Queen Emeraldas
It’s been a busy couple of weeks! I rounded up most of the new manga license announcements from Anime Expo and Comic-Con International at the Barnes and Noble blog; here’s the latest from Otakon:
- Queen Emeraldas, by Leiji Matsumoto
- Complex Age, by Yui Sakuma
- Forget Me Not, by Nao Emoto
- Goodnight PunPun, by Inio Asano (Solanin, Nijigahara Holograph)
- The Heiress and the Chauffeur, by Keiko Ishihara
- Blanc et Noir, an art book by Takeshi Obata (Death Note, Bakuman)
- Mysterious Girlfriend X, by Riichi Ueshiba
- The Gods Lie, by Kaori Ozaki (Immortal Rain)
- Devil’s Line, by Ryo Hanada
And somewhere in there, Seven Seas announced it has acquired the license to The Other Side of Secret, by Hideaki Yoshikawa.
Sean Gaffney always has interesting things to say about new licenses, so be sure to check out his SDCC/Otakon roundup as well.
On the other side of the coin, Lori Henderson takes a look at all the manga series that are ending in Japan this month.
There has been a flurry of commentary about the importance of manga in reshaping the comics and graphic novel market lately, and the best starting point is probably Heidi MacDonald’s post at The Beat, where she links to it all and provides her own perspective.
Looking for something to read? I did a spring and summer teen manga roundup at SLJTeen.
Justin Stroman caught up with Yen Press publisher Kurt Hassler at Anime Expo and talked to him about a bunch of things, including whether their digital-first licenses will go to print (maybe) and the decision to license Yowamushi Pedal:
Oh you know, there’s a lot of common wisdom in the industry that sports manga doesn’t work, but it’s very short-sighted not to challenge preconceptions, there’s obviously a huge Yowamushi fan base, I’ve seen any number of cosplayers, the anime has been a massive success…it’s one of those properties that we’ve had our eye on for a long time. We think the timing was right, we want to challenge the preconceived boundaries of what the market thinks it can do, and we think it has an excellent chance of being a highly successful title.
Justin also interviewed Viz editor Marlene First.
Ryan Holmberg writes about avant-garde manga artist Sasaki Maki; Holmberg has translated a collection of 15 Maki stories into English, and the book has just been published by Breakdown Press under the title Sasaki Maki’s Ding Dong Circus and Other Stories, 1967-1974.
ICv2 lists the top ten manga franchises.
The Manga Bookshelf team discuss their Pick of the Week.
Reviews: Ash Brown accounts for a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga. Michelle Smith and Sean Gaffney provide short takes on recent releases in the latest Bookshelf Briefs from Manga Bookshelf.
Connie on vol. 6 of Ai no Kusabi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Alice in the Country of Clover: Cheshire Cat Waltz (Slightly Biased Manga)
Confusedmuse on Alice in the Country of Hearts (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 30 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 55 of Case Closed (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 5 of Cross Game (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Demon Love Spell (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 1 of The Demon Prince of Momochi House (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 12 of Dengeki Daisy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Ren on vol. 1 of The Devils and the Realist (Fearless Facade)
Josh Begley on vol. 1 of Emma (omnibus edition) (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on Fragments of Horror (Comic Attack)
Tessa Barber on Gyo (No Flying, No Tights)
Lori Henderson on Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories (Good Comics for Kids)
Erica Friedman on Love Desu (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 8 of Love Pistols (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of No. 6 (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 1 of Non Non Biyori (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 4 of Phantom Thief Jeanne (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sarah on vol. 25 of Soul Eater (nagareboshi reviews)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Tokyo Ghoul (ANN)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Ultraman (ANN)