Dark Horse has posted preview chapters of Park Joong-Ki's Shaman Warrior online:

You can now find links on the darkhorse.com home page and on our "Manga Zone" home page to free online preview chapters of Park Joong-Ki's SHAMAN WARRIOR Volume One.

[...]

Basically, we want to turn you on to an amazing manhwa (Korean comics) series -- check it out from the beginning and come by every Friday for a new chapter.

Source: Mecha Mecha Media

U.S. manga publisher Infinity Studios has announced that it will make its titled available online:

Richmond, CA – February 25th, 2008 Today, Infinity Studios LLC is proud to announce the introduction of our all digital ebooks.

Starting on March 1st 2008, Infinity Studios will be offering ebook editions of all new titles scheduled to be released; available for purchase only through the Infinity Studios website. http://www.infinitystudios.com This includes Zero volume 4 and Sweety volume 3 which were originally scheduled for release in February 2008.

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Comix Talk has an interview with Seven Seas' senior editor, webmaster and writer Adam Arnold.

MangaBlog's Brigid Alverson interviews Matthew Reidsma, author of the diary comic High Maintenance Machine.

In "Takemiya the teacher," The Star Online talks to Keiko Takemiya, creator of Kaze to Ki no Uta.

A round up of the new comic release list and views for the week of February 27th 2008:

• ComicList: ComicList for 02/27/2008
• MangaCast: New Manga Release List ~ Feb 27, 2008
• theOtaku: New Manga Releases
• Precocious Curmudgeon: Upcoming 2/27/2008

Earlier this month, a lawyer named Masatoshi Uchida accused Hideo Iura's manga Bengoshi no Kuzu of plagiarizing a novel he once wrote.

Now Mainichi Shimbun reports that Hideo Iura and Shogakukan are denying the alleged copyright violation:

Iura admitted that he had referred to Uchida's novel but denied that he had violated any copyrights.

"Copyrights cover only concrete written expressions. What was published were actual crimes, and even if I used them as reference, it does not constitute a violation of copyright," a statement from Iura and the publisher said.

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In "SOFT POWER, HARD TRUTHS / Manga magnate aims to redraw San Francisco," Yomiuri Shimbun talks to Seiji Horibuchi, founder of Viz Media:

In the audience that evening was Seiji Horibuchi, the pioneering founder of Viz Media, one of the first and largest Japanese entertainment companies to take root in American soil. Horibuchi moved to the Bay Area more than 30 years ago. He founded Viz in 1986. Two years ago, he launched Viz Pictures, a spin-off that focuses on releasing live-action features to complement the mountains of manga, anime, toys and related merchandise the parent company already handles.

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From About.com:Manga comes an interview with graphic designer and author Chip Kidd and Batman memorabilia collector Saul Ferris about the "secret origins" of their Fall 2008 artbook/comics collection, Bat Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan.

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The top 15 manga (January - February 2008) in France according to BdZoom:

1. Naruto (34)
2. One Piece (41)
3. Bleach (25)
4. Naruto (33)
5. Berserk (23)
6. D. Gray-Man (8)
7. Death Note (7)
8. Naruto (32)
9. Get Backers (25)
10. Naruto (1)
11. Übel Blatt (4)
12. Parmi eux (18)
13. Naruto (2)
14. Naruto (31)
15. Rose Hip Rose (1)

From BdZoom comes the top 15 "Bandes Dessinées" (French-style comic books) for the week ending 2/20:

1. Astérix (12)
2. Okko (4)
3. Les rugbymen (6)
4. Les Schtroumpfs (26)
5. Lanfeust des étoiles (7)
6. Jeremiah (28)
7. Le guide du zizi sexuel
8. Star Wars, Chevaliers de l'ancienne république (3)
9. XIII (19)
10. La quête de l'oiseau du temps : avant la quête (2)
11. Les femmes en blanc (30)
12. XIII (18)
13. Tanâtos (2)
14. Conte de fées à l'Elysée
15. Merlin (9)

A round up of the new comic release list and views for the week of February 20th 2008:

• ComicList: ComicList for 02/20/2008
• MangaCast: New Manga Release List ~ Feb 20, 2008
• Manga Recon: Weekly Recon, 2/20/08
• theOtaku: New Manga Releases
• Precocious Curmudgeon: Upcoming 2/20/2008