MangaBlog

I posted my look at this week’s new manga—including the last volume of Fullmetal Alchemist—at MTV Geek.

Viz is expanding its digital footprint to new platform: Barnes & Noble’s Nook Tablet and Nook Color.

The Manga Bookshelf bloggers discuss their Pick of the Week.

Weekly Shonen Jump has posted the first chapter of the comedy manga Nisekoi, by Double Arts creator Naoshi Komi, online for free. In order to read it, you must download their manga reader, which only works on Windows XP or Vista, so Mac users like me are out of luck.

JManga has added Hiroki Kusumoto’s historical drama King’s Moon -The Life of Akechi Mitsuhide to its lineup, priced at $8.99 (but discounted to $4.99 as part of an ongoing sale). Kusumoto is the creator of Wild Butterfly and Vampire’s Portrait, which are also hosted on the site. (Via ANN.)

News from Japan: Seven manga creators have filed suit in Tokyo district court against two shops that scan print books and convert them to digital form. While the scanning is purportedly done for personal use, the manga creators feel that it is a step towards piracy. Koji Ahara, creator of Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga, is launching a new series, Shimoneta de Kangaeru Kakumon, in the second 2012 issue of Futabasha’s Manga Action magazine.

Reviews: Ash Brown has the highlights of a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Anna on vols. 7 and 8 of Basara (Manga Report)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Beauty Pop (Blogcritics)
Connie on The Book of Human Insects (Slightly Biased Manga)
Dave Ferraro on The Book of Human Insects (Comics-and-More)
Chris Beveridge on vol. 7 of Chi’s Sweet Home (The Fandom Post)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Dawn of the Arcana (Kuriousity)
Erica Friedman on vols. 3 and 4 of K-ON! (Okazu)
Lori Henderson on The Manga Guide to the Universe (Manga Xanadu)
Kristin on vols. 5 and 6 of Oresama Teacher (Comic Attack)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Pokemon: Black and White (Blogcritics)
Erica Friedman on vol. 3 of Poor Poor Lips (Okazu)

Jason Thompson sings the praises of Ai Morinaga’s gender-bender Your and My Secret in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

At Otaku Champloo, Khursten Santos waxes just as enthusiastic about the work of Kaoru Mori, creator of Emma and A Bride’s Story.

Margaret O’Connell kicks the tires—and then some—at JManga.com and finds it’s not bad but could use some streamlining.

Connie posts a wonderfully quirky best-of-2011 list at Slightly Biased Manga.

The Manga Village team recommends the best of two weeks’ worth of new manga, and Lori Henderson checks out the past week’s all-ages comics and manga at Good Comics for Kids.

Erica Friedman has the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu, and at Manga Bookshelf, she takes a look at Kodansha’s Evening magazine, the stay-out-late big brother of Morning, Morning Two, and Afternoon magazines.

News from Japan: Saturn Apartments won the Japanese government’s Media Arts Award in the manga division. Two new series will debut in the first issue of Young Gangan: Iroha-saka, Agatte Sugu (The Iroha-saka Path Is Up Ahead), by Hanamaru Kindergarten manga-ka Yuto, and Donyatsu, a sci-fi series featuring cute animal-food hybrids, by Speed Grapher creator Yuusuke Kozaki.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss a handful of recent releases, mostly of the fluffy kind, in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf. Three Steps Over Japan posts a few short reviews of miscellaneous manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Arata: The Legend (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vols. 5 and 6 of Basara (Manga Report)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 11 of Black Bird (ANN)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of A Bride’s Story (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 19 of Claymore (The Fandom Post)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 2 of Codename Sailor V (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Thomas Zoth on vol. 2 of Dorohedoro (The Fandom Post)
Kate Dacey on vols. 1 and 2 of The Drops of God (The Manga Critic)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of The Drops of God (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of The Drops of God (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Emily on Futari no Himitsu (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 5 of House of Five Leaves (The Comic Book Bin)
Kate O’Neil on The Innocent (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of K-ON! (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lori Henderson on vol. 6 of Kurozakuro (Manga Village)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Love Hina (Blogcritics)
Sakura Eries on vol. 8 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (The Fandom Post)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Mr. Tiger and Mr. Wolf (Kuriousity)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 59 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Princess Knight (ANN)
Julie Opipari on vol. 1 of Sailor Moon (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Sailor Moon (ANN)
Sakura Eries on vol. 5 of Sakura Hime: The Story of Princess Sakura (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vol. 19 of Slam Dunk and vol. 41 of Case Closed (Comic Attack)
Sweetpea616 on The Vision of Escaflowne (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)

I took a look at manga series that ended (or will come to an end) in 2011 at MTV Geek.

Sean Gaffney looks ahead to next week’s new manga.

At PWCW, Danica Davidson talks to Robert McGuire, the editor of the monthly digital manga magazine GEN, which is now available via downloadable PDFs and on the Graphicly platform.

News from Japan: Linebarrels of Iron creators Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi had a good run with their Kamen Rider doujinshi Hybrid Insector, but Toei, which holds the rights to Kamen Rider, is making them stop after nine chapters. (As of this writing, though, the existing chapters are still up.) GCU manga-ka Umetarô Saitani has a new sports/comedy series in the works, Gosling, featuring the exciting game of badminton. It will run in Manga Times. We Were There (Bokura Ga Ita) is coming to an end in the March issue of Betsucomi. Elfen Lied creator Lynn Okamoto has a new series in the works, Kiwaguro no Brynhildr, which will run in Young Jump. The sixth volume of Attack on Titan hit the top of Oricon’s manga chart, the third volume in the series to do so. (Kodansha USA has licensed it for U.S. release.) And ANN has last week’s manga rankings.

Reviews: Ash Brown has been reading lots of manga from the library at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 18 of 20th Century Boys (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 7 of Bakuman (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna on vols. 3 and 4 of Basara (Manga Report)
Connie on vol. 2 of Betrayal Knows My Name (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Finder 4: Prisoner in the Viewfinder (Slightly Biased Manga)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Gate 7 (ICv2)
Rob McMonigal on Stargazing Dog (Panel Patter)
Connie on vol. 4 of Tenjho Tenge (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg McElhatton on Tesoro (Read About Comics)

I looked at this week’s new manga at MTV Geek—it’s sort of a mixed bag, but there are some interesting titles in the mix.

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber presents her shoujo manga gift guide for this holiday season at All About Manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson posts her picks for the best manga of 2011—plus a few noble failures—at Comics Worth Reading.

Reviews

Snow Wildsmith on vol. 1 of Bloody Monday (Good Comics for Kids)
Faith McAdams on vol. 2 of Monster Hunter Orage (Animanga Nation)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Wandering Son (Comics Worth Reading)

What manga is Deb Aoki looking forward to next year? Head on down to Deb’s blog to see her top 25 for 2012.

Kristin presents her Mostly Manga Gift Guide at Comic Attack.

In case you needed an excuse to go to Paris: Mari Yamazaki, creator of the critically acclaimed manga Thermae Romae (which, mysteriously, has not been licensed in English) will be a guest at this year’s Salon du Livre in March.

Three Steps Over Japan takes a look at the giant-robot magazine Newtype Ace.

News from Japan: I highlighted some recent news about creators in Japan at MTV Geek yesterday. George Asakura returns to the pages of Bessatsu Friend next month after a 10-month absence due to the birth of her child. She had put two series, Oboreru Knife (The Drowning Knife) and Teke Teke Rendez-Vous, on hiatus just before leaving, and she won’t pick up either one of them right away but will

Reviews: Ash Brown updates us on another week of manga at Experiments in Manga.

Connie on vol. 9 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 21 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Dawn of the Arcana (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 5 of Dorohedoro (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on Finder Series 3: One Wing in the Finder (Slightly Biased Manga)
Jessie Bi on Shigeru Mizuki’s Gekiga Hitler (in French) (du9)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of Itsuwaribito (The Comic Book Bin)
Diana Dang on vols. 3 and 4 of Kamisama Kiss (Stop, Drop, and Read!)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 6 of Mars (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 5 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on vol. 21 of Please Save My Earth (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of Princess Knight (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Sailor Moon (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 16 of Slam Dunk (Slightly Biased Manga)

Manga-ka Ken Akamatsu has pioneered online manga in Japan with his J-Comi site, and on Friday he announced a beta version for foreign languages, including English, as well as a Japanese and English iOS app, JReader.

Most people think of the late Jerry Robinson, who passed away this week, as the early Batman creator who helped come up with The Joker; thanks to Anime News Network for reminding us that he was also one of the creators of the sci-fi comedy manga Astra.

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

Lissa Pattillo notes that Digital Manga has shifted Starry☆Sky from their yaoi imprint June to their DMP line, which makes sense as the series is not a BL title.

Red River is the featured series in the latest of Jason Thompson’s House of 1000 Manga columns at ANN.

SLJ’s Rocco Staino interviewed Fairy Tail creator Hiro Mashima at NYCC.

Scott Green has a lengthy piece with lots of background information on Princess Knight, Sailor Moon, Codename Sailor V, and Gon, as well as critiques of all four, at Ain’t It Cool News.

Manga Bookshelf welcomes two new columnists: Angela Eastman, who will write a column titled Comic Conversion about graphic novel adaptations—she kicks it off with a look at Witch & Wizard—and Paul Beasi, who will write about Japanese games.

Also at Manga Bookshelf, Matt Blind takes a look at the best-selling manga via online bookstores for the week ending November 20.

JManga is offering a free gift to anyone who signs up for a monthly subscription between now and December 27: Volume 1 of Sherlock Holmes.

Vampire Hunter D artist Yoshitaka Amano will be a guest at Kawaii Kon in Honolulu next March.

If you can read French, Manganews has a nice interview with the late manga creator Shingo Araki.

News from Japan: Japan Airlines is partnering with Shogakukan to offer manga via seatback e-readers in its 787 Dreamliner flights, starting next year. The cooking manga Dashi Master has been put on indefinite hiatus following allegations that manga-ka Naotsugu Matsueda traced photos taken by others to depict foods, backgrounds, and other visual elements. Keisuke Itagaki, creator of the martial arts manga Baki the Grappler, has a new series, Shaman, launching in Weekly Manga Goraku magazine this week. Toko Kawai’s Shinzuku Hanabira Ringo no Kaori BL manga, which has been licensed by Viz, is coming to an end. Cross Game creator Mitsuru Adachi Professionals ranked their top manga choices for the Kono Manga ga Sugoi 2012 guidebook, and ANN has the results.

Reviews: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss a diverse quartet of recent manga in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf. Connie looks at the Mitsukazu Mihara artbook Alice Addict at Slightly Biased Manga. Other reviews of note:

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 16 of 20th Century Boys (I Reads You)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of 20th Century Boys (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on vol. 7 of Arata: The Legend (Slightly Biased Manga)
Carlo Santos on vol. 5 of Blue Exorcist (ANN)
Ash Brown on Breathe Deeply (Experiments in Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on vols. 1 and 2 of A Bride’s Story (Otoyomegatari) (Brain Vs. Book)
Connie on Finder Series 2: Cage in the Finder (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Fist of the North Star (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sweetpea616 on The Hour of the Mice (Organization Anti-Social Geniuses)
Connie on vol. 2 of In the Walnut (Slightly Biased Manga)
Greg Laden on The Manga Guide to Relativity (Greg Laden’s Blog)
Chad Orzel on The Manga Guide to the Universe (Uncertain Principles)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Maoh: Juvenile Remix (The Comic Book Bin)
Erica Friedman on Megame Lily magazine (Okazu)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Monster Hunter Orage (ANN)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 1 of Natsu no Arashi (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Connie on vol. 20 of Please Save My Earth (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Renai Joshika (Okazu)
Connie on vol. 4 of Sakura Hime (Slightly Biased Manga)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 7 of Soul Eater (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vol. 13 of Vampire Knight (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Wonder (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Kris on Yakuza Cafe (Manic About Manga)