MangaBlog

Udon Entertainment is launching Apple, an anthology of Korean comics and illustration that they explicitly compare to Robot. Details, and a not-entirely-SFW cover illustration, after the cut.

COME TAKE A BITE OF APPLE VOLUME 1!
UDON Launches Korean Illustration and Comics Anthology Series

Toronto, ON – Apr 4, 2008 – Having already successfully brought the popular Japanese anthology series ROBOT back to North America, UDON Entertainment has now partnered with Seoul Visual Works to publish the English edition of APPLE, an all-new Korean illustration and comics anthology.

APPLE stands for “A Place for People who Love Entertainment”, and features original stories and illustrations from the best creative talent Korea has to offer. Over 40 artists from the video game world are represented in APPLE Volume 1, including the artists behind the mega-hit Lineage MMORPG series, superstar Hyung-Tae Kim(Magna Carta, War of Genesis), and dozens of other pro illustrators, animators and graphic artists.

“There are so many illustrators in the video game industry who want to use their creativity outside of video game development,” says Seoul Visual Works Founder Eddie Yu. “They want to create something more personal and subjective. APPLE is a showcase for those illustrators and their personal creations. APPLE isn’t a big budget project but the creators are happy to contribute to a worthwhile project, one in which they can see what other artists are up to, learn from them, and study the current trends.”

“I have known Eddie Yu for many years,” says UDON Chief Erik Ko. “We both have the same vision of bringing Korean comics and art over to the west, and thus started KoreanManwha.com together, as well as the ICE Kunion brand. With the success of this type of anthology/art book format in ROBOT, we felt that we could put together an anthology of equal quality that highlights the best illustrators in Korea.”

“UDON means a lot to me,” continues Yu. “The studio has been there for me since the beginning, and we’ve overcome many difficulties together. Udon is not only a good partner but also a good friend.”

APPLE has already been a huge success in it’s home country of Korea, jumping to #1 on the manhwa charts at Naver.com(Korea’s most popular search portal) just 2 weeks after going on sale. The Korean edition of APPLE Volume 1 is also already on its third printing only a few months after its initial release.

The English edition of APPLE Volume 1 goes on sale everywhere May 2008, with future volumes expected to see print every 6-8 months. For more information on APPLE and a special interior preview, head to www.udonentertainment.com/apple/ .

APPLE VOLUME 1
Available: May 2008
264pgs Full Color 8 ¾” x 11 ¾” $34.95 US
ISBN: 978-1-897376-36-2
Diamond #: MAR084012

Cover art and interior preview:
www.udonentertainment.com/apple/previews.html

One thing before I head out: ICv2 has begun posting the monthly BookScan top 20 graphic novel chart. Because BookScan covers mostly bookstores, we can have lots of fun comparing it to the monthly Diamond chart, which is based on sales in comics stores. The difference is immediately evident: While manga tends to populate the lower reaches of the Diamond top 100, the first five titles on the BookScan chart are recent volumes of Naruto, Fruits Basket, Negima, and Fullmetal Alchemist, plus Death Note: How to Read.

Hey, everyone, I have jury duty on Thursday, so I’m posting tomorrow’s news today.

Vol. 28 of Naruto slides from number 39 to 52 on the USA Today best-seller list, and vol. 19 of Fruits Basket moves from 34 to 65.

Rivkah Greulich argues that bookstores should shelve manga by age group, and possibly by genre as well, rather than arranging them all alphabetically in a single section. A good discussion follows in the comments section. (Via Journalista.)

And in the comments to yesterday’s Journalista, Rikki Simons and Matt Thorn add their two cents to Lea Hernandez’s historical note on the standard manga format.

You know how all those reviewers are noticing how much Fairy Tail looks like One Piece? Editor Tricia Narwani makes the connection at the Del Rey blog, and it’s not as direct as you might think.

The Manga Recon team indexes their reviews for the past three months.

Reviews: The 18+ title A Wish of My Sister restores Ferdinand’s faith in porn (!) at Prospero’s Manga. Julie think’s there’s too much volleyball, not enough relationships, in vol. 4 of Crimson Hero. Patricia Beard enjoys The Prime Minister’s Secret Diplomacy, and Robert Harris has some good things to say about vol. 3 of Strawberry 100%, at Anime on DVD. Ed Sizemore is very disappointed by the manga version of Kamikaze Girls at Comics Worth Reading. At Manga Life, Shannon Fay reviews vol. 1 of Avalon High: Coronation and vol. 1 of RA-1, Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane checks out vol. 1 of Dazzle, and Joy Kim reads vol. 15 of Fullmetal Alchemist. Tiamat’s Disciple reviews vol. 1 of Kieli but reserves final judgment until the second volume comes out. Erica Friedman enjoys vol. 4 of Kashimashi Girl meets Girl once she realizes that it really is a formula series.

In this week’s PWCW, Jennifer de Guzman goes comics shopping in three different venues, and what she finds sounds pretty much like the comics market in miniature: a comics store with no graphic novels or manga, a chain store with lots of manga but a disorganized GN section, and a library with a good mix:

This is when I realized that, despite their differences in detail, in their essentials the comic book store and the Borders were very similar. Both catered to specialty audiences, stocking for those customers to the detriment of the diversity—as well as currency—of the graphic novels they offered. Both offer special orders, but I wanted to see the books before I bought them. It was just too soon to make a commitment.

Also at PWCW: Kai-Ming Cha writes about Del Rey’s new Fairy Tail and the multiple versions of Speed Racer, and I talk to Tran Nguyen about DramaQueen’s return from hiatus.

At ComiXology, Kristy Valenti winds up her two-part series on gender and reading habits with a look at how men and women view comics, including manga.

Precocious Curmudgeon David Welsh shares his picks from this week’s new manga, and Julie thumbs through the April Previews at the Manga Maniac Cafe.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette interviews Undertown writer Jim Pascoe.

Erica Friedman writes an open letter to the publishers of light novels, urging them to be realistic about their audience and reach out beyond the circle of manga readers. And Tiamat’s Disciple reports that Tokyopop has put Scrapped Princess on hold, possibly permanently.

Who knew there were so many fans of Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service? At Sporadic Sequential, John Jakala finds a few signs of hope for the much-loved but hard-to-find series, and he links to Mike Richardson’s explanation of why Dark Horse does things the way they do. I have to say I was puzzled by all the comments about their small trim size, but I guess everyone was talking about Lone Wolf and Cub. Every other book I have seen by them has been standard manga size or larger.

Dave White of 741.5 Comics critiques a Japanese book on how to draw American-style comics.

Translator Satsuma has some interesting notes on Shugo Chara! and With the Light.

The latest volume of Eyeshield 21 gets the color treatment! Christopher Butcher posts a sneak peek.

Robots Never Sleep is back, with a roundup of recent reading.

ANN posts the Japanese comic rankings for March 25-31.

Yamila Abraham announces that Aoi Futaba and Kurenai Mitsuba will be guests at Yaoi Jamboree.

Reviews: Carlo Santos has another Right Turn Only!! column up at ANN, with plenty of brief reviews plus a reader favorite. Lianne Sentar of Sleep Is For the Weak really likes the yaoi rollerblading story Slave for Sale. Hung enjoys vol. 1 of My Dearest Devil Princess at the BasuGasuBakuhatsu Anime Blog. Steve Haske of the Daily Vanguard critiques the Street Fighter II manga. The Avid Reader reads vol. 4 of Vampire Knight. Tangognat checks out vol. 1 of Gun Blaze West. Tiamat’s Disciple wraps up a CLAMP series with a review of Magic Knight Rayearth II. Deb Aoki of About.com checks out vol. 1 of Haruka: Beyond the Stream of Time. Michelle enjoys vol. 4 of Nana at Soliloquy in Blue. Rachel Bentham reviews Hot Steamy Glasses and Scott Campbell checks out vol. 8 of Path of the Assassin at Active Anime. Matthew Alexander reads vol. 1 of Blood+ and Danielle Van Gorder enjoys vol. 2 of Spiral at Anime on DVD.

Katherine Dacey’s Weekly Recon includes this week’s new manga and a handful of short reviews. Ed Chavez trolls the April Previews for manga shipping in June at the MangaCast.

ComiPress translates Shonen Jump editor-in-chief Masahiro Ibaraki’s reminiscences of his 25 years at the helm.

Lea Hernandez clarifies the history of manga in the U.S. (Via Sporadic Sequential.)

What day is it today? John Jakala outlines some possible changes for his site, and someone is impersonating Lillian DP on the internets. And Heisei Democracy is keeping tabs on Japanese April Fool pranks (probably NSFW).

The mountain-climing saga Gaku – Minna no Yama won this year’s Manga Taisho (grand prize), according to ANN, and Yotsuba&! placed second in the voting.

Erica Friedman interviews Tokyopop editor Hope Donovan, who is editing the yuri title Kannazuki no Miko.

Tiamat’s Disciple takes a pessimistic look at light novels. Commenters chime in with more.

Gia wraps up Sakura Con with one final post, a radio interview, and a conversation with Viz about why they weren’t there.

News from Japan: At the MangaCast, Ed Chavez has a podcast up about the Tokyo Anime Fair. High School Debut artist Kazune Kawahara has drawn a bonus episode for Deluxe Margaret magazine. Used-book chain Bookoff has offered to pay over 100 million yen to several writers’ associations to offset losses from used book sales. Kethylia finds two magazines with rather unusual taglines. And sales of Fullmetal Alchemist have passed the 30 million volume mark.

Reviews: Lori Henderson’s daughter Krissy give five stars to vol. 2 of Gon at Manga Xanadu. At Comics-and-More, Dave Ferraro feels Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms didn’t quite live up to all the praise it received. At Active Anime, Davey C. Jones reviews vol. 4 of Strawberry 100% and vol. 11 of The Law of Ueki, and Holly Ellingwood checks out vol. 1 of Haruka Beyond the Stream of Time. Ferdinand is not too impressed with Innocence at Prospero’s Manga. Julie enjoys vol. 7 of Emma and vol. 10 of Tail of the Moon at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Kethylia turns a firm thumbs down on Little Darling. Dan Grendel pulls on the Manga Zubon (manga shorts) at Comic Pants. Connie checks out vol. 14 of Berserk at Slightly Biased Manga. Greg Hackmann reviews vol. 1 of Purgatory Kabuki and Matthew Alexander reads vol. 5 of Purgatory Kabuki at Anime on DVD. Johanna Draper Carlson checks out vol. 1 of Honey and Clover and Ed Sizemore recommends vol. 9 of Tail of the Moon at Comics Worth Reading. Michelle enjoys vol. 3 of Nana at Soliloquy in Blue. Mely’s inner 13-year-old girl enjoys vol. 4 of Vampire Knight more than her mature self at coffeeandink.

High School Girls is wrapping up, The King of Fighters is back, and Junk just keeps on pluggin’. Details and cover art after the jump.

SPRING INTO ACTION!
HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS VOL. 9, THE KING OF FIGHTERS 2003 VOL. 4 & JUNK VOL. 6 AVAILABLE NOW!

SAN JOSE, CA – March, 2008 – DrMaster Publications has announced that High School Girls vol. 9, the final volume of the series by Towa Ohshima, The King of Fighters 2003 vol. 4 by Wing Yan & King Tung, and Junk – Record of the Last Hero vol. 6 by Kia Asamiya, are all available now.

High School Girls vol. 9
The end is finally here! The crazy Okinawan school trip approaches its end in this final volume of High School Girls. Eriko and her friends are up to their usual antics terrorizing the teachers, starting pillow fights, buying up weird Okinawan souvenirs for their friends and families, and having late night sleepovers snacking and reminiscing about their hilariously silly pasts. Prepare to laugh your socks off in this awesomely hysterical and side-splitting conclusion to the High School Girls series!

The King of Fighters 2003 vol. 4
The King of Fighters 2003 series returns with more explosive kicks and punches that will blow your mind! The 10th King of Fighters semi-finals kicks off with Team K’ vs. The High School Girls Team on top of the zooming “Highway Star Express.” However, their match is unexpectedly interrupted by the former leader of NESTS’ research department, the Phantom Pain-Kirameki Kannaduki, who suddenly attacks K’. What will happen to K’…? On the other end of the world, on a sailboat on the Nile River, the second battle of the semi-finals is taking place – Hero Team vs. Wolf Team. Shen-Woo vs.Terry Bogard begin the incredible battle between the two highly-skilled teams. Both fighters pull out all they have for battle, and despite the unexpected result, the sensational combat touches the whole world.

Junk – Record of the Last Hero vol. 6
Hiro goes back to school to begin a fresh start in his life… or so he thought, until his sexy new JUNK counselor becomes his new homeroom teacher! As the third JUNK’s terror escalates, a new and more powerful JUNK sent by JUNK Systems appears and is set on punishing the third JUNK. While a cult called Koufukukai reaches out to the fear ridden citizens of Tokyo with sinister intentions behind their “goodwill.”

Availability
High School Girls vol. 9, The King of Fighters vol. 4, and Junk – Record of the Last Hero vol. 6 are AVAILABLE NOW! High School Girls and Junk – Record of the Last Hero are each priced at $9.95, and The King of Fighters is fully colored and priced at $13.95.