Manga News and Information
December, 2007Adult manga publisher Icarus Publishing has made the test issue (Issue 00) of its Comic AG Digital (NSFW) available via BitTorrent. The download link can be found here. ANN reports that the Japanese government has decided to spend 147 million yen to spread manga and other Japanese pop culture to Eastern Europe:
So we have a blog now...where did it come from, and where will it go? (and why does it look so ugly?) Find out in our blog's inaugural post! MediaWorks has launched a new comic imprint called SYLPH Comics. Manga serialized in MediaWorks' comic SYLPH magazine will be released under this new imprint.
A new one-shot titled Kuru Fukuro (黒梟) by Yoshio Sawai, mangaka of Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, will appear in Weekly Shounen Jump No.4-5, on sale 12/25. Also starting in the same issue is a new series titled Shinritsu Poseidon Gakuen by Shinichiro Oe. From Manly Manga and More... comes the German Manga Top 15 for November 2007 based on charts released by Egmont Manga & Anime (EMA) and Carlsen, below is the top 5 manga on the list:
From Daily Yomiuri Online comes an article titled "American artist wins new manga award," which looks at rem, winner of Kodansha's 1st Morning International Manga Competition (MIMC). Source: Blog@Newsarama Giapet.net reports more incidents involving "Death Note" that are happening around the U.S. since last November: Japanese readers recently noted similarities between Naka Gomura's manga Megabaka, serialized in Kodansha's Weekly Shounen Magazine's January 11th Special Issue: Magazine Dragon, and other popular series such as Death Note, Air Gear and MPD-Psycho. Plus hot products in Japan, reviews and more in episode 56. GRIMES, IA, December 21, 2007 – Anime producer and mega-online anime retailer Right Stuf, Inc. is pleased to welcome Wendy Shimamura – associate product manager for VIZ Media's Home Entertainment division – to episode 56 of ANIME TODAY. In this all-new interview, Shimamura discusses the highlights of VIZ Media's 2007 anime releases, its download-to-own products and Toonami Jetstream project, next-generation formats, growing the shoujo anime market, the challenges facing the anime industry and what's coming up in 2008. Takeuchi Kanko: The mystery manga artist who spawned a second Kitarō
Takeuchi Kanko had vanished into thin air a long time before. I managed to track him down by an unbelievable coincidence. It was April 28th, 1997. I was just wrapping up an interview with the manga artist Bonten Tarō. We'd been talking about all sorts of things - kami shibai (a form of storytelling ancestral to manga, with wandering artists displaying short graphic stories from handcarts), tattooing (Bonten is liberally decorated), enka ballads..."Anyway, thank you so much," I was saying, "let's call it a day." Bonten: Actually, speaking of [Mizuki Shigeru's] Gegege no Kitarō, did you know that Takeuchi Kanko was the guy who started the series? According to an announcement on the Japanese Foreign Ministry's official website, the Second International MANGA Award, a contest created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to boost Japan's pop culture, is now accepting applications from overseas manga artists. The deadline for submission if February 29th, 2008, and the contest's guidelines for application can be found here (PDF). Source: Japan Today Both Ultimatum and Moon Phase are reporting that To Love-Ru, the latest manga by Hasemi Saki (story) and Kentaro Yabuki (art) that's currently serialized in Shounen Jump, will be adapted into an anime by XEBEC, and will be aired sometime next spring. From Icarus Publishing's blog comes a preview (NSFW) of the adult manga that are shipping in March 2008 based on Diamond Previews. Ultimatum Tidbits points out a post from Yamamoto Atsuji, which revealed that mangaka Noboru Miyama passed away on December 2nd at the age of 51. Noboru Miyama is responsible for titles such as Mefisuto, Pikaichi and Reira. The following manga appeared on the USA Today Booklist Top 150 (PDF) for the week ending December 16th: Also, Comicsnob posts the online manga sales rankings in "Online Manga Bestsellers, 16 December." From Newsarama comes a two-part interview with Paul Levitz, President and Publisher of DC Comics, who talks about DC Comics' performance in the year 2007. Also, PWCW's Kai-Ming Cha interviews animator Aimee Major Steinberger about her comics and "manga-influenced travel journal," Japan Ai: A Tall Girl's Adventure in Japan. Via: MangaBlog Incredibly Strange Manga Part 3 Outsider Style: Difference between Manga and Street Art From Go! Comi's blog comes a copy of an email from fine art sculptor Tim Bruckner, who expresses his view on Go! Comi's web comic Masque of the Red Death. San Jose, CA - December 2007 DrMaster Publications Inc. and DGN Productions, has just announced (to the delight of gamers everywhere) the impending release of The King of Fighters Art Book. Gamers out there, your wait is finally over! All of your favorite characters are here in this explosive King of Fighters Art Book! Kyo, Iori, Mai, Terry, Geese and many more are present and accounted for in this collection. Original illustrations produced by artists Wing Yan and King Tun for the long running comic series in Hong Kong, have been compiled in a collection that has never been seen before! Top 10 manga (12/19) according to Tohan:
Additional Rankings: A round up of the new comic release list and views for the week of December 19th 2007: From MangaBlog comes a round-up of news and views of this year's New York Anime Festival, which took place from December 7th - 9th. Ivrea Publishing, one of the biggest publisher of Japanese and Korean comics in Argentina, has licensed and released Mayu Shinjo's shoujo manga Junai Strip (純愛ストリップ) (Argentine title is Amor Al Desnudo). Livrea also announced the acquisition of Yuji Shiozaki's Tachibana, which will be released in February of 2008. Source: Papo de Budega MangaCast points out a new license from CMX for its Flex Comix line. The new acquisition, a shounen/seinen manga called Fist Shoujo RIKU by Nishino Jyuutarou, will be released in June 2008. |
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 the 
ComiPress teams up with writer Udagawa Takeo and translator John Gallagher to publish an online version of the English-language translation of Manga Zombie.
