MangaBlog

Remember that manga article I wrote last summer? This weekend, the New England Press Association awarded it a third prize for Arts and Entertainment Reporting, Alternative Weekly category.

I also received a third prize in the Social Issues Feature Story category, for a story about an artist who explores domestic violence in her work, and a first prize in Reporting on Religious Issues, for this piece about a theologian’s response to The Da Vinci Code.

OK, back to your regularly scheduled MangaBlog.

After the cut, Tokyopop’s press release about Gravitation EX, the sequel to the BL fave Gravitation, which will hit the street on the same day in the U.S. and Japan—a first for a new Japanese manga, according to the release. They don’t specify the date, but the website gives it as February 13.

Tokyopop was kind enough to send me a review copy of this, so I’ll bump it to the top of the stack.

TOKYOPOP and GENTOSHA Comics Join Forces to Bring the World GRAVITATION EX

Hot Sequel to Hugely Popular Bestselling Manga Series Receives Historic Simultaneous Worldwide Release

Los Angeles, CA (February 12, 2007)-TOKYOPOP, leader of the Global Manga Revolution, and Gentosha Comics, one of Japan’s top manga publishers, are proud to announce their historic partnership for the simultaneous worldwide release of Gravitation EX, the eagerly awaited sequel to Maki Murakami’s bestselling cult-classic manga series, Gravitation. For the first time ever, a never-before-published manga of Japanese origin will be available on the same day at retail stores in North America, Europe and Japan.

According to TOKYOPOP Publisher Mike Kiley, “TOKYOPOP and Gentosha have entered into an exciting partnership to concurrently release Gravitation EX around the world, marking a momentous occasion in the continuing globalization of manga. Never before in manga publishing history has a multi-country synchronized release been executed.”

Adds Gentosha Comics President Yoshihiko Ito, “We are very pleased to partner with TOKYOPOP for the worldwide release of Gravitation EX. We look forward to watching the successful launch of this property and are keeping our eye on future opportunities with TOKYOPOP!”

Hailed as the forerunner in the hugely popular shonen-ai (boys love) category, the Gravitation manga series boasts nearly half a million copies in print. A romantic comedy/drama about making it in the music industry, the popular series has spawned myriad fan collectibles including novels, soundtracks, pencil boards, calendars, phone cards, postcards, art books, anime and much more.

Fans of TOKYOPOP’s popular twelve-volume Gravitation manga series know that the story concluded more than a year and a half ago—with unanswered questions. Now, with the groundbreaking global release of Gravitation EX, the wait is over for readers around the world. This all-new sequel picks up right when the boys step off the airplane in New York City, where Eiri Yuki and his vocalist lover, Shuichi, visit the grave of Yuki’s first love and tormentor. But once there, they make a startling discovery that will change their lives…forever!

Gravitation EX will be available in stores worldwide in February 2007.

ComiPress translates an interview with manga-ka Leiji Matsumoto on the importance of copyright:

Manga artists are eternally “ronin” (freelance samurai), holding only pens instead of swords. It is extremely hard, almost impossible to become independent as a creator. There are no pension schemes or retirement lump-sums. Nobody knows when you would lose everything and fall into the abyss.

Matsumoto is concerned not only about Internet piracy but also the possibility that the term of copyright will be shortened, depriving his heirs of his manga-generated income.

Robin Brenner of No Flying, No Tights, has some thoughts on the latest comics vs. manga article and gender-bending manga.

At Okazu, Erica posts a nice article about light novels.

Over at Tokyopop, ChunHyang72 has another manga minute, with lots of linky goodness from Tokyospace and beyond.

In the wake of the Doraemon debacle, Yaoi Suki has an informative column on doujinshi.

Tina Anderson posts an interesting discussion of genres from AMLA.

Lots of Avril Lavigne interviewage at Manga Punk, including chats with Make 5 Wishes artist Camilla d’Errico and someone from packager House of Parlance, as well as a brief interview with Terry McBride, CEO of Lavigne’s management company.

Manganews wraps up yuri week with an interview with a scanlator for Lillilicious and reviews of Revolutionary Girl Utena, Between the Sheets, and vol. 1 of Hatsukoi Shimai.

In case you missed it, Same Hat rounds up the manga Simpsons pictures that have been floating around the web, along with the story of what has been happening to the creator (interviews, job offers).

David Welsh completes all three versions of Train Man and decides which one he likes best.

Anime Boredom interviews Alex de Campi, writer of Kat and Mouse. (Via Beedlejuice.)

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin checks out Gals!

Adam Stephanides has an interesting post about Jacaranda, which was nominated for an award at Angouleme. It’s about a tree that destroys Tokyo. No really.

The Manga Junkie thinks about how she developed an interest in yaoi.

Double vision: Mariko Kato reviews Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. for The Japan Times.

A new magazine, Monocle, will be debuting soon in Britain, and it will feature its own manga:

One of those paper stocks is used for a magazine within a magazine, a manga we have commissioned in Japan. Starring our own Monocle hero, Niels Watanabe, it’s a political thriller set in 2010. It means we are the only Western magazine with a full-time manga editor in the office.

The RUSH blog links to a preview of Venom Fang.

CLAMP member Mokona has completed an art book about kimonos.

At the BasuGasuBakuhatsu Anime Blog, Hung reviews vol. 1 of Rozen Maiden and vol. 6 of Kamui. Active Anime’s Holly Ellingwood checks out an early offering from 801 Media, The Sky Over My Spectacles, and Christopher Seaman reviews vol. 5 of Pastel. Jarred Pine finds vol. 1 of InuBaka to be a collection of tired cliches. Connie has been busy at Slightly Biased Manga, posting reviews of vols. 4 and 5 of Lupin III, vols. 6 and 7 of From Eroica with Love, and vol. 5 of Nana. At Mangamaniaccafe, vol. 2 of VS: Versus and vol. 1 of Shaman Warrior are on the menu. Comicsnob goes all shoujo and reviews vols. 1 and 2 of Tail of the Moon.

After the cut: The Christian fiction publisher WestBow will be publishing the Christian manga of Realbuzz studios. WestBow will relaunch Serenity and publish a new title, Goofyfoot Gurl.

So what, you say? I wasn’t too impressed with the first volume of Serenity, which was completely lacking in subtlety, but someone must have liked it; according to the PR, it outsold two-thirds of the books on the manga and graphic novels lists. (Of course, that probably means it sold 3,000 copies per volume.) And Goofyfoot Gurl got some praise from Manga Punk, a “secular” site. Anyway, WestBow plans to release volumes 1-6 of Serenity and volumes 1-4 of Goofyfoot Gurl this year, which is a pretty ambitious program.

WestBow Signs Realbuzz To Multi-Year Manga Deal

Thomas Nelson’s Christian Fiction Division Will Re-Launch
Best-Seller Serenity And Other Series

(NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE)  Thomas Nelson Incorporated and Realbuzz Studios would like to announce an exclusive multi-year contract to release a minimum of 26 manga titles, immediately making Thomas Nelson the market leader of faith-based manga content.  Ten manga novels will release in 2007 within the Serenity and Goofyfoot Gurl series.

Realbuzz Studios created the Christian/Inspirational manga category in 2005 with their best-selling teen series, Serenity, a break-out hit in the manga community outselling two-thirds of the titles on the mainstream manga and graphic novel best-seller lists.  Previously published by Barbour, Thomas Nelson will simultaneously re-launch the first six Serenity graphic novels in April 2007 and will continue the series with four new Serenity volumes in 2008.

Serenity is “a clean, inspiring teen-aged Christian comic done in a hip, contemporary way,” says Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-man, X-Men, The Hulk, and The Fantastic Four. Acclaimed Young Adult author Melody Carlson praises Serenity’s “action-filled art” and “realistic text” for creating “a fast-paced read.”  

Goofyfoot Gurl, praised as “insanely unique” by Manga Punk, a secular review site for graphic novels, will make its debut splash in September 2007 with the simultaneous publication of the first four volumes.
 
Manga, a form of graphic novels imported from Japan, is one of the fastest growing fiction categories among tween and teen girl readers in North America.  Manga enjoyed over $300 million in sales in 2005 and has seen steady double digit growth for the last five years.

“Teen girls are notoriously underserved by the American comic book and graphic novel industry,” explains Allen Arnold, Publisher for WestBow Press, “Realbuzz Studios is on the cutting edge of changing that trend with their award-winning, original English language manga with content that is real, relevant, and from a Christian worldview.”
Faith-based entertainment company Good News Holdings in Sherman Oaks, California is working with both Thomas Nelson and Realbuzz Studios to promote across multiple platforms Serenity and Goofyfoot Gurl. “This is an important moment in the faith-based teen space,” says Thom Black, co-founder of Good News Holdings.  “We see this as a wonderful opportunity to coordinate the strengths of Thomas Nelson and Realbuzz into creating popular manga entertainment that is both emotionally satisfying and spiritually uplifting and that translates into the mobile and internet worlds.” 
 
Realbuzz Studios is based in Los Angeles, California and has been acclaimed as an innovative media content company, developing and creating original stories, art, and media under the guidance of co-founders Buzz Dixon and Marlon Schulman. 
.
Serenity 1-6
Available May 14, 2007
WestBow Press
96 Pages, 5 1/2×8, Juvenile Fiction/Comics & Graphic Novels/General 
1.  Bad Girl in Town, ISBN 978-1-59554-383-7
2.  Stepping Out, ISBN 978-1-59554-384-4
3.  Basket Case, ISBN 978-1-59554-385-1
4.  Rave-n-Rant, ISBN 978-1-59554-386-8
5.  Snow Biz, ISBN 978-1-59554-387-5
6.  You Shall Love, ISBN 978-1-59554-388-2
 

Goofyfoot Gurl 1-4
Available September 11, 2007
WestBow Press
Trade Paper, $10.99
96 Pages, 5×7, Juvenile Fiction/Comics & Graphic Novels/General 
1.  Let There Be Lighten Up!, ISBN 978-1-59554-389-9
2.  When Dolphins Fly, ISBN 978-1-59554-390-5
3.  Come and Play!, ISBN 978-1-59554-391-2
4.  Out of the Soup, ISBN 978-1-59554-392-9

 
 
Believing in the power of story, WestBow Press delivers entertaining, culturally-relevant stories told from a Christian worldview. From one of the world’s largest publishers comes the imprint that is changing the face of fiction. 

LJ’er halifax_slasher, who works in a comics store, has a very articulate dissertation on why manga is succeeding where superheroes have failed. It’s not a “superheroes are crap” article, just a thoughtful examination of why manga is picking up new readers and superheroes aren’t. (I’m not so sure about his opening point, though, that Fruits Basket and Naruto are the best selling comics; some of those Complicated Tales books still sell over 100,000 per issue.) There’s some interesting cultural commentary woven in as well.

Yuri week continues at Manganews with an interview with Seven Seas editor Adam Arnold about that publisher’s new Strawberry imprint, a translated article about categorizing yuri, and reviews of Blue and 12 Days.

I haven’t been following the Marshall library story at all, because it doesn’t involve manga and because David Welsh has been all over it since it broke last October. But the general principle applies to all of us: What do libraries do about books that some patrons deem offensive? David has the latest news, which may be the end of the affair: The library has come up with a materials selection policy to use going forward. It’s worth a look for anyone who uses the library—or anyone who doesn’t but wants to be a member of Team Comix. (And shame on you if you don’t use the library—who turns down free comics?)

I’m guessing the Marshall Public Library doesn’t subscribe to the French newspaper Liberation, which surprised hentai manga artist Gengoroh Tagame by printing some of his work uncensored. (This link is pretty SFW but I can’t vouch for any of the links from there.)

Queenie Chan posts on “otome” and throws in some drawings just for fun.

The Daily Colonial devotes a short article to the “Shojo Manga: Girl Power” exhibit, which is now in Washington, DC.

Simon Jones has the best take on the American Anime Awards manga finalists:

So umm… how many votes came from Florida?

See and hear the glories of H day at Comiket via the MangaCast, where Ed has a Maki Side Dish and some mildly NSFW doujinshi for you.

Newsarama interviews My Dead Girlfriend creator Eric Wight. Want a sample? Tokyopop has previews up of the first two chapters.

New titles and releases: Tokyopop may be hiding their light under a bushel, but Ed has some snippets on the upcoming Kingdom Hearts II series. He also posts some press releases on Ichigenme…The First Class is Civil Law, the new Fumi Yoshinaga title from 801, and vol. 6 of Kamui.

David Welsh has some thoughts on the third volumes of two series, Absolute Boyfriend and Omukae Desu.

Reviews: At Comicsnob, Matt Blind enjoys vol. 1 of Amazing Agent Luna even if it’s not stunningly original. At the BasuGasuBakuhatsu Anime Blog, Hung likes vol. 2 of Galaxy Angel better than the first but finds vol. 1 of Buso Renkin rather “generic.” It’s Lengthy Series Day at Active Anime, where Holly Ellingwood reviews vol. 22 of Boys Over Flowers and vol. 22 of Basara. At Mangamaniaccafe, Julie is still enjoying vol. 3 of Yakitate!! Japan. At Prospero’s Manga, Miranda compares vol. 1 of Mushishi to the X-Files and offers it as the antidote to manga skeptics:

So kids, if you want to convince your parents that manga isn’t all gigantic eyes, short skirts and gay boys, offer them a copy of Mushishi.

Also at Prospero’s Manga, Ferdnand finds a different take on cat people in vol. 1 of Free Collar Kingdom. Tangognat gives four stars to Wild Adapter.

Self-promotion: Got the Valentine’s Day blues? Rachel Nabors has the cure. Check out my latest post at Digital Strips for more.