MangaBlog

Johanna Draper Carlson takes a look at the Yen Press manga that are due out this week. Lissa Pattillo checks out all this week’s new releases in her latest On the Shelf column for Otaku USA. The Manga Bookshelf bloggers make their picks from this week’s shipment to Midtown Comics, and Sean Gaffney skips right ahead to next week and looks at the new manga releases for April 25.

At The Manga Critic, Kate Dacey highlights some new additions to Viz’s digital lineup.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber writes about the perfect manga editing scenario and the extremely imperfect scenarios that are becoming more and more the norm.

April is Prevention of Cruelty to Animals month, and Lori Henderson takes the opportunity to highlight manga that deal with the mistreatment of animals.

News from Japan: Bakuman will come to an end in next week’s issue of Shonen Jump, and the 20th volume will be out in July. Creators Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata told their readers to look forward to their next work, which suggests that there will be a next work to look forward to. Natsume Ono has drawn a short promotional manga for an online site. Stepping on Roses manga-ka Rinko Ueda is drawing a two-part story for the manga anthology You. Kazume Kawahara (High School Debut) is the writer for the new series Ore Monogatari!! for Bessatsu Margaret. The last volume of the D.C. II ~Da Capo II~ spinoff manga A.C.D.C. II will be published this week.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team files the latest set of Bookshelf Briefs. Kristin posts some short takes on recent Digital Manga Guild releases at Comic Attack. Ash Brown looks back at another week of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Connie on vol. 18 of 20th Century Boys (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 4 of Ai Ore! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-10 of Antique Gift Shop (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on The Apartments of Calle Feliz (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate Dacey on The Apartments of Calle Feliz (The Manga Critic)
Anna on vols. 11 and 12 of Basara (Manga Report)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 5 of Bunny Drop (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 5 of Bunny Drop (ANN)
Connie on vol. 4 of Cross Game (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Cross Game (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of Cross Game (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Dorohedoro (The Comic Book Bin)
Ken Haley on vols. 3 and 4 of Erementar Gerade (Sequential Ink)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 23 of Excel Saga (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 5 of House of Five Leaves (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Is This a Zombie? (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 6 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 4 of Negima (omnibus edition) (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on Open the Door to Your Heart (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 9 of Sasamekikoto (Okazu)

It’s been busy around here lately: PWCW just published my interview with Makoto Tateno as well as my article about being an Eisner judge—in case you haven’t figured it out, that’s what I was doing when I disappeared a few weeks ago. This week I’m out in Chicago for C2E2, which is why posting has been spotty of late. Next week we’ll be back to normal.

After a weekend of new license announcements, we have another one this week: The small publisher One Peace books has picked up Crayon Shin-Chan, which makes the third time this series has been licensed (first by Comics One, then by CMX). One Peace will also release some manga adaptations of classic works of literature (Don Quixote, Ulysses, Moby-Dick) that were originally published by Variety Art Works.

ANN rounds up the latest additions to JManga’s digital lineup, including new manga by set em and Takao Saito.

Sean Gaffney takes a look ahead to next week’s new manga releases.

AstroNerdBoy looks at the drop in manga sales and blames it more on the economy, high prices, and a dearth of legitimate digital alternatives than on piracy.

Kodansha has announced the winners of its Morning International Manga Competition. The grand prize winner is Demi-Human Symbiosis, by Taiwan’s Ya Shen, and the second prize went to Over the Rainbow, by Brazilian artist Maguinha.

Vol. 4 of Sailor Moon and vol. 55 of Naruto placed second and third on BookScan’s list of the top 20 graphic novels sold in bookstores.

Sara K. presents another look at the Condor Trilogy manhua at Manga Bookshelf.

News from Japan: Black Jack Sōsakuhiwa, manga biography of Osamu Tezuka, focusing on the creation of Black Jack, will debut in the June 12 issue of Bessatsu Shonen Champion.

Reviews: Carlo Santos delivers the verdict on a handful of recent titles in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown recount’s a week’s worth of reading at Experiments in Manga. Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith find plenty to squee about in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Connie on 100 Blossoms to Love (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 20 of 20th Century Boys (Comics Worth Reading)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 3 of A Bride’s Story (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of A Devil and Her Love Song (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 23 of Excel Saga (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 23 of Excel Saga (The Fandom Post)
Rob McMonigal on issue 2 of Gen (Panel Patter)
Lori Henderson on vols. 9 and 10 of Honey and Clover (Manga Xanadu)
Zack Davisson on Ichiro (Japan Reviewed)
Kristin on vol. 8 of Kamisama Kiss and vol. 7 of Oresama Teacher (Comic Attack)
Annaon vols. 12 and 13 of Kimi ni Todoke (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on vol. 7 of Pure Yuri Anthology Hirari (Okazu)
Ash Brown on Rohan at the Louvre (Experiments in Manga)
Connie on vol. 3 of Saturn Apartments (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 7 of Tegami Bachi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kristin on vol. 8 of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (Comic Attack)

This was a busy weekend, with Sakura Con on the West Coast and Anime Boston out East, and publishers at both cons had some new licenses to announce. Sean Gaffney has a good roundup; here are the highlights:

As we noted on Friday, Vertical announced it had rescued Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss, originally published by Tokyopop.

Yen Press announced Thermae Romae, Kaoru Mori’s Anything and Something (a book of short stories), Umineko When They Cry (a sequel to Higurashi When They Cry), Blood Lad, Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fanatic Rabbit, The Misfortune of Kyon and Koizumi (a Haruhi spinoff), and Triage X, by the creator of Highschool of the Dead.

Dark Horse’s new announcements included Oreimo/My Little Sister Can’t Be This Cute, Blood-C (based on the anime), Evangelion: Comic Tribute, Emerald and Other Stories (by Blade of the Immortal manga-ka Hiroaki Samura), and a novel by Yoshitaka Amano, Deva Zan.

For those who are fascinated by process, Melinda Beasi describes her work as an editor for the Digital Manga Guild. Melinda is very articulate, so I’m sure she is a good editor, but Digital has is no managing editor supervising her work, nor is there a proofreader checking it, which is troubling.

Kristin picks the manga highlights from the April Previews at Comic Attack.

Connie puts the artist spotlight on BL manga-ka Toko Kawai.

Lori Henderson celebrates Easter with some manga that feature eggs.

Reviews

Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 10 of Bakuman (Comics Worth Reading)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 39 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Drew McCabe on Dororo (Comic Attack)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 12 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Comics Worth Reading)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 4 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 27 of Skip Beat! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)

Big licensing news today: Vertical announced they will be publishing Ai Yazawa’s Paradise Kiss. The five-volume series was originally published in the U.S. by Tokyopop, and marketing director Ed Chavez Tweeted that Vertical will publish it as three 300-page volumes with color plates, new covers, and a new translation.

JManga announced a number of new releases for next week, including three by est em that have already been published in English: Age Called Blue, Red Blinds the Foolish, and Seduce Me After the Show. They are also having a big Takao Saito promotion, with six new volumes up this week and a 100-point rebate on all purchases of works by the Golgo 13 creator.

Jason Thompson checks out Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN:

In a manga world where every artist tries hard to create the most memorable character with the craziest hair, Black Jack is an icon among icons. That scar. That hair (too bad it’s often concealed under a surgical cap). That suit. That job. It’s nothing special to have a hero that looks like a villain, but it’s incredibly rare to have a hero whose power doesn’t involve killing; the opposite, in fact. Black Jack, the outlaw doctor, has waded through as much blood as anybody, but he only cuts people open to make them better.

Erica Friedman reports in from Yaoi and Yuri Con (YaYCon) in the Netherlands.

Feast your eyes on Morgan’s wonderful, and wonderfully organized, manga collection at The Manga Critic.

Sara K. has some more lovely manhua goodness from The Condor Trilogy at Manga Bookshelf.

News from Japan: Manga-ka Oh! Great is winding up Air Gear after just five more chapters. Yumeiro Pâtissière returns for a one-shot in Ribon magazine.

Job board: Viz is looking for interns.

Reviews

Kelakagandy on vol. 7 of Arisa (kelakagandy’s ramblings)
Anna on vols. 1-3 of Cousin (Manga Report)
Kate Dacey on vol. 1 of The Earl and the Fairy (The Manga Critic)
Milo on vols. 1 and 2 of The Monkey King (Blog of the North Star)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Skip Beat! (omnibus edition) (ICv2)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 21 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Lissa Pattillo on Sun Fish Moon Fish (Kuriousity)
TSOTE on Tousei Gensou Hakubutsushi (Three Steps Over Japan)

The big news of the week is that the Eisner nominations are out. I won’t have too much to say about this because I was one of the judges who helped choose them this year, except to say that it was an honor to serve and that the manga category was exceptionally strong this year. Of course, the real reason such awards exist is for people to argue about what is and isn’t on the list, and which book should be the winner, and Kate Dacey is offering a manga-focused open thread for just that at The Manga Critic. At About.com, Deb Aoki notes that this year marks the third nomination for 20th Century Boys and the sixth year that Naoki Urasawa has been nominated.

Lissa Pattillo makes her recommendations from this week’s new manga releases in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Sean Gaffney looks at next week’s new manga but he has to work hard to see anything beyond vol. 23 of Excel Saga.

Yen Press is having a Black Butler giveaway; “like” their Facebook page and you could win a copy of the Black Butler anime or manga.

News from Japan: A magazine is born: Akita Shoten’s Shonen Champion magazine announced the launch of Bessatsu Shonen Champion on June 12.

Reviews

Matthew Warner on vol. 13 of Black Bird (The Fandom Post)
Zack Davisson on Breathe Deeply (Japan Reviewed)
Paige McKee on vol. 4 of Deltora Quest (Sequential Tart)
Anna on vol. 9 of Dengeki Daisy (Manga Report)
James Bacon on vol. 1 of Soulless (Forbidden Planet)

This is a really good week for new manga releases, and I picked the best of the best at MTV Geek.

Also at MTV Geek, check out Battle Arena Otaku Fight! Fight, which pits your favorite characters of manga, anime, and film against each other in a bracket-style tournament—it’s like March Madness only interesting. Mameshiba or Totoro? Speed Racer or Kamen Rider? Sailor Moon or Hatsune Miku? (Is that even a contest?) Only the strong will survive, so go check it out and vote for your favorites.

Blue Exorcist was the top pick in Deb Aoki’s Readers Choice Manga Awards; click through to see the winners in all the categories.

Shaenon Garrity is calling for more cat manga, and she has put together her own catalog for the publishers’ convenience.

Chris Sims looks at some ersatz Batman manga created for the animated cartoon Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Check it out, it’s pretty good!

At Manga Bookshelf, Sara K. is looking at manhua adaptations of the Condor Trilogy. Up this week: Tony Wong’s The Eagle Shooting Heroes. Click for some cool art!

News from Japan: Excel Saga manga-ka Koushi Rikoudou has a new series, Kimi to Batsu (Kari), that will run in Young King Ours starting with the April 28 issue.

Reviews

Connie on Abandoned Cat’s House (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 6 of Dorohedoro (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of The Drops of God (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kristin on vols. 1 and 2 of Gate 7 (Comic Attack)
Connie on vol. 2 of Kiss Blue (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Scent of Apple Blossoms (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Tenjho Tenge (omnibus edition) (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 7 of Toriko (Slightly Biased Manga)