Here’s a quick roundup of Anime Expo news:
Item: Digital Manga announced that they are joining up with Tezuka Productions to publish all of Osamu Tezuka’s works in North America. They may do some print editions as well.
Item: Viz is bringing back Deadman Wonderland, which was originally licensed by Tokyopop; they will finish the series, which is up to 12 volumes and about to end in Japan. This is an awesome manga and deserving of a license rescue; my review of vol. 1 is here. And they had another new license, Kohske’s Gangsta, as well as an unflipped edition of Ranma 1/2, a print edition of Nisekoi, and what sounds like a very nice oversized edition of Dragon Ball Full Color.
Item: Vertical has licensed Insufficient Direction, Moyoco Anno’s gag manga about life with her husband (and collaborator on this book), Neon Genesis Evangelion director Hideaki Anno.
Item: Tokyopop, Gentosha, and RightStuf are teaming up to publish volumes 4 and 5 of Hetalia: Axis Powers this winter; after the initial print run sells out, it will go to Print on Demand. No word on digital rights.
Item: Kodansha announced that Attack on Titan will go to a volume a month, with simultaneous print and digital release, and Kodansha manga will now be available digitally on Kindle, Nook, Google Play, and iBooks.
Item: Shonen Jump will now be available outside North America, specifically in the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, via the iOS app, with Android coming “soon,” according to panelists. Here’s a longer account of their panel, which was an informative history of the magazine, both in Japan and the U.S., with the editors of both editions talking about their experiences. Also, SJ has a special deal running through July 14: A one-year subscription is $19.99, down from the standard price of $25.99, with the promo code on this page.
I rounded up Friday’s anime and manga news with some commentary at MTV Geek. Sean Gaffney adds a bit of commentary on the new license announcements at his blog.
Lissa Pattillo brings us up to date on the past week’s new releases at Kuriousity, and she also files her con report on Animaritime.
Meanwhile, the Manga Bookshelf team looks ahead to this week’s new manga.
At Heart of Manga, Laura looks at the new shoujo manga due out this month, including what I believe are the final volumes of Jiu Jiu and Sailor Moon.
This month’s Manga Moveable Feast will focus on the work of Yun Kouga (Loveless) and will be hosted at Manga Bookshelf; here’s the call for entries.
In her latest Manga Dome podcast, Lori Henderson helps you sort out three manga based on Alice in Wonderland: Are You Alice?, Alice in the Country of Hearts, and Pandora Hearts.
News from Japan: Takehiko Inoue, creator of Slam Dunk, Vagabond, and Real, has donated 1 million yen worth of manga to schools in his hometown of Isa-city.
Reviews
Anna N. on vol. 1 of 7 Billion Needles (Manga Report)
Ken H. on vol. 4 of Attack on Titan (Comics should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 19 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 57 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Jiu Jiu (I Reads You)
Josh Begley on vol. 2 of Kingdom Hearts: Final Mix (The Fandom Post)
Connie C. on Magic Knight Rayearth, Neon Genesis Evangalion, and Bokurano: Ours (Comics Should Be Good)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Alex Hoffman on Monokuro Kinderbook (Manga Widget)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Oh My Goddess (Blogcritics)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice (ICv2)
TSOTE on vols. 2, 3, and 4 of Q.E.D. (Three Steps Over Japan)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Sankarea: Undying Love (Experiments in Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on vols. 9 and 10 of Song of the Wind and Trees (Kaze to Ki no Uta) (Brain Vs. Book)
Drew McCabe on vol. 11 of Tenjho Tenge: Full Contact Edition (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on Utsubora: The Story of a Novelist (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 1 of Wolfsmund (Matt Talks About Manga)
Viz should see to rescuing their own unfinished manga (Inu-Baka) before they rescue other companies’ manga.