After Kodansha announced that Comic Bom Bom (also known as Comic Bon Bon) will be suspended at the end of this year. Mangaka and animator Gen Sato, who was closely involved with Comic Bom Bom, has posted on his blog what he believes to be the reason behind Comic Bom Bom's suspension.

Sato mentions that he wasn't surprised to see what happened with Bom Bom. Having been with Comic Bom Bom for over 20 years, Sato warned Bom Bom's editorial department multiple times that the magazine would go under if the magazine only published manga according to its like and dislikes, and did not look objectively at works that readers enjoy. However, his advice was ignored.

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According to Sho-Comi's Editorial blog, the total sales of Kotomi Aoki's manga have reached 10 million units. To celebrate, an Kotomi Aoki autograph session is being held starting July 28th at the KaBoS Okuwa store in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa.

Kotomi Aoki is a popular shoujo mangaka whose manga regularly appear in Shogakukan's Sho-Comi. Boku wa Imouto ni Koi o Suru, Aoki's signature series, have sold over 6 million copies, and was adapted into a live-action movie in January 2007. Other series by Aoki include Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu, Ijiwaru Shinaide!, Ashita, Anata ga Mezame tara, Taiyou ga Ippai and Asa mo, Hiru mo, Yoru mo.

From Anime UK News comes an interview with Paul Gravett, author of Manga: Sixty Years of Japanese Comics, who talks about manga adapts to the big screen as well as the influence of anime on Japanese culture.

Anime UK News reports that Random House has announced a new graphic novel competition sponsored by The Observer and Comica:

Dear Comic and Graphic Novelist enthusiasts, Jonathan Cape, one of the finest Graphic Novel publishers in the UK, in association with The Observer and Comica are searching for new graphic artist talent with the chance to be published in The Observer and to win £1000. [...] The Prize will be judged by industry experts along with the bestselling authors Nick Hornby and Posy Simmonds. It is an exciting opportunity for all aspiring graphic novelists.

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From Digital World Tokyo comes an article looking at the deal between telecoms software specialist Voice Bank and the Digital Manga Association Japan (DMAJ) to bring manga to the iPhone.

MangaCast reports that Fanfare/Ponent Mon has announced the following title at this year's SDCC:

• Summit of the Gods by Yumemakura Baku/Taniguchi Jiro

Also, ICv2 has published an article looking at Fanfare/Ponent Mon's upcoming releases.

From Comicsnob comes the "Consolidated Online Manga Sales Rankings for 27 July" based on figured from Amazon, B&N, BAMM, Chapters and TRSI:

↔ 1. Naruto (130.0)
↑ 2. Death Note (96.3)
↑ 3. Bleach (95.8)
↑ 4. Fruits Basket (73.1)
↓ 5. Warriors (single volume) (50.0)
↓ 6. Ouran High School Host Club (47.2)
↓ 7. Avalon High (single volume) (44.0)
↔ 8. Kingdom Hearts (41.1)
↔ 9. Dark Hunger – Feehan (single volume) (40.0)
! 10. Vampire Knight (35.8)

Del Rey has posted on their SDCC blog some covers for their new licenses, as well as some exclusive art from Nina Matsumoto's new manga, Yokaiden.

ANN reports that CMX has announced more manga during its Sunday panel at Comic-Con:

• A Girl Who Runs Through Time (Toki wo Kakeru Shojo) by Gaku Tsugano
• Teru Teru x Shonen by Shigeru Takao
• The Flat Earth Exchange by Toshimi Nigoshi

Also confirmed is that no edits will be made to the newly announced Crayon Shin-chan manga.

Back in May, Tajima T. Yasue (pen name) officially apologized to Shogakukan and Fujiko Production for the now-legendary Doraemon doujinshi, and announced that he will pay an undisclosed amount of money for the settlement based on the sales generated by the doujinshi (rumored to be several million yen).

Many doujinshi creators have criticized Shogakukan for taking legal actions and generally making a big deal out of one doujinshi. Shogakukan responded by saying the doujinshi has sold over 13,000 copies, which has far surpassed the normal sales of a doujinshi, and some people have even started asking if the story was true.

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