MangaBlog

We had big snow out here in the Northeast yesterday, and we’re expecting more on the weekend. Now that I work for the mayor, I still enjoy the pretty flakes but I also see them as dollars flying away (plowing is expensive!). Anyway, usually being snowed in means more blogging, not less, but my sister and her family are moving to a new house today, so posts will be short for a day or two as I’m being drafted to help.

Heidi MacDonald puts NYAF in perspective at The Beat.

Christopher Butcher writes about writing his article on yaoi for gay men.

Naruto rules the USA Today Booklist once more, with vol. 27 at number 55, vol. 26 at number 67, and vol. 25 at number 79.

The latest issue of Otaku USA is on newsstands, with Naruto on the cover!

With the end of the year looming, Johanna Draper Carlson discusses the manga she’s still reading and the year’s biggest disappointment: Death Note.

Aurora has relaunched their website, as well as sites for their yaoi imprint Deux and their “ladies comics” line LuvLuv. It’s all very pretty, so go take a look. (Via Yaoi Suki.)

Reviews: Tangognat likes Manga: The Complete Guide. At Prospero’s Manga, Ferdinand reviews vol. 1 of The Other Side of the Mirror, vol. 1 of Shinshoku Kiss, and the 18+ title Midara. At the Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie has vol. 1 of My Heavenly Hockey Club, vol. 1 of Fall in Love Like a Comic, vol. 7 of ES: Eternal Sabbath, and Kazuo Umezu’s Reptilia stacked on the table. Michelle reads vols. 20 and 21 of Hana-Kimi and vol. 9 of xxxHolic at Soliloquy in Blue.

At Newsarama, Chris Arrant interviews Fred Schodt, author of The Astro Boy Essays. (H/T: Charles Tan.)

ComiPress continues their Manga Zombie excerpts with a chapter on obscure gekiga manga artist Suzuki Ryosei. (Images are NSFW).

Also not entirely safe for work, but a good read nonetheless: Christopher Butcher has a beginner’s guide to yaoi for gay men. (Via Blog@Newsarama.)

John Jakala revisits Tintin Pantoja’s re-imagination of Wonder Woman.

Carlo Santos has another Right Turn Only!! column up at ANN, with some brief reviews and a fairly hard slam at Vampire Knight.

It was a noble experiment, but Digma, the first free manga magazine in Japan, has folded after less than a year.

After a student in Kyoto Seika University’s Department of Manga was stabbed to death, the faculty and students made a manga about him, partly to memorialize the student, partly to help solve the crime.

Reviews: At Blogcritics, Katie McNeill reviews Asian Beat. Jordan Marks reviews Camera Camera Camera at Yaoi Suki. Connie has posted a ton of reviews at Slightly Biased Manga since I last checked in: Japan As Viewed by 17 Creators, vol. 2 of Skip Beat, Truly Kindly, vols. 1 and 2 of Princess Princess, vol. 3 of Hoshin Engi, vol. 4 of After School Nightmare, vol. 4 of Click, and vol. 16 of Eyeshield 21. At the Sunny Side Up Anime Blog, huamulan03 reviews That Guy Was Splendid. At Anime on DVD, the staff contributes their Small Bodied Manga Reviews and Ed Chavez critiques the Welcome to the NHK novel. Jog reviews vols. 1 and 2 of Octopus Girl. Mely reviews Nabi: The Prototype at Coffeeandink.

This UK-based company looks like they will be focusing on global manga.

Dimensional Manga is a publishing company registered under the company name Fifth Dimension Limited. It specializes in producing manga graphic novels. Its first title is Demon Prince: Children of Gaia (14 part series). Volume 1 is scheduled for release in February 2008. It will be distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors and has appeared in December ’07 issue of Diamond Previews (Page 3).

Dimensional Manga plans to release further titles in the future including:

Origins: Energy Pattern Disruption,
Discoveries: Fifth Dimensional Layer Shift
Ghost Battle: Imprisoned by Progression
Incomplete: Detached.

Dimensional Manga believes in providing fans with a top quality experience through stunning storylines captured in amazing manga graphic novels. Dimensional Manga’s ultimate aim is to push the barriers within the comic books arena and introduce never before seen concepts and content encapsulated in a perfect balance of action, comedy and excitement.

Visit Dimensional Manga website http://www.dimensionalmanga.com where you can view the free sample pages from the upcoming Graphic Novels, Demon Prince: Children of Gaia. Vol 1 and Vol 2. Alternatively click the following links:

Graphic Novel 1(NORMAL PREVIEW): http://publish.digital-publishing.co.uk/?id=dp6455

Graphic Novel 2(SERIOUS PREVIEW): http://publish.digital-publishing.co.uk/?id=dp8894



DrMaster publishes one of the first manga that got my family hooked—Iron Wok Jan. They’re still going, with vol. 27 of that long-running series, plus vol. 5 of Junk and vol. 1 of a new series, Purgatory Kabuki, coming out this week.

This isn’t in the press release, but I heard at NYAF, and just verified at DrMaster’s site, that the early Iron Wok Jan books are on sale for $4.95 each, which suggests a gift idea for those with culinary leanings.

DrMASTER PUBLICATIONS TO RELEASE
JUNK VOL. 5, IRON WOK JAN VOL. 27, AND PURGATORY KABUKI VOL. 1

SAN JOSE, CA – December 12, 2007 – DrMaster has just announced the publication of Junk volume 5 by Kia Asamiya, Iron Wok Jan volume 27, the final volume of the popular series by author Shinji Saijyo, and Purgatory Kabuki volume 1 by Yasushi Suzuki.

Purgatory Kabuki v1
Purgatory Kabuki is a samurai action story set in the underworld or afterlife. For reasons unknown, Imanoturugi, a former samurai, is obsessed with leaving the afterlife. To die in battle is a samurai’s greatest honor. Yet, now Imanoturugi must claim 1000 swords from the fallen warriors who now share residence in the dark underworld. By these and these means alone, this highly skilled blades master will be allowed admittance back into the living world. But to what end? Upon what stone purpose does he sharpen his edge? The story borrows heavily from various Japanese legends and myths. A skillfully mixed bag of action, suspense, classic ukiyoe style art and intrigue definitely worth reading.

Junk v5
The advent of the third JUNK brings a new reign of terror to Tokyo as the white JUNK is overpowered by its superior technology. Meanwhile, Hiro goes to Okinawa to visit Ryoko, who is recuperating from the kidnapping incident. As they come to terms with each other, will Hiro find what he is missing in his life? Don’t miss this new installment of the series Junk!

Iron Wok Jan v27
After Jan reveals his unspeakable ingredient too sickening even to be mentioned, the ostriches go wild turning the competition arena upside down. But, not to worry, there is still one battle left. Who will come out victorious? Whet your appetites for the final volume of Iron Wok Jan! You don’t want to miss the tantalizing action of the final battle as the cooking battle saga of the two houses Akiyama and Gobancho closes its curtain after three generations.

Also included: A special alternate ending and Shinji Saijyo’s debut manga What Mysterious Fellows!!

Availability
The three titles are available for pre-order now, and will be shipped out on 14 December. Each one will be priced at $9.95. Visit www.drmasterbooks.com for more detailed series information.

About DrMaster Publications, Inc.:
From Japan we bring unique stories and characters, brought to life through suspenseful science fiction, relationship dramas, and side-splitting comedies. And from China, we have offerings rich in history and mystique, and titles with unmatched action and suspense. By brazenly going against the grain and laughing in the face of conformity, DrMaster Publications Inc. introduced something different to the legion of comic book fans whose cravings lie outside the superhero box. Choosing the path less traveled we have journeyed across the Pacific to bring US readers, the acclaimed works from Japan and China’s biggest and brightest!

Each of our books is like a glimpse into a new realm as seen through the eyes of the authors and artists. You don’t just read a DrMaster book—it jolts you to life, as you are propelled through the pages. Please click here for a list of our current and upcoming titles. And feel free to tour the site. Regular updates will follow as our line of “masterful” comic series expands.

About DGN Productions International:
DGN Productions (Digital Graphic Novel Productions) is a newly-formed production company and studio made up of industry veterans within the comics and video game industries. Through strategic licensing of key comic book titles and the use of recognized industry professionals within the fields of animation and video game development, DGN Pro. Intl. is dedicated to producing cutting-edge video games, comics and animated features adapted from some the biggest and brightest in Hong Kong, Japanese and Korean comic book properties. DGN Productions Intl. was founded June 2004 and is based in Fremont, California.

This week’s PWCW features an overview of NYAF, plus articles on the Marvel/Del Rey announcement, what folks were doing on the exhibit floor, and Bandai’s acquisition of Code Geass licenses. And don’t miss Kai-Ming’s interview with Faust editor Katsushi Ota and my profile of the Lime Studios duo, David Boller and Mary Hildebrandt.

Major new blog announcement: Veteran editor Jake Forbes has a new blog that focuses on Return to Labyrinth but also covers lots of other cool stuff, like the choose-your-own-adventure books (he’s made his own blog version)—check it out!

David Welsh interviews Eijiro Shimata of Kodansha about Morning 2‘s international manga competition. If you’re preparing an entry, don’t forget, the deadline is December 31.

Newsarama talks to Marvel VP Ruwan Jayatilleke about the manga X-Men and Wolverine series announced at NYAF. And James Jakala, who was thinking about superhero/manga mashups a while ago, reacts to the news. Manganews reacts as well.

MangaCast picks the best of this week’s new manga.

ComiPress spots another win for Team Manga: New York Magazine includes two manga, Apollo’s Song and Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, in its Best Comics of 2007 list.

John T posts a very manga-oriented gift guide at Mecha Mecha Media.

A company called eigoMANGA is getting together with a subscription service to provide global manga magazines to schools.

Reviews: Here’s a new one: Indonesian blogger huamulan03 has a detailed review of Tachibana Higuchi’s Swan Lake. At the Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie checks out vol. 7 of Sugar Sugar Rune, vol. 6 of Beauty Pop, vol. 1 of Megami Deluxe, and vol. 6 of ES Eternal Sabbath. Tangognat takes a quick look at Crossroad and The Devil Within, two series that handle similar themes in very different ways. About Heroes posts brief reviews of recent titles, from Emma to Gon. At the MangaCast, Aliera is not impressed with Pop Travel Japan: Essential Otaku Guide but is a little more kindly disposed toward Calling You; meanwhile, MangaManiac reads vol. 1 of Prince Charming. Michael May has a lengthy review of MW at Blog@Newsarama. Jiji reviews vol. 1 of Pick of the Litter at Manganews. Greg Burgas reads Jiro Taniguchi’s The Ice Wanderer at Comic Book Resources.

I still have some NYAF material to post, but life goes on in the outside world, so I want to link to some other news as well.

Let’s start off with the blog equivalent of a bell and a kettle: I link fairly often to the Phillippines-based blog Otaku Champloo. Blogger Khursten and some of her friends have started a book club called Read or Die that encourages literacy by putting books (including manga!) into the hands of high school students and sponsoring a convention where readers and writers can meet each other. They are having a fund-raiser right now, so if you have a bit of extra cash rattling around in the bottom of your PayPal account, why not stop by and donate?

And actually, here’s a scoop that came from NYAF, sort of: Yaoi Suki talks to John O’Donnell about CPM/BeBeautiful. Yes, they’re still alive, and Libre hasn’t taken any action against them.

Jason Thompson discusses manga and his own webcomic, The Stiff, at Girlamatic.com

Neil Cohn has posted a paper analyzing the visual language of manga. After you read it, head to the TCJ Message Board for followup discussion, including a comic that made me chuckle. (Second link via Journalista.)

Everyone else has already covered this, but it seems there was a minor manga kerfuffle last week, when a boy picked up a copy of Absolute Boyfriend in a South Carolina Books-A-Million and saw a picture of a naked boy. (Actually, it was a nonexplicit drawing of a naked robot, but I doubt that would mollify the kid’s shocked mother.) BAM is moving their manga department farther away from the kids’ section in response. David Welsh has a good time with it, and check the comments for more. As the aunt of a second-grader, all I can say is, will they be shrinkwrapping Captain Underpants next?

On a more exalted note, Wiley is publishing manga editions of Shakespeare. These ones follow the text a little more closely than the Self Made Hero editions; check the link for some previews.

Attention aspiring artists: The deadline for Kodansha’s Morning International Competition is December 31. For inspiration, check out this year’s runners-up here and here.

Here’s a company that will apparently be selling manga online with an interesting model:

Members of AmieStreet.jp will collectively determine the price of all the music, anime and Manga, based on the AmieStreet.com model where all songs start free and increases in price as they increase in popularity. Members will also earn money to spend on more music, anime and Manga when they recommend content that subsequently rises in price, based on the AmieStreet.com REC (recommendation) system.

A Japanese company is putting Tezuka’s Phoenix (well, parts of it anyway) on the Nintendo DS.

Reviews: Here’s a good one to kick it off: Cristoph Mark reviews vols. 1-22 of 20th Century Boys and vols. 1-2 of 21st Century Boys for the Daily Yomiuri. At Completely Futile, Adam Stephanides recommends another series not yet available in English, Partner. At The Star of Malaysia, an anonymous reviewer likes Manga: The Complete Guide, Kurogane reviews vol. 1 of Spiral, and Kevin Tan checks out vol. 1 of Atelier Marie and Elie: Zarburg Alchemist. Joshua Habel has a few reservations about xxxHolic at The Stute. At Comics-and-More, Dave Ferraro enjoys MW. Charles Tan likes it as well.