MangaBlog

ANN interviews Arina Tanemura, creator of Full Moon o Sagashite and The Gentlemen’s Alliance +.

MangaCast has audio of Jason Thompson’s “100 Manga Magazines in 60 Minutes” panel from SDCC. He also has this week’s new manga list, the first part of the Big List of new manga in Japan, and links to a handful of previews.

Vol. 5 of the yuri anthology Yuri Monogatari is available for pre-order!

Here’s a little eye candy to start your day: Tokyopop editor Tim Beedle has posted the cover of vol. 2 of Return to Labyrinth. Check Beedle’s blog for updates on the title, which is written by Jake Forbes and is sort of a manga sequel to the Jim Henson film Labyrinth.

Madeleine Rosca wraps up her multipart account of her trip to Japan, part of her prize for taking honorable mention in the Foreign Minister’s international manga competition.

ComiPress interviews uber-otaku Ed Chavez about the future of MangaCast.

The Kansas City Star has an article on manga and graphic novels in the classroom.

If you’re running out of things to read, check out the Scanlations of the Month at Manganews.

Digital is publishing an Essential Otaku Guide to Japan. And if you’re going, you might want to check out the Japan Football Museum’s Captain Tsubasa exhibit.

Reviews: At the Savage Critics, Jog reviews vol. 2 of Mushishi and observes that the book is on a twice-yearly schedule, which is not a good sign. Christopher Seaman takes an advance look at vol. 10 of Kekkaishi at Active Anime. At Comics Worth Reading, Johanna looks at three quite different yaoi titles, My Paranoid Next Door Neighbor, Words of Devotion, and Can’t Win With You! Julie takes an early look at a new title from CMX, vol. 1 of The Key to the Kingdom, at the Manga Maniac Cafe. Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page profiles two Japanese titles, Toshiue no Hito (“Older Man”) and a student-teacher manga, Sono ki ni Sasanaide. Alexiel checks out vol. 1 of Rose Hip Zero at Storymode.

OK, it’s official: The Kiss yaoi manga was a hoax, albeit a good one. Heres what CPM honcho John O’Donnell has to say:

No, BB has no plans to print a KISS yaoi manga, nor any other manga featuring KISS, for that matter.

Although considering the response it got, maybe they should give it a try!

This week’s Overlooked Manga Festival is a pre-emptive strike: Shaenon Garrity gives us a glimpse of Tekkonkinkreet in the hopes that it won’t be overlooked.

No doubt envious of the runaway success of Avril Lavigne, the KISS guys are making their first foray into manga, and they’re going all out—it’s yaoi! Ye Olde Comick Book Blogge has the press release and—brace yourself before clicking, please—some art. It’s hard to believe this isn’t a hoax—it’s not listed yet on the site of the purported publisher, BeBeautiful, but they aren’t always the best at updating—but it’s good fun anyway. (Via Comics Worth Reading.) UPDATE: Well, the art is a hoax, anyway (see comments—thanks, Alex and Kevin!). I e-mailed the BeBeautiful folks to see if any of this is true. If they respond, I’ll post it here. UPDATE 2: OK, yeah, it’s a hoax. They poached the press release from Lillian DP—not wise. Thank heaven for the self-correcting nature of the blogosphere!

Manganews highlights something that got buried in the SDCC news: DramaQueen is starting an action imprint. (Scroll down for the item.)

The bunko of Handsome Girl brings back some happy memories for the Manga Junkie.

Reviews: At the MangaCast, Jack Tse does a podcast review of Strawberry 100%, Gin Tama, and Princess Resurrection. At Manga Life, Quita Paul reviews vol. 1 of Absolute Boyfriend. At Prospero’s Manga, Ferdinand enjoys the way vol. 1 of Hollow Fields ignores the standard storylines. Holly Ellingwood gets busy at Active Anime with reviews of vol. 2 of Vampire Knight, vol. 1 of Can’t Win with You! and vol. 2 of Love Is a Hurricane.

The big news out of San Diego in the past few years, as far as the mainstream press is concerned, has been about the movie deals that are struck there. Viz has diversified into anime and film, and we know Seven Seas is shopping their projects around as well. So it comes as no surprise that Tokyopop is interested in licensing its titles as movies, games, etc. William Morris is a big-name agency, of course, and it will be interesting to see how this evolves.

WMA SIGNS MANGA GIANT TOKYOPOP

BEVERLY HILLS, CA (August 2, 2007) — The William Morris Agency (WMA) has signed TOKYOPOP, the #1 publisher of manga graphic novels in North America and largest supplier of manga entertainment in the world. WMA will represent TOKYOPOP’s original intellectual property for film, television, digital, merchandising, and game development.

“WMA’s partnership with TOKYOPOP presents a fresh opportunity for our clients and TOKYOPOP to create new characters and ideas through the dynamic world of manga,” said WMA President Dave Wirtschafter. “Our agency’s resources coupled with the unique world of TOKYOPOP, allows for a global exchange between traditional content creators and manga, anime and beyond.”

“We are excited to join forces with WMA as we further develop the TOKYOPOP brand worldwide,” said Stu Levy, the company’s CEO and Chief Creative Officer. “This partnership takes us one step closer to realizing our dream of merging the leading edge of manga entertainment with Hollywood.”

With Levy at the helm and creative executive Noah Stern onboard, the newly-formed TOKYOPOP Pictures is off and running. Film projects in development include the company’s hit properties, Lament of the Lamb, a gut-wrenching horror story of a young man who shockingly discovers he may be the last in a bloodline of vampires, and The Ai-Land Chronicles, a groundbreaking blend of live action and animation based on the company’s successful manga franchise, Princess Ai.

Hailed by the New York Times as “the American pioneer of manga,” TOKYOPOP, the company responsible for igniting the worldwide manga boom, is proud to celebrate its 10-year anniversary in 2007. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television and digital entertainment, TOKYOPOP is recognized on all fronts as a trailblazer in the manga business and a true global pop culture brand.

About the William Morris Agency
Founded in 1898, the William Morris Agency is the largest and most diversified talent and literary agency in the world, with principal offices in New York, Beverly Hills, Nashville, London, Miami Beach and Shanghai, China. The Agency represents clients in all segments of the entertainment industry, including Motion Pictures, Television, Music and Personal Appearances, Broadway Theatre and Theatrical Touring, Book Publishing, Commercial Endorsements, Sports Marketing, Licensing & Merchandising and Corporate Consulting. The William Morris Agency can be found at .

About TOKYOPOP
TOKYOPOP is hailed as a leading youth-oriented entertainment brand and an innovator of manga creation, with a revolutionary artistic vision that transcends countless platforms. From the introduction of the first-ever extensive manga publishing program in North America, to the development of its manga-originated intellectual properties into film, television and digital entertainment, TOKYOPOP has changed the way teens experience pop culture. The company’s global reach has expanded to Europe and Asia, with recent offices opening in the UK and Germany and partnerships in Australia and China, in addition to its original Los Angeles and Tokyo operations. With millions of fans logging onto the new social networking site www.TOKYOPOP.com , reading its books, and watching its DVDs and television programs, TOKYOPOP’s award-winning catalogue of licensed and original properties has made the company a visionary in an ever-growing teen entertainment marketplace. Visit www.TOKYOPOP.com for additional information.

On the USA Today Top 150, vol. 15 of Naruto slips from 58 to 88 and vol. 20 of Bleach debuts at number 111. Speaking of Bleach, Viz is going to start serializing it in Shonen Jump, which means more time between tankoubons; John Jakala has some suggestions for whiling away the weary weeks between volumes.

Shonen Jump posts a brief interview with Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue. Viz announced at SDCC that they had licensed the manga, and a preview will run in the December issue of SJ. (Via Blog@Newsarama.)

Manganews comments on Viz’s press release yesterday about Tekkonkinkreet:

It’s hard to argue with the opinion that the manga industry is becoming increasingly reliant on new talent and a new generation of manga-ka. While the much-revered authors of several years past still remain dear to the manga community, commercially, licensing companies have started to strike up deals with the newer generation of artists.

If you asked Viz, they’d tell you Taiyo Matsumoto (Ping Pong) falls squarely into that category, and that his blend of Japanese and Western art styles is what sparked their interest in his work.

If you like your manga with a British accent, check out Sweatdrop’s latest podcast, featuring reports on SDCC and Japan-EX, a roundup of new titles, and soundbites from industry insiders, including Helen McCarthy, co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia. And ComicBitsOnline.com has an interview with Sweatdrop member/Rising Stars of Manga winner/Hamlet artist Emma Vieceli.

At AICN, Scott Green surveys all the manga resources that have come out recently, from Jason Thompson’s The Complete Guide to Manga to the magazine Otaku USA. Speaking of Otaku USA, Manga Punk posts an entertaining interview with editor-in-chief Patrick Macias.

Hung takes a look at manga industry blogs at the BasuGasuBakuhatsu Anime Blog.

Yaoi Press and Netcomics already have a deal to put YP books on Netcomics’ webcomics site. Now they are even cozier: YP will handle Netcomics’ convention exhibits in the U.S.

Reviews: At MangaCast, alierarobot posts a review of Dolis, a manga that’s, well, a little different, and Ed links to podcaster Sesha’s audio review of Space Pinchy and vol. 1 of The Last Uniform. Dan Polley reviews vol. 1 of Le Chevalier d’Eon at Manga Life. At Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood reviews vol. 14 of Fullmetal Alchemist and My Paranoid Next Door Neighbor, and Christopher Seaman checks out vol. 9 of XXXHoLic. Anime on DVD’s Matthew Alexander gets an early look at vol. 1 of Pumpkin Scissors. Bill Sherman reviews the XXXHoLic omnibus for Blogcritics. At the Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie takes an early look at vol. 5 of Emma. Connie reviews vol. 3 of Queens at Slightly Biased Manga. At Mecha Mecha Media, John Thomas spots a brief review of vol. 1 of Alive: The Final Evolution in Entertainment Weekly and then posts his own review.

All the people who have been reading manga longer than I have are excited about this book. Christopher Butcher provides lots of background in this post, from when the book was first announced. Check the press release for more info.

VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES RELEASE OF EDGY MANGA TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE BY TAIYO MATSUMOTO

Acclaimed Series Blends Japanese And Western Art Styles And Offers Gritty And Surrealistic Portrayal of Disaffected Urban Youth

San Francisco, CA, August 1, 2007 – VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry’s most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has announced the highly anticipated release of an omnibus edition compiling the edgy and controversial manga series TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE, by acclaimed creator Taiyo Matsumoto, on September 25. The manga, which is being offered by VIZ Media’s Signature imprint, is also the inspiration behind the new TEKKONKINKREET anime feature film from Sony Pictures directed by noted visual effects artist and producer Michael Arias (The Abyss, Princess Mononoke, The Animatrix).

TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE bundles all three volumes of the original series along with a color poster insert and 12 special full-color manga pages – the first time these pages will be published in the U.S. An insightful interview with Michael Arias and screenwriter Anthony Weintraub is also featured in the foreword. TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE is rated “M” for Mature Audiences and will retail for $29.95.

TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE presents a gritty depiction of urban and social decay surrounding a pair of outcasts who somehow find hope and redemption. Orphaned on the mean streets of Treasure Town, street kids Black and White must mug, steal and fight to survive but are fiercely loyal to each other. Black is especially quick to avenge any slight against his dim-witted pal White. The result? The citizens of Treasure Town are afraid of them, the police are afraid of them, and even the local yakuza gangsters are afraid of them! But when a crime boss known as the “Rat” returns to Treasure Town, a confrontation is destined to occur!

Taiyo Matsumoto has won international critical acclaim for his rough and often-unflinching depictions of disaffected youth drawn in an unconventional and surrealist art style he developed after a visit to France and exposure to artists like Moebius. His manga works, including BLUE SPRING and NO. 5(both published by VIZ Media), offer a unique art style that reflects both Japanese and European influences. Another of Matsumoto’s manga, PING PONG, was made into an award-winning live action film that is being released domestically by VIZ Pictures.

“Taiyo Matsumoto is one of the most important of a new generation of manga artists that have emerged in the last decade and TEKKONKINKREET: BLACK & WHITE is one of his most powerful works,” states Elizabeth Kawasaki, Editorial Director, VIZ Media. “Matsumoto is unique in his ability to seamlessly blend Japanese and Western art styles and storytelling techniques in such a compelling and visceral manner. We are excited and privileged to offer a gorgeous omnibus presentation of BLACK & WHITE with never before seen color manga pages. The volume also serves as a wonderful complement to the new TEKKONKINKREET anime feature from Sony. This manga is definitely not a title to miss!”