MangaBlog

TangognaT has published the list of lucky folks who got books in her manga giveaway and… I’m on it! Hurrah! The book I wanted was Alichino, which I thought looked kinda interesting but my daughters didn’t.
I’ll post an opinion as soon as I have one. Thanks, TangognaT! You rock!

If you were thinking about buying Shojo Beat just for Absolute Boyfriend, save your pennies: Viz is bringing out the first volume as a graphic novel in February, according to Anime News Network. List price is $8.99. A list of new Viz titles for winter and spring is here. Thanks to the irreplaceable Irresponsible Pictures for the tip.
On Anime on DVD, Eduardo Chavez reviews volume 1 of Scrapped Princess and gives it a B+.
Wizard Universe has hugs and kisses for A Perfect Day For Love Letters, a title that Johanna Draper Carlson didn’t like.

If you ever started flipping through an interesting-looking comic, then set it down again because you couldn’t figure out the storyline, the Comic Book Series Wiki is here to help.
The brainchild of blogger Laura “Tegan” Gjovaag, the Comic Book Series Wiki is intended to be an encylopedia of comics. Each page will include character descriptions, storylines, summaries of recent issues, and even order codes so readers can order back issues from retailers. Current issues will not be included, so there will be no spoilers.
Note I’m using the future tense here. Tegan and a few dedicated bloggers have set up the structure and filled in a few of the pages, but there is plenty left to do. A wiki is a communal work: anyone who has specific knowledge is invited to contribute, although moderators and other readers can edit the posts to delete abuse and misinformation.
The wiki includes slots for many popular manga titles, from Blazin’ Barrels to My Little Pony (hey, wikis are nothing if not inclusive), but none are filled in yet. So if you have a favorite series, consider spending a few minutes creating a page for your favorite manga. You might just convert someone.
And definitely bookmark it, for the next time you pick up an interesting but unfamiliar comic.

With their manga-style adaptation of Zorro, Papercutz continues its campaign to convert every book and movie from my childhood into glossy color comics. I’m looking forward to future announcements of manga starring Trixie Belden, Anne of Green Gables, and Encyclopedia Brown (“Like Hajime Kindaichi… only smart”).
The Zorro comics are already out, and the first graphic novel is slated for this month. It looks good, but it doesn’t look much like manga to me. Just looks like a comic. Nothin’ wrong with that.
On the other hand, if they weren’t marketing it as manga, I wouldn’t be able to blog about it.

David Welsh gives Fruits Basket a big thumbs up in this week’s Flipped column.
UPDATE: And he hates Midori Days almost as much as I do!

On Go! Comi, Jake Forbes explains how sound effects are translated. This is a great link for those who are curious about the changes manga go through as they move from Japan to the U.S. I prefer the untranslated sound effects—somehow the shapes seem to suggest the sound. I’ve been reading Initial D lately, which has a lot of panels of cars zooming around curves, and the kana really work in that context. (Thanks to Johanna at Cognitive Dissonance for pointing out this link.)
By the way, Go! Comi now has previews of all four of their new manga up. I particularly liked Tenshi Ja Nai, the story of a pathologically shy schoolgirl saddled with a celebrity roommate.
Meanwhile, Manga Life reviews volume 2 of Sgt. Frog. I’m providing a direct link so you can bypass the full-screen ads that muck up an otherwise excellent site. There must be a better way to pay the bills. Those new to Sgt. Frog should also check out David Welsh’s July 11 Flipped Column, in which he counts the ways he loves this manga. My 11-year-old, who recently described herself as “the kidliest one in this family,” absolutely adores Sgt. Frog, while my very sophisticated 12-year-old shuns him entirely.
For those who aren’t heavily into the comics blogosphere, there’s some sort of war going on between fans of superhero, independent, and manga comics. As a heavy reader of all three at one time or another, I find this discussion profoundly boring, but if you want to check it out, save yourself some time and go to Focused Totality, where Mark Fossen summarizes the debate and provides lots of links. I’m with Mark on this one:

I don’t care if it’s a multinational conglomerate or a basement inkjet, I’ll read what appeals to me. I don’t feel the need to be an activist, and I don’t feel the need to let Marvel/DC frame the debate. I am not reacting for or against them in the slightest, because I have no interest in being a foot soldier for someone’s else’s’ economic concern. I don’t want “mainstream” comics, or “Indy” comics … I want good comics.

They’re only comic books, folks
Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter comments that whether or not there is a “market correction,” manga are likely to be around for a while, and he’s hoping that we continue to see “quality” books like Buddha and The Push Man.

A range of upper level work becoming published may keep tastemakers from heaping praise on relentlessly middlebrow books and thus risk disappointing readers hoping for more.

Hmph! Some of us just read comics for fun, you know. After a hard day at the word factory, there’s nothing more relaxing than kicking back with a nice, brain-dead schoolgirl story. Still, I agree with Spurgeon that there should be room in the market for both.