MangaBlog

Kodansha Comics has licensed a new title: Sherlock Bones (Tanteiken Sherdock), the story of a crime-solving boy and dog team. First volume is due out in September. The creators are Yuma Ando (the pen name of Shin Kobayishi, whose other credits include Kindaichi Case Files and Drops of God) and Yuki Sato (Yokai Doctor).

Viz’s yaoi imprint SuBLime also has some new licenses to announce, two print and four digital-only, to celebrate their first anniversary. But the first volume of Youka Nitta’s Embracing Love is delayed from April to August due to production issues.

Big changes are afoot at GEN Manga: They will suspend publication of their manga magazine for a year, but they plan to continue to release single volumes of manga and they are launching a manhwa magazine later this month. I talked to editor-in-chief Robert McGuire about what he has planned. And the first four issues of GEN are available free on Kindle, iBooks, and Comics Plus—but they read differently on each platform. I did a little compare-and-contrast.

I looked over last week’s new manga at MTV Geek, and Lissa Pattillo makes her recommendations in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. And the Manga Bookshelf bloggers take a look at this week’s new releases in print and on JManga and discuss their Pick of the Week. Lori Henderson checks out all the January releases and figures out what to read now and what to hold off on till later.

Erica Friedman has the latest Yuri Network News roundup at Okazu, including the news that a yuri title is the number one seller on JManga at the moment.

Jason Thompson’s House of 1000 Manga column at ANN takes up part two of his history of Shonen Jump.

Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss three JManga titles in their latest Off the Shelf column at Manga Bookshelf.

Ash Brown is giving away a copy of Blue Exorcist at Experiments in Manga; hit the link to find out how you could win.

News from Japan: MangaNews reports (in French) that Go Nagai is about to launch a new series, Dororo to Enma-kun, that will be a crossover between Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo and Nagai’s Dororonen Mahô-kun; it will run in Manga Goraku magazine. Oricon says manga sales were down 1.5% last year. Gumi, one of the Vocaloid mascots, is getting her own manga. “The Gumi from Vocaloid manga will follow Gumi as she makes a boy’s dream come true,” says ANN, and I don’t doubt that for a minute. One-shots are in the works from Lily Hoshino (Otome Yōkai Zakuro) and Akira Amano (Reborn).

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf bloggers keep it terse in their latest set of Bookshelf Briefs.

Anna N. on Angus’s Lost Lady and The Seduction Bid (Manga Report)
Sheena McNeil on vol. 3 of Awkward Silence (Sequential Tart)
Lori Henderson on vol. 14 of Bamboo Blade (Manga Village)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Dawn of the Arcana (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna N. on vol. 8 of Dawn of the Arcana (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on vol. 1 of Girl Friends (Okazu)
Ken H. on vol. 2 of Heroman (Comics Should Be Good)
Mark Thomas on vol. 8 of Ikigami (The Fandom Post)
Matthew Warner on vol. 32 of Kekkaishi (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of The Key to the Kingdom (Blogcritics)
Wolfen Moondaughter on vol. 10 of Loveless (Sequential Tart)
Ash Brown on vol. 2 of Message to Adolf (Experiments in Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 37 of Negima (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on vol. 4 of Ohana Holoholo (Okazu)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of One Piece (Blogcritics)
Jocelyne Allen on Taiyo Matsumoto’s Ping Pong (Brain Vs. Book)
Connie C. on Please Save My Earth, Basara, and Red River (Comics Should Be Good)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 9 of Sailor Moon (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Derek Bown on this week’s Shonen Jump (Manga Bookshelf)
Matthew Warner on vol. 1 of Strobe Edge (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 3 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Blogcritics)
Matthew Warner on vol. 15 of Vampire Knight (The Fandom Post)

Big change at Viz: Executive vice president Alvin Lu has moved on.

At The Comics Journal, Joe McCulloch has sort of a beginner’s guide to Shonen Jump, explaining how it differs from the Japanese magazine of the same name and offering some entry points for new readers. More SJ news: Viz will add the weekly Dragon Ball series, in color, to the lineup, starting next week, and SJ editor-in-chief Andy Nakitani guests on the most recent ANNCast podcast.

Meanwhile, Viz has confirmed reports that it will publish the Pokemon HeartGold SoulSilver manga. Viz also announced yesterday that it is releasing the classic shoujo series Please Save My Earth in digital form.

And Vertical announced its license of Iqura Sugimoto’s Summer Wars, based on Mamoru Hosoda’s film of the same name.

Lissa Pattillo talks to Yoko Tanigaki about Digital Manga’s Project H hentai imprint.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week.

Khursten Santos takes a look at this year’s Manga Taishou award nominees at Otaku Champloo.

Reviews: Carlo Santos reads the new releases so you don’t have to for his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown sums up a week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 8 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 6 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Blogcritics)
Jocelyne Allen on Coppers (by Natsume Ono) (Brain Vs. Book)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Demon Love Spell (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 7 of Dogs: Bullets and Carnage (ANN)
Lori Henderson on The Drops of God: New World (Manga Xanadu)
Matthew Warner on vol. 3 of The Flowers of Evil (The Fandom Post)
J. Caleb Mozzocco on vol. 2 of Highschool of the Dead (Every Day Is Like Wednesday)
Erica Friedman on Kanojo to Camera to Kanojo no Kisetsu (Okazu)
Emily on Kimi ga Suki to ka Arienai! (Emily’s Random Shoujo Manga Page)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 1 of Limit (Comics Worth Reading)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of Love Hina (omnibus edition) (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Erica Friedman on vol. 6 of Manga no Tsukurikata (Okazu)
TSOTE on vol. 4 of Mardock Scramble (Three Steps Over Japan)
Johanna Draper Carlson on vol. 2 of Missions of Love (Comics Worth Reading)
Kate O’Neil on vol. 12 of Nabari No Ou (The Fandom Post)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Pretty Face (Blogcritics)
Lori Henderson on vol. 3 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica (Manga Village)
Drew McCabe on vol. 7 of Omamori Himari (Comic Attack)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 10 of Rin-ne (ANN)
Khursten Santos on Sukitte Ii Na Yo (Otaku Champloo)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of Ultimo (The Comic Book Bin)

I took a peek at last week’s new releases, including Yoshitaka Amano’s novel Deva Zan, at MTV Geek.

The Manga Bookshelf team looks at this week’s new titles on JManga.

Lissa Pattillo highlights a new Digital license and notes that Viz has licensed the Pokemon Adventures: Heart Gold & Soul Silver manga as well.

Ash Brown wraps up the Moyoco Anno Manga Moveable Feast with the day three roundup and a final farewell. Melinda Beasi post a Moyoco Anno-centric episode of My Week in Manga at Manga Bookshelf, and at All About Manga, Daniella Orihuela-Gruber looks at how Anno portrays feisty women.

Erica Friedman posts a fresh episode of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

Michelle Smith and Karen Peck kick off their new column, The CMX Project, with a discussion Land of the Blindfolded at Soliloquy in Blue.

Matt Blind posts the 2012 quarterly best-seller lists, with considerable explanation and commentary.

Robot 6’s regular Shelf Porn feature highlights the collection of a 17-year-old manga fan.

Reviews

Marsha Reid on vol. 1 of Aron’s Absurd Armada (Kuriousity)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Dengeki Daisy (I Reads You)
Sean Gaffney on Don’t Disturb Me and Him, Please (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna N on vols. 1-5 of Happy Mania (Manga Report)
Katherine Hanson on Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu (Yuri no Boke)
Helen on vol. 1 of Heroman (Narrative Investigations)
Ash Brown on Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators (Experiments in Manga)
Sakura Eries on vol. 9 of Sakura Hime: The Legend of Princess Sakura (The Fandom Post)
A Library Girl on vol. 1 of Strobe Edge (A Library Girl’s Familiar Diversions)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Sugar Sugar Rune (Experiments in Manga)

Jason Thompson devotes this week’s House of 1000 Manga column to the first part of a look at the evolution of Shonen Jump in America—and as Jason was the magazine’s first editor, he has a unique perspective.

Lissa Pattillo looks over this week’s new releases for her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA. Meanwhile, the Manga Bookshelf bloggers look forward to next week’s new releases.

Ash Brown posts the second roundup of posts for this week’s Manga Moveable Feast, featuring Moyoco Anno. And Melinda Beasi interviews Anno for The Beat.

The winners of the Shogakukan Manga Awards have been announced, and the winner in the General Category is Kengo Hanazawa’s I Am a Hero. Silver Spoon, by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa, took the prize in the Boys Category.

Geoff Pevere reviews the film Tatsumi for the Toronto Globe and Mail

License requests: Marian Moore has a list of five manga she’d love to see licensed in English at the Inside AX blog.

Reviews

Connie on Case Closed, Lupin III, and The Kindaichi Case Files (Comics Should Be Good)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 5 of A Certain Scientific Railgun (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Anna N. on vol. 1 of Clair Voyance (Manga Report)
Erica Friedman on the January issue of Comic Yuri Hime (Okazu)
Justin on chapters 15, 16, and 17 of Cross Manage (Organization ASG)
Ng Suat Tong on The Heart of Thomas (The Hooded Utilitarian)
David Gromer on vol. 3 of Higurashi When They Cry: The Atonement Arc (Graphic Novel Reporter)
David Gromer on vol. 1 of Is This a Zombie? (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Kamisama Kiss (Blogcritics)
TSOTE on vol. 3 of Mardock Scramble (Three Steps Over Japan)
Angela Eastman on vol. 10 of Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan (The Fandom Post)
Ash Brown on Sakuran (Experiments in Manga)
David Gromer on vol. 1 of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Legends (Graphic Novel Reporter)

I interviewed Shonen Jump editor Andy Nakatani at MTV Geek, and there’s a preview of One Punch Man there as well. Deb Aoki also had a Q&A with Andy at About.com. And the January 28 issue of Shonen Jump will include Akira Toriyama’s one-shot Kintoki. Derek Bown takes us through the contents of the January 21 issue at Manga Bookshelf, and Drew McCabe has some thoughts as well.

PictureBox, which published Yoichi Yokoyama’s Travel, has some big news this week: They are launching a line of vintage manga, called Ten Cent Manga, edited by manga scholar Ryan Holmberg and featuring manga that shows outside influences; they are kicking it off with Shigeru Sugiura’s Last of the Mohicans.

Ash Brown posts the first roundup of Moyoco Anno MMF links at Experiments in Manga.

At Okazu, Erica Friedman has some thoughts on digital manga that are well worth reading, including an important point about the decoupling of ownership from possession. And she has the latest episode of Yuri Network News.

Lissa Pattillo discusses some recent acquisitions in her latest Swag Bag feature at Kuriousity.

Bruce DeMara reviews the movie Tatsumi, about manga-ka Yoshihiro Tatsumi (The Push Man), for The Star.

Reviews

Sean Gaffney on vol. 4 of A Bride’s Story (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Flowers and Bees (Experiments in Manga)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Hana to Hoshi (Okazu)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Happy Mania (Experiments in Manga)
Brian Gardes on vol. 1 of Heroman (Stumptown Trade Review)
Anna N. on vols. 10-15 of Kekkaishi (Manga Report)
TSOTE on vol. 2 of Mardock Scramble (Three Steps Over Japan)
Ken H on vol. 2 of Planet Ladder (Comics Should Be Good)
Erica Friedman on Prism (Okazu)
Shannon Fay on Sky Link (Kuriousity)

Big changes at Viz yesterday as Shonen Jump Alpha became Weekly Shonen Jump and starts releasing new chapters the same day they come out in Japan. Editor-in-chief Andy Nakatani has all the details at ICv2, and former Shonen Jump editor-in-chief Hisashi Sasaki also discusses the Japanese digital scene and why the editors decided to let the two magazines go in sync.

Ash Brown is hosting this month’s Manga Moveable Feast, which features the work of Moyoco Anno, at Experiments in Manga. Erica Friedman has a guest post about how she got turned on to Sakuran, and Ash’s weekly roundup includes three short reviews of Anno’s manga.

Johanna Draper Carlson is skeptical about Tokyopop’s newest incarnation, and she notes that Kodansha won’t be picking up any more of the old Del Rey series.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses their Pick of the Week as well as this week’s new releases in print and on JManga. Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss The Heart of Thomas in their latest BL Bookrack column, and Melinda discusses what she has been reading lately in her most recent My Week in Manga video. And in the magazine department, Erica Friedman takes a look a look at Big Comic Superior and Derek Bown recaps the latest issue of Shonen Jump Alpha.

Dave Roman is serializing the next volume of Astronaut Academy online, and in a blog post on that site, he has some suggestions for manga that non-manga readers might like, based on their tastes in comics.

Jason Thompson takes a look at Japan As Viewed by 17 Creators in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

Lissa Pattillo reflects that Digital Manga seems to be putting yaoi on the back burner. Lissa also surveyed the most recent manga releases in her On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

The Manga Village team takes a look at 2012 in the rear view mirror, and Katherine Hanson lists her top 11 yuri moments of 2012 at Yuri no Boke.

News from Japan: The nominees for the Manga Taisho Awards have been announced; the only one that is licensed in the U.S. right now is A Bride’s Story.

Reviews:

Connie on vol. 10 of 13th Boy (Slightly Biased Manga)
Jocelyne Allen on 25 Ji no Vacances (Brain Vs. Book)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of Afterschool Charisma (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Alice in the Country of Hearts: My Fanatic Rabbit (ANN)
Naru on All the Time (Organization ASG)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 17 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Theron Martin on vol. 16 of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order (ANN)
Connie on vol. 23 of Blade of the Immortal (Slightly Biased Manga)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 7 of Case Closed (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 45 of Case Closed (The Comic Book Bin)
Connie on Cross Game, Eyeshield 21, and Real (Comics Should Be Good)
Kristin on Danza (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 3 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 1 of Don’t Blame Me (Slightly Biased Manga)
AstroNerdBoy on vols. 21 and 22 of Fairy Tail (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 20 of Higurashi When They Cry (ANN)
Carlo Santos on vol. 8 of House of Five Leaves (ANN)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 10 of Jormungand (The Comic Book Bin)
AstroNerdBoy on vol. 36 of Negima! (AstroNerdBoy’s Anime and Manga Blog)
Elie Byun on vol. 1 of Neon Genesis Evangelion (omnibus edition) (Anime Expo)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 5 of Oh My Goddess (Blogcritics)
Connie on vol. 17 of Ouran High School Host Club (Slightly Biased Manga)
Helen on vol. 1 of Please Save My Earth (Narrative Investigations)
Andre Paploo on vol. 8 of Raiders (Kuriousity)
Lori Henderson on Sakuran (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on vol. 3 of Scent of Apple Blossoms (Slightly Biased Manga)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 2 of Soul Eater NOT! (ANN)
Richard Bruton on vol. 3 of Summit of the Gods (Forbidden Planet)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle (Blogcritics)