Manga News and Information
July, 2007
Sato mentions that he wasn't surprised to see what happened with Bom Bom. Having been with Comic Bom Bom for over 20 years, Sato warned Bom Bom's editorial department multiple times that the magazine would go under if the magazine only published manga according to its like and dislikes, and did not look objectively at works that readers enjoy. However, his advice was ignored.
Kotomi Aoki is a popular shoujo mangaka whose manga regularly appear in Shogakukan's Sho-Comi. Boku wa Imouto ni Koi o Suru, Aoki's signature series, have sold over 6 million copies, and was adapted into a live-action movie in January 2007. Other series by Aoki include Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu, Ijiwaru Shinaide!, Ashita, Anata ga Mezame tara, Taiyou ga Ippai and Asa mo, Hiru mo, Yoru mo. From Anime UK News comes an interview with Paul Gravett, author of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics, who talks about manga adapts to the big screen as well as the influence of anime on Japanese culture. Anime UK News reports that Random House has announced a new graphic novel competition sponsored by The Observer and Comica:
From Digital World Tokyo comes an article looking at the deal between telecoms software specialist Voice Bank and the Digital Manga Association Japan (DMAJ) to bring manga to the iPhone. MangaCast reports that Fanfare/Ponent Mon has announced the following title at this year's SDCC:
Also, ICv2 has published an article looking at Fanfare/Ponent Mon's upcoming releases. Shiro and Yoshiko are like two ships forever taken in different directions by the wind. Their quest to be together has taken them from Japan to China to Paris to Egypt, where their reunions have been fleeting. And yet, they have pledged to belong to only each other, "If not in life, then in death." BOY by "Beat" Takeshi Kitano, A Staggering Work of Heartbreak New York, New York - August 14, 2007 - Internationally renowned film auteur "Beat" Takeshi Kitano has been revered the world over for his challenging portrayals of men and manhood, most notably rogue ones (Fireworks, Brother, Zatoichi). In BOY, Kitano has magnified this unique talent at narrative through the prism of childhood, providing a rich fugue of memory and nostalgia. RICHMOND, CA - July 31, 2007 - Infinity Studios, LLC announced today that in August 2007, manga fans will be able to purchase Infinity Studios, LLC manga titles at least one month, prior to the title hitting retail bookshelves at the company's online store located within the official company's website. More information can be found on the company's website at http://www.infinitystudios.com. NYAF Announces Evangelion Co-Director Shizuno And American Animation Dynamo Steinberger As Guests of Honor Norwalk, CT, July 31, 2007: The New York Anime Festival (NYAF) today announced that Kobun Shizuno and Aimee Major Steinberger will appear as Guests of Honor at its inaugural event December 7-9 in New York City. Site Upgrade: We've just finished upgrading some softwares, as well as moving to a new server, which should fix the downtime issues we've been experiencing recently (and hopefully speed up site access). Please let us know if you notice anything broken or things that don't look right. Plus! Exclusive summer special featuring the latest anime!! Newtype USA, the leading anime magazine in North America, wraps up the hot season with an amazing summer special! The August issue is overflowing with coverage on Code Geass, arguably the biggest anime currently in Japan. Let all this insider info—including interviews with director Goro Taniguchi and series organizer Ichiro Okouchi—tide you over until the show heads stateside. And no Newtype USA would be complete without updates on the beloved Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and the highly anticipated Evangelion movies! From Comicsnob comes the "Consolidated Online Manga Sales Rankings for 27 July" based on figured from Amazon, B&N, BAMM, Chapters and TRSI:
Del Rey has posted on their SDCC blog some covers for their new licenses, as well as some exclusive art from Nina Matsumoto's new manga, Yokaiden.
As of July 27th, several parodies were uploaded onto a website called DC Inside, a popular forum in South Korea that specializes in photos and images. ANN reports that CMX has announced more manga during its Sunday panel at Comic-Con:
Also confirmed is that no edits will be made to the newly announced Crayon Shin-chan manga.
Many doujinshi creators have criticized Shogakukan for taking legal actions and generally making a big deal out of one doujinshi. Shogakukan responded by saying the doujinshi has sold over 13,000 copies, which has far surpassed the normal sales of a doujinshi, and some people have even started asking if the story was true. MangaBlog and The Beat both have a list of the winners from this year's Eisner Award. While many manga were nominated for the award, only Old Boy by Tsuchiya Garon and Minegishi Nobuaki won the award for the Best U.S. Edition of International Material - Japan. More commentary on the award from MangaCast and The Beat. MangaCast has more reports on Seven Seas, including teh news that Seven Seas will drop their manga price from $10.99 to $9.99. ANN reports that ADV Manga will start releasing Yotsuba&! once again, with volume 5 coming out in October. Other series such as Gunslinger Girl will resume their print runs as well. Giapet mentions that ADV Manga plans to release Azumanga Daioh in an "omnibus edition with a larger trim size." SAN DIEGO, CA – July 28, 2007 – Del Rey, an imprint of Ballantine Books at the Random House Publishing Group, today announced an exciting new manga lineup for Spring 2008, with acquisitions of bestselling manga and manga novels from Japanese publishing powerhouse Kodansha, a manga video game tie-in with video game leader Capcom, and brand new original English-language manga. San Diego, Ca. – MINX, the first imprint from a major American comic book publisher devoted to reaching the teenage girl reader, announced today seven of the graphic novels that it will publish in 2008. The titles announced for MINX in 2008 include:
Online Resurrection of the Famed Comic Book Anthology Series to Feature Comics Including Joss Whedon (Creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) & Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) LOS ANGELES--July 27, 2007--MySpace, the nation’s most trafficked website, and Dark Horse Comics, pioneers of creator owned and licensed comics material, today announced a partnership to revive one of the most celebrated comic anthologies with the launch of a new online comic book, "MySpace Dark Horse Presents..." ANN reports that VIZ Media has announced several new manga licenses during its Shojo Beat panel (which featured special guest Arina Tanemura):
UDON Brings Fresh New Korean Manhwa Titles to North America Toronto, ON - May 29, 2007 – What is Korean Manhwa? Combine unique storytelling techniques and manga-influenced artwork with the rich and diverse culture of Korea and you'll end up with the latest craze in Asian comics! UDON Entertainment has partnered with Korean publisher Haksan to bring the best Korean Manhwa to North America and English readers everywhere in the Fall of 2007. |
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. |
After Kodansha announced that 
According to Sho-Comi's 
The actions of a few Korean internet users have been arousing criticism from within South Korea. The internet users in question created parodies that describe the Taliban, which abducted 23 Koreans and killed one of them, as nice people known as "Tsundeban."
Back in May, Tajima T. Yasue (pen name) 
Last year Dark Horse celebrated its twentieth anniversary of publishing original graphic works by some of the world's greatest creators. Next year, Dark Horse celebrates their twentieth anniversary of publishing manga in English. This year, at San Diego Comic-Con Dark Horse is proud to announce that these two commitments held for so long have come together. Dark Horse will have the honor of publishing a new original manga created by Satsuki Igarashi, Mokona, Tsubaki Nekoi and Ageha Ohkawa.--the manga-ka all-female supergroup known to their millions of fans worldwide as CLAMP.
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
