According to YaoiSuki, BL manga artist Tohjoh Asami (creator of Denkou Sekka Boys) has passed away:

We've received word via the yaoi_daily_cafe LiveJournal community that Tohjoh Asami, the mangaka behind the very popular Denkou Sekka Boys (a.k.a. Thunderbolt Boys), has passed away. The details behind her death aren't clear yet; we'll get back to you as soon as we know more.

According to YaoiSuki, Iris Print has canceled its yaoi magazine BL Twist:

How lucky am I? Literally the day after I ordered their new magazine BL Twist, they close down their purchasing page and announce that the October launch of the mag has been cancelled and they're refunding subscriptions.

Via: MangaBlog

From The Muppet Newsflash comes an interview with Tokyopop's Tim Beedle, editor of series such as The Dark Crystal and Return to Labyrinth.

Source: MangaBlog

ANN is reporting that the Japanese company, Mangabank, will be adapting Hollywood movies such as Casablanca, Charade, Stagecoach, and Wuthering Heights into manga:

Each movie has been adapted into a 128-page manga, which will sell with a Japanese-subtitled DVD for 1,380 yen (about US$12.01). Acclaimed manga creator Kenshi Hirokane (Human Crossing, Buchou Shima Kosaku) is supervising the artists drawing the adaptations.

From Cosplayers Net comes an exclusive interview with World Cosplay Summit 2007 winners Damien Ratte (DamDam) and Isabelle Jeudy (cosplayed as Tsugiri and Myoubi from the manga Alichino), who talk abouttheir experience at this year's WCS.

Source: Papo de Budega

Top 10 manga (10/31) according to Tohan:

1. Detective Conan (59)
2. Black Lagoon (17)
3. xxxHOLiC (12)
4. Kekkaishi (18)
5. Hayate the Combat Butler (13)
6. Skip Beat! (17)
7. Working!! (4)
8. Zipang (32)
9. Soul Eater (10)
10. Vinland Saga (5)

Additional Rankings:

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The following manga appeared on the USA Today Booklist Top 150 (PDF) for the week ending October 28th:

• #66 - Naruto, Volume 21 - Viz - (Last week: #53)
• #111 - Naruto, Volume 20 - Viz - (Last week: #75)

Also, Comicsnob posts the online manga sales rankings:

• Top 100 manga volumes, 28 October

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According to the latest issue of PWCW, U.S. publisher Vertical will be bringing Osamu Tezuka's Black Jack to the U.S.:

Japanese pulp fiction and classic manga publisher Vertical Inc. announced plans to publish Black Jack, legendary mangaka Osamu Tezuka's popular series about a genius surgeon, in its entirety beginning in fall 2008.

Via: ANN

MangaCast has officially launched MangaCast 2.0, now powered by WordPress. ComiPress caught up with MangaCast's Ed Chavez, who talks about what the new site will offer:

After years of development, MangaCast 2.0 is finally launched! Anything you'd like to say about the new site?

Ed: Took a little longer than I thought it would, but I am really happy to see it live. The LJ was great and will still be around. But our new home mangacast.net is where we really want to show how much manga mania we collectively posses.

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According to Moon Phase, a new manga titled Lucky Star: Pocket Travelers (based on Lucky Star's "Lucky Channel") by Akari Ryuryuu will begin serialization in the January issue of Kadokawa Shoten's Comp Ace (11/26).