Nine years and counting…

Nine years ago today, I hit “publish” on the first post here at MangaBlog. Had I but known what that fateful act would lead to…

Seriously, MangaBlog was founded on a whim and almost died after a few months, when I was overwhelmed with family responsibilities. It has only survived this long—and I hope, will survive even longer—thanks to the support of so many people: Readers, my fellow bloggers, the publishers, creators, and of course, my husband, who set up a website for me and then added on a WordPress blog, which was a novelty to me at the time. And I also have to thank Melinda Beasi, who keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes as my webmistress at Manga Bookshelf.

Thank you for reading, thank you for linking, thank you for sharing your books with me. I’m looking forward to bringing the ongoing conversation about manga into its tenth year.

On with the news!

Viz announced two new titles in its Shojo Beat line yesterday: Aya Shouoto’s Kiss of the Rose Princess (Barajou no Kiss) and Miko Mitsuki’s Honey Blood (Mitsu Aji Blood). As you might guess from the title, Honey Blood is a vampire tale, while Kiss of the Rose Princess is about a princess on a quest to retrieve a lost piece of jewelry—with the aid of four hot guys. Lissa Pattillo has some initial thoughts on both series at Kuriousity.

Kadokawa will launch a new web manga service, Comic Walker, on March 22 with a selection of manga in English, Japanese, and Chinese. The service will start out with 150 titles, 40 of them available in English, and there will be some familiar titles, including Tonari no Sekki-kun, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Sgt. Frog, although it’s not clear that they will be available in English. And this is cool: Users can select which manga they want to follow and put together their own manga magazine.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Sarah Horrocks analyzes Nijigahara Holograph in the first of a three-part series.

Xavier Guilbert talks to Gengoroh Tagame, creator of gay erotic manga (may be NSFW).

Dark Horse has announced a launch date for New Lone Wolf and Cub: The first volume will be released on June 4. They are also releasing the older, classic manga in omnibus editions (and you can get it on their digital service as well).

News from Japan: A new Neon Genesis Evangelion spinoff will launch next June in Young Ace magazine.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf writers team up to bring us a new set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown takes a look at another week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson on Another (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Attack on Titan (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Blood Lad (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of A Centaur’s Life (Matt Talks About Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 14 of Goong
Johanna Draper Carlson on Helter Skelter: Fashion Unfriendly (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Magi (The Comic Book Bin)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Midnight Secretary (Comics Worth Reading)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Mixed Vegetables (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Pink (Comics Worth Reading)
Ben Leary on vol. 25 of Slam Dunk (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 20 of Toriko (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Voice Over: Seiyu Academy (The Comic Book Bin)