 1 edition) (I Reads You)
Drew McCabe on vols. 64 and 65 of One Piece (Comic Attack)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Pokemon Black and White (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Thermae Romae (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Trigun Maximum (omnibus edition) (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Vampire Knight (Blogcritics)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of We Were There (The Fandom Post)
Chris Beveridge on With a Dictionary and No Skirt (The Fandom Post)

The big news of the week is something we all knew would happen—Alvin Lu foreshadowed it at NYCC—but now it has come to pass: Shonen Jump Alpha will be eliminating the two-week lag and going to simultaneous release with Japan for all their weekly series, including Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. And there’s a new series, Nisekoi, debuting this week; you can read chapter 1 for free on the Vizmanga.com site or on their apps.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s time for some serious shopping; check out my manga lover’s gift guide at MTV Geek and our group gift guide at Good Comics for Kids.

Jason Thompson takes a long, loving look at Moto Hagio’s Heart of Thomas in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Also at ANN, Brian Hanson takes on a couple of manga-related questions in his Hey Answerman column: The debate over honorifics and what software real manga creators use (with some help from Deb Aoki).

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Picks of the Week, and they check out some digital offerings, including the new JManga7 website, in their latest Going Digital column. And there’s more: They look at this week’s JManga releases, Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith converse about some recent releases in Off the Shelf, Travis Anderson has a license request, and Matt Blind calculates the manga best-sellers for the week ending November 25 and looks at some rising stars in his Manga Radar feature. And hey, if you want to join in the action, check out the Manga Bookshelf Forum!

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team kicks off the week with a quick set of Bookshelf Briefs. Anna checks out some romance manga from JManga at Manga Report.

John Rose on vol. 11 of Black Butler (The Fandom Post)
John Rose on vol. 3 of Blood Blockade Battlefront (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Bunny Drop (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Warner on vol. 5 of Dawn of the Arcana (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 4 of A Devil and Her Love Song (The Fandom Post)
John Rose on vol. 2 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 23 of Excel Saga (The Fandom Post)
Carlo Santos on vol. 3 of The Flowers of Evil (ANN)
Anna on vols. 1-4 of Give My Regards to Black Jack (Manga Report)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 1 of Haganai: I Don’t Have Many Friends (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Johanna Draper Carlson on The Heart of Thomas (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Hentai Prince and the Stony Cat (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lissa Pattillo on The Innocent (Kuriousity)
Jocelyne Allen on Kuslar, by est em (Brain Vs. Book)
Matthew Warner on vol. 8 of Library Wars (The Fandom Post)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Paros no Ken (Yuri no Boke)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 8 of Sailor Moon (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
John Rose on vol. 9 of Tenjho Tenge (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Thermae Romae (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Umineko When They Cry (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

The Manga Bookshelf team, myself included, discuss our picks of the week—and it’s a tough choice, because this is a very good week!

Noah Berlatsky gathers up a Twitter conversation with Jason Thompson about Junji Ito’s Tomie stories.

Good news for fans of The Dreaming creator Queenie Chan: Her newest book, Small Shen, is out, although only in Australia at the moment.

Blogging about blogging: Anna Neatrour’s Manga Report joins us here at Manga Bookshelf.

News from Japan: Tenjho Tenge creator Oh Great is collaborating with novelist Ōtarō Maijō on a new series, Biorg Trinity, to launch in the January issue of Ultra Jump. Manga-ka Mimei Sakamoto went on a well-publicized rant after being annoyed by a crying baby on a recent flight. Dengeki Daioh Genesis magazine has ceased publication.

Reviews: Carlo Santos looks at a couple of new series, and a few older ones, in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. The Manga Bookshelf team checks out Blue Exorcist, Pandora Hearts, and more in their latest Bookshelf Briefs column. Ash Brown looks back on a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Katherine Hanson on Concerto (Yuri no Boke)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Cross Game (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vols. 10 and 11 of Kamisama Kiss (Comic Attack)
Noah Berlatsky on Natsume’s Book of Friends (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Soulless (Comics Worth Reading)
Anna on vol. 1 of Strobe Edge (Manga Report)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Strobe Edge (Manga Xanadu)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Strobe Edge (Manga Widget)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Trigun Maximum (omnibus edition) (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3-4 of Young Miss Holmes Casebook (omnibus edition) (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3-4 of Young Miss Holmes Casebook (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Yoko Tanigaki of Digital Manga answered a few of my questions about Digital’s print hiatus at Robot 6.

I looked at the most recent manga releases at MTV Geek, and the Manga Village team discussed their picks as well.

At Manga Bookshelf, Matt Blind pulls together the list of the past week’s manga best-sellers.

Sequential Tart’s Margaret O’Connell has a nice writeup of the Moyoco Anno panel at NYCC (part 1, part 2).

Check out part 2 of Nancy Thistlethwaite’s interview with Ai Ore creator Mayu Shinjo at the Shojo Beat Facebook page.

Starsamaria discusses the flow of time in shoujo manga at Shojo Corner.

Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss the best of 2012 in their latest BL Bookrack column at Manga Bookshelf.

At Manga Therapy, Tony Yao discusses the significance of gold versus silver in Gin Tama.

News from Japan: A one-shot by JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure manga-ka Hirohiko Araki will appear in the February issue of the women’s magazine Spur. Saiyuki Ibun is back in Zero-Sum Ward after a 28-month hiatus due to creator Kazuya Minekura’s surgery. The Ishinomori Mangattan Museum, which honors Cyborg 009 creator Shotaro Ishinomori, reopened this past weekend after being closed since March 2011 due to earthquake damage.
Reviews

Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz (Kuriousity)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Angelic Layer (Blogcritics)
Matt on vol. 6 of Animal Land (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 2 of Awkward Silence (Sequential Tart)
Ash Brown on vol. 15 of Blade of the Immortal (Experiments in Manga)
Sheena McNeil on vols. 1 and 2 of Bond of Dreams, Bond of Love (Sequential Tart)
Katherine Hanson on Butterfly 69 (Yuri no Boke)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 3-6 of A Devil and Her Love Song (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 24 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Jocelyne Allen on Genesis (Brain Vs. Book)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Girl Friends (ANN)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 1 of Highschool of the Dead (Every Day Is Like Wednesday)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 9 of Loveless (Kuriousity)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 4 of March Story (Sequential Tart)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Michael Buntag on Ninja Girl Ko! Indie Special #1-2 and vol. 15 of Video Girl Ai (NonSensical Words)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 63-65 of One Piece (ANN)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 65 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Laura on vol. 1 of Paradise Kiss (Heart of Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Pokemon Adventures Diamond and Pearl Platinum (Blogcritics)
Angela Eastman on Pokemon The Movie: White: Victini and Zekrom (The Fandom Post)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1 and 2 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Manga Village)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 2 of Punch Up! (Sequential Tart)
Leroy Doureseaux on vol. 10 of Rin-ne (The Comic Book Bin)
Carlo Santos on vol. 10 of Rosario + Vampire, Season II (ANN)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 3 of Wandering Son (ANN)

I looked a bit deeper into Digital Manga’s announcement to suspend print publication for six months at Robot 6, and Alex Hoffman has some thoughts at Manga Widget as well.

Here’s a treat to kick off the weekend: Shaenon Garrity counts down five badass shoujo manga as guest contributor to the House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Tony Yao has an interesting piece up this morning with data from a recent article in The Nikkei Shimbun about the gender balance of Shonen Jump readers and what that means to the contents of the magazine. Good stuff!

The Manga Bookshelf team take a critical look at next week’s new releases in print and at JManga.

The next Manga Moveable Feast is a Thanksgiving dinner, and host Matt Blind issues the call for contributions.

Reviews

Kristin on vol. 2 of Jiu Jiu (Comic Attack)
David Gromer on vols. 3 and 4 of Maximum Ride (Graphic Novel Reporter)
David Gromer on vols. 1 and 2 of Negima (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (The Comic Book Bin)
David Gromer on vol. 3 of No Longer Human (Graphic Novel Reporter)
David Gromer on vol. 7 of Omamori Himori (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 4 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Rosario + Vampire, Season II (The Comic Book Bin)
David Gromer on vol. 1 of Soulless (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Strobe Edge (Kuriousity)