Monday news

I’m not sure what possessed me to propose an article on manga to the paper I freelance for, although having a supportive and enthusiastic editor had a lot to do with it. Anyway, here is the final result. I didn’t realize it was going to get picked up on Google! I also didn’t realize how hard it is to write an article like this when you have to assume your audience knows nothing about manga. Fortunately, a number of interesting people stepped forward to be interviewed, including Robin Brenner from No Flying, No Tights and Scott Green of Ain’t It Cool News.

Now that we’ve recovered from Anime Expo, it’s time to gear up for the San Diego Comic-Con. Ed Chavez gets us started with a rundown of the schedule and what to expect at the different panels. He’s already picked up on some interesting things, like the fact that ADV and Dark Horse won’t have panels there. By the way, Ed will be providing a public service by taping some of the panels and putting them up on MangaCast.

Is it Oh, My Goddess or Ah! My Goddess? Jason Yadao explains the incredibly complicated history of this anime and manga in his Honolulu Star-Bulletin column.

ComiPress has an interesting story about how Japanese publishers are republishing older manga. One company profiled reprints “historically significant” manga from the 1920s on, while others focus on later titles. The “Mangashop” titles from the 1960s seem particularly interesting as the publisher went back to the original magazines to restore lost episodes; in some cases, this is the first time a title has been printed in book form.