From Okazu comes an interview with yuri translator Anastasia Moreno:

8) What's your favorite and least favorite thing about your job?

My favorite part of the job is to find little in-jokes in a story (that are totally apparent to native Japanese people but often overlooked by Americans) and being able to explain it in the translation notes. Unfortunately for Strawberry Panic, the whole story was a big parody, so I had nothing to add...

Broccoli Books Blog points out that a preview (PDF) of Natsumi Mukai's Nui! volume 1 is now available. The manga will be release on June 23rd.

From MangaCast comes news of several new licenses from Deux Press and Aurora Publishing (via Shuchaku East):

Aurora:

• HitoHira by Kirihara Idumi

Deux Press:

• Shiba to Issho. by Kirishima Tamaki
• Lovers & Souls by Miyamoto Kano
• Two of Hearts by Miyamoto Kano
• Maid in Heaven by Shimada Hisami
• Oh, My God by Shino Natsuho
• Heavenly Body by Kanzaki Takashi

ANN reports that Viz Media and Drawn and Quarterly will be attending this weekend's Free Comic Book Day to give away manga samples:

Antarctic Press, Del Rey, and Yen Press will also be offering free world manga. Viz Media's Shonen Jump magazine will distribute a free 32-page issue with samples of Naruto, Bleach, and Slam Dunk as well as short introductions to several other series. Drawn and Quarterly's Gekiga sampler will excerpt Yoshihiro Tatsumi's Good-Bye and Seiichi Hayashi's Red Colored Elegy from the early 1970s;

From ICv2 comes Bookscan's Top 20 Graphic Novels for April 2008, below are the top 10:

1. Naruto (28)
2. Vampire Knight (4)
3. Fruits Basket (19)
4. Batman: The Killing Joke
5. Hana-Kimi (23)
6. Vampire Knight (1)
7. Fullmetal Alchemist (16)
8. Death Note How to Read (13)
9. Naruto (27) w/Sticker

HERNDON, VA ??? April 30, 2008 ??? Submit your entry and win a chance to get DLSite.com 2008 Calendar! 50 lucky winners are drawn from the pool.

DLSite.com is now running an annual Calendar Give-away Sweepstakes until May 10!

DLSite calendar features their mascot characters, with lovely stickers to mark special days. It is a very nice collectable item!

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SAN JOSE, CA - April, 2008 ??? DrMaster Publications has announced that The King of Fighters Art Book by Wing Yan & King Tung, Puri Puri vol. 5 by Chiaki Taro, and the long-awaited return of Dark Edge vol. 7 by Yu Aikawa, are all available now!

The King of Fighters Art Book
Gamers out there, your wait is finally over! All of your favorite characters are here in this explosive art book! Kyo, Iori, Mai, Terry, Geese and many more are all present and accounted for in this collection. Original illustrations produced by artists Wing Yan and King Tung for the long running comic series in Hong Kong, have been compiled in a collection that has never been seen before! If you loved the fighting game and didn't get enough of The King of Fighters comics, this art book is a MUST-HAVE for you!

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Web Boutique Offers Extensive Collection Of Products Based On Popular Anime And Manga Properties Including BLEACH, NARUTO And DEATH NOTE

San Francisco, CA, April 29, 2008 ??? VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, has redesigned its official online store at http://store.viz.com.

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According to the Diamond Previews via MangaCast, Aurora Publishing will be releasing Izumi Kirihara's Hitohira volumes 1 and 2 in October and December.

Also, ANN points out that Aurora's BL imprint Deux Press will be releasing four titles in July/August:

• Heavenly Body by Takashi Kanzaki
• Maid in Heaven by Hisami Shimada
• Ruff Love by Tamaki Kirishima
• Two of Hearts by Kano Miyamoto (announced at Yaoi-Con last October)

From MangaCast comes the Diamond Previews for May 2008, which provides information on new U.S. releases for June 2008.