Deb Aoki polls her readers: How much would you pay to read Yen Plus online?
The Manga Moveable Feast continues: Sean Gaffney and Rob McMonigal review this month’s book, Mushishi, and Tangognat and Jason Yadao link to some older posts.
Melinda Beasi brings us all the latest Korean-comics news in her latest Manhwa Monday post.
Helen McCarthy has a fascinating post on creator Shotaro Ishinomori’s attempt to change the word “manga” by changing the first kanji from one that means “random” to one that has the same sound but means “a large number,” suggesting the many possibilities of the medium. Alas, it never caught on.
Kai-Ming Cha, left computerless for a few days, spends some time thinking about the iPad, the slump in manga sales, and the scanlation debate and decides that publishers need to think about new means of distribution, noting, “Manga is more than books.”
Dark Horse has a generous sample online of the artbook The Art of Blade of the Immortal.
News from Japan: The Osaka Prefectural Government has declared eight boys-love magazines to be “harmful publications,” which means that they cannot be sold to youths under 18.
Reviews: Kate Dacey and Danielle Leigh both come to the conclusion that the excessive cuteness of vol. 1 of Kobato, the latest CLAMP release, is deceptive, and Kate goes so far as to call it a parody of the entire moe genre.
Ed Sizemore on vol. 1 of Aishiteruze Baby (An Eddy of Thought)
Erica Friedman on Azumanga Daioh (omnibus edition) (Okazu)
D.M. Evans on vol. 1 of Black Butler (Manga Jouhou)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Cactus’s Secret (Comics-and-More)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Crown of Love (The Comic Book Bin)
Andrew Wheelers on vols. 45-47 of Naruto (Antick Musings)
Michelle Smith on vol. 2 of Raiders (Soliloquy in Blue)
Tangognat on Ristorante Paradiso (Tangognat)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Twin Spica (Manga Bookshelf)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 15 of xxxHoLiC (Kuriousity)
Snow Wildsmith on vols. 1-4 of Ze (Fujoshi Librarian)
