Manga News and Information
February, 2007Del Rey Manga is pleased to report the acquisition of several new manga series. Initially announced Sunday, February 25, 2007 at the New York Comic Con, these series' initial volumes are planned for publication in Fall 2007 SHIKI TSUKAI manga by Toru Zeku and art by Yuna Takanagi, the action-packed environmental-themed adventures of the shiki tuskai--"Keepers of the Seasons"--who are entrusted with defending the universe's natural order againt the forces that threaten it. Publication rights arranged through Kodansha, Ltd. PARIS (February 28, 2007) -- On the heels of the recent announcement regarding Hachette Book Group USA's graphic novel imprint Yen Press' first acquisitions comes another exciting announcement from Hachette's parent company Lagardère. Today, Lagardère announces that Hachette Livre is acquiring PIKA, the third largest manga publisher in the French market. The acquisition of PIKA will also contribute to manga businesses across Hachette Livre, including Yen Press. Manga Jouhou interviews Off*Beat creator Jan Lee Quick, who talks about the recent the OEL phenomenon. Off*Beat is currently being released by Tokyopop. Dark Horse has announced that it has licensed the novel A Wind Named Amnesia by Hideyuki Kikuchi. Dark Horse's release will contain the original artworks from Yoshitaka Amano that were found in the first editions of the Japanese release. Source: ANN Nippon Television has announced that it will purchase a 16% capital stake in manga publisher Dijima for $1.3 million, according to a report from Variety.com. Dijima is the publisher of the free manga magazine Comic Gumbo, which made Japanese headlines as a free weekly manga magazine. Source: Journalista MangaCast points out Kitty Press' new license announcement at NYCC: A King's Lesson by Aoi Futaba and Kurenai Mitsuba. From AMN Anime comes an interview with Aldo Donnaloia, the Sales Manager of Hirameki International Group Inc., one of the few visual novel publishers in North America. Aldo Donnaloia talks about the company's sales and distribution in 2006, as well as some information regarding new title acquisitions. Manga publisher Go! Comi announced three new series and one standalone title at their panel this weekend at New York Comic Con. The titles are evenly split between shojo and shonen titles, and include the latest from the creator of "Those Who Hunt Elves": "LOVE MASTER A" is a series that tells the story of a girl whose inability to get a date causes her to transform the student council into a dating service. Publisher Hodder and Stoughton has announced The Manga Bible, a manga adaptation of the world's bestselling book, with art drawn by London based artist Siku. Currently 4 different versions have been announced, The Manga Bible NT-Raw and The Manga Bible NT-Extreme (released in February) contains only the New Testament, while The Manga Bible Raw Edition and The Manga Bible Extreme Deluxe Edition (to be released in July) will contain the entire Bible. Source: Otaku News CMX TO PUBLISH TWO FLOWERS FOR THE DRAGON CMX, the manga imprint of DC Comics, is proud to announce plans to publish TWO FLOWERS FOR THE DRAGON, vol. 1. Originally published by Hakusensha, this manga features the work of writer/artist Nari Kusakawa (THE PALETTE OF 12 SECRET COLORS) and is slated to reach stores in Spring 2008. According to Taipei Times, fans waited in line from 3am for an anime and manga festival that took place at the National Taiwan University stadium in Taipei. Manga publishers from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, as well as amateur artists attended the 2-day festival. The event's first day attracted over 20,000 visitors. According to the event's spokeswoman: "Some people were waiting in line since three or four in the morning." Source: Taipei Times According to Weekly Shonen Magazine issue 13 preview, "Part 1" of Ken Akamatsu's Mahou Sensei Negima! will end in Shonen Magazine issue 14, on sale 3/7. The preview message reads: "Part 1 (one semester) ends!" The starting date of Negima Part 2 has not been announced. Source: Ultimatum Talk A new manga by Katsu Aki titled Tenchi Kaibyaku (Creation of Heaven and Earth) will begin serialization in the May issue of Kodansha's Magazine Z (3/26). Also XEBEC's anime Heroic Age will be adapted into a manga series, which will start in the June issue of Magazine Z, on sale 4/26. A special Heroic Age "Chapter 0" will appear in Magazine Z May issue. According to Moonphase, Iwai Kyouhei (Author) and Ruroo (Illustrator)'s light novel series Mushi-Uta (currently serialized in the light novel magazine The Sneaker) will be adapted into a manga series. The manga will begin serialization in the May 2007 issue of Shonen Ace. Also confirmed is an anime series, which will be aired sometime in 2007. Source: Moohphase MangaBlog reports that while CPM announced no new licenses, they did announce the release dates of many of their titles. Manhwa publisher NETCOMICS has announced plans to publish Japanese manga and global manga. Also, Newtype USA announced the acquisition of CLAMP's Kobato, which will start serialization in Newtype USA later this year. More new titles announced at NYCC 07: Yen Press: Del Rey: Del Rey also announced a Complete Guide to Manga, a guide book to all the manga released in the U.S. CMX: Also, Bandai has announced that it will release its Witchblade manga in June 2007. According to information on a bookstore pamphlet promoting Kadokawa Shoten's new seinen magazine Comic Charge (to be released in March), the serialization of the popular seinen manga MPD Psycho, written by Eiji Otsuka and drawn by Sho-u Tajima, will be moved from Shonen Ace to Comic Charge. From MangaCast and ANN comes more reports of new manga licenses announced at NYCC: Dark Horse Go! Comi Viz Media BLU Manga The winners of the first American Anime Awards has been announced at NYCC, and Fruits Basket won the award for best manga. Winners in other categories can be found here. From ANN comes the New York ComicCon 2007 Tokyopop Con Report, which mentions the release dates of some of TP's titles, as well as some new series: Several new titles were announced by VIZ Media at New York Comic-Con: - GYO Source: ANN New installments from fan favorite authors Kazuma Kodaka,Youka Nitta, and Ayano Yamane slated New York, NY (February 22, 2007) Be Beautiful, America's leading publisher of yaoi manga graphic novels, announced the release of the latest volumes of two of its best-selling series, KIZUNA: BONDS OF LOVE 7 and EMBRACING LOVE 4. In addition, the March release of the standalone historical romance, MIDARESOMENISHI – A LEGEND OF SAMURAI LOVE, and the April release of FINDER SERIES 3: ONE WING IN THE FINDER and EMBRACING LOVE 5 were also announced. All books are priced at $15.99 SRP. According to the ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference at this year's New York Comic-Con, graphic novels are outselling the traditional comic periodical format. "Based on our latest analysis, graphic novels passed comic periodicals in 2005 and held that lead in 2006," said ICv2 President Milton Griepp. Manga Jouhou has created a new Staff Blog section, where visitors can "Get the side dishes of manga and the behind the scene of MJ staffers." Popular bishoujo and galgame artist Takashi Iwasaki (28) passed away (NSWF) on February 21st due to a stroke. Takashi is known for his artworks in 18+ games from Purple Software such as Aruto. |
Manga Zombie
Finale: Panelosophy
An ongoing conversation about the philosophy behind manga both in the U.S. and abroad. Manga Ranking
Monthly charts of comparative manga rankings based on aggregate online sales listings from Matt Blind. |
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
