News, reviews, and a wish list

Shaenon Garrity writes about the mainstreaming of comics culture at comiXology.

Deb Aoki has some thoughts on the New York Times manga best-seller list at About.com.

David Welsh is making a wish list at Precocious Curmudgeon, and it starts with a Bernadette Peters look-alike.

In case you missed Patrick Macias’ talk on “Otaku Power—Trivia, Desire, and Transformation,” here’s the podcast!

The Japan Times has a nice overview of scanlation, including some of the potential for legal problems. (Via Journalista.)

Manga Mom Lori Henderson writes about drawing and posting your own manga.

Erica Friedman rounds up this week’s yuri news at Okazu. Also, Erica has been annotating the latest Maria-sama ga Miteru novel, and you can find links to her notes here.

Happy times: Yen Press has announced the official release dates for the next three volumes of Yotsuba&!

Evan Minto of Ani-Gamers and Scott VonSchilling of The Anime Almanac visited KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games, an exhibit at The Japan Society of NYC, and posted a guest review at About.com.

News from Japan: According to creator Ken Akamatsu, the readership of Negima has shifted from boys to younger girls, at least as measured by his fan mail. ANN reports that three more manga magazines will fold. And Ao Mimori, creator of B.O.D.Y., will launch a new shoujo manga series in Bessatsu Margaret magazine.

Reviews: My review of vol. 1 of Fire Investigator Nanase is up at Graphic Novel Reporter. Over at MadInkBeard, Derik Badman analyzes the structure of Osamu Tezuka’s Phoenix. It’s boys’ love vs. boys’s sports in this week’s edition of Manga Minis at Manga Recon. Johanna Draper Carlson posts some short reviews at Comics Worth Reading. Here are some more recent reviews worthy of note; reviews marked with an asterisk (*) contain spoilers so read at your own risk.

Sandy Bilus on vol. 3 of Black Jack (I Love Rob Liefeld)
Casey Brienza on vol. 12 of D.Gray-Man (ANN)
Casey Brienza on vol. 8 of Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (ANN)
*Oyceter on vols. 2-6 of Love*Com (Sakura of DOOM)
Michelle Smith on vol. 9 of Love*Com (soliloquy in blue)
*Matthew J. Brady on vol. 13 of Monster (Warren Peace Sings the Blues)
Casey Brienza on vol. 7 of MPD-Psycho (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 6 of Parasyte (ANN)
Julie on vol. 25 of Red River (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Carlo Santos on vol. 5 of Rosario + Vampire (ANN)
Dan Polley on vol. 1 of Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei (Comics Village)
Kris on St. Dragon Girl (Manic About Manga)
Connie on vol. 1 of Venus Capriccio (Manga Recon)
Kris on Wanted (Manic About Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 4 of With the Light (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 1 of ZE (MangaCast)