We have lost a true manga master: Shigeru Mizuki, author of GeGeGe no Kitaro, NonNonBa, Onward Towards Our Noble Deaths, and the massive, four-volume Showa, has died at the age of 93. Born in Osaka in 1922, Mizuki was drafted into the Japanese army during World War II, and he chronicled the miseries of that life in Onward Toward Our Noble Deaths. Mizuki’s body of work includes some serious nonfiction but he is probably best know in Japan for his yokai stories, which draw on his memories of growing up in a small coastal village as well as extensive research into Japanese folklore. Manga such as GeGeGeNo Kitaro and NonNon Ba helped popularize the genre, and his hometown of Sakaiminato has put up not only a Mizuki museum but also 153 bronze statues of yokai to honor him (and attract tourists). [The New York Times]

Jinpachi Mori, the writer of Benkei in New York, has died at the age of 57. His series Kasai no Hito ran in Shogakukan’s Big Comic Original magazine and was adapted into a drama in 1993; his most recent series is Kasai no Hito kara Kimi e no Yuigon: Sasebo Kōichi Dōkyūsei Satsugai Jiken to Shōnen-hō, a history of Japanese juvenile law. Our own Kate Dacey called Benkei “the best manga you’re not reading” in a 2012 review. [Anime News Network]

Viz has announced two new digital-only licenses: Crown of Thorns, by Boys Over Flowers manga-ka Yoko Kamio, and the 1990s CLAMP title Man of Many Faces (20 Mensou ni Onegai!), which was previously published by Tokyopop. [ANN]

Yen Press Tweeted out news of some new licenses yesterday: The manga and light novel The Asterisk War, the manga and light novel Re: Zero, and the light novel Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Sword Oratoria. [ICv2]

Seven Seas has announced three new manga licenses: Lord Marksman and Vanadis, My Pathetic Vampire Life, and Love in Hell: Death Life. [ICv2]

Oh, and one more for Seven Seas: Holy Corpse Rising. [Crunchyroll]

Just in time for gift-buying season, I checked out a stack of manga artbooks. [Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi/Fantasy Blog]

The Manga Bookshelf team discuss their Pick of the Week. [Manga Bookshelf]

Reviews: Haven’t you heard? It’s the latest edition of Bookshelf Briefs! Ash Brown discusses a week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Stergios Botzakis on vol. 1 of Black Jack (Graphic Novel Resources)
Katherine J. Parker on vol. 1 of BTOOOM! (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vol. 2 of The Demon Prince of Momochi House (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 8 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 2 of Karneval (The Fandom Post)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 1 of Kiss Him, Not Me (Every Day Is Like Wednesday)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 9 and 10 of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls Nozaki-Kun (Manga Report)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Isaac Akers on vol. 2 of My Hero Academia (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vols. 15 and 16 of Oresama Teacher (Comic Attack)
A Library Girl on vols. 1 and 2 of A Silent Voice (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Sakura Eries on vol. 11 of Spice and Wolf (The Fandom Post)

Wondering what to read? I picked some promising titles from November’s new releases. [Barnes & Noble Sci Fi/Fantasy Blog]

Viz owns this week’s manga-best-seller list: Volume 1 of Tokyo Ghoul is in the number one slot, and volume 3 is lurking at number 4. All three volumes of One-Punch Man are there, as well as the latest volumes of One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, and My Hero Academia, and vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency. [New York Times]

BookWalker just added 35 more manga volumes, including Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, Sun-Ken Rock, and And Yet the Town Moves (Soredemo Machi wa Mawatteiru), a favorite of mine since I interviewed the creator, Masakazu Ishiguro, and his editor at NYCC a couple of years ago. [Anime News Network]

AstroNerdBoy writes about scanlation in the wake of several arrests in Japan, one of a deliveryman who was stealing magazines en route from the printer to the newsstand, the other of five other people who were uploading scans to the web before the release date. He talks a bit about how bootleg sites operate and also points out that two scanlation groups have closed up shop, although the arrests may have just hastened the inevitable. [AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog]

Erica Friedman lines up all the latest yuri manga news in this week’s edition of Yuri Network News. [Okazu]

Gangsta is going on hiatus because the manga-ka, Kohske, is having health problems. [Anime News Network]

Shiro Amano has confirmed that his Kingdom Hearts series is over. [Anime News Network]

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 6 of Ajin (The Fandom Post)
Sakura Eries on vol. 6 of Barakamon (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 65 of Bleach (WatchPlayRead)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 56 of Case Closed (The Fandom Post)
Erica Friedman on Cider to Nakimushi (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 27 of Claymore (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 6 of High School DxD (The Fandom Post)
Richard Gutierrez on vol. 1 of The Honor Student at Magic High School (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (WatchPlayRead)
Connie on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency (I Reads You)
Connie on vol. 10 of Junjo Romantica (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Kiss of the Rose Princess (WatchPlayRead)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Helen on vol. 2 of The Morose Mononokean (Organization Anti Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 7 of No. 6 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 5 of Noragami (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 8 of Say I Love You (the Fandom Post)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of School-Live! (Anime News Network)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of Secret (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of The World’s Greatest First Love (Comics Worth Reading)

Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo was awarded the Grand Prix d’Angouleme last year, and part of the prize is being invited to be the President of the following year’s festival. Zainab Akhtar has all the details of his planned appearances, as well as a look at the poster he designed. [Comics & Cola]

Wandering Island

Dark Horse has licensed Kenji Tsuruta’ manga Wandering Island. It’s the story of a “free-spirited young girl” who delivers packages in her seaplane; one day she learns of a mysterious “wandering island” and sets out to find it. [Anime News Network]

Kodansha Comics announced yesterday that it will publish Hiro Mashima’s Fairy Tail prequel Fairy Tail Zero. [Anime News Network]

There’s more Monster Musume coming from Seven Seas: They announced last week that they have licensed the 4-koma series Monster Musume: I Heart Monster Girls. [ICv2]

Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto reflects on the end of his long-running series and the changes that came about in the manga industry during that time—as well as the changes he expects to see in the future. [Entertainment Weekly]

Three men are under arrest in Kyoto on charges that they uploaded a chapter of One Piece to the scanlation site mangapanda—before the issue of Weekly Shonen Jump in which it appears had hit the newsstands. Also under arrest is an employee of a delivery service who allegedly liberated the magazine between the printer and the newsstand and gave it to the scanners. All four are denying the charges. [Anime News Network]

Volume 3 of One-Punch Man tops the New York Times manga best seller list, with the first volume of the new JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure story arc, Battle Tendency, in the number two slot. [New York Times]

Justin Stroman talks to Yoichi Yasumoto, the president of the e-book company BookWalker, about selling digital manga outside Japan. [Organization Anti-Social Geniuses]

The Manga Bookshelf team checks out this week’s new releases. [Manga Bookshelf]

Erica Friedman posts the latest edition of Yuri Network News. [Okazu]

Reporter Justin McCurry looks at some manga controversies in Japan. [The Guardian]

Ardo Omer talks about getting started reading manga, thanks to Sailor Moon and One Punch Man. [Panels]

Reviews: At Brain Vs. Book, translator Jocelyne Allen writes about Inio Asano’s Dead Dead Demons Dededededestruction. Ash Brown looks back at this week’s manga reading at Experiments in Manga. Sean Gaffney and Michelle Smith post this week’s set of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf.

Jessikah Chautin on vol. 1 of Akame ga Kill! (No Flying, No Tights)
Ollie Barder on All You Need Is Kill (Forbes)
Helen on The Ancient Magus Bride (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Nic Wilcox on vols. 1 and 2 of Arpeggio of Blue Steel (No Flying, No Tights)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 4 of Assassination Classroom (The Fandom Post)
DJ Horn on vol. 1 of Black Bullet (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of A Certain Scientific Accelerator (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 27 of Claymore (The Fandom Post)
Richard Gutierrez on vol. 1 of Dragons Rioting (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Golden Time (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Scott Cederlund on Gyo (Panel Patter)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Horimiya (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N on vol. 1 of Idol Dreams (Manga Report)
Kristin on vol. 3 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Battle Tendency (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Zainab Akhtar on Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Comics & Cola)
Ash Brown on Junji Ito’s Cat Diary: Yon & Mu (Experiments in Manga)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 1 of Kill La Kill (Every Day Is Like Wednesday)
Thomas Maluck on vol. 1 of Monster (Perfect Edition) (No Flying, No Tights)
Erica Friedman on vol. 5 of Murciélago (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 6 of Mushishi (Experiments in Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of My Hero Academia (I Reads You)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 76 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 19 of Oresama Teacher (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Jarius Taylor on chapter 1 of Platinum End (The Fandom Post)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 2 of Requiem of the Rose King (The Fandom Post)
Laura on vols. 1-3 of So Cute It Hurts! (Heart of Manga)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Strike the Blood (ICv2)
Sakura Eries on vol. 3 of Sword Art Online: Progressive (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 10 of Triage-X (The Fandom Post)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 5 of UQ Holder (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on vol. 6 of Vinland Saga (Experiments in Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of The World’s Greatest First Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of Yukarism (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Yukarism (I Reads You)
Anna N on vol. 4 of Yukarism (Manga Report)

Yen Press announced it has licensed yet another Durarara!! arc, Durarara!! Re;Dollars Arc, by Aogiri; the series has been running in Square Enix’s G Fantasy magazine since last year. [Anime News Network]

It’s a very Viz best-seller list this week, with the final volume of Naruto topping the list, and Deadman Wonderland, Tokyo Ghoul, and assorted other titles taking up nine of the ten slots; the sole exception is vol. 7 of Noragami, in the number 8 spot. [New York Times]

There are now 52 million volumes of Attack on Titan in print worldwide. [Anime News Network]

With 31 titles shipping this week, the Manga Bookshelf gang discusses what they will and won’t be buying. [Manga Bookshelf]

Ash Brown discusses a scene in Gangsta. [Experiments in Manga]

Erica Friedman reports in on Nijicon. [Okazu]

Princess Jellyfish creator Akiko Higashimura has put her latest series, Himozairu, on hiatus after getting heavy criticism over the first two chapters. The series is about training unemployed men (“himo”) to do housework in order to make them more attractive to women with high-paying jobs, and Higashimura said she really wanted to show “what actually occur to them after getting such training,” but critics said she was belittling the men. [Asahi Shimbun]

Reviews

Connie on vol. 7 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Circus and Liar’s Game (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Chihayafuru (Slightly Biased Manga)
Marissa Lieberman on vol. 1 of The Demon Prince of Momochi House (No Flying, No Tights)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Food Wars (WatchPlayRead)
Connie on vol. 8 of Junjo Romantica (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alice Vernon on Kagerou Daze (Girls Like Comics)
Connie on vol. 16 of Kamisama Kiss (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Kill La Kill (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on vol. 5 of Kimi no Tame Nara Shineru (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Kiss Him, Not Me (Anime News Network)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of L♥DK (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of My Love Story (WatchPlayRead)
Anna N on vol. 6 of My Love Story (Manga Report)
Connie on vol. 5 of No. 6 (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 45 of Oh My Goddess (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of One Punch Man (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of One Punch Man (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Seraph of the End (The Comic Book Bin)
Matthew Warner on vol. 2 of So Cute It Hurts (The Fandom Post)
Richard Gutierrez on vol. 1 of Strike the Blood (The Fandom Post)
Thomas Maluck on Time Killers (No Flying, No Tights)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of World Trigger (WatchPlayRead)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 4 of Yamada-Kun and the Seven Witches (The Fandom Post)

Lots of big manga news this week!

First of all, my interview with Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto is up. He was a real delight to talk to, and I particularly liked his description of the very first manga he ever created, when he was in middle school. He was very relaxed in the interview, and we had a good time. Please check it out! [Publishers Weekly]

Stone Bridge Press has a big announcement about a big book: They have licensed The Osamu Tezuka Story, a 900-page graphic biography of the Godfather of Manga, by Toshio Ban and Tezuka Productions.

Not only will readers get to see how Tezuka got his start and first successes, but they will follow him all the way through his amazing career, and in so doing will see how manga and anime developed from almost nothing in a devastated postwar Japan to the enormous commercial juggernauts they have become today. The story of Tezuka is truly the story of comics and animation media in Japan.

Frederick Schodt, who translated many Tezuka works and knew him personally, will be the translator. The book is due out in July. [Stone Bridge Press]

If you want to get a jump on the bio, Ryan Holmberg has presented a defense of his argument that Tezuka’s early work was inspired by Disney, and the article includes links to his earlier work on the topic. [The Comics Journal]

Meanwhile, NBM has announced its spring 2016 list, and it includes Jiro Taniguchi’s Guardians of the Louvre. This is part of their ongoing translation of The Louvre Collection, which also includes Rohan at the Louvre by JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures creator Hirohiko Araki. [NBM Publishing]

As of this week, Yen Press is publishing new chapters of Black Butler on the same day they are released in Japan. They are available in a variety of e-book formats for $1.99 each. [Yen Press]

Erica Friedman talks to the brass at BookWalker and then takes it out for a test drive herself. [Okazu]

The Manga Bookshelf team seem a bit dubious about their latest Pick of the Week. [Manga Bookshelf]

With sports manga making a comeback (Yowamushi Pedal, Haikyu!!, and Kuroko’s Basketball have all been licensed recently) Vernieda Vergara takes a look at five currently licensed titles worth checking out. [Panels]

Pandora Hearts creator Jun Mochizuki is at work on a new series, Vanitas no Carte (Memoir of Vanitas), a steampunk/vampire tale set in Paris in the 1800s. [Anime News Network]

Also in the works: A new Lupin III manga, based on the anime. [Anime News Network]

Gone but not forgotten: Laura lists her top ten out-of-print shoujo manga. [Heart of Manga]

Time to buy more manga? Check out the big Yen Press sale at RightStuf. [Yen Press]

Reviews: Ash Brown takes us through a week’s worth of manga reading and reviews at Experiments in Manga. There’s plenty of romance and a bit of magic in this week’s edition of Bookshelf Briefs at Manga Bookshelf.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 6 of Assassination Classroom (WatchPlayRead)
Connie on vol. 18 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Black Rose Alice (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of The Demon Prince of Momochi House (WatchPlayRead)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Gou-Dere (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 10 of Gravitation (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Kiss Him, Not Me! (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Kiss Him, Not Me! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
James Ristig on vol. 1 of Ninja Slayer Kills! (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Nisekoi: False Love (The Comic Book Bin)
L.B. Bryant on vol. 1 of Puella Magi Suzune Magica (ICv2)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of QQ Sweeper (Anime News Network)
Erica Friedman on vol. 18 of Rakuen Le Paradis (Okazu)
Matthew Warner on vol. 29 of Toriko (The Fandom Post)

Masashi Kishimoto live-sketching Naruto at his New York Comic Con panel

This was the most manga-heavy New York Comic Con I’ve been to in years; the presence of Masashi Kishimoto and the announcement of the Attack on Titan anthology were both huge, but there was a lot of other stuff going on as well, some of it behind the scenes.

I was fortunate enough to be one of the 2,200 or so people at the Masashi Kishimoto panel, which was amazing. The crowd was totally amped up, but Kishimoto was totally relaxed and looked like he was having a good time. [Comic Book Resources]

Here’s my writeup of the Kodansha Comics panel, where Noragami editor Yohei Takami did a great show and tell about how a manga goes from thumbnails (name) to inks. This was the panel where Kodansha announced two new licenses, I Am Space Dandy and Spoof on Titan, as well as the news that Faith Erin Hicks will do a gag manga for volume 7 of Vinland Saga. [Comic Book Resources]

Attack on Titan manga-ka Hajime Isayama talks about his influences and his struggle to find a publisher in a video interview. [BBC News]

A student in a Nashua, New Hampshire, high school is in trouble after officials found a “Death Note” notebook. [Anime News Network]

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week. [Manga Bookshelf]

Erica Friedman posts the latest edition of Yuri Network News. [Okazu]

If you read French, here’s a treat: An interview with Blood Lad creator Yuki Kodama. [Manganews]

I can’t say I agree with this article, but I’m posting it anyway so you can read his arguments for yourself: Justin discusses when and why he reads scanlations. [Organization Anti-Social Geniuses]

In the opposite corner is Zach Logan of the One Piece Podcast, explaining how scanlations actually can ruin your manga reading experience. [The One Piece Podcast]

Reviews

Ash Brown on vol. 6 of After School Nightmare (Experiments in Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Alice in the Country of Joker: Nightmare Trilogy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of The Betrayal Knows My Name (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Emma (Comics Worth Reading)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-4 of Fire Inspector Nanase (Manga Xanadu)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 2 of Gou-Dere Sora Nagihara (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 5 of High School Debut (3-in-1 edition) (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vol. 7 of Junjo Romantica (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vols. 14 and 15 of Kamisama Kiss (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kory Cerjak on vol. 1 of Komomo Confiserie (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 3 of Maria the Virgin Witch (The Fandom Post)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 3 and 4 of My Neighbor Seki (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on Olympos (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kristin on vol. 1 of Rose Guns Days (Comic Attack)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Secret (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of Tiger and Bunny (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Tokyo ESP (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 2 and 3 of Yukarism (Comics Worth Reading)