Fantagraphics has picked up the gay manga anthology Massive, which was originally slated to be published by PictureBox. I talked to the translators, Anne Ishii and Graham Kolbeins, about the book and its predecessor, The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame, as well as the genre of gay manga in Japan.
Shonen Jump will run Takeshi Obata’s adaptation of All You Need Is Kill on the same day it appears in Young Jump magazine in Japan.
David Brothers writes, in depth, about two manga he really enjoyed in 2013: Slam Dunk and Bleach.
The Manga Bookshelf bloggers take the long view and discuss their Pick of the Year, and they also take a look at this week’s new manga.
Freelance manga editor Daniella Orihuela-Gruber writes about her struggles with depression and how that has been interwoven with her work life.
Hirofumi Watanabe, the suspect in the Kuroko’s Basketball threat letters case, has given an interview to the magazine Tsukuru; the first item released is his message to users of the bulletin board 2chan, denying that he is a zainichi (foreigner).
News from Japan: Say Hello to Black Jack creator Shuho Sato is adapting Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game into manga form; it will be published on his website, Manga on Web. Dan Brown, author of The DaVinci Code, is the latest literary character to show up with superpowers in Bungō Stray Dogs. Suehiro Maruo is working on a new series, Tomino no Jigoku (Tomino’s Hell), which will debut in the March issue of Monthly Comic Beam. Toriko will go on hiatus for one month at the end of the current story arc. Keisuke Itagaki’s martial arts series Baki is returning to Weekly Shōnen Champion. Sora no Otoshimino/Heaven’s Lost Property will come to an end next month.
Reviews: Ash Brown looks back on a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf team finish out 2013 with the year’s last set of Bookshelf Briefs.
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Hearts: The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (ANN)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 8 of Aoi Hana (Yuri no Boke)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Battle Angel Alita (Lesley’s Musings… on Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Bloody Cross (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Dorohedoro (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 11 of Dorohedoro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 33 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Happy Marriage?! (The Comic Book Bin)
Matt Cycyk on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Matt Talks About Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Magi (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Ash Brown on vol. 4 of No. 6 (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 69 of One Piece (The Comic Book Bin)
Sakura Eries on vol. 15 of Oresama Teacher (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Sankarea: Undying Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Summer Wars (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Tiger & Bunny 2-in-1 Anthology (I Reads You)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Vinland Saga (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Wandering Son (A Case Suitable for Treatment)