MangaBlog

Things seem to have gotten kind of quiet over at Del Rey lately; their formerly elegant and useful website has been swallowed up into a generic and dysfunctional Random House/Suvudu site, and a couple of readers have e-mailed me about cancelled volumes, so I touched base with associate publisher Dallas Middaugh, who assured me that Del Rey is alive and well and still cranking out the manga. Also at Robot 6: The Crestview, Florida, public library opted to add a teen room rather than remove all its manga, as requested by an irate patron, and I offer a few suggestions to publishers about how to improve their websites.

ICv2 talks to Viz senior vp Alvin Lu about the company’s recent layoffs, their plans for the future, and the strengths and weaknesses of the manga market. Lu is a bit vague about some things, but he does drop a broad hint that Viz will be venturing into the digital manga realm (even more than they are already) pretty soon.

Deb Aoki asks librarian Robin Brenner to explain why libraries are different from (and better than) scanlation sites. Both let you read manga for free, but one is legal and one is not!

Lori Henderson flips through the September issue of Shonen Jump and takes a look at Yen Plus as well, two years after its launch.

Grant Goodman reports on Felipe Smith’s panel at Otakon.

The Comics Village team picks the best of the past week’s new manga.

ANN tips us off that English translations of the fanzine Animerca and a Strike Witches doujinshi are in the works.

David Welsh is up to the letter D in his Seinen Alphabet at The Manga Curmudgeon.

At Rocket Bomber, Matt Blind posts the top 500 list, based on online sales, and then breaks out separate lists for Viz Signature/SigIKKI manga, manhwa, Boys Love, and global manga.

News from Japan: The publisher ASCII Media Works is preparing a digital manga magazine for iPod and iPad, to launch in December. The first issue will be free, and after that each issue will cost about $6. Back in the world of paper comics, vol. 59 of One Piece sold 1.85 million copies in its first week on the racks, setting a new record, and ANN has the latest comics rankings. Chris Butcher of Comics212 presents a look at the manga selection at Tsutaya, a chain media store, from his trip to Japan last year.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss another handful of manga in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf. Tangognat fights the recession by reading some e-manga about billionaires at her eponymous blog, and she also checks in on some of Viz’s ongoing series.

Lori Henderson on vol. 9 of 20th Century Boys (Manga Xanadu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of 20th Century Boys (The Comic Book Bin)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Alice the 101st (Mania.com)
Connie on vol. 12 of Black Jack (Slightly Biased Manga)
Charles Webb on vol. 12 of Black Jack (Manga Life)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-3 of Black Lagoon (Soliloquy in Blue)
Oyceter on vols. 1-3 of Black Rose Alice (Sakura of Doom)
Sesho on vol. 1 of Blade of the Immortal (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 3 of Breath (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 4 of Butterflies, Flowers (Slightly Biased Manga)
Jaime Samms on vol. 1 of Can’t Win With You (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 33 of Case Closed (Slightly Biased Manga)
Caddy C on Chi’s Sweet Home (A Feminist Otaku)
Kris on Finder, vol. 1: Target in the Viewfinder (Manic About Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on Garden Sky (Kuriousity)
Oyceter on vol. 3 of Grand Guignol Orchestra (Sakura of Doom)
Tangognat on vol. 2 of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory (Tangognat)
Zack Davisson on vol. 2 of Happy Castle (Manga Life)
Chris Zimmerman on vol. 3 of Jack Frost (The Comic Book Bin)
Julie Opipari on vol. 22 of Kekkaishi (Blog@Newsarama)
Emily on Kimi wo Chuushin ni Sekai wa Mawaru (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
David Brothers on King City (4thletter)
Erica Friedman on Kuchibiru ni Saketa Orange (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (The Comic Book Bin)
Ken Haley on Missing, vol. 2: Letter of Misfortune (Sequential Ink)
Lissa Pattillo on Moonlit Promises (Kuriousity)
Michael C. Lorah on MW (Blog@Newsarama)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 27 of Negima! (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 35 of Oh My Goddess (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Ooku (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 7 of Otomen (Comics Worth Reading)
Ed Sizemore on vol. 1 of Peepo Choo (Comics Worth Reading)
Connie on vol. 1 of Pet Shop of Horrors (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sesho on vol. 10 of The Prince of Tennis (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of The Qwaser of Stigmata (The Manga Critic)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of The Qwaser of Stigmata (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Julie Opipari on vol. 5 of Rasetsu (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Erica Friedman on Raubritter (Okazu)
Erica Friedman on Rose Meets Rose (Okazu)
Julie Opipari on vol. 4 of Sarasah (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Seiho Boys’ High School (Comics-and-More)
Connie on vol. 11 of Slam Dunk (Slightly Biased Manga)
Alexander Hoffman on vol. 1 of Ugly Duckling’s Love Revolution (Comics Village)
David Brothers on Vagabond (4thletter)

Hey, everyone! I haven’t forgotten about you, but a combination of a busy schedule and energy-sapping sultry weather has thrown me a bit behind on things. Here’s a quick roundup of the bigger news, and I’ll be back tomorrow (I hope) with a more comprehensive update.

Publishers Weekly talks to Sean Michael Wilson, the editor of the gekiga manga anthology AX, about some juicy new projects he has in the pipeline, including adaptations of the Japanese prose works In the Shadow of Leaves (a sort of samurai manual) and Yakuza Moon, the bio of a daughter in a Yakuza family.

Brad Rice, Kate Dacey, and David Welsh check out this week’s new releases, and Melinda Beasi presents her first pick of the week. Melinda also devotes her latest Manhwa Monday post to a look ahead at August manhwa releases.

It’s Bad Manga Week at The Manga Critic, where Kate Dacey checks out three manga from the recent Best and Worst Manga panel at SDCC to see if they are bad enough to make her Hall of Shame.

Deb Aoki reports on the Online Piracy Panel at SDCC.

Manga Factory, the new publishing company started by former Aurora employees, has announced its first venture, and it’s not a book: It’s a package tour to Japan, the Escape to Tokyo Tour.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi has Quick Takes on some recent releases at Manga Bookshelf.

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Code: Breaker (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Peepo Choo (The Manga Critic)
Laura on vols. 1 and 2 of Stepping on Roses (Heart of Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Mike on Shinjuku (Anime Diet)

At Robot 6, I talked to Kurt Hassler about the online version of Yen Plus, including what’s going on with the Japanese series that have been AWOL so far.

Lori Henderson has the list of last week’s all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

Sean Gaffney looks forward to this week’s new manga.

License request time: Sean Gaffney would like to see some Shonen Jump series from the 1980s, please, while David Welsh wants to read more manga by Saika Kunieda, the creator of Future Lovers. David also picks the most promising manga from the latest issue of Previews and asks his readers to name their favorite same-sex couples in manga.

Helen McCarthy takes a look at some long-running newspaper strips in Japan.

Deb Aoki recaps the Best and Worst Manga panel from SDCC.

At A Feminist Otaku, Caddy C. wants to keep on liking Skip Beat!, but it’s starting to become a challenge.

News from Japan: Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto won a Seiun Award at the 49th Japan Science Fiction Convention. Fullmetal Alchemist may have ended in Japan, but the Sept. 11 issue of Shonen Gangan will include a side story by creator Hiromu Arakawa. And the K-On! manga is coming to an end with the October issue of Manga Time Kirara magazine.

Reviews

Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Alice the 101st (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 1 of Bakuman (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Biomega (The Comic Book Bin)
Michelle Smith on Darker Than Black (Comics Should Be Good!)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 12 of Gakuen Alice (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Bill Sherman on vol. 1 of Itazura Na Kiss (Blogcritics)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 3 of Kitchen Princess (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)
Kristin on vols. 3 and 4 of Millennium Prime Minister (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 27 of Negima (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Edouardo Zacarias on vol. 26 of One Piece (Animanga Nation)

Carlo Santos talked to Moto Hagio at SDCC, and one of the things he asked about was her favorite manga: She likes Ooku, Nodame Cantabile, and one that hasn’t been translated yet, Kuragehime (Jellyfish Princess).

In his latest House of 1000 Manga column, Jason Thompson professes his love for Iron Wok Jan.

Caddy C. discusses the use of rape as a plot device in Skip Beat! and what it says about social attitudes toward rape, and she wonders if it’s a message 13-year-olds should be reading. She also wonders about the frequency of step-sibling incest as a theme in manga.

At Manga Bookshelf, Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith pull out a big stack of shoujo manga for their latest Off the Shelf dialogue.

The Comics Village crew sorts through last week’s new manga and pick their favorites.

Animemiz reports on the Anime Journalism panel at Otakon.

The Same Hat Tumblr is back, with all the freaky imagery you would expect from the people behind the original Same Hat blog.

For those who like numbers, Matt Blind has an exhaustive analysis of the performance of One Piece at Rocket Bomber.

Reviews

Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Bakuman (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Crown of Love (The Comic Book Bin)
Alex Gord on vol. 1 of Fake (Manga Jouhou)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 11 of Gakuen Alice (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Clive Owen on vol. 10 of Hellsing (Animanga Nation)
Julie Opipari on vol. 13 of Inubaka: Crazy for Dogs (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Erica Friedman on Knife-Edge Girl (Okazu)
Katherine Farmar on vol. 1 of Maiden Rose (Comics Village)
Julie Opipari on vol. 8 of Moon Boy (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Alexander Hoffman on vols. 1-4 of Nabari No Ou (Comics Village)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 21 of Nana (Comics Worth Reading)
Lori Henderson on vols. 40-42 of One Piece (Comics Village)
Connie on vol. 1 of Pokemon Adventures (Slightly Biased Manga)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Right Here, Right Now (Mania.com)
Connie C. on vol. 1 of The Tyrant Falls in Love (Comics Village)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 9 of V.B. Rose (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Deb Aoki has an interesting chat with Yen senior editor JuYoun Lee about the online incarnation of Yen Plus magazine. Deb also talks to Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of the indie comic phenomenon Scott Pilgrim, about the manga that influenced his work.

As I note at Robot 6, OneManga.com has indeed pulled down all its online manga, although the site will live on as a list and discussion site.

David Welsh and Kate Dacey look over this week’s new releases.

Ed Sizemore pens a guest report on the manhwa presence at Otakon for Manga Bookshelf.

How many people does it take to make a con? Only a handful, apparently: Bandai employees who were stuck in the Baltimore airport for four hours made lemons into lemonade and started an impromptu anime con, complete with a new license announcement: Bandai has Gun Zi (Ganjii)’s A Record of the Strange Tales of the Bakumatsu Era: Code Geass (Bakumatsu Ibun-roku Code Geass—Hangyaku no Lelouch).

Michelle Smith wraps up this month’s Manga Moveable Feast with a final post at Soliloquy in Blue, and Connie posts her thoughts on Paradise Kiss at Slightly Biased Manga.

Animate USA has announced another round of BL manga for Kindle, including a bonus story, Pet on Duty.

The Headquarters of the U.S. Armed Forces in Japan has posted the first issue of the manga they jointly created with the creators of Maritan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the alliance between the two countries.

Reviews

Kristin on vol. 1 of Bakuman (Comic Attack)
Tangognat on vol. 1 of Biomega (Tangognat)
Julie Opipari on vol. 11 of Gantz (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Michelle Smith on vols. 9 and 10 of Honey and Clover (Soliloquy in Blue)
Zack Davisson on vol. 1 of I’ll Give It My All… Tomorrow (Manga Life)
Julie Opipari on vol. 8 of Moon Boy (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Diana Dang on vols. 1 and 2 of Ooku (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Sesho on vol. 9 of The Prince of Tennis (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Sesho on vol. 1 of Polyphonica Cardinal Crimson (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of Tamaishin: The Red Spider Exorcist (Kuriousity)

Deb Aoki continues her comprehensive coverage of San Diego Comic-Con with reports on the Viz Kids announcements, Yen Press’s new titles, and Friday’s events, including Moto Hagio’s appearance. At Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo sums it all up with a wrapup of SDCC 2010.

Also! The Comics Journal posted a video of the Manga for Grown-Ups panel.

Otakon took place last weekend, and I haven’t seen much manga-focused coverage, but Ed Sizemore has posted the audio from the anime journalism panel at Manga Out Loud.

Roundup of roundups: Lori Henderson posts her handy digest of the past week’s manga news at Manga Xanadu. Melinda Beasi rounds up the manhwa news, including the latest reviews and some more info on Korean webcomics, in the latest Manhwa Monday post at Manga Bookshelf. And Erica Friedman posts the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Roland Kelts talks to Stu Levy about Tokopop’s America’s Greatest Otaku tour, possibly coming to a city near you!

Chris Sims recommends some manga for beginners at Comics Alliance.

News from Japan: This sounds like a joke, but ANN is reporting it with a straight face: The creators of the Maritan manga, which apparently uses cute little girls to teach the reader how to swear like a Marine, have collaborated with the U.S. Armed Forces in Japan to create a manga about the 50-year Japan-U.S. alliance. Also, issue 35 of Weekly Shonen Jump will carry a story from Rakko 11-gō (Otter #11), the manga that the characters in Bakuman are working on.

Reviews: Carlo Santos delivers unvarnished opinions on a slew of new releases in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. EvilOmar posts a handful of short manga reviews at About Heroes. Johanna Draper Carlson posts short takes on a handful of new releases as well at Comics Worth Reading. Other reviews of note:

Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Bakuman (Comics-and-More)
Kris on Calling (Manic About Manga)
Tom Spurgeon on vol. 1 of Chi’s Sweet Home (The Comics Reporter)
Laura on vol. 1 of Dengeki Daisy (Heart of Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 15 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Tangognat on vols. 1-3 of Gatcha Gacha (Tangognat)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 19 of Gin Tama (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Zack Davisson on vol. 2 of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory (Japan Reviewed)
Bill Sherman on vol. 2 of Hanako and the Terror of Allegory (Blogcritics)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Hyde & Closer (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 5 of Kimi ni Todoke (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Shannon Fay on vol. 1 of Knights (Kuriousity)
Faith McAdams on vol. 1 of Library Wars: Love and War (Animanga Nation)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 9 of The Magic Touch (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Morita-san ha Mukuchi (Okazu)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Otomen (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kate Dacey on Sarasah, Seiho Boys’ High School, and Time and Again (The Manga Critic)
Connie on vol. 2 of Seduction More Beautiful Than Love (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Seiho Boys High School (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 19 of Sgt. Frog (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime & Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 13 of Sgt. Frog (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 21 of Skip Beat! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Kelakagandy on Songs to Make You Smile (kelakagandy’s ramblings)
Connie on vol. 4 of Sugarholic (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vols. 4 and 5 of Suppli (omnibus edition)
Erica Friedman on Sweet Guilty Love Bites (Okazu)
Eric Robinson on vol. 1 of Welcome to Wakaba-Soh (Manga Jouhou)
Leroy Douresseaux on Yokan – Premonition (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 1 of Ze (Slightly Biased Manga)