Monday morning news roundup

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Lori Henderson has a thorough roundup of the week’s manga news, with commentary, at Manga Xanadu. She also delivers a gentle scolding to one of those commenters we all get who is looking for scanlations.

Lissa Pattillo looks over the manga samplers she got at SDCC, which give a hint of things to come, and she also posts the August list of new releases.

David Welsh thumbs through the latest Previews, and he also spots some josei manga on Viz’s publishing schedule.

The Yaoi Review posts a handy list of yaoi releases scheduled for 2009 and 2010.

On the other hand, Tangognat notes a few manga series that appear to have sputtered to a halt.

Deb Aoki interviews Ultimo creators Stan Lee and Hiroyuki Takei. ICv2 interviews Lee and Takei separately.

Over at Okazu, Erica Friedman has a nice article about the anime/manga Twitter scene. If you’re not on Twitter already, you should check it out—I liken it to a perpetual cocktail party where there’s almost always an interesting conversation going on, and you can jump in and out at will. Erica also brings us another edition of YNN: Yuri Network News.

Charts! Vol. 5 of Naruto is the last manga standing on the USA Today Booklist, while vol. 23 of Fruits Basket tops the New York TImes manga list (with Naruto just behind).

Grant Goodman posts part three of his Otakon report at Manga Recon.

Sesho writes about his dissatisfaction with Otaku USA and some changes in cover design for Viz’s Shojo Beat imprint.

Blogging about blogging: Congratulations to Diana Dang on the first blogiversary of Stop, Drop, and Read!, which focuses on YA books (including manga!). At There it is, Plain as Daylight, Melinda Beasi introduces a new guest reviewer and declares this Girls Only Week, with all the reviews focusing on works by female creators.

News from Japan: At MangaCast, Ed Chavez posts the latest doujinshi rankings from Toranoana and the regular manga rankings from Taiyosha.

Reviews: Johanna Draper Carlson takes a look at four of Viz’s Sigikki comics at Comics Worth Reading. Danielle Leigh reads some recent shonen manga at Comics Should Be Good. At The Yaoi Review, asamisgirl takes a look at some yaoi on the Kindle.

Emily Horner on After School Nightmare (Girlamatic)
Adam Stephanides on Billy Bat (Completely Futile)
Scott Green on vols. 5 and 6 of Black Jack (Ain’t It Cool News)
Connie on vol. 10 of Cantarella (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 5 of Chibi-Vampire (Comics Village)
Laura on The Devil Does Exist (Heart of Manga)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 6 of Emma (i heart manga)
Oyceter on vols. 8 and 9 of Emma (Sakura of DOOM)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 23 of Fruits Basket (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Megan M. on Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Sesho on vol. 3 of Hayate cross Blade (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (Prospero’s Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 1 of Kaze Hikaru (Kuriousity)
Faith McAdams on vol. 11 of Kurohime (Animanga Nation)
Greg Hackmann on vol. 9 of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Mania.com)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 7 of Land of the Blindfolded (i heart manga)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 5 of Legend (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)
Connie on vol. 7 of Monkey High (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 5 of Mixed Vegetables (Kuriousity)
Sesho on vol. 37 of Naruto (Sesho’s Anime and Manga Reviews)
Julie on vol. 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion: The Shinji Ikari Raising Project (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Cynthia on On Bended Knee (Boys Next Door)
Snow Wildsmith on Part-Time Pets (Fujoshi Librarian)
Connie on vol. 2 of Record of a Fallen Vampire (Slightly Biased Manga)
Michelle Smith on Sayonara, Mr. Fatty! (Manga Recon)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 6 of Shugo Chara! (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Shojo Flash on vol. 1 of Sugarholic (Shojo Flash)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 4 of Swan (i heart manga)
Nick Popio on Vampire Knight (Girlamatic)
Tiamat’s Disciple on vol. 4 of You’re So Cool (Tiamat’s Manga Reviews)

Posted in Mangablog | 2 Comments

Review: Crown, vols. 1 and 2

Posted on August 2, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

crown1largeCrown, vols. 1 and 2
Written by Shinji Wada
Art by You Higuri
Rated OT, for Older Teens (16+)
Go! Comi, $10.99

When I first looked at the cover of the first volume of Crown, my heart sank a bit. Could you get any more cliched than that—two hot guys with a girl in the center? Then I turned to the title page…

Crown1

… and I literally laughed out loud.

And that’s Crown. Written by veteran shoujo manga-ka Shinji Wada and illustrated by the superbly talented You Higuri, Crown is an enjoyable spoof of the many clichés of shoujo manga. It starts out with a girl who is so sweet that the book should come with its own insulin pump. Mahiro is left alone when her mother dies and an evil family kicks her out of her house, but she works two jobs so as not to be a burden on anyone. She is at her night job, as a flagger at a construction site, when two guys scoop her up, toss her into a limo, and drive away.

They are not kidnappers, however, but hardened mercenaries from another country, and the blond one is Mahiro’s older brother, Ren. It seems that Mahiro and Ren are actually a prince and princess, but their evil stepmother conspired to have them killed so she could inherit the throne. They were just spirited away instead, and the queen has just learned that Mahiro is still alive. She wants to assassinate Mahiro, but Ren has sworn to protect her; his partner Jake is along for the ride because of a poker debt, but also, we eventually learn, to fill a greater emotional need.

There is plenty of action in this story but it’s all tongue in cheek. Ren and Jake are super-mercenaries, the best in the business. They dispatch the evil family who took over Mahiro’s house, then take her out to dinner even as the queen’s mercenaries are surrounding the building; they follow up their gourmet meal by blowing up an entire section of Tokyo. And they leave bodies scattered everywhere. Soon another mercenary gets dragged in: The Condor, who is fired ignominiously after he fails to capture Mahiro and ends up being so captivated by her sweetness that Ren and Jake hire him as her protector. Oh, and there’s a cross-dressing assassin, too, but I don’t want to give too much away.

Wada and Higuri have a lot of fun with the clichés of manga. Ren and Jake are impossibly good at what they do, calculating their opponents’ moves to the split second. They wear full camouflage uniforms under their impeccably tailored suits, and they are fond of striking the sorts of poses you usually see on movie posters. Also, they shower together and generally act like seme and uke, except there is no sexual tension (or sex) between them. Mahiro, for her part, is so cute and naïve and generally obliging that by the second volume Higuri has started to draw her with puppy ears and a wagging tail. She fixes elaborate breakfasts, cheerily greets Ren’s one-night stands, and drags Condor off on a shopping spree. She and Ren also display an unnatural amount of affection for one another. All the characters act out stereotyped manga roles, but they are completely clueless about it; it’s as if Wada and Higuri are winking at us over their heads.

Since both creators are old hands, it’s no surprise that this manga is very well done. Higuri’s art is outstanding, although Mahiro’s moe-ness gets to be a bit much after a while. Her attraction to Ren is a bit icky, but it’s played as mostly unconscious and hopefully it will be resolved in the usual way (“What? You’re adopted?”) in vol. 3. (It’s hard to believe they could resist that cliche, having included most of the others.) The story is entertaining and completely over the top, but if you’re willing to suspend disbelief, it’s an enjoyable ride.

(This review is based on complimentary copies provided by the publisher.)

Posted in Reviews | 7 Comments

Tweet or Die

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Jolie du Pre interviews Erica Friedman for the Chicago Examiner.

Attention publishers: David Welsh has found another Io Kuroda manga for you to license: Nasu. I have to say, it sounds awesome.

Deb Aoki posts her SDCC photos and some manga highlights of the con at About.com.

Shojo Flash looks at the latest Previews and is alarmed to see that the pickings look rather slim.

ANN notes that the latest volumes of Naruto and Fruits Basket made the USA Today Booklist this week.

Tiamat’s Disciple discusses manga adaptations of anime.

It looks like Cathy’s copy of Kimi ni Todoke had a printing problem. Did anyone else have the same experience?

Adam Stephanides has a few words about one of CMX’s newly announced licenses, 51 Ways to Protect Her, at Completely Futile.

Lori Henderson writes about the warm welcome she has aways received in comics stores, regardless of the fact that she’s … you know… female.

Viz is hiring, but be warned, this is not an entry-level job.

Reviews: Over at Good Comics for Kids, teenage reviewer Sabrina Fritz takes a look at two Tomoko Taniguchi titles, Let’s Stay Together Forever and Call Me Princess. Sam Kusek looks over the new offerings at Viz’s Shonen Sunday website at Manga Recon. Here’s a new way to review manga: Jacob Martin is live-tweeting his impressions of Read or Die. The Daily Wildcat of the University of Arizona has some graphic novel recommendations, and several of them are manga!

Jacob Martin on vol. 1 of Aishiteruze Baby (SNAG Vs. World)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 1 of Bride of the Water God (i heart manga)
Shannon Fay on vol. 2 of Chibi-Vampire (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 2 of Dorothea (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Connie on vol. 2 of Gestalt (Slightly Biased Manga)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke (Comics Worth Reading)
Justin Colussy-Estes on The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (light novel) (Comics Village)
Julie on Mr. Flower Bride (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Anna on Oishinbo: Ramen & Gyoza (2 screenshot limit)
Connie on vol. 2 of Papillon (Slightly Biased Manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 1 of Sugarholic (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Jessica Severs on vol. 2 of Tsubasa: Those With Wings and vol. 3 of Phantom Dream (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Tsubomi (Okazu)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 4 of With the Light (Comics Worth Reading)
Shojo Flash on vol. 1 of Zone-00 (Shojo Flash)

Posted in Mangablog | 2 Comments

Sales figures, SDCC wrapup, emotional responses

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

ICv2’s latest Insider’s Guide is out, and it includes the news that graphic novel sales were down in the first half of 2009, although with this important caveat:

The Bookscan figures do not include graphic novels racked in Kids and YA departments in bookstores, which probably means that the decline is less than 8% over-all.

Yes, that seems like an important omission. ICv2 also posts charts of the top manga, shonen manga, and shoujo manga properties of the second quarter of 2009. Shojo Flash does a bit of analysis.

Kai-Ming Cha reports that no one seemed too down about the economy at SDCC, and in fact the manga booths were bustling. Of course, it’s possible to read between the lines and make a list of who wasn’t there. Kai-Ming also talks to Ultimo creator Hiroyuki Takei, and Anne Ishii chats up IKKI editor Hideki Egami for PWCW.

Translator twins Alethea and Athena Nibley write about cover copy and Comic-Con in their latest column at Manga Life.

Melinda Beasi is moved to tears by a passage in the lastest volume of Pluto.

David Welsh notes that the last volume of Parasyte is out this week.

At Heart of Manga, Laura explains Japanese secondary schools, often a source of confusion for new manga readers.

News from Japan: ANN has an update on Shuho Sato’s online publishing project; he just put up 500 pages, including big chunks of Say Hello to Black Jack and The New Say Hello to Black Jack, online for free. ANN also has the latest Japanese comics rankings.

Reviews

Matthew J. Brady on vols. 2 and 3 of 20th Century Boys (Warren Peace Sings the Blues)
Dan Polley on vol. 1 of Ballad of a Shinigami (Comics Village)
Michelle Smith on vol. 28 of Bleach (Soliloquy in Blue)
Julie on vol. 10 of Crimson Hero (Manga Maniac Cafe)
David Rasmussen on vol. 1 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage (Manga Life)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke: From Me to You (Manga Life)
Carlo Santos on vol. 12 of Oh My Goddess! (ANN)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 7 of One Thousand and One Nights (Kuriousity)
Clive Owen on vol. 6 of Rosario + Vampire (Animanga Nation)
Michael May on Samurai 7 (Robot 6)
Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane on vol. 18 of Skip Beat! (Manga Life)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 3 of Swan (i heart manga)
David Welsh on Tea for Two (Precocious Curmudgeon)

Posted in Mangablog | Comments Off on Sales figures, SDCC wrapup, emotional responses

PR: Del Rey to publish Airbender manga

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

OK, here’s the official 411 on Del Rey’s Airbender manga, which was announced at SDCC. Now, I don’t watch a lot of TV or movies (I’m too busy reading), so this is one of those projects that would elicit a big ol’ “meh” from me, except for the awesomeness of the creators. Dave Roman? Nina Matsumoto? Sign me up! Read on for more.

DEL REY MANGA AND NICKELODEON/VIACOM CONSUMER PRODUCTS

ANNOUNCE NEW AVATAR: THE LAST AIRBENDER AND THE LAST AIRBENDER MANGA RELEASES

SAN DIEGO, CA – July 25, 2009 – Del Rey Manga, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group and Nickelodeon/Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) announced at Comic-Con International in San Diego, four new manga style releases – an artistic and storytelling stylized comic book set in black and white. Based on Nickelodeon’s international hit animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender and the upcoming feature film release “The Last Airbender,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan, this partnership marks the first manga tie-in for Nickelodeon.

The two original black-and-white manga will be written by Dave Roman (Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden, Agnes Quill). The prequel manga, scheduled for publication in April 2009, will be illustrated by Nina Matsumoto (Yokaiden) and the movie adaptation, to be published in June 2010, will be illustrated by Joon Choi (This is Pop).

“We’re excited to partner with Del Rey on these upcoming manga releases,” said Paula Allen, SVP of Nickelodeon Global Publishing. “Recreating and adapting the layered storylines and incredible, animated martial arts of the Avatar series and upcoming feature film in the manga style will allow fans to experience their favorite moment from the show over and over again.”

The Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series and The Last Airbender live-action movie follow the epic journey of Aang, the Avatar. In an ancient world where armies of the four elements—fire, earth, water, and air—are constantly at war, the Avatar, a master of the elements, is meant to restore peace and order. Aang is the newest reincarnation of the Avatar, and is also the last airbender, harnessing the power of air and wind. Freed from a century-long sleep inside an iceberg, the 12-year-old is responsible for saving the world and finds both friends and hostile enemies on the path to his destiny.

“We’re excited to be working with Nickelodeon to bring these great stories to the manga audience,” says Dallas Middaugh, Associate Publisher of Del Rey Manga. “Avatar: The Last Airbender has shown incredible crossover appeal with manga fans. The release of The Last Airbender movie and original tie-in manga gives us the chance to share completely new stories with Avatar fans looking for more about Aang, Zuko, and their favorite characters.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATORS (THE LAST AIRBENDER)

Dave Roman currently works for Nickelodeon Magazine as an associate editor. The co-creator of the Harvey Award-nominated series Jax Epoch and the Quicken Forbidden and the Ignatz award-winning Teen Boat, he also pens his own webcomic, Astronaut Elementary. Roman, based in New York, is also the creator of the comic Agnes Quill, and he co-wrote Del Rey Manga and Marvel Comics’ X-Men: Misfits with his wife, Raina Telgemeier.

Nina Matsumoto is the creator of the original English-language manga series, Yokaiden, which debuted in November 2008. Matsumoto gained notoriety on the internet for her original piece, “The Simpsonzu,” a manga-inspired illustration of the characters of The Simpsons cartoon. She is a penciller with Bongo Comics, home of The Simpsons comics, and lives in western Canada.

Joon Choi is the art director at Studio Joon Toon and an Animator at This is Pop, he is also an illustrator and animator whose work has been seen on Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon and Gameloft.

Posted in Mangablog | 4 Comments

Enlightened by a female smart-aleck

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Brigid Alverson

Girlamatic has been home to some nice online manga over the years, so it’s good news that it is being relaunched with a new, all-free format. I talked to editor Diana McQueen about it in this week’s Unbound column at Robot 6. I also interviewed Scott Christian Sava, creator of The Dreamland Chronicles, for Graphic Novel Reporter. (Yeah, busy week—that’s why I haven’t been on Twitter much.)

Kate Dacey and Red Baylon look over this week’s new releases.

Lorena Nava Ruggero has a very informative report on the women in manga panel at SDCC.

And Kate Dacey has an interesting poll at The Manga Critic: What was the most exciting licensing news that came out of the con?

In international manga news—well, I don’t think I can say this any better than The China Post:

Yiin Chii-ming, minister of economic affairs, has buckled under pressure to apologize for an offensive manga designed to promote his priority economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China.

The comic strip, published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), depicts a dolt being enlightened by a female smart-aleck polyglot on the pact Taipei wants to sign with Beijing — an act that is considered a sellout of Taiwan by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

First of all, in Taiwan they use manga to promote economic agreements? Who knew! But if you’re going to go that route, you have to accept that “dolt being enlightened by a female smart-aleck something-or-other” is a standard storyline, and just go with it.

News from Japan: ANN has news of several new series debuting in Evening magazine, including one by Makoto Kobayashi, the creator of Where’s Michael? and Club 9. Canned Dogs reports that Sanrio will be selling official Hello Kitty products at Comiket (one hopes the accompanying illustration is a parody and not one of the items on offer).

Reviews: Connie has an interesting look at some vintage manga, including Tezuka’s New Treasure Island, at Slightly Biased Manga. This one gets my vote for post of the day. Ed Sizemore posts brief reviews of some recent Del Rey releases at Comics Worth Reading.

John Thomas on vol. 1 of 20th Century Boys (Comics Village)
Casey Brienza on vol. 1 of Angelic Runes (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Emily on Aniki wa Tsunayoshi! (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 6 of Black God (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lissa Pattillo on vol. 2 of Black Jack (Kuriousity)
Julie on vol. 1 of B.O.D.Y. (Manga Maniac Cafe)
Joe McCulloch on The Color of Earth (Bookforum)
Lorena Nava Ruggero on vol. 5 of Emma (i heart manga)
Billy Aguiar on vol. 1 of Gestalt (Prospero’s Manga)
Melinda Beasi on vol. 2 of Ikigami: The Ultimate Limit (There it is, Plain as Daylight)
Alex Hoffman on vol. 1 of Jack Frost (Comics Village)
David Welsh on vol. 1 of Kimi ni Todoke (Precocious Curmudgeon)
Lori Henderson on vol. 31 of Naruto (Manga Xanadu)
Holly Ellingwood on vol. 11 of Oh My Goddess! (Active Anime)
Danielle Leigh on Oishinbo: Fish, Sushi & Sashimi (Comics Should Be Good)
Oyceter on vols. 11 and 12 of Ouran High School Host Club (Sakura of DOOM)
Casey Brienza on Princess Princess Plus (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Holly Ellingwood on vol. 5 of Sand Chronicles (Active Anime)
Greg McElhatton on chapter 1 of Saturn Apartments (Read About Comics)
Courtney Kraft on vol. 1 of Train*Train (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sandra Scholes on vol. 1 of Treasure (Active Anime)

Posted in Mangablog | 3 Comments