John Jakala muses over which manga have literary qualities; it’s a short list, but he invites suggestions.
Japanator has the list of this week’s new releases, both anime and manga, and at Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo is already looking forward to September.
Tiamat’s Disciple tackles the thorny question of whether OEL (original English language) comics should be marketed as manga.
Deb Aoki has some exciting news about the hardcover editions of Osamu Tezuka’s Black Jack that Vertical is publishing: They will include stories omitted from the Japanese editions. Deb also takes Go!Comi’s game O-Play for a test ride.
Rivkah is trying a new inking technique, and she posts some examples so her readers can weigh in, which they do (up to 63 comments as of this writing).
Reviews: In his Flipped column, David Welsh looks at a best-seller that’s easy to overlook but a surprisingly rewarding read: Fruits Basket. Julie checks out vol. 1 of Jyu-Oh-Sei at the Manga Maniac Cafe. At Comics Village, Charles Tan reviews vol. 2 of the VizBig edition of Rurouni Kenshin and Lori Henderson takes a look at vol. 2 of Sand Chronicles. Lori Henderson reads vol. 1 of Dark Metro online on the Tokyopop website and has some comments about the story and the interface. Writing for Manga Jouhou, D.M. Evans liked the story of vol. 1 of Hell Girl but was disturbed by the HUGE MANGA EYES. Vol. 1 of Aspirin gives Ferdinand a headache at Prospero’s Manga. Erica Friedman reads vol. 3 of Red Garden at Okazu. Lissa Pattillo critiques vol. 3 of Mail at Kuri-ousity. Tiamat’s Disciple reviews vols. 1-3 of Alien Nine. Ed Sizemore reads vol. 12 of xxxHoLiC at Comics Worth Reading. Michelle Smith gives vol. 1 of Azumanga Daioh a B, which is probably a little better than I would have graded it, at Soliloquy in Blue. At Active Anime, Scott Campbell checks out vol. 6 of Pretty Face and Sandra Scholes reads vol. 4 of Totally Captivated. Leroy Douresseaux reviews vol. 2 of The Record of a Fallen Vampire at The Comic Book Bn.
I am a sucker for cute animals. :)