Here’s my look at the past week’s new manga at MTV Geek.

And here’s a manga-Sabrina hat trick: A preview of vol. 2 of the collected edition of Tania Del Rio’s manga-style comic (now rendered in beautiful black and white), an exclusive peek at the cover of vol. 3, and the five things you need to know to get started with this series.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss this week’s new manga and their Pick of the Week.

Lissa Pattillo notes that SuBLime is bringing back Crimson Spell and also that RightStuf is warning purchasers that Bond of Dream, Bond of Love may be seized by Canadian customs.

M. Alice LeGrow, creator of Bizenghast, has a new graphic novel out, and Crunchyroll gets a peek.

News from Japan: The Asahi Shimbun has a detailed rundown on the Osamu Tezuka Cultural Awards, including interviews with the judges and a look at the winners and competitors in each category. And the Kodansha Awards have also been announced; Makoto Raiku’s Animal Land won the prize for Best Children’s Manga. We had some hints of this and now it’s official: Gantz will come to an end after the next two chapters.

Reviews: Ash Brown looks back on a week in manga at Experiments in Manga. The Manga Bookshelf bloggers keep it concise in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs.

John Rose on vol. 27 of Air Gear (The Fandom Post)
Jocelyne Allen on Bara Hiro no Ho no Koro (Brain Vs. Book)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of Black Bird (The Comic Book Bin)
John Rose on vol. 13 of Black Butler (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 22 of Claymore (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna N. on vol. 12 of Dengeki Daisy (Manga Report)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Gakuen Polizi (Yuri no Boke)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 30 of Hunter x Hunter (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 30 of Hunter x Hunter (The Fandom Post)
Angela Eastman on vol. 4 of Jiu Jiu (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of La Corda d’Oro (The Comic Book Bin)
Bob Temuka on Lone Wolf and Cub (Tearoom of Despair)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Naruto (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on Negiho: Mahora Little Girls (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 13 of Oresama Teacher (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on The Passion of Gengoroh Tagame: The Master of Gay Erotic Manga (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresssaux on Pepito: Takehiko Inoue Meets Gaudi (I Reads You)
Matthew Warner on vol. 9 of Sailor Moon</a> (The Fandom Post)
Derek Bown on this week’s issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (Comics Should Be Good)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of We Were There (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 16 of We Were There (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1-3 of Zero’s Familiar (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

New license news: SuBLime Manga kicked off the week with the news that they have licensed the first four volumes of Ayano Yamane’s Crimson Spell. And Vertical will announce a new title at Anime Central.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new manga and their Pick of the Week. Melinda Beasi looks at the physical side of relationships in Loveless, and Michelle Smith joins her for a discussion of some recent releases in their latest Off the Shelf column. And Justin Stroman asks the readers: What’s your favorite Weekly Shonen Jump title?

Erica Friedman has the latest Yuri news at Okazu.

News from Japan: Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist) is drawing an adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka’s novel series The Heroic Legend of Arslan. Give My Regards to Black Jack creator Shuho Sato will release his newest manga series, Secure Samba wo Yoroshiku, for free next week as part of Japan IT Week.

Reviews: Carlo Santos takes on recent volumes of 21st Century Boys, Knights of Sidonia, and Tokyo Babylon in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. The Manga Bookshelf team checks in with a new set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Rebecca Silverman on vols. 8 and 9 of Dawn of the Arcana (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 5 of The Flowers of Evil (ANN)
Katherine Hanson on vol. 1 of Golondrina (Yuri no Boke)
Michael Buntag on vol. 10 of Honey and Clover (NonSensical Words)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Ichigo Mashimaro (Okazu)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on vol. 4 of Kizuna (All About Manga)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Experiments in Manga)
Anna N. on Pepita: Inoue Meets Gaudi (Manga Report)
Mark Thomas on vol. 28 of Skip Beat (The Fandom Post)
Anna N on vol. 4 of Strobe Edge (Manga Report)
Matthew Cycyk on vols. 1-3 of Summit of the Gods (Matt Talks About Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on Sunny (Brain Vs. Book)
Manjiorin on Unico (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Rebecca Silverman on vols. 15 and 16 of Vampire Knight (ANN)

Busted! When one of SuBLime’s PDFs showed up on an aggregator site, fans were quick to denounce it—and report the transgression to the publisher, which took swift action.

Jason Thompson writes about the body-horror manga Franken Fran in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Reviews

Mark Thomas on vol. 12 of Arata: The Legend (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Beauty Pop (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
Naru on The Cat in the Box (Organization ASG)
Justin on chapter 30 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Manjiorin on vol. 1 of Demon Love Spell (Organization ASG)
Connie C. on Dragon Head, Limit, and The Drifting Classroom (Comics Should Be Good)
John Rose on vol. 24 of Fairy Tail (The Fandom Post)
L.B. Bryant on Hiroaki Samura’s Emerald and Other Stories (ICv2)
Mark Thomas on vol. 35 of Kekkaishi (The Fandom Post)
Ken H. on vol. 1 of Mega Man Gigamix (Comics Should Be Good)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (The Fandom Post)
Mark Thomas on vol. 60 of Naruto (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 15 of Pandora Hearts (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of The Prince of Tennis (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Skip Beat! (Blogcritics)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Tiger and Bunny (Comic Attack)
Ken H. on Unico (Comics Should Be Good)
Connie C. on What’s Michael?, Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs, and Stargazing Dog (Comics Should Be Good)

This used to be heresy, but I actually think it makes sense: Japanese manga critic Kentaro Takekuma makes the argument for creating manga that reads left to right, to make it more accessible to English and Chinese readers.

The Kaori Yuki Manga Moveable Feast has wound up, but Foxy Lady Ayame has an archive page up so you can check out any posts you missed.

The Manga Bookshelf team has a digital Pick of the Week this week.

Michelle Smith and Karen Peck have undertaken The CMX Project—that’s right, they are reading all those classic manga that CMX published back in the day. The latest selection: Minako Narita’s Cipher.

News from Japan: The historical manga Kingdom has won the 17th annual Osamu Tezuka Award; it’s just the latest in a string of historical manga to take the honor. Both Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gantz will be wrapping up soon.

Reviews: Three Steps Over Japan reviews Sekai no Hatedomo Mangakaki, a travel manga by Thermae Romae creator Mari Yamazaki. The Manga Bookshelf team takes a quick look at some recent releases in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. Ash Brown closes the books on another week’s worth of manga reading.

Victoria Erica on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Anime Expo)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Bleach (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of Bunny Drop (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Cycyk on vols. 1-5 of The Flowers of Evil (Matt Talks About Manga)
A Library Girl on vol. 2 of Gamerz Heaven (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Grand Guignol Orchestra (Experiments in Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Kamisama Kiss (Blogcritics)
TSOTE on vol. 12 of Moyashimon (Three Steps Over Japan)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 38 of Negima (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
TSOTE on vol. 1 of Sanshiro^2 (Three Steps Over Japan)
Derek Bown on the April 29 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Helen on vol. 1 of Sugar Sugar Rune (Narrative Investigations)
TSOTE on vols. 5 and 6 of Tamashin (Three Steps Over Japan)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Tiger & Bunny (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Tsubasa (Blogcritics)

Square Enix is shutting down its U.S. and French digital manga sites; they were so loaded down with DRM and bad design that it’s doubtful anyone will miss them. In case you did succeed in buying manga from them, here’s a page describing how to continue reading your purchased books; unfortunately, it’s only for Windows users. The good news is that Yen Press will start distributing Square Enix manga digitally sometime this year, so a better system will soon be in place.

Lissa Pattillo picks the best of this week’s new manga in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA, and at Manga Bookshelf, the team looks over next week’s new releases.

Reviews: Carlo Santos gives us a quick rundown of recent releases in his Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown looks back on a week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Connie on vol. 1 of 07-Ghost (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 11 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 2 of 21st Century Boys (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Angelic Layer (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Angel Sanctuary (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 7 of Animal Land (Matt Talks About Manga)
Connie on vol. 16 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Bokurano: Ours (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vol. 1 of Crimson Empire (Manga Report)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of Dorohedoro (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 9 of Dorohedoro (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 9 of Dorohedoro (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on The Drops of God: New World (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 25 of Excel Saga (The Fandom Post)
Traci on vol. 1 of The Infernal Devices: Clockwork Angel (Experiments in Manga)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 2 of Knights of Sidonia (Matt Talks About Manga)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Love Makes Everything Right (All About Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Mixed Vegetables (Blogcritics)
Matt Cycyk on vol. 1 of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (Matt Talks About Manga)
Matt Cycyk on NonNonBa (Matt Talks About Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 9 of Oh My Goddess (Blogcritics)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 5 of Pokemon Adventures (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 11 of Rosario + Vampire: Season II (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 7 of Sailor Moon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Helen on vols. 9 and 10 of Sailor Moon (Narrative Investigations)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 9 of Sakura Hime (Slightly Biased Manga)
Derek Bown on this week’s issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Victoria K. Martin on vol. 11 of Soul Eater (Kuriousity)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Strobe Edge (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Strobe Edge (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 11 of Toriko (Slightly Biased Manga)
Drew McCabe on Unico (Comic Attack)
Matthew Warner on vol. 16 of Vampire Knight (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 3 of X (Slightly Biased Manga)

Sorry about the radio silence—I live just north of Boston, so it has been a very strange week. I’m looking forward to things getting back to normal and to heading out to Chicago later this week for C2E2.

Back in the heyday of global manga, Tania Del Rio was one of its more articulate practitioners, and I was happy to have the chance to interview her for MTV Geek about Archie’s re-release of her manga-style Sabrina comics in a black-and-white tankoubon format.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks over this week’s new releases and discusses their Pick of the Week. And in her 3 Things Thursday column, Melinda Beasi names three series she wishes she could like—but doesn’t.

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast, featuring Kaori Yuki, kicks off at host blog The Beautiful World; Katan writes about Yuki’s art, and at Manga Bookshelf, Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith devote their Off the Shelf column to Angel Sanctuary.

Erica Friedman has a new edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Lori Henderson looks at manga that is available digitally and reviews the first volume of Knights of Sidonia in her Manga Dome podcast at Manga Xanadu.

Tony Yao looks at critical thinking in Naruto at Manga Therapy.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team kicks off the week with some short reviews of recent releases in their Bookshelf Briefs column. Ash Brown looks at another week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of 21st Century Boys (I Reads You)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 55 of Bleach (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 56 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on Dolce Due (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on Hiroaki Samura’s Emerald and Other Stories (ANN)
Victoria K. Martin on vols. 2 and 3 of Is This a Zombie? (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on vols. 1 and 2 of I’ve Seen It All (All About Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1 and 2 of Kanokon (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Daniella Orihuela-Gruber on Love Circumstances (All About Manga)
Connie on Picnic (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 9 of Psyren (The Fandom Post)
Philip Anthony on vol. 7 of Sailor Moon (Manga Bookshelf)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 10 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Derek Bown on the April 15 issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 9 of The Story of Saiunkoku (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna N. on vol. 9 of The Story of Saiunkoku (Manga Report)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of Strobe Edge (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Umesato the Third! (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on Unico (A Case Suitable for Treatment)