MangaBlog

Robert McGuire explains GEN Manga to ICv2 and reveals that they will be publishing 9 to 12 tankoubon next year, three times as many as this year.

Viz published vol. 13 of Neon Genesis Evangelion on Friday, digitally and in print, as part of a worldwide simultaneous release. I talked to Viz VP Leyla Aker about why that’s important—and why manga publishers are working hard to eliminate the gap between Japanese and English-language publication.

The Manga Bookshelf team discusses this week’s new manga releases. Lissa Pattillo goes over the past week’s rather sparse list of new manga releases in her latest On the Shelf column at Otaku USA.

Digital posts a short interview with Miki Araya, creator of Secretary’s Job.

Melinda Beasi looks at manga lovers who share the joy via Pinterest and Tumblr.

Starsamaria takes a look at power and gender in Kamisama Kiss at Shojo Corner.

Fantagraphics posts a first look at their edition of Heart of Thomas, translated by Matt Thorn; there’s a link to a preview as well.

News from Japan: Expect some turnover at Shonen Jump, which announced three new series this week: Yūki Tabata’s Hungry Joker, a science/action series; Masahiro Hirakata’s Shinmai Fukei Kiruko-san, a comedy; and Shun Saeki and Yūto Tsukuda’s Shokugeki no Sōma, a cooking manga.

Reviews

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 6 of Afterschool Charisma (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vols. 14 and 15 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Bond of Dreams, Bonds of Love (Experiments in Manga)
Phillip Anthony on vol. 2 of Codename Sailor V (Manga Bookshelf)
Ken Haley on Godzilla (Sequential Ink)
Kate Haddock on Kamisama Kiss (The Collegian)
Victoria Martin on vol. 10 of Soul Eater (Kuriousity)

At CBR I wrote a roundup of the manga scene at NYCC, which really includes a lot of more general trends, plus some cool announcements.

At Heart of Manga, Laura looks forward to the shoujo manga that will debut this month.

Melinda Beasi picks her three favorite manga monsters at Manga Bookshelf. Melinda also invites possible Manga Bookshelf contributors to send in their pitches for columns, and she wants to know what you think about the front page of the site.

Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo appeared at CalArts recently, his first North American appearance in 15 years; the conversation was mostly about anime and film but did touch on his manga work as well.

Here’s a fascinating look at the Mumbai Anime Club, where things are different and yet the same as over here.

Ash Brown is giving away a pretty cool prize: The first seven issues of the first translation of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, which includes a poster by Moebius.

News from Japan: Volumes 31 and 32 of Hunter x Hunter, which runs in Shonen Jump but is on hiatus, will both be out in December.

Reviews: Be sure to check out Bruce P’s review of the lesbian-free Lesbian III: Bloodsucking Women at Okazu. Other reviews of note:

Alexander Hoffman on vol. 1 of Attack on Titan (Manga Village)
Sarah Sammis on vol. 1 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Puss Reboots)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of Gakuen Alice (Blogcritics)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 2 of Jiu Jiu (The Comic Book Bin)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 11 of Kamisama Kiss (The Comic Book Bin)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Limit (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Matthew Alexander on vol. 7 of Ooku: The Inner Chambers (The Fandom Post)
Brigid Alverson on vol. 1 of Polterguys (MTV Geek)
Matthew Warner on vol. 6 of Psyren (The Fandom Post)
Kristin on vol. 24 of Slam Dunk (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vol. 1 of Yokai Doctor (Manga Xanadu)

Hurricane Sandy messed up my week a bit, but I’m thankful that it seems to have moved on. We had some high winds that shook the house, but the worst of it seems to have passed and (knock on wood) we have emerged unscathed. So here’s what’s going on in the mangasphere tonight.

New York Comic Con was awesome on many levels, but I think the high point of the experience was getting to interview Moyoco Anno, the creator of Sakuran, Sugar Sugar Rune, and the lamentably unlicensed Hataraki Man. Be sure to read the interview all the way to the end—she threw me a curve ball just as the interview was ending. I had the privilege of interviewing Yoshitaka Amano as well, for CBR—and watch for some more manga-ka interviews in the next few weeks.

Todd Ciolek of ANN got to interview Yoshitaka Amano as well.

At Kuriousity, Lissa Pattillo rounds up the YaoiCon announcements from Digital and SuBLime.

Jason Thompson continues his tour through the manga backlist with a look at Red-Colored Elegy in his latest House of 1000 Manga column at ANN.

The Manga Bookshelf team goes with a horror theme for this week’s Pick of the Week, and they also kick off a new roundtable, JManga The Week of 11/1. Plus: Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith chat about the latest BL releases in their BL Bookrack column and discuss Chika Shiomi’s vampire manga Canon at Soliloquy in Blue.

Matt Blind calculates the manga best-sellers for the week ending October 28.

Erica Friedman brings us up to date with the latest edition of Yuri Network News at Okazu.

JManga has added Peacemaker Kurogane and The Art of War to its lineup.

Tony Yao looks at the “emotional vampires” of Gantz at Manga Therapy.

Adam Stephanides picks up on a small but telling detail in Flowers of Evil.

News from Japan: Chiho Saito, the creator of Revolutionary Girl Utena, will launch a new series about the thief Arsène Lupin in the first issue of Shogakukan’s new magazine Zōkan Flowers. Fushigi Yûgi: Genbu Kaiden is drawing to a close, with just two more chapters left to go. Blood-C manga-ka Ranmaru Kotone is working on a manga adaptation of the Red Data Girl light novels. Chaco Abeno, the creator of sola, also has a new series in the works, Angel + Blood, running in Kadokawa Shoten’s Asuka.

Reviews: Ash Brown checks in with another week’s worth of manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Jocelyne Allen on Bokura no Hentai (Brain Vs. Book)
Erica Friedman on vol. 2 of Candy (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 44 of Case Closed (The Comic Book Bin)
Lori Henderson on Chibi Vampire: Airmail and Chibi Vampire: Bites (Manga Xanadu)
Kristin on vol. 5 of Dawn of the Arcana (Comic Attack)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 2 of The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-Chan (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Laura on Dracula Everlasting (Heart of Manga)
Lori Henderson on vol. 2 of Dracula Everlasting (Manga Xanadu)
Connie on Dry Heat (Slightly Biased Manga)
Anna on vol. 2 of Jiu Jiu (Manga Report)
Connie on vol. 6 of Kobato (Slightly Biased Manga)
Erica Friedman on Koi no Kaori (Okazu)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 4 of March Story (The Comic Book Bin)
Sakura Eries on vol. 1 of Message to Adolf (The Fandom Post)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 7 of Psyren (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vols. 34 and 35 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Anna on vols. 1-3 of Record of a Fallen Vampire (Manga Report)
Connie on vol. 8 of Sakura Hime (Slightly Biased Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of School Rumble (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Connie on vol. 1 of Short Program (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 29 of Skip Beat! (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 8 of The Story of Saiunkoku (The Comic Book Bin)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 1 of Strobe Edge (ANN)
Connie on vol. 10 of Toriko (Slightly Biased Manga)
Connie on vol. 2 of Totally Captivated: Totally Peeking Under the Sheets (Slightly Biased Manga)
Matthew Warner on vol. 7 of Ultimo (The Fandom Post)
Connie on vol. 18 of xxxHoLiC (Slightly Biased Manga)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 3 of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s (The Comic Book Bin)

Apricotsushi posts the first roundup of the vampire-themed Manga Moveable Feast at ChicPixel.

The folks at DMP interviewed Yaoi-Con guest Uki Ogasawara, the creator of Black Sun.

When the Kindle launches today in Japan, there will be plenty for manga fans to read; the Kindle Store will contain 15,000 manga.

Tim and Kumar discuss Moto Hagio’s A Drunken Dream and Other Stories in the latest Deconstructing Comics podcast.

Manga is not a purely Japanese phenomenon, said manga critic Fusanosuke Natsume at a lecture a few weeks ago: “Manga and anime are global phenomena that have both provided and received influence as they developed. They cannot be understood by only following their history in Japan.”

Manga-ka Leiji Matsumoto (Galaxy Express 999, Space Pirate Captain Harlock) has received a knighthood from the French government; Matsumoto is now a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Erica Friedman takes a look at the Japanese children’s manga magazine Ne-Ne.

Reviews

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 50 of Bleach (The Comic Book Bin)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 1 of A Bride’s Story (Blogcritics)
David Gromer on vol. 8 of Chi’s Sweet Home (Graphic Novel Reporter)
David Gromer on vol. 12 of Cirque du Freak (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Sam Kusek on Doing Time (Spandexless)
David Gromer on vol. 2 of Durarara!! (Graphic Novel Reporter)
A Day Without Me on Flutter (Gar Gar Stegosaurus)
David Gromer on vol. 6 of Highschool of the Dead (Graphic Novel Reporter)
Steve Bennett on vol. 1 of The Limit (ICv2)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1 and 2 of Moon and Blood (Good Comics for Kids)
Erica Friedman on Salomelic (Okazu)
A Day Without Me on vol. 1 of Sand Chronicles (Gar Gar Stegosaurus)
Ash Brown on vol. 1 of Vampire Hunter D (Experiments in Manga)

Daniella Orihuela-Gruber gives a quick rundown of the manga she got at Yaoi-Con.

Yen Press editor JuYoun Lee writes a bit about the process of acquiring and publishing Thermae Romae.

Matt Blind calculates the latest batch of manga best-sellers, for the week ending October 21.

News from Japan: A previously unpublished chapter of Cyborg 009 has been found, according to Ishimori Productions; the chapter was completed and colored 42 years ago but for some reason never made it to print. It will be included in the third volume of Fukkan.com’s edition of the series. Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa thanked her fans for their support of her series Silver Spoon by drawing them a picture on video.

Reviews: Carlo Santos has some things to say about some recent manga in his latest Right Turn Only!! column at ANN. Ash Brown looks back at the past week in manga reading at Experiments in Manga.

Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 15 of Bakuman (The Comic Book Bin)
Shannon Fay on vol. 4 of The Betrayal Knows My Name (Kuriousity)
Matthew Warner on vols. 46 and vol. 47 of Bleach (The Fandom Post)
Lori Henderson on vols. 1-3 of Blood Alone (Manga Xanadu)
Laura on vol. 1 of Lizzie Newton: Victorian Mysteries (Heart of Manga)
Sean Gaffney on vols. 1 and 2 of Loveless (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Rebecca Silverman on vol. 12 of Toriko (ANN)

This month’s Manga Moveable Feast has a vampire theme, which is appropriate to the season. Apricotsushi is hosting at Chic Pixel; here’s the opening post and the archive page.

The Manga Bookshelf team chooses their pick of the week—and it’s unanimous. (I didn’t have time to contribute to this week’s column, but if I had, I’d be in agreement with everyone else.)

Also at Manga Bookshelf, Melinda Beasi and Michelle Smith discuss King of RPGs, Pride, and a handful of other manga in their Off the Shelf column and Matt Blind lists the manga best-sellers (online sales) for the week ending October 14.

Jocelyne Allen writes about the work of Machiko Kyo (Erotics f), whose work is so far available only in Japanese.

News from Japan: Fujihiko Hosono, the creator of Gallery Fake, is bringing the series back to Big Comic Spirit for a special episode set in the Tohoku region. Hosono and seven other manga-ka will draw new manga featuring their signature characters and donate the royalties toward the rebuilding effort in Tohoku, which was hit hard by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Reviews: The Manga Bookshelf team queues up some short manga reviews in their latest Bookshelf Briefs column.

Matthew Warner on vol. 44 of Bleach (The Fandom Post)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 1 of Girl Friends: The Complete Collection (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Sean Gaffney on vol. 15 of GTO: The Early Years (A Case Suitable for Treatment)
Anna on vol. 1 of Limit and vol. 1 of Paradise Kiss (Manga Report)
Kate Dacey on Mail (The Manga Critic)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 33 of Ranma 1/2 (Blogcritics)
Ken Haley on Skullman (Sequential Ink)
Leroy Douresseaux on vol. 24 of Slam Dunk (The Comic Book Bin)
Anna on vol. 1 of Summit of the Gods (Experiments in Manga)
Drew McCabe on vol. 12 of Toriko (Comic Attack)
Lori Henderson on vols. 12 and 14 of Vampire Knight (Manga Village)
Lesley Aeschliman on vol. 2 of Wandering Son (Blogcritics)