ANN reports that a new book titled Hokusai: First Manga Master will be released by Amulet Books in June. The book will take a look at the origins of manga: "The influence that the 19th-century master Katsushika Hokusai exerted on the development of modern Japanese comics."

MangaBlog's Brigid sits down with Bettina Kurkoski, creator of Tokyopop's My Cat Loki. In the interview, Bettina talks about how she came into contact with manga, as well as how My Cat Loki was made.

According ICv2, Yaoi Press will be launching a new comic book line in October with the release of a new bi-monthly series titled Yaoi Candy and a one-shot titled Offered to a Demon. MangaBlog also adds that Yaoi Press plans to make their titles available online at Netcomics.

From MangaCast comes the news that FanFare has announced a new manga license during Anime Boston:

- Summit of the Gods by Yumemakura Baku/Taniguchi Jiro

According to Chuosha, Shonen Gahosha's manga magazine Young King Ours+ will cease publication after June's issue (which was released on 4/18).

MangaCast translates the weekly Doujinshi ranking (04/21) in Japan according to Toranoana, and the weekly BL Doujinshi ranking (04/21) in Japan according to Toranoana's BL specialty store Princess Side.

A special one-hour manga introductory class called "Manga! Manga! Manga!" will be held on May 24th at the New York Public Library's Celeste Bartos Education Center. Two more sessions will be held on June 28th and July 19th:

Manga is the Japanese word for printed comics and cartoons. [...] Come and learn about the different types of manga and why manga has become such a popular medium of communication, education, and entertainment in Japanese culture.

Via: ANN

ANN reports that a special sales campaign called the "I Love Fujoshi Fair" will take place on Wednesday in over 3,000 bookstores across Japan. The campaign's purpose is to promote two fujoshi works: Tonari no 801 chan by Ajiko Kojima and Fujoshi Kanojo (novel) by Petanbu:

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Mediation will be launching a new manga magazine on May 12th. The new magazine, titled Hug, is a BL manga magazine aimed at the adult Otome (maiden).

The first issue of Moe☆Star, a bi-monthly Moe comic-illustration magazine that serializes comics and novels, was released by Mirai Shounen on April 20th.

According to Dengeki Online, Alchemist will be starting a new web delivery light novel magazine titled Shounen Alchemist. Light novels will be serialized weekly on Shounen Alchemist's website and will be available to read free of charge. Shounen Alchemist is scheduled to start on May 1, 2007.

Alchemist originally announced Shounen Alchemist on April 1st, and the news was thought to be an April fools joke.

According to Japan Times, Foreign Minister Taro Aso is urging French Presidential Candidate Segolene Royal, who view manga as being violent and pornographic, to read manga:

As the French presidential election campaign enters its last days, Foreign Minister Taro Aso gave advice to one of the highest-profile candidates in the race: Read more Japanese comics.

Via: Precocious Curmudgeon

From Business Week comes an article titled "Forget Manga. Here's Manwha," which takes an in-depth look at Korean manhwa, and if it will be as successful in the U.S. as Japanese manga.

Manga Jouhou translates an article from IT Media titled "Should Copyrights be Changed for Industries, such as Rakugo, Doujinshi and Software?" that looks at the issue of how copyright should be handled differs depending on the type of the industry.

In past years the manga magazine market in Japan has experienced a rapid decline, what will be the consequence of this trend? After watching Naoki Urasawa's talk on NHK's "Professional: Styles of Work" series, the author of the Japanese manga blog Mandana Tsushin Blog (Manga Bookshelf Transmissions) was surprise by Urasawa's nervous attitude toward fans' reaction at the sudden ending of 20th Century Boy, and published an article on the current manga magazine scene, how it affects a magazine's serializations, and what the future may hold for the market. Below a portion of the article that takes a look at the mange magazine scene in Japan:

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Yamamoto Kenji's manga Chaotic RunES will be going on hiatus in the June issue of Akita Shoten's Champion Red. According to Champion Red's Editorial Department, Yamamoto Kenji was forced to stop drawing due to his rapidly deteriorating eyesight that has left him almost blind. Below is part of a letter from Champion Red's Editorial Department:

The author Kenji Yamamoto is rapidly losing his eyesight, currently his eyes cannot even recognize objects. According to his doctor, Yamamoto has ablatio retinae caused by intraocular hemorrhage, and so the Editorial Department has determined it impossible for him to continue drawing.

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Two new series will be starting in the upcoming issues of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump:

Jump Issue 24:
- Boku no Watashi no Yushi Gaku by Shuichi Aso

Jump Issue 25:
- Hitomi no Catobelpas by Tanaka Yasunori

Source: Weekly Jump

The official site for Futabasha's shoujo manga magazine Comic High! has opened at www.comichigh.jp. Comic High! is a shoujo manga magazine aimed at males, genres like moe, yuri, youth, yaoi, fantasy, heartful and gag are all included in this magazine.

According to Publishers Weekly, Vertical is planning to launch a new (currently unnamed) contemporary manga imprint in 2008 in order to expand its manga line-up. According to the report, the imprint will mainly focus on shojo manga for teens:

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According to Mainchi Daily News, Barazoku, a Japanese gay men's magazine, will be revived for the third time. This time, the magazine will serialized a previously unpublished manga by Junichi Yamakawa, who is known for his Kuso Miso Technique:

"Barazoku," a gay icon since it became the first magazine for the homosexual community, is back on bookstore shelves again -- the third time it has been resurrected since going into hiatus in September 2004 following 33 straight years of publication for the non-straight.

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This month several new manga rental services opened in Japan. In the U.S., similar services also exist. Originally spotted on ChunHyang72's Manga Minute Blog, Manga Takeout is a netflix-like service that allows subscribers to rent manga books. Shipping is free and manga subscription includes the rental of Anime DVDs as well. Also included is a "quick return" feature, which allows subscribers to report when books are returned so their next set of manga books can be sent.

JBC Publishing has announced plans to make Fullmetal Alchemist available through subscription. FMA is the first JBC title available through subscription. According to JBC's Public Relations department, currently subscription services for other manga have not been planned. Go here for more information on how to acquire FMA online.

Source: Papo de Budega

San Francisco, CA, April 20, 2007– VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), one of the entertainment industry's most innovative and comprehensive publishing, animation and licensing companies, continues to expand its NARUTO™ franchise internationally with the announcement that 52 episodes of the wildly popular anime series have been licensed for terrestrial broadcast in Chile to Chilevision, one of the country's most popular television channels among young viewers. The series is projected to launch in the second half of 2007.

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ANN reports that the web manga Yasagure Panda (Cynical Panda) will be adapted into a live-action DVD:

The series originally appeared here under the subtitle "Sanzoku Underground." The online comic concluded in late 2004, but the artist has moved on to another online comic. Since then, Cynical Panda has become a cult hit. The comics were eventually published in book form by Artist House Publishing in late 2005. The artist, also known as Sanzoku, maintains a website with old and new comics here.

Newtype USA is currently looking for a full-time Japanese-to-English translator:

Primary duties consist of performing English translations of Japanese text and proofing completed translations, though other writing, editing and administrative tasks may be required.

Source: ANN