MangaBlog

What to read this week? The MangaCast crowd post the full list and their picks.

David Welsh picks out the good stuff from Diamond Previews.

Kokoro Media takes a look at DC’s investment in Japanse manga publisher Flex Comics:

What interests me is that DC and Flex seem to be following the scanlation model of marketing: they want Web-heavy advertising before converting manga titles to print. But I question how they plan on getting the word out about Flex — the readers who watch BitTorrent and scanlation sites for the next big manga title don’t necessarily think to visit a corporate site. (On the other hand, Tokyopop has any number of manga readers on its mailing list.) And in order to earn purchasing decisions, DC/Flex will have to include something extra with their bound editions: new colour illustrations, interviews, gift certificates for related merchandise, or something similar.

Johanna hops on the Jump the Shark Express and lists the manga series she has stopped reading. As this is clearly the conversation of the week, I’ll ask you all: Which series have you dropped? Let me know in comments.

The Daily Telegraph has more on those Kaplan vocab guides from Tokyopop.

Sexism roundup: Two bloggers express concerns about the depiction of girls and women in manga; another blogger responds. There are some interesting conversations in the comments sections. (Via When Fangirls Attack.)

Reviews: Lots of brief reviews today. The Anime on DVD folks serve up another helping of Small Bodied Manga Reviews, and Carlo Santos takes on Tezuka and Yotsuba&! in the latest Right Turn Only!! Chris Mautner looks at Fanfare/Ponent Mon titles at Panels and Pixels. At Comics 212, Christopher Butcher checks out three yaoi titles from 801, Affair, Bond(z), and vol. 1 of Ichigenme: The First Class is Civil Law… At the MangaCast, Ed Chavez has an audio review of vol. 2 of Sweety and vol. 2 of Chun Rhang. Reviewer Holly Ellingwood has a busy day at Active Anime, posting reviews of vol. 7 of Skip Beat, vol. 5 of Kami Kaze, and the yaoi anthology Othello. Bill Sherman of Blogcritics reviews vol. 12 of Death Note; there is a spoiler, so don’t look if you haven’t already figured out how it ends. At Coffeeandink, Mely turns her discerning eye on The Building Opposite. Manga Life’s Dan Polley checks out vol. 12 of Wallflower, vol. 7 of Pastel, vol. 1 of Dragon Eye, and vol. 1 of Aquarian Age Juvenile Orion. At the Mangamaniaccafe, Julie posts mini-reviews of vol. 3 of Zombie Powder and vol. 4 of Emma. Kethylia finds a lot not to like about vol. 1 of Beck.

In this week’s issue of PWCW, I talk to Jim Chadwick and Asako Suzuki of CMX about their new edition of Gon, the wordless tale of a mischievous dinosaur, and Kai-Ming Cha concludes her two-part interview with David Wise and Audry Taylor of Go!Comi.

Inspired by David Welsh’s recent look at long-running series, John Jakala tallies those that have jumped the shark.

Christopher Butcher posts this week’s shipping list.

MangaCast has all kinds of news: Anime Expo schedules for DrMaster and Go!Comi; lots of info on Kyohaku Dogs, announced this week by Infinity; a handful of previews; and this week’s MangaBlogCast—I’ll post the liner notes later today.

Same Hat! Same Hat!! links to an online scanlation of Shintaro Kago’s Abstraction. The usual Same Hat warnings apply, i.e., if it’s posted there it’s probably not a good manga to read at work.

The creators known as Peach-Pit apologize for the abrupt ending of Rozen Maiden on their blog.

I imagine this will be happening in a lot of places: 7-7-07 will be 707 International Nana Day in the Philippines. (For the uninitiated: “Nana” is Japanese for “seven.”)

Reviews: Mangaijin reviews chapters 1 and 2 of Birdy the Mighty, which is available only in scanlation. At the BasuGasuBakuhatsu Anime Blog, Hung checks out vol. 2 of Kamichama Karin, vol. 5 of Nodame Cantabile, and vol. 1 of Hayate the Combat Butler. Otaku Champloo looks at two manga about lying and cooking, Liar Game and Bambino. Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page is back with reviews of two manga in Japanese, TsunDere! and Switch Girl!! At Okazu, Erica Friedman reviews another unlicensed title, vol. 1 of Applause. Back to manga in English: At Prospero’s Manga, Ferdinand reviews vol. 1 of Time Guardian and Miranda reads vols. 1-6 of Death Note. At the MangaCast, Readilbert checks out two vol. 4’s, of Dragon Voice and Platinum Garden, and Ed does a podcast review of Solfege and Jazz.

OK, I didn’t make it to MoCCA, but this was just as good: I had a delightful dinner last night with J. Dee Dupuy and Svetlana Chmakova at Fugakyu in Brookline. They actually did have a maki roll called Naruto, but we all agreed the best dish was Svet’s choice, Una-Coco Maki, an unlikely but delicious combination of manga, cream cheese, eel, and homemade hot sauce. And her soup, which was served in a teapot, was just adorable. In between bites we talked about Nightschool, the new book Svet is working on for Yen Press, and I got to see some glimpses of volume 3 of Dramacon. Dee does the toning for Dramacon, and she’s also the creator of the stylish webcomic OniKimono, Detectives of the Orient; watch for more from her in the future.

OK, back to blogging. David Welsh catches up on a few ongoing series in his latest Flipped column; Sgt. Frog is finally starting to wear thin, it seems, but Yotsuba&! still has the power to charm.

Nipple-Free Comix: Is that what the future holds? At Broken Frontier, David Hine ponders the possible effects of Tokyopop’s new ratings system. (Via Simon Jones, who scoffs at such things.)

Johanna lists Viz’s top-selling manga and DVDs, and surprise! They’re all Naruto. Nonetheless, she observes, ” I’m impressed that Viz puts out such a great variety of books when they make so much from only one property.”

ComiPress has a Backstage feature on Rumic World, the awesomely comprehensive Rumiko Takahashi fan site.

Seven Seas has announced their schedule for Anime Expo.

If you’re going to be in Brooklyn tonight, check out this Tokyopop round table at the Barnes & Noble in Park Slope, just down the street from my old digs on 7th Avenue. And if you’re in Vladivostok, check out their annual festival of visual arts, which will include manga classes.

Reviews: Here’s a treat to start your day: Mangaijin writes about Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Yokahama Shopping Journal), a favorite among scanlation readers. Connie starts her summer reading at Slightly Biased Manga, with reviews of vol. 14 of Tenjho Tenge, vol. 14 of Eyeshield 21, vol. 1 of Hoshin Engi, and vol. 1 of Parasyte. At Active Anime, Holly Ellingwood checks out vol. 1 of Yurara and Scott Cambpell takes a look at vol. 1 of My Heavenly Hockey Club. Ben Leary reviews vol. 1 of Gundam Seed Destiny and Patricia Beard looks at Picnic at Anime on DVD. At Comics Worth Reading, Ed Sizemore reviews vol. 1 of Mechademia.

ICv2 was at the American Library Association conference, and they report that manga was big news there: Viz, Tokyopop, and Yen Press were all there; librarian/Eisner judge/manga maven Robin Brenner was signing her book, Understanding Manga and Anime; librarian Michael Pawluk was signing his Graphic Novels: A Genre Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More; and Kat Kan was promoting her graphic novels database. In a two-hour panel discussion on graphic novels, the librarians revealed that they spend between 30% and 40% of their budgets on graphic novels.

Shelving by size, with manga-sized books shelved separately from the traditional comic or album sized volumes, was a strategy used to help conserve space and keep displays neat. Comic strip collections were generally shelved separately from graphic novels. Fiction and non-fiction graphic novels were shelved together, and all were shelved by title, rather than by author/artist. Light novels were generally being shelved with fiction, but there was some suspicion that shelving them with graphic novels would produce better circulation.

…

Series that shift up in age level in later volumes because of incidental nudity, or sexual or violent content, were relocated to the highest age level appropriate. Having an adult graphic novel collection was recommended as a key way to avoid challenges to teen titles due to content.

While most graphic novels are found in the Young Adult section, many libraries are adding children’s and adult GN sections, and libraries are becoming more important as a distribution channel for graphic novels, the report concluded. On a less serious note, Dance Chica displays her ALA manga and swag.

The top ten weirdest Japanese soft drinks. (Via Japundit.)

Go!Comi has posted their Anime Expo schedule. Their guests will be Wendy Pini, who is creating a webcomic, The Masque of the Red Death, and animator Aimee Major Steinberger, whose Japan Ai: A Tall Girl’s Adventures in Japan will be published by Go!Comi this winter.

At PopCultureShock, Katherine Dacey-Tsuei posts this week’s new manga and adds brief reviews of recent books, while Erin F. illuminates her review of the the two Death Note movies with helpful diagrams.

ComicSnob’s Matt Blind posts his manga watch list for this week.

Men’s manga weirdness at No-Sword.

Reviews: Connie is pleasantly surprised by vol. 2 of Sweety at Slightly Biased Manga. At the Star of Malaysia, on the other hand, Pauline Wong is disappointed by an early CLAMP title, vol. 1 of Suki: A Like Story. Wilma Jandoc of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin is not impressed by Spirit of Wonder. Holly Ellingwood reviews Casino Lily at Active Anime. Adam Stephanides reviews the two-volume Japanese series Tenshi Ni Narumon!

Check it out: Netcomics, new titles, and more. Links after the cut.

Online Manga Synergy

Netcomics to carry Yaoi Press titles
Netcomics website
DC invests in Japanese company

Planning ahead

Anime Expo schedule
Digital to announce Platinum imprint
Give blood, get Pocky

New Titles from BEA

Same Hat’s BEA roundup
MangaCast roundup
AoD scouts find new Tokyopop titles

Manga U: It’s more than just speedlines

Reuters article on foreign manga artists studying in Japan

A new direction for CMX? Newsarama has the DC solicitations for September; scroll down for the CMX titles, which include two horror series: Presents and Variante. Both are rated Mature and priced at $12.99, compared to $9.99 for most of their other titles.

Shaenon Garrity devotes this week’s Overlooked Manga Festival to a celebration of her former co-worker, Dark Horse editor and the original American Otaku, Carl Horn.

Robin Brenner’s book is out! Understanding Manga and Anime is a manga guide for librarians, which means the rest of us will probably reap the benefits of it indirectly.

At the Manga Maniac Cafe, Julie is gearing up for con season with advice for first-timers, a peek at DrMaster’s Anime Expo schedule, and a call to get together at AX.

There is much awesomeness at Same Hat. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to this radio interview with Frederick Schodt and Carl Horn, read the comments at SH2 and you won’t be able to resist. Also: Kazuo Umezu explains how to make a giant hand (note: it ends badly) and what if… Junji Ito drew Spongebob Squarepants?

News from Japan: Mainchi writes about Comic Yell, the first shoujo manga for boys, which eschews maids and spectacles but allows the occasional panty shot. ANN reports that the publisher Asahi Sonorama is folding, and Slam Dunk topped the list of favorite manga published by the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs.

Kethylia reviews Dolis. At Prospero’s Manga, Ferdinand finds vol. 1 of Oh My Goddess is showing its age a bit, while Miranda has a brief review of vols. 4 and 5 of Kuro Gane. Okazu’s Erica Friedman reviews Battle Binder Plus. At Anime on DVD, Ben Leary checks out vol. 1 of Haibane Renmei, and Patricia Beard reviews the one-shot Little Crybaby and vol. 4 of Yotsuba&! Holly Ellingwood reviews vol. 7 of Kamui and Katie Gallant checks out vol. 7 of Ghost Hunt at Active Anime. Shaenon Garrity takes a fond look at vols. 1 and 2 of Black Jack at the Tezuka: Marvel of Manga blog. Manga Life’s Dan Polley gives good marks to vol. 1 of Zatch Bell. Mangaijin really likes vol. 1 of King of Thorn. At PopCultureShock, Katherine Dacey-Tsuei finds Tezuka’s Apollo’s Song too heavy-handed. Xavier Guilbert reviews Tokyo Eden at du9. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie reads vol. 19 of Bleach, vol. 2 of Click, and vol. 3 of Stray Little Devil. David Welsh sums up vol. 12 of Death Note in a single, elegantly worded sentence:

I loved the series, but darn it, that was the head-talkingest tankoubon I’ve ever seen IN MY LIFE.