Taipei Times is reporting that Taiwanese officials are asking elementary school teachers to watch out for students who are reading Death Note, while the students think the manga is just fine:

Pingtung County Government officials recently issued instructions to elementary school teachers, asking them to heed any negative influence on students who immerse themselves in reading Death Note, a Japanese manga series that has recently grown in popularity on campus.

Source: MangaBlog

Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Beans Ace will become a bi-monthly magazine as of volume 10.

Also, with the release of volume 3 of Houbunsha's manga magazine Comic Yell! (11/10), the magazine will become a bi-monthly magazine. The magazine is mentioned by the publisher as a "pure and cute shoujo manga magazine for males."

The first issue of a new cat manga magazine titled Neko Mero! will be released by Gentosha Comics on October 16th, 2007. The magazine will be published quarterly.

Source: Ultimatum Tidbits

Jump SQ's official website has announced that the Shiki horror fantasy novels by Fuyumi Ono will be adapted into a manga series by Ryu Fujisaki (mangaka of Hoshin Engi). The new manga will start in Jump Square's January 2008 issue (12/4).

The light novel Maid Deka by Yuji Hayami (author) and Kiyotaka Haimura (illustrator) will be adapted into an online manga. The new manga, drawn by Michiko Usami, will begin serialization in FlexComix Blood on October 12, 2007.

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The Japan Times interviews Junko Mizuno, who is known for her works that mixes childish cuteness with blood and terror.

Source: MangaBlog

Dark Horse has announced that it will stop releasing Hiroaki Samura's samurai manga, Blade of the Immortal, in its monthly comic book format as of issue 131, and focus on releasing the manga as a graphic novel. AICN Anime has an interview with Dark Horse's Blade of the Immortal editor Philip Simon, who shares his opinion on the end of the monthly edition of the manga.

According to ANN, the Washington State Young Adult Review Group (WSYARG) has nominated volume one of Death Note for the 2008 Evergreen Young Adult Book Award.

The following manga appeared on the USA Today Booklist Top 150 (PDF) for the week ending October 7th:

• #69 - Naruto, Volume 21 - Viz - (Last week: -)
• #77 - Naruto, Volume 20 - Viz - (Last week: -)
• #82 - Naruto, Volume 19 - Viz - (Last week: -)
• #109 - Bleach, Volume 21 - Viz - (Last week: #220)

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A round up of the new comic release list for the week of October 10th 2007:

• ComicList: ComicList for 10/10/2007
• MangaCast: New Manga Release List ~ Oct 10, 2007
• Manga Recon: Weekly Recon, 10/10/07
• Comicsnob: Watch List: Manga et al. for the week of 7 October

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

1. Hunter X Hunter, Volume 24
2. Bleach, Volume 30
3. Gintama, Volume 20
4. 21st Century Boys, Part 2
5. Katekyo Hitman Reborn! Official Character Book
6. Claymore, Volume 13
7. Yotsuba&!, Volume 7
8. Lovely Complex, Volume 17
9. To-LOVE-Ru, Volume 6
10. Initial D, Volume 36

Additional Rankings:

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Imaginova, a "leading digital media and commerce company that reaches a large intellectually curious audience," announced today that it has officially acquired the comics website Newsarama:

As of last Monday, Newsarama officially became part of the Imaginova Network (you may already know some of Imaginova???s sites like LiveScience and Space.com).

Via: MangaBlog