MangaBlog

Bleach is the only manga to crack the top 10 in Diamond’s top 300 graphic novels list for December. ICv2’s analysis of December sales shows a drop in graphic novel sales, although the fact that Diamond skipped a week may be a factor.

At the newly renamed Manga Curmudgeon, David Welsh looks over this week’s new comics, and in his Flipped column at Comics Reporter, he discusses some promising books scheduled for later this year.

Hisui and Narutaki of Reverse Thieves talk to Ed Chavez, marketing director at Vertical, Inc.

More polls at About.com, where Deb Aoki invites readers to weigh in on the best classic or re-issued manga and the best art book or non-fiction manga book of 2009.

News from Japan: Ed Chavez posts the latest manga rankings from Taiyosha at MangaCast.

Reviews

Cynthia on vol. 2 of Blue Sheep Reverie (Boys Next Door)
Andre on vol. 1 of Cat Paradise (Kuriousity)
Kate Dacey on Deka Kyoshi, Domo, and St. Dragon Girl (The Manga Critic)
Lori Henderson on vol. 8 of Honey and Clover (Comics Village)
Cynthia on vol. 11 of Junjo Romantica (Boys Next Door)
Cynthia on Merry Family Plan (Boys Next Door)
Dave Ferraro on vol. 1 of Nastume’s Book of Friends (Comics-and-More)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Comics Should Be Good!)
Shaenon Garrity on vols. 1 and 2 of Nightschool (About.com)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 26 of One Piece (A Case Suitable For Treatment)
Tangognat on vol. 2 of Ooku (Tangognat)
Julie on Our Kingdom: Arabian Nights (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Real (i heart manga)
Richard Cook on vol. 1 of Saiyuki (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Snow Wildsmith on vol. 2 of Selfish Mr. Mermaid (Fujoshi Librarian)
Erica Friedman on Sora-iro Girlfriend (Okazu)

Christopher Butcher continues his excellent series on manga milestones with a look at Raijin Comics #46 and Antique Bakery.

The Manga Village team picks the most interesting titles from the past week’s new releases.

Tangognat takes a look at the January Previews.

Lori Henderson rounds up the week’s manga news at Manga Xanadu and Melinda Beasi brings us up to date on all things manhwa in her latest Manhwa Monday feature at Manga Bookshelf. Over at Okazu, Erica Friedman presents the latest edition of Yuri Network News.

Seeing double: The latest New York Times best-seller list is up, and this week’s iteration features two volumes of Vampire Knight, two of Maximum Ride, and two of Death Note, but only one Naruto.

David Welsh has another manga he’d like to see licensed over here: Diamond Head, by After School Nightmare creator Setona Mizushiro.

Brazilian creator Mauricio de Sousa is moving forward with a comic based on a movie he and Osamu Tezuka had planned to make together, a project that was halted by Tezuka’s death in 1989. The comic will feature Princess Knight and other Tezuka characters.

Manga Views profiles blogger Michelle Smith, who blogs at Soliloquy in Blue and is the senior editor of Manga Recon. While you’re at Manga Views, you can vote for your favorite Fumi Yoshinaga manga.

Ed Sizemore has some wise advice on how to handle online arguments.

The polls continue at Deb’s Manga Blog at About.com, with your chance to vote on the best yaoi and one-shot manga of 2009.

Episode 2 of Jouhou Cast, the Manga Jouhou podcast, is up!

Reviews: Noah Berlatsky denounces Lady Snowblood at The Hooded Utilitarian, and then Ng Suat Tong springs to its defense. The Manga Recon team has a fresh batch of Manga Minisomics to start the week. At Precocious Curmudgeon, David Welsh compares vol. 1 of Time and Again to Barbara Stanwyck!

Kate Dacey on vols. 1-6 of 20th Century Boys (The Manga Critic)
Kinukitty on Age Called Blue (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Scott Campbell on vol. 32 of Berserk (Active Anime)
Ed Chavez on vol. 2 of Blood+ (MangaCast)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1 and 2 of Blue Sheep Reverie (Soliloquy in Blue)
Michelle Smith on vols. 1-10 of Cheeky Angel (Soliloquy in Blue)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vols. 1-5 of Dance in the Vampire Bund (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Snow Wildsmith on Days of Cool Idols (Fujoshi Librarian)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Dokebi Bride (i heart manga)
Julie on Electric Hands (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 21 of Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga Bookshelf)
Zaki Zakaria on vol. 1 of Gestalt (The Star of Malaysia)
Susan S. on vols. 1 and 2 of Ichiroh! (Manga Jouhou)
Eric Robinson on vol. 1 of Itazura Na Kiss (Manga Jouhou)
Alexander Hoffman on vol. 2 of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me To You (Comics Village)
Julie on vols. 2 and 3 of Legend (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Rachel Bentham on Love Skit (Active Anime)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Mushishi (i heart manga)
Edward Zacharias on vol. 46 of Naruto (Animanga Nation)
Scott Campbell on not simple (Active Anime)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 25 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Margaret Viera on vol. 27 of One Piece (Active Anime)
Emily on Otome no Heart mo Kaneshidai! (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Connie on vol. 5 of Otomen (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Poor Poor Lips (Okazu)
Dave Howard on Red Snow (Torontoist.com)
Lori Henderson on the February issue of Shonen Jump (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on vol. 1 of Tag – You’re it! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 6 of Teru Teru x Shonen (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 7 of V.B. Rose (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 6 of Wild Act (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of Yurara (i heart manga)

I’m not an expert on blogging by any means, but I do spend a lot of time cruising the web, and I see the same minor but irritating problems popping up again and again. So I thought it might be helpful to toss some suggestions out there for comics bloggers (and creators) who want to build their traffic a bit.

If you’re blogging strictly for fun or personal expression, none of this will apply to you. This is just about how to make your blog more user-friendly for new readers and to other bloggers, like me, who might want to link to it. A surprising number of people overlook these basics, and fixing them will make it easier for me (and other bloggers) to find your blog, follow it, and link to it intelligently.

1. Identify yourself! I can totally understand not using your own name on your blog, but you should have some sort of a handle somewhere—on each post, on the About page, or somewhere on the home page. It’s hard to link to a blog if I don’t know what to call the author. It’s also helpful to have some indication of whether you are male or female.

2. Pick a clear title. Beware of names that are too clever—they may obscure your subject matter altogether. If you’re writing about manga, put the word “manga” in the title. That way Google knows you are there.

3. Make your URL easy to remember If you are serious about blogging, get a URL that is close to the name of your blog. Otherwise it’s too hard to remember. And the same advice in #2 above applies to URLs, only more so—keep it short and to the point.

4. Have an RSS feed! Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but there are a couple of sites I don’t link to as much as I should because they don’t have RSS feeds and, well, I’m forgetful. And you should subscribe to your own RSS feed, because sometimes they don’t work properly and that’s the only way you will know. It doesn’t hurt to resubscribe occasionally, too, because sometimes they get hosed up.

5. Try to have your content line up with your RSS feed. This is mainly a problem with magazine-style themes, and it drives me crazy: I’ll see an interesting article in the RSS reader, but when I go to the site it’s nowhere to be found. I think this happens because the posts get categorized in different ways and not all of them show up at the top of the page.

6. Avoid obnoxious ads. I am linking less and less to Livejournal sites since they started putting up intrusive Flash pop-over ads (I think this is just with the free sites). I totally boycotted a mainstream comics site for about six months because they had an animated ad on the front page showing a spider crawling up a lady’s breast—I just couldn’t stand to look at it. And the worst case of all was when I was reading an all-ages webcomic on a big hosting site and a porn ad popped up next to it. If you can’t control your ads, pay a few bucks and get your own site.

7. Take advantage of widgets and other features that make life easier for other bloggers. I like to see a list of recent posts, because I can navigate quickly without having to go back to the home page. Time stamps are helpful as well. On the other hand, pop-up previews are obnoxious, especially if they pop up when I just move the cursor over the link. If you use tags, put a tag list or cloud in the sidebar so readers can use them as well. And every site should have a search engine and a way to look at older posts.

8, 9, … infinity: Have good content. Say something interesting. Don’t rant. Check your grammar and spelling before you hit “post.” Always re-read your post after you put it up—sometimes an HTML error can creep in there. Moderate your comments—nothing screams “amateur night” like obvious spam comments.

And don’t forget to have fun!

Esther Keller hosts our latest roundtable, on age-appropriateness of comics, at Good Comics for Kids—and yes, the Dragonball thing does come up. And Lori Henderson has the list of this week’s all-ages comics and manga.

Lori Henderson looks at the decade in review at Manga Xanadu.

This kind of thing almost isn’t news any more, but NPR blogger Glenn Weldon includes two manga titles in the list of graphic novels that grabbed him in 2009. (Via Robot 6.)

A Rising Stars of Manga story has blossomed into a full-blown graphic novel, Ferrymen.

Shaun Manning talks to UDON’s Matt Moylan about Mega Man Megamix—and there’s a preview, too!

News from Japan: Gottsu-Iiyan bolsters his case about the weekly schedule being bad for manga-kas with a note from Takehiko Inoue suggesting he’s getting burned out. In other news, Yuria 100 Shiki is coming to an end, the slot machine game Kaitō Tenshi Twin Angel is being adapted into, among other things, a manga, and Kami no Shizuku (Drops of the Gods) won an award from a French wine magazine.

Helen McCarthy, author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, is looking forward to some upcoming books about manga.

The Digital Media blog looks forward to 2010, when their various imprints will be publishing a whole host of interesting books including the much-in-demand Kizuna and The Tyrant Falls in Love.

At About.com, Deb invites you to vote for the best all-ages manga of 2009 and enter to win a bunch of cool prizes.

Reviews: Kate Dacey looks at January’s good manga for kids, including short reviews of vol. 2 of Animal Academy and vols. 6 and 7 of Yotsuba&!.

Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 1 of Akira (Advanced Media Network)
Erica Friedman on vol. 4 of Aoi Hana (Okazu)
Adam Stephanides on vol. 2 of Billy Bat (Completely Futile)
Julie Opipari on vol. 4 of Comic (Mania.com)
Jennifer Dunbar on Dining Bar Akira (A word is a unit of language)
Noah Berlatsky on vols. 1-6 of Dokebi Bride (comiXology)
Serdar Yegulalp on vol. 1 of Jormungand (Advanced Media Network)
Scott VonSchilling on vol. 1 of King of RPGs (The Anime Almanac)
Gia Manry on vol. 1 of Natsume’s Book of Friends (Anime Vice)
Danielle Leigh on vol. 1 of Raiders (Comics Should Be Good!)
Connie on vol. 2 of Rin-ne (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 2 of Shinobi Life (i heart manga)
Scott Campbell on vol. 12 of Switch (Active Anime)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Yu-Gi-Oh! R (Kuriousity)

Gottsu-Iiyan argues strongly that the weekly format is hurting manga at The Eastern Edge.

David Brothers picks out seven things he liked about the latest volume of Yotsuba&! at 4thletter!

David Welsh checks out the manga in the latest Previews, and he also presents the letter M in the shoujo-sunjeong alphabet.

Deb Aoki is now inviting her readers to vote for the best new international manga and best new manhwa at About.com.

Translators Alethea and Athena Nibley gently point out that bad grammar does not equal a more authentic translation at Manga Life.

If you like Archie, what manga would you like? Tangognat has some suggestions.

I totally forgot to mention yesterday that I have a couple of non-manga stories floating around the web: At Robot 6, I talked to Brad Guigar about his decision to move Webcomics.com to a subscription model, which flies against current popular wisdom. At SLJ Teen I highlight several webcomics based on literary classics, and at PWCW, I interviewed Stuart Hample, the creator of the Woody Allen comic strip (yes, there was one!) that ran in the 1970s and 80s.

Corrina Lawson checks out Shonen Jump for Wired’s GeedDad blog.

Reviews

Danica Davidson on vol. 2 of 13th Boy (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Kinukitty on Dining Bar Akira (The Hooded Utilitarian)
The Yaoi Review on Dining Bar Akira
Connie on vol. 14 of Hoshin Engi (Slightly Biased Manga)
Marsha Reid on vol. 2 of Ichiroh! (Kuriousity)
Connie on vol. 1 of Itazura na Kiss (Slightly Biased Manga)
Melinda Beasi on Love Skit (Manga Bookshelf)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 2 of Maria Holic (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Julie on vol. 7 of Moon Boy (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Casey Brienza on vol. 20 of Nana (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 24 of One Piece (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ng Suat Tong on vol. 1 of Ooku (The Hooded Utilitarian)
Diana Dang on Princess Princess (Stop, Drop, and Read)
Amy Grockl on Solfege (Comics Village)
Danica Davidson on The Starry Night (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of To Terra (i heart manga)
Connie on vol. 31 of Vagabond (Slightly Biased Manga)

Another Viz press release about another book that looks really interesting: Fumi Yoshinaga’s All My Darling Daughters. Love the cover, and I’m looking forward to seeing her do something that’s not BL.

THE LIVES AND COMPLEX RELATIONSHIPS OF WOMEN AND THEIR FRIENDS AND MOTHERS IS EXPLORED IN ALL MY DARLING DAUGHTERS
NEW FROM VIZ MEDIA

San Francisco, CA, January 6, 2010 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the January 19th release of ALL MY DARLING DAUGHTERS by celebrated creator Fumi Yoshinaga. The single-volume manga edition will be published under the VIZ Signature imprint, is rated ‘T+’ for Older Teens, and will carry an MSRP of $12.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN.

ALL MY DARLING DAUGHTERS explores the often-tempestuous relationship between a single career woman and her mother. Yukiko, a businesswoman in her thirties, still lives with her mother, Mari. But their relationship suffers a wrenching change when Mari announces that she’s getting married—to an aspiring actor who’s even younger than Yukiko. Convinced that he’s out to fleece her mom, Yukiko can’t stand to stay in the house any longer and decides to move in with her boyfriend.

“ALL MY DARLING DAUGHTERS is a collection of five short stories that weave a complex tapestry exploring the important emotional relationships in women’s lives,” says Leyla Aker, Editorial Manager, VIZ Media. “Fumi Yoshinaga is known for creating richly developed characters and multi-layered stories that transcend genre. We look forward to bringing this new Signature title to Yoshinaga fans.”

Fumi Yoshinaga is a Tokyo-born manga creator who debuted in 1994 with Tsuki to Sandaru (THE MOON AND THE SANDALS). Yoshinaga has won numerous awards, including the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival Excellence Award and 2009 Osamu Tezuka Cultural Prize for ÔOKU, as well as the 2002 Kodansha Manga Award for her series ANTIQUE BAKERY. In 2008 she was nominated for the Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist.

For more information on this title, or others from VIZ Media, please visit www.viz.com.