I’ll be off the net from this evening through tomorrow evening, in transit back to Boston (no, not SDCC—maybe next year), so talk among yourselves in the comments if you like. Here are some links to get you started:
At PWCW, Kai-Ming Cha solves the mystery of ICE Kunion: They’re being absorbed by Yen Press. Kai-Ming also has a report from Otakon, and I interviewed Elfquest and Masque of the Red Death creator Wendy Pini about her decision not to renew her contract with DC.
Tomorrow is Wednesday, and David Welsh reveals what he will be buying this week. At Comicsnob, Matt Blind updates this week’s manga watch list and explains why.
Manga Recon’s Katherine Dacey-Tsuei says: If you’re going to SDCC, be sure to stop by the Fanfare/Ponent Mon booth. She gives a sneak peek at their catalog so you can see the coming attractions. Katherine’s alter ego ChunHyang72 has another excellent Tokyopop Round-up to keep you busy.
Good news for Madeline Rosca: Vol. 1 of Hollow Fields has gone back for a second printing after a first printing of 25,000, mighty respectable for a new title by a new creator.
Blog@Newsarama has some suggestions for anime and manga fans who are heading to SDCC. Also, Chris Mautner has a report, with photos, from Otakon and JK Parkin interviews I Luv Halloween creator Ben Roman.
More Otakon: Erica Friedman continues her report from the con, and ANN reports that it pulled in $21 million this year. And Toon Zone has a post about the Del Rey panel.
ANN also has a nice story about volunteers who transcribe manga for the blind, putting the words in braille and rendering the art in raised dots.
The Japanese Defense Ministry goes moe to explain defense policy to the masses, or at least the otaku portion of the masses. Of course, this is Wai Wai, so read it with a grain of salt.
Reviews: Congratulations to Dave Ferraro of Comics-and-More, who celebrates the first anniversary of Manga Monday with a roundup of his favorite posts and a review of vols. 15-18 of Hana-Kimi. Greg Hackmann reviews the one-shot Million Tears at Anime on DVD. At Completely Futile, Adam Stephanides has some comments on vol. 3 of Absolute Boyfriend. Michael Aronson reviews vol. 1 of Barefoot Gen at Manga Life. Carlo Santos checks out the last volume of Death Note and some interesting first volumes in his latest Right Turn Only!! column. At Active Anime, Christopher Seaman reviews Frederick Schodt’s The Astro Boy Essays, Scott Campbell checks out vol. 2 of Shaman Warrior, and Holly Ellingwood reads vol. 3 of Free Collars Kingdom. At the Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie enjoys vol. 3 of Punch! Cornerofmadness reviews vols. 1-17 of Bleach at Manganews. Leroy Douresseaux reviews vol. 1 of Kingdom Hearts II at the Comic Book Bin.
