From du9's Xavier Guilbert comes an interview with Mizuno Junko, who is known for her kawaii noir style of drawing that mixes childish cuteness with blood and terror:

Immediately recognizable with her sexy dolls straight out of a Powerpuff Girls episode with a Russ Meyer-makeover, Mizuno Junko has steadily build, if not a career, at least a reputation - so much that when she attended the 2005 edition of the Angouleme Festival, animation magazine Animeland introduced her as the "morbid pin-up of underground manga".

Source: MangaBlog

Active Anime reports that eFrontier's Manga Studio & Anime Studio Bundle and Manga Studio 3.0 EX Full Version are both on sale:

Manga Studio Debut & Anime Studio is only for $69.99 (over $99 if purchase separately), and Manga Studio EX is only $149.99 (50% off). The special prining will only last until December 15.

Kadokawa Group Holdings has revealed plans (PDF) for the consolidation of 2 of its affiliates, ASCII and MediaWorks. The merger is slated for April 1st, 2008.

No details have been decided yet, but the merged company will be called "ASCII Media Works Inc." The reason cited for the merger is to "consolidate resources, streamline the management structure and to become competitive." Also, it was mentioned that Kadokawa GHD decided to not include Enterbrain (another entertainment magazine publisher under Kadokawa who put out Comic Beam) in the merger with MediaWorks.

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Kagami Hiiragi, a character from the manga/anime Lucky Star, is a big fan of light novels. Ever wondered what Kagami likes to read? LightNovel.org has compiled a list of the light novels Kagami read through Lucky Star.

MangaCast posts a press release from 801 Media, which is celebrating its first anniversary by offering free shipping on all orders over $14 (usually the cost of one book) to all domestic addresses. The press release also contains information on 801 Media's plans at this year's Yaoi Con:

Tomo-chan and 801-chan here celebrating 801 Media Inc.'s 1st Birthday! *teehee* Time sure does fly. Just this time last year we were having our launch party at Yaoi Con. (Those were some good times.)

Mainichi Shimbun and Mantan Web report that incomplete manuscript of Tezuka's Black Jack manga has been found for the first time. The manuscript will be exhibited at the Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum, located in Tezuka's hometown of Takarazuka on October 30th.

According to Asahi Shimbun, the manga Boku, Otariman has reached the 500,000 mark in sales with the release of the series' second volume

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According to Kodokawa Shoten, thanks to the anime adaptation of Lucky ??? Star, various Lucky Star-related items have been enjoying a big boost in sales.

Lucky Star is a 4-koma by Kagami Yoshimizu serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's Comptiq magazine (and later appeared in Shonen Ace). The manga was originally created as a filler comic, but the series soon became popular among fans, and was adapted into an anime in early 2007.

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A new book titled 2112 September 3rd, Doraemon is Born! (2112???9???3?????????????????????????????????????????????! ) was recently release in Japan. The book, written by Japan's first science navigator and sakurAi Science Factory's host Susumu Sakurai, claims that technologies found in Doraemon, such as the fourth-dimensional pocket, time machine and dokodemo door (a teleportation device), can become a reality through Einstein's theory of relativity.

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A new serialization titled Saruman 2.0 (????????????2.0) by Kentaro Takekuma and Aihara Kooji will begin in the December issue of Shogakukan's Ikki (10/25). The original Saruman, more commonly known as Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga, provides useful information and parodies about creating and analyzing manga stories in the manga industry.

Also starting in the same issue is a new manga titled Wired Apartment (??????????????? ???????????????) by Fujihiko Hosono, mangaka of Crusher Joe and Gallery Fake.

Source: Ultimatum Tidbits